Big Ministry Sues Little Christian Blogger...Maybe

Ligonier Ministries, the entity built around the teaching and preaching of a guy named R.C. Sproul, has supposedly sued a blogger who has alleged unethical practices on the part of the organization's CEO.

I've heard of Sproul and even once tried get through a short book of his authorship. (I was unsuccessful.) But that's the extent of my knowledge of him.

The details of the case at hand are unclear at this time, although Ligonier Ministries apparently wants to stop the publication of a blog called Contending for the Truth.

Here are some links so that you can read what's known of this distrubing incident so far:
Orlando Sentinel article
Beltway Blogroll story
Contending for the Truth's reaction

More information can be found here:
Google articles on Ligonier Ministries
Ligonier Ministries web site
Wikipedia entry on R.C. Sproul

I obviously have no way of knowing about the merits of this blogger's concerns about Ligonier Ministries. But I was taken aback by this alleged lawsuit against him. The Bible takes a dim view of Christians suing Christians. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8:

When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer—and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—and believers at that.

Christians are supposed to resolve disputes among themselves through the Church. Even those who acknowledge that there may be times when Christians have no choice but to sue fellow Christians say that it should only be done as a last resort.

Jesus lays out a very specific means of resolving conflicts within the Church. It's found in Matthew 18:15-20:

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Have these steps been followed in this dispute? If not, is this lawsuit--which may or may not have been filed--appropriate?

And then there's the supposed aim of the (alleged) suit: To get the court to shut the blog down. That's disturbing if true.

The blogger in question has been lodging some serious allegations. A reaction was predictable. Is this the appropriate one? I don't know, although it makes me squeamish. I only wish that things could have been resolved before this all went public.

[Thanks--I guess--to Glenn Reynolds for pointing this case out.]