By Thomas Littleton 8/18/2019
At some point Russell Moore and the ERLC need to come out of the closet and own the Revoice movement . From the early revelations of the radical LGBT+ Thriving inaugural event in 2018 -the deep ERLC ties have been evident and continue to unfold . ERLC Fellow, close Russell Moore friend Karen Swallow Prior endorsed the radical event from day one. Consultant for the ERLC on prison reform and family ministries Brandon Polk is a Revoice leader and speaker.
Recently ERLC’s Andrew Walker was revealed to be very close friends with Revoice leader Matthew Lee Anderson -even choosing Anderson to speak for and represent him and the ERLC in a Mormon / interfaith conference redefining the faith communities approach to LGBTQ+ issues .
SEBTS PROVOST AND INTERSECT PROJECT LEADER AND KERN FAMILY FOUNDATION FUNDING LEADER ENDORSES REVOICE LEADER NATE COLLINS.
BRUCE ASHFORD PROMOTING NATE COLLINS /REVOICE FOUNDERS 2017 BOOK
“Nate Collins All But Invisible is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion about Christianity, sexuality and gender. Collins holds a traditional Christian sexual ethic but argues that many conservative Christians are ,unfortunately , unaware of the ways that cultural Christianity in North America can make it difficult for gay people to live out the traditional sexual ethic . For the sake of our Christian witness, ,It is critical that we identify these roadblocks to to faithfulness and remove them. All But Invisible is not the first word or the last word but it is an important word . Even if you are not persuaded on every point- as I am not- you will be grateful you read this book .
—-Bruce Ashford professor of theology and culture ,provost and dean of faculty, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
LET THAT ENDORSEMENT AND THE REALITY THAT SEBTS PROVOST AND DEAN OF FACULTY/ ERLC RESEARCH FELLOW IS PRAISING REVOICE FOUNDERS 2017 BOOK
BRUCE ASHFORD ACADEMIC FOCUS IN HIS DISSERTATION AND MANY OTHER WRITINGS IS PHILOSOPHER LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN .
Ashford’s ETS presentation 2007 on Wittgenstein -who is also the topic of his SEBTS doctoral dissertation . (More on this in a minute )
Click to access JETS_50-2_357-375_Ashford.pdf
LEFT WING TEACHING TOLERANCE FOR LGBTQ+ IN K-12 CITES WITTENSTEIN AMONG ITS NOTABLE GAYS IN HISTORY
BEST PRACTICES FOR SERVING LGBTQ STUDENTS
A Teaching Tolerance Guide
Click to access Best%20Practices%20for%20Serving%20LGBTQ%20Students.pdf
PAGE 21
APPENDIX B
LGBTQ HISTORICAL FIGURES
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
A prominent 20th century philosopher
whose work influenced future theories on
the philosophy of mind and language.
WHO IS BRUCE ASHFORD ?
For Starters -according to his bio Bruce Ashford is an elder at current -reigning -SBC President J D Greears church .
“He is an elder at The Summit Church (Raleigh-Durham, NC).”
https://www.sebts.edu/academics/faculty/Ashford.aspx
“Dr. Ashford is on Sabbatical for all of 2019. The acting Provost is Dr. Keith Whitfield.
EDUCATION
B.A., Campbell University
M.Div., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Ph.D., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
BIO
“Dr. Ashford has been teaching at Southeastern since 2003 and became the provost in 2013. His goal in teaching is to encourage his students to bear witness to the truth, goodness and beauty of the gospel and to work out its implications in all facets of their lives and in all dimensions of culture. Ashford defended his dissertation on “Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Impact on Anglo-American Theology,” is the co-author of One Nation under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics (B&H, 2015), the author Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians (Lexham, 2015), and is the editor of Theology and Practice of Mission (B&H, 2011). His primary interest is public theology; his secondary interests include philosophy of education, theology of mission, theological method, and contemporary theology”
FROM ASHFORDS SEBTS CURRICULUM VITAE
Click to access Ashford%20CV.pdf
Teaching & Administrative Experience
Provost / Dean of the Faculty, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,
November 2012 –
Professor of Theology & Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,
2015-present.
Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary, 2010-2015.
Dean, The College at Southeastern, 2009-2012
Director, The Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies,
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005-2008.
ASHFORD’S DISSERTATION TOPIC ( MORE ON WITTGENSTEIN IN A MOMENT)
Ph.D. Dissertation
“Wittgenstein’s Impact on Anglo-American Theology: Representative Models of
Response to Wittgenstein’s Later Writings”
Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians
(Lexham, 2015). ( Also the Kuyper derived title of TGC Faith and Work project)
Publications (Articles and Chapters)
“Pro-Life versus Pro-Birth,” in For God so Loved the World: A Blueprint for
Kingdom Diversity, eds. Dayton Hartman and Walter Strickland, III (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, 2019). ( Walter Strickland is the SEBTS professor whowas recently exposed promoting Black Liberation Theology and James Cone )
“Just War,” in Christian Cultural Engagement, eds. Joshua D. Chatraw and Karen
Swallow Prior (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018). ( Karen Swallow Prior is the controversial ERLC Research Fellow who has openly endorsed Revoice from the 2018 launch and for whom Russell Moore denied any knowledge of Revoice to the SBC Dallas messengers when having been interviewed about Revoice the day before)
“Tayloring Christian Politics in Our Secular Age,” Themelios 42.3 (2017): 446-
51.
