Dr. Brown is at it again. Wading into the NAR controversy surrounding Harvard University and a conservative darling.

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If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. -- James 2:8-9 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/76841-the-inquisition-comes-to-harvard

Too busy to preach the Gospel anymore, Dr. Michael Brown has now settled into his role as NAR gatekeeper and political provocateur. Any cause de jour for the Republican Party establishment is now apparently a cause de Jesus as well. Case in point for this week is the curious uproar over Kyle Kashuv. Was Kashuv a Christian refugee or missionary to a hostile land? No. He apparently was someone who was accepted to Harvard but then had that admission revoked when it was discovered that he had posted some unbelievably racist messages when he was 16. It is quite a bit more political than that however. It seems Mr. Kashuv was a survivor of the Parkland High School shooting yet is an activist against gun control. As such he has been seized by the right wing as a symbol of all that could be right in their world. I expect such carnality from those in the world but why in the heck is the church getting involved? The above link is to the latest article from Dr. Michael Brown and right from the title we can tell how absurd this is going to be. Comparing an 18-year-old kid being denied admission to Harvard with the Spanish Inquisition is beyond hyperbole. It is dangerously stupid and diminishes those burned at the stake for the sake of purifying the false catholic doctrine of that time. Let us try and reason once more beloved:

"Did you say anything stupid when you were 16? Did you do anything back then that caused you embarrassment? And did you change and mature by the time you were 18? For many of us, the answer to all these questions is yes. In my case, I was a heavy drug user at 16, playing drums in a rock band, dropping LSD like candy, and even shooting heroin and speed. By the time I was 18 and ready for college, I was a born-again follower of Jesus, had read the Bible cover to cover five times, memorized 4,000 verses and preached my first sermon. The change was dramatic. I was not the teen I used to be, and I ultimately went from LSD to Ph.D." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Let's deal with the conflation first. Yes, the offensive event occurred when Kashuv was only 16 but he is not 40 today -- he is 18! So, it was only two years ago! I agree in this reflexively hurt world that we need to grow a little more spine and not be so offended at things from decades ago recognizing that time can change people. That is not what we are dealing with here. Less than two years ago, Kyle Kashuv in an exchange with friends used the "N" word 11 times in one communication and joked that he was good at writing it because he had done it so often. When questioned on television, Kashuv lamely tried to pretend that this was not who he was and that he and his friends were just trying to say the most shocking things they could think of. Mission accomplished eh Kyle? You just shocked your way out of Harvard.

What is Dr. Brown saying ere though? That because he was saved radically at 18, what he said when he was 16 no longer mattered? That's not the Gospel. While it may not matter as sin moving forward, we are supposed to be accountable for our words and actions. More importantly, what does Kyle Kashuv have to do with the kingdom of God and the cause of the Gospel? Absolutely nothing. What this is beloved is a NAR issue. It is a seven mountains mandate issue. When you are trying to take over the mountain of government everything becomes a cultural hot spot. This also touches on the mountain of education so we must be greatly offended at this liberal university punishing this conservative darling for daring to be honest about his racism.

"In the case of Kyle Kashuv, though, the verbal sins he committed at the age of 16 have come back to haunt him. Yes, Harvard University has rescinded his admission based on his prior use of a racial slur at age 16. Kashuv came to national prominence as an outspoken conservative who was one of the survivors of the tragic Parkland shooting. And he has apologized in the clearest terms for his "idiotic" behavior as a 16-year-old, demonstrating absolutely no hint of racism since he been under public scrutiny following the school massacre. Harvard, however, has determined that his past behavior is so egregious that it disqualifies him from entry into their elite institute. His admission has been rescinded." -- Dr. Michael Brown

As usual, Dr. Brown is being loose with the facts to suit his side of the argument. Anyone who has been on his radio program knows his skill at this tactic. It as not just a "racial slur." It is that he used it 11 times in one message and bragged about how good he was at using it. his apology was one that sought to cast blame on this shock value excuse instead of just owning it. He does not seem genuine about any of this and is using it to cast himself as the victim, along with the help of people like Dr. Michael Brown. No hint of racism? Doesn't the offensive revelation count? Is Dr. Brown just giving Kashuv credit for not saying the "N" word every day since? How stupid is your defense if it essentially is "he is not a racist because he has not said anything racist since the time he said the "N" word 11 times in one sentence, bragged about doing so, and referred to a female classmate as only liking "n***er jocks." Oh and that was less than two years ago.

"Of course, Harvard is free to admit or refuse students based on its own criteria. But I'm not the only one to think that something here is just not right. Does anyone really believe that if Kashuv had bashed conservatives in derogatory ways that Harvard would have conducted this witch hunt? That if he slurred Bible-believing Christians when he was 16, his admission would have been rescinded?" -- Dr. Michael Brown

So nice of you to allow Harvard to have its own admission criteria. You do realize that less than 5% of applicants are admitted to Harvard to begin with? You do realize that they have stringent criteria that goes well beyond academia? You do realize that all colleges are essentially reviewing the applicants based on what they did in high school -- even two years before! As for your lame comparison -- are you serious? Kashuv does not stand accused of having anything to do with liberalism or conservatism. He is being scrutinized for using racial slurs over and over again. By the way Doc, way to stand up for what is right by referring to a crack down on the use of the "N" word as a "witch Hunt." Your idol Mr. Trump would be very proud. This story is not about slurring bible believing Christians and in fact it has nothing to do with Christianity at all! Stop trying to mix your NAR offenses in with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Katie Pavlich tweeted, "Very curious if @Harvard will now accept and then reject all students who they convict of committing thought crimes while in high school via nonsense with friends. I already know the answer is dependent on whether those students believe in leftist gun control."

