The Popinjay

[William]

popinjay (POP-in-jay), noun : a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; a coxcomb.

coxcomb (COCKS-comb), noun : a vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fool.

Now that we've defined our terms....

Steven L. Anderson, 30, is the pastor of the so-called Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. The church itself, which was started on December 25, 2005, is a leased classroom-sized storefront property in a strip mall. Although the Lord Jesus Christ did not begin His public ministry until He was 30 years old, Anderson has been preaching since he was eighteen, according to his church website. The website does not specify the date or details of his conversion to Christ. He has been married ten years and has five children.

Anderson calls himself a King James Only Baptist, and, at times, seems to indicate that he and his little flock are the only Christians who deserve that definition. He has publicly and loudly condemned Peter S. Ruckman, Jack Hyles, Charles Spurgeon, Jack Chick, Gail Riplinger, and dozens of others as "false prophets" or "heretics," and specifically says that they are going to Hell. I am making none of this up; all of these things can be found on his church website, and in sermons on his own YouTube channel. He has not hidden his wretched little light under a bushel.

Anderson is known for a number of things, but primarily these two: repeated, well-publicized incidents of conflict with law enforcement officials, and teaching doctrines so strange that they make Ruckman look like a liberal.

It would appear, from looking at YouTube, that Anderson goes nowhere, and does nothing, without his videocamera. Videos abound of him being pulled over for routine traffic stops, and hurling defiance and abuse at the police and other officials. I need not describe these confrontations; they can be seen online at any time. Anderson claims that, in his defiant and impudent attitude toward law enforcement officials, he is merely "asserting his rights" and "refusing to cooperate with the police state." Every time he has one of these confrontations, he has it posted on YouTube within 24 hours, as proof of his "persecution for the truth."

(Alas, he is no legal scholar. He frequently sneers at police that "I don't have to answer your questions! I have the right to remain silent! Haven't you read the Constitution?" [That is an exact quote, which he repeats whenever a camera is rolling, which is all the time.] Sometimes, a patient officer will attempt to tell him that the 5th Amendment only comes into play when one is taken into custody: until then, police can expect answers to reasonable questions.)

The most famous incident came in April 2009, when Anderson was driving on Interstate 8, about 70 miles east of Yuma, Arizona. At a checkpoint operated by the Border Patrol, a K-9 officer smelled something (drugs or illegal immigrants; the dog didn't say), and Border Patrol agents asked to search Anderson's car. Anderson, to put it very mildly, declined. By the end of the conversation, he had been removed from his car, Tasered, and (this is unclear) maybe thumped a few times. The video of this incident went viral on the Internet. Not since the Maid of Orleans was put to the flames has any Christian gotten so much publicity for "persecution." Anderson sued the Feds, the Feds sued Anderson, and nothing really happened: nobody lost their jobs, and Anderson didn't go to jail.

Thus far in his young life, this was Anderson's Finest Hour: he even made CNN, Fox, and was interviewed by Alan Colmes on the radio, just as Colmes has often interviewed Fred Phelps. Anderson's "bold stand" wasn't quite on a par with Paul's sermon on Mars Hill, or Luther posting the 95 Theses, but it got publicity, and that seems to be the name of the game in Anderson's mind.

His odd interpretations of the Bible are, well, odd. In written and filmed sermons, he teaches the following:

1. Jesus wore pants, not a robe or flowing garment of any kind.

2. It is a sin for any woman to utilize the services of a male gynecologist or obstetrician, and any man who specializes in either field is a sexual pervert. This can be terribly inconvenient, because he also preaches that

3. Any form of birth control is a sin.

4. It is not only unnecessary, but actually sinful, to attend a Christian college or Bible institute. Anderson attended neither.

5. His remarks often hint at anti-Semitism, but in this one area, he has not spoken out boldly. He is certainly not zealous for the Jews, unless it is to see them damned.

6. He is - - - - I cannot avoid using the word; it's the only word that applies - - - obsessed with women's clothing, which is only proper if it meets his own standards of modesty. He is worse than any IFB preacher in this regard.

7. He believes that it is a sin for a married woman (with or without children) to work outside the home. Not just a mistake or a bad choice: a sin.

8. I apologize for this part, but it's all over YouTube. On the basis of 1 Samuel 25, he teaches, as Biblical doctrine, that it is sinful for a man to urinate in a sitting position, and that it probably indicates homosexuality. He goes into great length on this subject.