“Politics and Public Life in a Secular Age,” in Collin Hansen, ed., Our Secular
Age: Ten Years of Reading and Applying Charles Taylor (Deerfield, IL: TGC,
2017), 87-98. ( Ashford is participating in the progressive narrative of TGC/ ERLC politics with Collin Hansen and the “Never Trump / Never Again Trump – narrative)
“Ludwig Wittgenstein,” in Zondervan Dictionary of Christianity and Science, eds.
Paul Copan, Tremper Longman, Chris Reese, and Mike Strauss (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2017): 687-88. ( Wittgenstein is a gay Atheist philosopher and the topic of numerous Ashford projects)
“Creation Care Founded on the Biblical Narrative (Creation, Fall, Redemption,
Restoration),” in TheoEcology 1:1 (January 2012). ( Creation Care is code for evangelical endorsement of the globalist hoax /Global Warming myth )
“A SBC Vision for the Fulfillment of the Great Commission,” co-authored with
Danny Akin in Larry McDonald and Matt Queen, eds., A Passion for the Great
Commission: Essays in Honor of Alvin L. Reid, (Nashville: Towering Oaks
Books, 2014). ( One of several projects with Danny Akin TGC leader and President of SEBTS)
“Theologically-Driven Missiology,” in Chuck Lawless and Adam W. Greenway,
eds., The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God’s Mandate in Our Time
(Nashville: B&H, 2010). (Adam Greenway is now head of SWBTS )
“Wittgenstein’s Theologians? A Survey of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Influence on
Theology.” The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50, no.2 (June
2007) 357-75. ( More work on the Gay Atheist Philosopher )
“Worldview, Anthropology, and Gender: A Call to Broaden the Parameters of the
Discussion.” The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood XII, Issue 1
(Spring 2007) 7-9. ( Perhaps a lead in and up to Revoice )
ASHFORD’S WORK WITH RECENT YEARS TGC POLITICAL NARRATIVES
Publications (Selected Essays)
“The Intellectual in Canada Who Unmasked Political Idolatry in America,” The
Gospel Coalition (March 24, 2017).
“Can a Faithful Evangelical Be a Political Nationalist?” (March 13, 2017).
“How Can a Faithful Evangelical Be a Political Conservative?” (Feb 21, 2017).
“Powerful Witness from a Position of Weakness,” The Gospel Coalition
(December 1, 2016).
“The Jewish Intellectual Who Predicted America’s Social Collapse,” The Gospel
Coalition (April 25, 2016).
“The (Religious” Problem with American Politics,” a 7-part blog series published
at Canon & Culture (January 2016).
“How Richard John Neuhaus Changed the Way I Think,” Canon & Culture (Feb
16, 2015).
“How a Man Named Lesslie Changed the Way I Think,” Canon & Culture (Feb
25, 2015).
“Lessons from Father Abraham (Kuyper): Christianity, Politics, & the Public
Square,” Canon & Culture (March 6, 2015).
“Augustine for the Americans: Lessons on Christianity & Public Life from a
Fifth-Century North African Theologian,” Canon & Culture (April 20, 2015).
ASHFORD’S WORK WITH FOX NEWS ON EVANGELICAL NEVER TRUMPERS
“In an election cycle full of surprises, one of the most striking developments is the number of conservative evangelical Republicans who have stated that they will not vote for the current Republican front-runner: Donald Trump. These include religious figures such as Russell Moore, politicians such as Congressman Ben Sasse, and pundits such as Erick Erickson.”
BACK TO THE CV AND MORE WITTGENSTEIN
“The Hands of Wittgenstein: George Lindbeck’s Appropriation of Ludwig
Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy”
ASHFORD IS PART OF SEBTS “FAITH AND WORK ” INITIATIVE AND THE KERN FAMILY FOUNDATIONS FUNDING DRIVING SOCIAL JUSTICE ON TGC AFFILIATED CAMPUSES
Awards & Grants
Co-recipient of a creative teaching grant from Yale Divinity School’s Center for
Faith and Culture (2004).
Author of two grant requests approved by the Kern Family Foundation for
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (2014, 2015).
Click to access Ashford%20CV.pdf
WITTGENSTEIN AND POSTMODERNISM IN THE COMPANY OF -Kierkegaard, Marx and Nietzsche.