Similarly, Guy Benson opined, "The use of a disgusting word, in private, by a 16-year-old, should not be an unforgivable event. And the idea of teenage idiocy being weaponized in a retaliatory fashion like oppo research--and 'succeeding'--is frightening. Harvard's role in this is reactionary and craven." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Yes. Harvard realized they had admitted a racist and "reacted" that they should not allow it. Do not confuse this issue beloved. It is not about forgiveness. Kashuv can be forgiven and denied entry into a school that denies 95% of its applicants to begin with. What Kashuv, Brown and the like sound like is entitled. They believe that since he has apologized that he should not face any repercussions, but their standard only falls on those they align with politically. It is not opposition research either -- that is a moronic charge. The only thing more moronic is the charge of cravenness. That it is somehow cowardly for the premier institution of higher learning to deny entry to someone who less than two years ago espoused such vile and hateful animus. Not to sound like a broken record here but why is this the topic Dr. Brown latched on to today? It certainly has nothing to do with Christianity. What it does speak to however is the NAR theology and the politics of the Republican Party, to whom Dr. Brown is now beholden.

"I wonder if David Hogg, another survivor of the Parkland shooting also Harvard-bound, but the polar political opposite to Kashuv, has been subjected to the same scrutiny. In March 2018, Jack Crowe reported on the National Review that, "Seventeen-year-old gun control advocate David Hogg delivered a profanity-laced tirade on the evils of gun owners and Republican lawmakers in a recorded interview posted to YouTube on March 5. "In the interview, conducted by The Outline, the Parkland shooting survivor describes the National Rifle Association and pro-Second Amendment lawmakers as [obscenity] and accuses them of prioritizing campaign contributions over the lives of children." But rather than jeopardize his Harvard admission, this speech most likely enhanced his standing in the eyes of the leftist elites. Are there no double standards here?" -- Dr. Michael Brown

No Dr. Brown that is not a double standard. Your thinking it might be is quite alarming. Just to be clear, you believe there is no moral difference between profanity and racism. Well Dr. Brown there is. While profanity is not an acceptable behavior for believers it is not on the same moral planet as demeaning an entire race of people, solely because they are different than you. The other point Hogg makes is accurate. Politicians on the side you have aligned with have used the Parkland shooting to raise money! This is not some aspersion being cast around -- it is an established fact! Now, maybe you think that is ok, which is your right, but please do not compare it to using the "N" word 11 times in one communication while bragging about using it!

"And what of the possibility of forgiveness? What of rehabilitation and restoration, especially when the transgression was a verbal one? As Ben Shapiro wrote, "On Monday, Parkland survivor and outspoken conservative Kyle Kashuv announced that Harvard University had withdrawn his admission from the school over the revelation of racist, offensive, idiotic posts written on a private Google document with friends when he was 16 years old. Never mind that Kashuv apologized publicly for the comments; never mind that his public behavior has evinced no racism whatsoever. "Forgiveness must be withheld." If Harvard has any intellectual and moral integrity, it should apologize to Kashuv and readmit him, even on a probationary status where he can prove himself worthy." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Once again, forgiveness does not have to mean reinstatement. The citation of Shapiro, who makes his living on being as divisive as humanly possible, is also telling on how far Brown has traveled down the NAR rabbit hole. Follow this absurd thinking beloved. The fact that Kashuv was 16 when he wrote the bile is irrelevant as he is only 18 now. Stop pretending that this happened in the 1980s. The fact that he thought his racist tropes were hidden on a private document is equally irrelevant. What is the argument there? Sure, he is a racist, but you shouldn't really have known about that? Stop with the intellectually vacuous argument that because he has not publicly endorsed the Ku Klux Klan that somehow, he must not really be a racist. Yet according to Shapiro, Harvard needs to apologize for not allowing this racist into their school. Oh, he has apologized? Well apology accepted now here are the consequences for your actions.

"As for the question of forgiveness, Harvard would do well to remember its origins:

The school was founded in 1636 as Harvard College with the motto "Truth" (Veritas). Its purpose was "To train a literate clergy." Among the "Rules and Precepts" to be observed by the students were these: "Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life" and "Everyone shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in Theoretical observations of Language and Logic, and in practical and spiritual truths." Harvard has certainly come a very long way since then." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Wait, what? Is Dr. Brown making the assertion that because Harvard would not allow a racist into their school that they have somehow left the teachings and underpinnings of Christ? This is what happens when Christians get co-opted by the carnality of politics. Their thinking becomes carnal. Kyle Kashuv is not the victim here. He is the perpetrator. He openly admits to being the perpetrator. I pray he has learned some valuable lessons from this fiasco but it is increasingly unlikely as long as people like Dr. Michael Brown and Ben Shapiro insist that Harvard is the one who needs to apologize for abandoning Christ by refusing entry to a kid who said he is so good at writing the word n***er because he has had so much practice. Yeah yeah, I know. He was just going for shock value.

Mission accomplished.

The key verses today speak against the racism that came so easily to Kyle Kashuv and found so easy to defend for Dr. Michael Brown. Racism is showing partiality to those who look like you and sound like you. Yet we are called to love all of our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine that kind of world. Where we love each other and the first thing that comes to our mind when trying to "shock" people is not to demean an entire race of people. You are not finishing the face strong Dr. Brown. Not strong at all.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- June 20, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.