Enough of the craziness; although there's plenty more. Earlier this year, perhaps feeling that he wasn't getting enough attention, he preached a sermon entitled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," and said that he was praying for Obama to die, preferably of AIDS, and praying for him to go to Hell. This also made CNN and Fox. Apart from Fred Phelps, Jim Bakker, and Jimmy Swaggart, I know of no preacher who has brought more reproach to the Name of Christ, or given the enemies of the Lord more reason to blaspheme.

All in all, Steven Anderson is not a man whose "ministry" I would recommend. I consider him a novice, a stripling, a liar, and very possibly a paranoid egomaniac. As one who has a mental disorder myself, I do not throw these words around carelessly. In many of his sermons, he can be heard saying, "If you don't like my preaching, then get the Hell out of my church!" The last "pastor" who talked that way in public was Jim Jones of the People's Temple.

I am not linking to his church site or the various videos. They're easy to find; indeed, they're hard to avoid. But Anderson's name came up in another thread, and this is just a glimpse of the man.

[chriskjv]

I listened to his sermon about Obama melting like a snail.. Might be the same one you mentioned..

I have also heard him say he against Sunday School. He doesn't think the church should break up into separate groups to be taught. And he said there are no doors to shut going into other rooms of his church (storefront). He said everything should be open. He doesn't like Sunday School cause he doesn't want someone teaching something he might not believe.

Some of his stuff sounds good but other parts are way out there. Thats what cults do.. Teach a little truth to bring you in then whne they get you they give you their bad stuff..

The Ruckman sermon was preached by a guy named Matt Stucky or something like that. it was on Ruckmans view of abortion.

[William]

Yes, he promotes Stuckey's vid on abortion, although there are several such vids on YouTube. These people make me sick, to be blunt about it.

[chriskjv]

Indeed. He has done more to hurt the cause of Christ than he has to further the kingdom.

[InnSpectre]

(07-31-2010 02:32 AM)chriskjv Wrote:  Indeed.. He has done more to hurt the cause of Christ than he has to further the kingdom.

He is just using sensationalism and conflict to showboat a twisted mind and perverted mindset..he probably has a publicist and agent directing his P.R. and recommending confrontations.
He is about as much a true Christian as Albert Einstein, obviously, and is for money and notoriety.
The Bible is just a means of commerce for him, whose prospects would otherwise be limited due to the economy and his lack of training and academics.
What a schmuck !

[William]

(07-31-2010 09:12 AM)InnSpectre Wrote:  He is just using sensationalism and conflict to showboat a twisted mind and perverted mindset..he probably has a publicist and agent directing his P.R. and recommending confrontations.
He is about as much a true Christian as Albert Einstein, obviously, and is for money and notoriety.
The Bible is just a means of commerce for him, whose prospects would otherwise be limited due to the economy and his lack of training and academics.
What a schmuck !

Are you saying that you don't approve of him, either?

[Rick Schworer]

(07-30-2010 11:32 PM)William Wrote:  All in all, Steven Anderson is not a man whose "ministry" I would recommend.

You meant "would not", right? You might want to fix that.

Thanks for the article, I found it very enlightning. I really appreciate you taking the time to write it.

[William]

(08-02-2010 12:38 PM)Rick Schworer Wrote:  

(07-30-2010 11:32 PM)William Wrote:  All in all, Steven Anderson is not a man whose "ministry" I would recommend.

You meant "would not", right? You might want to fix that.

Thanks for the article, I found it very enlightning. I really appreciate you taking the time to write it.

It was my, um, pleasure, brother. But I think I constructed the sentence properly: "(he) is not a man whose ministry I would recommend."

I could have said, "He's a man whose ministry I would not recommend," but I chose the simpler structure.

On the other hand, Peter S. Ruckman is not a man whose ministry I would not recommend. I'd recommend it highly. See what I'm saying?

[Daniel]

Hey! watch the double negatives ;-)

[Rick Schworer]

(08-02-2010 01:02 PM)William Wrote:  

(08-02-2010 12:38 PM)Rick Schworer Wrote:  

(07-30-2010 11:32 PM)William Wrote:  All in all, Steven Anderson is not a man whose "ministry" I would recommend.

You meant "would not", right? You might want to fix that.

Thanks for the article, I found it very enlightning. I really appreciate you taking the time to write it.

It was my, um, pleasure, brother. But I think I constructed the sentence properly: "(he) is not a man whose ministry I would recommend."

I could have said, "He's a man whose ministry I would not recommend," but I chose the simpler structure.

On the other hand, Peter S. Ruckman is not a man whose ministry I would not recommend. I'd recommend it highly. See what I'm saying?

Ah, I get it. Thanks.

I wasn't trying to be nit-picky, just a help. Looks like you helped me!

Like I said, I really do appreciate you writing this, I have some friends who love Stephen Anderson.