“All propositions of logic say the same thing. That is, nothing” Ludwig Wittgenstein
WITTGENSTEIN MENTOR BERTRAND RUSSELL OF CAMBRIDGE
“He was queer, and his notions seemed to me odd,” Russell says, surely using queerin its archaic sense. (Though others do apply; in 1993, Derek Jarman made a gay-themed biographical film about the philosopher.) “For a whole term, I could not make up my mind whether he was a man of genius or merely an eccentric.” Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell on His Student Ludwig Wittgenstein: Man of Genius or Merely an Eccentric?
Ashford celebrates the influence of Wittgenstein’s later writings while clearly admitting to his lack of any clear theory being put forth .
” Philosophy. Wittgenstein is notorious for his unorthodox style of
writing, and for purposefully arranging his work in such a way that one
cannot discern any type of structured theory. One struggles to find any conclusions within his writings. Rather than drawing conclusions, he insinuates.
Why does he not employ clear premises and conclusions? The primary answer
is that his method of writing unlocks the purpose of his philosophy. He is rebelling against the traditional conception of “philosophy as the setting forth
of grand theories,” and throughout his later writings one can discern his
relentless attack on this type of philosophy. Wittgenstein writes: “We must
do away with all explanation, and description alone must take its place.”7
And again, “Philosophy simply puts everything before us, and neither explains
nor deduces anything.”8 Rather than viewing philosophy as metaphysical
explanation, or theory-building, Wittgenstein views it as description, and as
therapy for philosophical confusion”
ASHFORD ON WITTGENSTEIN ON KNOWLEDGE
“4. Knowledge. For Wittgenstein, knowledge does not begin with consciousness—for that matter, it does not begin with anything. Rather, knowledge is rooted in a person’s form of life. A shared form of life is the context within which he knows what he knows. The subject, therefore, should not view himself as a Cartesian “ego” separated from the world. Only a god could view the world from above:”
Counter Wittgenstein/ Ashford’s view on Knowledge with that of the scripture
Proverbs 2 : “My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;”
Click to access JETS_50-2_357-375_Ashford.pdf
Researchers site Wittgenstein as a precursor to Postmodernism -example
For more on the implications of Wittgenstein’s claim, see p. 83 of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism from Rousseau to Foucault.
WITTGENSTEIN AND OTHER PHILOSOPHERS USE IN DECONSTRUCTING CHRISTIANITY
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/
“THE POSTMODERN CONDITION “
“The term “postmodern” came into the philosophical lexicon with the publication of Jean-François Lyotard’s La Condition Postmoderne in 1979 (in English: The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 1984), where he employs Wittgenstein’s model of language games (see Wittgenstein 1953) and concepts taken from speech act theory to account for what he calls a transformation of the game rules for science, art, and literature since the end of the nineteenth century. He describes his text as a combination of two very different language games, that of the philosopher and that of the expert. Where the expert knows what he knows and what he doesn’t know, the philosopher knows neither, but poses questions.”
“Foucault deploys genealogy to create what he calls a “counter-memory” or “a transformation of history into a totally different form of time” (Foucault 1977, 160). This entails dissolving identity for the subject in history by using the materials and techniques of modern historical research. Just as Nietzsche postulates that the religious will to truth in Christianity results in the destruction of Christianity by science (see Nietzsche 1974 [1882], 280–83), Foucault postulates that genealogical research will result in the disintegration of the epistemic subject, as the continuity of the subject is broken up by the gaps and accidents that historical research uncovers.”
“One such effect, visible in art and in the relation between art and society, is the collapse of the past and future into the present, which he characterizes as “Egyptian” or “baroque” in nature. This temporal effect is accomplished through the collapse of the difference between humans and things, where “humans are becoming more similar to things, and equally, the inorganic world, thanks to electronic technology, seems to be taking over the human role in the perception of events” (Perniola 1995, viii). This amounts to a kind of “Egyptianism,” as described by Hegel in his Aesthetics (see Hegel 1823–9, 347-361), where the spiritual and the natural are mixed to such a degree that they cannot be separated, as, for example, in the figure of the Sphinx. However, in the postmodern world the inorganic is not natural, but already artificial, insofar as our perceptions are mediated by technological operations.”
WITTGENSTEIN AND CRITICAL THEORY
https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Wittgenstein+and+Critical+Theory
“Such an emphasis on the philosophical method of Ludwig Wittgenstein reorients literary criticism to involve a conjoint responsibility to both reader and text as the literary critic assumes the humbler role of a guide who assists a reader in/to diverse literary texts. Wittgenstein’s philosophical approach provides us with a strong means of developing such a method for literary criticism—a method that points the way forward beyond postmodern criticisms and to a categorically new approach to literary texts.”
