Pulpit & Pen is #FakeNews

Recently, the blog, Pulpit & Pen (herein abbreviated as PP) published several "articles" about Pastor Greg Locke, of Mount Juliet, Tennessee. It is now public knowledge, and a matter of public record that Pastor Locke is now divorced. Unfortunately, this was the subject of the writing from PP.

As a matter of factual history, PP tends to write "articles" that try to tear down men and women of the ministry. Sadly, there are only a couple of exceptions to this - most notably, a minister or two whom PP puts on a pedestal, in an attempt to brown-nose said minister. This is all well documented at other sources and can be easily found with a Google search.

The Rifleman has read PP's "articles" on Locke. There are numerous issues, and this article is here to set those straight.

First, PP is a Calvinist entity. That should be enough evidence for a thoughtful person to dismiss them entirely. As Calvinism is a heretical lie, completely based on dishonesty, any word from a calvinist person or entity should be considered inaccurate, until such time as it is proven to be otherwise.

Secondly, these writings are gossip pieces - or at least, opinion pieces - presented as articles of fact. Typically when writing, facts are listed, using evidence. Based on the evidence presented, a conclusion is stated. In some cases an extrapolation or interpretation of the evidence presented is given as an opinion. PP's writings have been a strange amalgam of opinion, gossip, hyperbole, and (a very few) facts presented in a distorted interpretation.

The third major issue with these writings is the source material. Much of what PP relied on for these writings is gossip and rumor. The Rifleman is familiar ( has met, and used to be connected with via social media) with the people who are the sources of these rumors. Every last one of them is a disgruntled gossip. These busy bodies have a bone to pick for varying reasons.

One of them is upset because she did not get a job with the church, but her sister-in-law did. So, naturally, she falsely lists her sister-in-law as Locke's love interest. The other is a straight-up gossip, and was called out by Locke as a gossip, hence the reason she is mad.

The fourth and final issue to be discussed here is one that a court would call, "assumes facts not in Evidence." PP quotes the Bible as suggesting that an elder is only eligible if he is the husband of one wife. The fact that the word "Pastor" is never mentioned in the Bible notwithstanding, lets view this based off the presumption that the qualifications for a pastor would be the same as for an elder. The simple fact is that what the Bible considered to be marriage, and what the US legal system considers to be marriage, are two completely separate entities:
* The US legal system recognizes gay marriage. The Bible clearly does not.
* In the United States, a party can get a divorce, whether or not their spouse wants to.
* In the US, divorces are granted for reasons never covered in the Bible.
* In the US, a marriage is a financial contract, not a union to strengthen society by providing an Avenue for legitimate Parenthood.

In the US, a divorce has such things as division of assets, alimony, child support, and visitation. The Bible mentions none of these. In biblical times, if a woman wanted to completely run away from her family, and never have contact again with her children, she certainly could have. However, the Bible gave no provision for distribution of assets or money, or visitation with the children.

Summary

PP is #FakeNews