Wittgenstein and Critical Theory
Beyond Postmodern Criticism and Toward Descriptive Investigations
By Susan B. Brill
“The crucial point of Brill’s study is that of fit: which critical methods prove most useful towards opening up which texts? Close investigations into the parameters of the language games of texts, critics, and methods enable us to determine which paths to take towards more complete descriptive analyses and critique.”
ASHFORD ON WITTGENSTEIN’S APPROACH TO THEOLOGY
“Thus in knowledge, just as in language, psychology, and philosophical method, as
described above, Wittgenstein is affirming the embodied nature of human
thought and action. One commentator remarked in 1988 that “it is unclear what might happen to a theology given the full Wittgenstein treatment.”17 Less than two decades
later, however, it has become increasingly clear that numerous theologians
have found Wittgenstein’s insights to be so deeply resonant with Christian
belief and practice that they appropriate him in a formative manner”
BRILL AGAIN
” Such an emphasis on the philosophical method of Ludwig Wittgenstein reorients literary criticism to involve a conjoint responsibility to both reader and text as the literary critic assumes the humbler role of a guide who assists a reader in/to diverse literary texts. Wittgenstein’s philosophical approach provides us with a strong means of developing such a method for literary criticism—a method that points the way forward beyond postmodern criticisms and to a categorically new approach to literary texts. ”
“Brill’s work discusses at length the implications of Wittgenstein for literary criticism and theory. The volume specifically investigates the implications of Wittgenstein’s work for a number of contemporary critical orientations (notably poststructualism, feminism, and psychology). In addition, the research includes actual applications of Wittgenstein for literary criticism: diverse literary texts (including a number of poems and stories by Native American authors) are approached via a Wittgensteinian method as a means of discerning which critical approaches might be more or less efficacious. Not only does the book provide a solid introduction to Wittgensteinian philosophy for the critical scholars, but it also provides a clear methodology useful to critics seeking a means to navigate through the entanglement of contemporary criticism and theory.”
ASHFORD
“Probably the most oft-quoted and well-known concept in Wittgenstein’s
later writings is “language game,” which he used for the purpose of showing
the complexity of language and its closely-knit relationship with people and
their lives.13 He employs the notion of language games to refer to the way
children learn their native language,14 as well as to describe particular linguistic activities such as cursing, greeting, praying, giving orders, or telling
jokes.15 These language games are guided by the grammar of that particular
language, and are in no need of epistemic justification. Wittgenstein is trying
to teach the reader that words are always used in contexts: social, behavioral,
and linguistic contexts. In paying attention to such contexts, one can begin
to understand one’s language and life.”
BRILL
“Brill argues that a reliance upon the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein can enable literary critics to escape the seemingly endless dialectic between modern and postmodern theory. Instead of debating which theory is theoretically best, we need to describe when theories work—and when they do not.”
Susan B. Brill is an assistant professor of English at Bradley University, where she teaches critical theory and Native American Indian literatures.
https://philosophynow.org/issues/107/Ludwig_Wittgenstein_and_Postmodern_Biblical_Scholarship
Ludwig Wittgenstein & Postmodern Biblical Scholarship
“Christian intellectuals have responded in diverse ways to what some secularists believe to be the Achilles heel of the Christian faith; namely, that Biblical scholarship has revealed how untrustworthy the New Testament narratives could be about Jesus, and how little is known for certain about his life and his message. The secularist asks, ‘How can one be asked to be a Christian on such historically uncertain grounds?’ Orthodox Christian apologists have tended to dismiss this skeptical scholarship as the product of non-believing positivistic historians, who simply reject the supernaturalistic elements of the Gospels out of hand. But secularists found this response less and less compelling as it became increasingly evident that many of the scholars in the forefront of the thinking that has come to these skeptical conclusions are Christian. Consequently another, more sophisticated, Christian apologetic has emerged, which has attempted to save the New Testament picture of Jesus without embracing the supernaturalistic elements in it. The sophistication of this apologetic lies in turning the argument about the negative results of Biblical scholarship into a debate about hermeneutics. Their argument is that the skeptical views of the historical reliability of the Gospel narratives result from a positivist model of historiography.”
Wittgenstein, Truth, and Interpretation
“This apologetic approach raises many complicated philosophical issues, but I would like to concentrate on only one of them; namely, the claim that the rejection of the correspondence theory of truth implies rejection of the distinction between facts and interpretations. I would like to show that it is especially wrong to invoke Ludwig Wittgenstein in this regard. Indeed, for those of us who philosophize in a Wittgensteinian mode, it was just his method of analysis that enables us to understand precisely how the fact-interpretation distinction is ‘at home’ in certain contexts.”
“The first mistake of the new Christian apologists, I would point out, is to assume that core concepts used in scientific discourse such as ‘fact’, ‘theory-laden’, and ‘observation’ mean the same – have the same use – as the same words do in historical inquiry. Perhaps there are affinities of use, but the differences are significant; and is it the business of philosophy to explore these differences of use rather than to simply assume the similarity. It is just this assumption of similarity of use across different spheres of discourse that is the source of intellectual confusion.”
WITTGENSTEIN AND “LONDON SCHOOL ” THINKING -London School of Economics
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/languages/tag/wittgenstein/
“To coincide with the Wittgenstein exhibition at the London School of Economics, Dr Michael Nedo (Wittgenstein Archive Cambridge) will give a presentation on Wittgenstein’s philosophy in the context of science.
An argument based on quotes by Lessing, Brecht and Wittgenstein, followed by a discussion exploring the importance of Wittgenstein’s philosophy for today’s sciences and mathematics, supplementing the Wittgenstein exhibition currently shown at the LSE Atrium Gallery.”
Wittgenstein-Philosophy-Postmodernism-James-Marshal
“Peters and Marshall examine the parallels between the later Wittgenstein and French poststructuralism and investigate the direct appropriation of Wittgenstein’s work by poststructuralists. They discuss the most pressing problems facing philosophy and education in the postmodern condition: ethico-political lines of inquiry after the collapse of the grand narrative, other cultures in the curriculum, and the notion of postmodern science.”
“Wittgenstein is a central figure in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. His writings serve as a fulcrum in both modern philosophy and philosophy of education, charting the shift away from the formalist approach of logical atomism to the more anthropological emphasis on language games in the analysis of ordinary language. Wittgenstein’s work served as a springboard for a range of today’s leading intellectuals: Peter Winch, Thomas Kuhn, Richard Rorty, Stephen Toulmin, and Stanley Cavell.”
“Wittgenstein is the source and authority for legitimating analytic philosophy of education―the so-called London school―as a distinctive field of intellectual endeavor based on the method of conceptual analysis and the search for necessary and sufficient conditions.”
WITTGENSTEIN AND LANGUAGE AS A GAME
the-postmodern-everyday-emerson-and-wittgenstein
“Ludwig Wittgenstein was a writer from Austria. He came from a wealthy, talented, and very troubled family, 3 of his brothers committed suicide and he was a very troubled man. He was also a man of genius and commitment who came upon Philosophy as possibly a rigorous science which he thought would lead through logic to understand the Foundations of language and mathematics.”
“Wittgenstein left Vienna which at that time was the capital of culture and headed to England to work with Bertrand Russell. Russell was investigating the systematic foundations for language and mathematics and for philosophy. Hesaw in Wittgenstein an extraordinarily powerful mind, someone who he admired greatly and who scared him as well with his intensity and commitment, and possibilities for intellectual domination as he said.”
“He was queer, and his notions seemed to be odd. So that for a whole term, I could not make up my mind whether he was a man of genius or merely an eccentric. At the end of his first term at Cambridge, he came to me and said Will you please tell me whether I am a complete idiot or not? If I am a complete idiot I shall become an aeronaut but if not, I shall become a philosopher. I told him to write something during the vacation on some philosophical subject. And I would then tell him, whether he was a complete idiot, or not. At the beginning of the following term, he brought me the fulfilment of this suggestion. After reading only one sentence, I said to him, no, you must not become an aeronaut, and he didn’t.”
“Quite early in his life Wittgenstein produced “The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus ” (a 75 page paper) trying to show in detail what we can say sensibly using language.”
“Words don’t get us closer to or further from reality. Words get meaning through use. There’s no transcendent, no framework for understanding if it’s the right perfect foundational word. It just doesn’t work in the game you’re playing or the task you have. The game you’re playing is particularly relevant because the concept that Wittgenstein uses in this regard is the concept of a language game in which all the meanings of utterances are created by the moves people make in a language game.”
https://www.academia.edu/36520884/WITTGENSTEINS_LANGUAGE_GAMES_AS_A_POSTMODERN_ARGUMENT
Wittgenstein’s Philosophy and Austrian Economics-
HAYEK IS WITTGENSTEIN’S COUSIN
THE ERLC FELLOW /SEBTS PROVOST OBSESSION WITH GAY PHILOSOPHER
Promoting Revoice founder Nate Collins book in 2017 as Revoice LGBT+ Flourishing movement was being founded at SBTS was just part of Ashford’s work on this issue.
Ashford’s repeated work on GAY ATHEIST PHILOSOPHER Wittgenstein is ongoing .
http://gayinfluence.blogspot.com/2012/04/ludwig-wittgenstein.html
“Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, born on April 26th 1889 in Vienna, Austria, was a charismatic enigma. He has been something of a cult figure but shunned publicity and even built an isolated hut in Norway to live in complete seclusion. His sexuality was ambiguous but he was probably gay; ( BY FAR -MOST OTHER SOURCES CONFIRM HE WAS GAY/BISEXUAL ) how actively so is still a matter of controversy. His life seems to have been dominated by an obsession with moral and philosophical perfection, summed up in the subtitle of Ray Monk’s excellent biography Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius.”
“His concern with moral perfection led Wittgenstein at one point to insist on confessing to several people various sins, including that of allowing others to underestimate the extent of his ‘Jewishness’. His father Karl Wittgenstein’s parents were born Jewish but converted to Protestantism and his mother Leopoldine (nee Kalmus) was Catholic, but her father was of Jewish descent. Wittgenstein himself was baptized in a Catholic church and was given a Catholic burial, although between baptism and burial he was neither a practicing nor a believing Catholic.”( Wittgenstein is said to have died as Atheist.)
BRUCE ASHFORD’S SEBTS DISSERTATION SUBJECT IS POPULAR WITH LGBT BLOGS
WE WERE THERE
THE QUEER-A-DAY PROJECT
CELEBRATES THE GAY ATHEIST PHILOSOPHER OF ASHFORD’S SEBTS DISSERTATION
“The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein lead a tumultuous life of both creative and temperamental outbursts. He was a student of some of the most famous names in his field, Bertrand Russell included, but always left their company feeling disillusioned. His own linguistic take on philosophical questions was groundbreaking and earned him recognition as one of the 20th century’s most important philosophers.”
“Despite being described as a gay philosopher, Wittgenstein had several female lovers interspersed with his male ones, including one he proposed to, indicating that he may be more accurately described as bisexual.”
http://lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein
“Sexuality and relationships”
“Wittgenstein never married; he is thought to have had romantic relations with both men and women. He is generally believed to have fallen in love with at least three men: David Pinsent in 1912, Francis Skinner in 1930, and Ben Richards in the late 1940s.[1] He later revealed that, as a teenager in Vienna, he had had an affair with a woman.[2] Additionally, in the 1920s Wittgenstein became infatuated with a young Swiss woman, Marguerite Respinger, modelling a sculpture of her and proposing marriage, albeit on condition that they did not have children.”
https://www.laweekly.com/queer-town-icon-philosopher-ludwig-wittgenstein/
Ludwig WittgensteinFamous LGBTQ Jews
Harvey Milk / Politician
Barney Frank / Politician
Dana Goldberg / Comedian
Allan Bloom / Philosopher
Ludwig Wittgenstein / Philosopher
In a 2014 SEBTS Q and A Ashford revealed he was co-authoring a book on the gay philosopher Wittgenstein
“Q: On what are you currently working?
A: A book with Heath Thomas tentatively entitled “Gospel and Mission.” Also a volume on the doctrine of creation, co-authored with Craig Bartholomew, and a book on the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, also co-authored with Craig Bartholomew.”
https://www.sebts.edu/news-and-events/headlines/2014/03/Spring2014QandAwithBruceAshford.aspx
ASHFORD’S 2007 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PAPER ON WITTGENSTEIN
Click to access JETS_50-2_357-375_Ashford.pdf
“The Wittgensteinians”
“One commentator remarked in 1988 that “it is unclear what might happen
to a theology given the full Wittgenstein treatment.”17 Less than two decades
later, however, it has become increasingly clear that numerous theologians
have found Wittgenstein’s insights to be so deeply resonant with Christian
belief and practice that they appropriate him in a formative manner. These
theologians come from a variety of denominational affiliations and “schools”
of theology.”
“Wittgenstein in apologetics. Kerr points out that Wittgenstein had a great interest in theological questions, probably more so than any philosopher since Nietzsche.33 What revolted Wittgenstein about some Christian theologians, however, was their attempt to make Christianity into a rationalist philosophical system. Wittgenstein writes, “The symbolism of Christianity is wonderful beyond words, but when people try to make a
philosophical system out of it I find it disgusting.”
“Wittgenstein’s influence”
“This paper has argued that Wittgenstein’s impact on theologians is pervasive, and the primary evidence for this thesis has been shown through a
threefold typology. The Wittgensteinians are those theologians who consider
Wittgenstein to be the constructive way forward in theology. Although they
have in common that their appropriation of him is deep and extensive, the
final product of their appropriation is colorful and diverse.”
“Another measure of Wittgenstein’s impact is through an assessment of
“schools” of theology. Probably the most obvious place to start is postliberal
theology, where Wittgenstein’s influence is seen on all the major figures—
Paul Holmer, Hans Frei, George Lindbeck, Stanley Hauerwas, and others.
Another major grouping is those who call themselves evangelicals—Kevin
Vanhoozer, David Clark, John Frame, Brad Kallenberg, James McClendon,
Anthony Thiselton, and N. T. Wright. Probably the deepest and most
resonant example, however, is contemporary Thomism, where theologians
such as David Burrell, Fergus Kerr, Victor Preller, Cornelius Ernst, and
Herbert McCabe appropriate Wittgenstein in a formative manner for their
respective programs. Finally, even liberal-revisionist theologians such as
Gordon Kaufman and David Tracy have been affected.”
“It can be shown that commentators are trying to reconcile Wittgenstein’s insights with major figures of the past, such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Newman, and Barth. In short, Wittgenstein’s later writings have made a significant impact
on the field of theology. It seems safe to say that his present influence on
Anglo-American theology is pervasive. This observation may strike some
readers as bizarre because of Wittgenstein’s early reputation as an atheist
or agnostic relativist. But Wittgenstein has been given a second hearing, and
many theologians now consider his insights relevant for the task of theology”
” It is hard to think of a great philosopher, at least since Nietzsche, whose work is equally pervaded by theological considerations,” and with Feinberg that “[Wittgenstein’s]
views are enormously important for theological issues in view of their profound influence in shaping the philosophical milieu of our times and in view
of his ideas on religious issues.” Theologians are now compelled to give
careful attention to Wittgenstein’s work, in light of his influence on the field
of theology, and with an eye toward either appropriating his insights (either
fully or partially) for their own constructive work, or being prepared to give
a carefully considered rejection of those insights”
BRUCE ASHFORD IS PART OF THE CONVERSATION WITH “LIFEWAY VOICES”
7 FACTS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY AND THE TRANSGENDER DEBATE
WITTGENSTEIN AND THE VIENNA CIRCLE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein
The Vienna Circle
The Tractatus was now the subject of much debate amongst philosophers, and Wittgenstein was a figure of increasing international fame. In particular, a discussion group of philosophers, scientists and mathematicians, known as the Vienna Circle, had built up largely as a result of the inspiration they had been given by reading the Tractatus.[176] While it is commonly assumed that Wittgenstein was a part of the Vienna Circle, in reality, this was not actually the case. German philosopher Oswald Hanfling writes bluntly: “Wittgenstein was never a member of the Circle, though he was in Vienna during much of the time. Yet his influence on the Circle’s thought was at least as important as that of any of its members.”[182] From 1926, with the members of the Vienna Circle, Wittgenstein would take part in many discussions. However, during these discussions, it soon became evident that Wittgenstein held a different attitude towards philosophy than the members of the Circle whom his work had inspired.
ASHFORDS’S BLOG” AND CHRISTIANITY FOR THE COMMON GOOD
“I am Provost and Professor of Theology & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am the author or co-author of six books, including Letters to an American Christian, Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians and One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics.”
“I am also a Fellow in Public Theology at the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics (Cambridge, UK), a Research Fellow at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and a participant in the Dulles Colloquium of the Institute on Religion & Public Life.”
” I enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Theological Studies. In 2003, I completed the Ph.D., defending my dissertation on a philosopher named Ludwig Wittgenstein. I was hired to teach philosophy and History of Ideas for the undergraduate program at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS). Today, I remain at SEBTS as Provost and Professor of Theology & Culture.”
Photo and biography from Bruce Ashford’s blog
ASHFORD AND THE SEBTS INTERSECT PROJECT/KERN /OIKONOMIA JUSTICE HUB
http://intersectproject.org/about/
Who Is Intersect?
“Intersect is a project and resource hub of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary‘s Center for Faith and Culture. They have assembled a team dedicated to helping you connect faith with the rest of your life.”
“You get insights from Southeastern’s faculty, alumni, students and other leading Christian thinkers, including Bruce Ashford, Ken Keathley, Walter Strickland, Benjamin Quinn, David W. Jones and more.”
“How can you make faith impact the rest of your life? Practically speaking, what does it look like for faith to intersect with culture, work and economics? ”
“The Kern Family Foundation & Southeastern Seminary’s Center for Faith and Culture have partnered together to answer these very questions. The result?”
Intersect: Where Faith Meets Culture
Ashfords articles at Intersect
http://intersectproject.org/author/bruce-ashford/
INTERSECT PROJECT EXPRESSES HOPE FOR REVOICE MOVEMENT
http://intersectproject.org/faith-and-culture/hope-spiritual-friendship-revoice/
“This summer, a conference for same-sex attracted (SSA) and gender dysphoric Christians stirred quite a bit of controversy in the evangelical world. The goals of this conference, named Revoice, included “supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.” In this article, I offer six points to guide our discussions about Revoice and its precursor blog, Spiritual Friendship.”
“Revoice was a shift toward a conservative sexual ethic. Any new movement has weaknesses, some of them glaring and possibly hazardous. But, we should be encouraged when participants like Kyle Keating welcome feedback on their weaknesses saying, “the conference desperately needs good-faith critics who can offer valuable pushback in places where it has gone too far affirming either the spirit of the age or a spirit of self-righteousness.”
“I agree with Matthew Lee Anderson and Kyle Keating that a biblical sexual ethic has more cost for the same-sex attracted than most people realize. Among other discussions, the participants of Revoice are discussing how to thrive and flourish with this core value. They and many single, SSA folks are plagued with loneliness in a married-person’s culture.”
“I agree with Denny Burk that terms used in our discussions of sexuality mean very different things to different people. My continuing concern with the term “LGBT Christian” is the ease in associating it with Q Christian Fellowship (the successor of GCN) and the difficulty of associating it with a conservative sexual ethic. I should note too that when the folks at the Revoice conference use “LGB” terminology, they see it as interchangeable with “same-sex attracted.” However, I do think it’s important that both Revoice and Spiritual Friendship teach their communities more critical engagement with the concepts and language of secular LGBT culture.”
“Wherever this discussion lands, our ideas and language should facilitate our union with Christ and incorporation with His church, not hinder it. My hope for Revoice and Spiritual Friendship (and the larger community of SSA Christians) is to give us new language for communication among Christians that avoids the problems of the current terminology.”
“Overall, I hope Revoice will help the same-sex attracted flourish in their churches, not just in a sexual ethic.”
“5. Conservative evangelicals need to acknowledge that experiences behind LGB language are real.”
“My hope for conservative evangelicals is that we will learn to acknowledge the concerns of Revoice’s participants (and all SSA folks) in our challenges to them. The marginalization these Christians feel and experience should cause us all to think about how we can make our churches safer for confessions of sin and weakness.”
“6. It’s important conservative evangelicals support, encourage and empower the same-sex attracted to follow Christ.”
“I hope Christians will learn to disciple and care for their own with greater sensitivity. I hope churches will have thriving evangelistic ministries to secular LGBT communities. I hope Spiritual Friendship and Revoice will take good-faith criticism seriously. Lastly, I hope the stakeholders in Revoice will one day find churches so full of love and truth that they see no compelling reason to keep offering this conference. Until then, denominations, churches and para-church ministries have a significant and rewarding work ahead of them.”
SEBTS PROVOST ALSO WORKS WITH THE KERN SOCIAL JUSTICE FUNDED COMMONWEAL PROJECT AT SBTS WHERE REVOICE NATE COLLINS STUDIED AND TAUGHT NEW TESTAMENT
https://thecommonwealproject.org/2019/02/18/christian-politics-in-a-secular-age/
Christian Politics in a Secular Age
“Bruce Ashford discusses the intersection of Christian politics in a secular age from his recent book, Letters to an American Christian.”
Both SEBTS ans SBTS have been working since (SEBTS since May 2019) to scrub their websites of Kern Family Foundation and it’s Oikonomia Network ties .
HIDING AT SEBTS
WHY IS KERN, THE LEAD EVANGELICAL VOCATION /SOCIAL JUSTICE FUNDER, GOING INTO HIDING AT SEBTS?
HIDING AT SBTS
AL MOHLER -YOU MISSED A SPOT :SOCIAL JUSTICE FUNDING GOES INTO HIDING AT SBTS
ASHFORDS SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO TGC
AND ONGOING WORK WITH RUSSELL MOORE’S ELRC
EVERY SQUARE INCH IS ALSO THE KUYPER INSPIRED “FAITH AND WORK” FOCUS OF TGC
http://www.ethicsandculture.com/blog/2015/every-square-inch-belongs-to-god
ERLC’s Newbell writes:
“Earlier this fall The Gospel Coalition launched a new faith and work initiative, Every Square Inch, directed by entrepreneur and writer Bethany Jenkins. Every Square Inch aims to help local churches leaders and ordinary Christians alike to see every aspect of their lives, especially their work, under the lordship of Christ. Jenkins received her JD from Columbia Law School and founded The Park Forum, a nonprofit that seeks to plant urban professional Christians in the Bible daily. Originally from Florida, Jenkins has spent the past ten years in New York City, where she attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church. I corresponded with Jenkins about her new role at TGC, what inspired it, and what she and other TGC staff hope to accomplish with this new initiative.”
“I’m thankful for Ben Peays and Collin Hansen, who lead TGC and its editorial team with an entrepreneurial spirit that enables all of us to have broad parameters within which to fulfill our roles. In directing Every Square Inch, I hope to feature practitioner stories (like illustrator Amanda Geisinger), to focus on faith and work at industry levels, and to publish thoughtful writers under our new Crossway imprint.”
WHY IS SEBTS PROVOST ENDORSING NATE COLLINS REVOICE NARRATIVE?
WHY IS SEBTS PROVOST PROMOTING ATHEIST -BISEXUAL PHILOSOPHER LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN WHO IS WIDLLY CELEBRATED BY LGBTQ ADVOCATES YET ASHFORD NEVER MENTIONS HIS HOMOSEXUALITY OF CURRENT USE IN THE LGBT WORLDVIEW NARRATIVE?
WHY ARE SEBTS AND SBTS HIDING THEIR PARTNERSHIPS /SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES / FUNDING /PRO- GAY CATHOLIC INFLUENCES?
JOHN 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
thirtypiecesofsilverdotorg 