As we reported earlier, RC Sproul Jr resigned (was fired) from Ligonier Ministries. Now we know the reason why.
State of Indiana v. Robert C Sproul
On November 29, 2016, RC Sproul Jr was arrested in Indiana for drunk driving with one of his minor children in the car. His blood-alcohol level was .15, nearly twice the legal limit.
Here's how the University of Oklahoma describes a person impaired by .15 blood-alcohol level:
0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.In The Know Zone describes it this way:
( * —Dysphoria: An emotional state of anxiety, depression, or unease.)
6. BAC = .12-.15 = Vomiting usually occurs, unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance to alcohol. Drinkers are drowsy. Drinkers display emotional instability, loss of critical judgment, impairment of perception, memory, and comprehension. Lack of sensor-motor coordination and impaired balance are typical. Decreased sensory responses and increased reaction times develop. The vision is significantly impaired, including limited ability to see detail, peripheral vision, and slower glare recovery.Those who have personally witnessed RC Sproul Jr consuming prodigious quantities of alcohol know that tossing back a 1/2 pint or more of whiskey, on an empty stomach, in less than an hour, isn't unusual for him.
7. BAC = .15 = This blood-alcohol level means the equivalent of 1/2 pint of whiskey is circulating in the blood stream.
This blog has been sounding the alarm for over ten years that RC Sproul Jr has a serious drinking problem. For the most part those warnings have gone ignored. RC Jr has outright mocked those concerns, including those raised by visitors who voiced objections to RC Jr's controversial approach to Pastor Appreciation Sunday. RC Sproul Jr has literally destroyed the lives of several people that we're aware of (and no doubt more we're not aware of) by his deplorable example in abusing alcohol and encouraging others to abuse it too. He either refuses to see it or is incapable of seeing it. As far as he's concerned he always "drinks in moderation." But given that he has often rendered an opinion on "moderation" while he's drunk he hardly qualifies as an expert on that subject. Some have voiced concern that RC Sproul Jr is likely an alcoholic in desperate need of rehab.
We've long been aware that RC Sproul Jr routinely gets behind the wheel inebriated, endangering himself and the lives of others, including his own family members. It's remarkable he hasn't long ago killed himself and perhaps a few others.
Many members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church, the church that he started in Virginia, and then subsequently resigned from after his defrocking in 2006, often witnessed RC Sproul Jr inebriated, including at various church celebrations (i.e. keggers). It was commonplace at those church parties that minor children were served alcoholic beverages, including drinks spiked with Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol). RC Sproul Jr fostered a culture of heavy drinking at St. Peter Presbyterian Church, not just with church members but also with the pastors he invited to his "Pastor Camps" (open bars were the norm). He was also known to turn a blind eye to drunk driving. For example a young man who was one of RC Jr's personal assistants had lost his driver's license because of multiple DUIs. RC Sproul Jr was well aware of it but raised no objections to his continued driving. After all the assistant still needed to run numerous errands for RC, and a little thing like a suspended driver's license wasn't going to get in the way of that.
Drunkenness was one of a number of formal charges that were brought against RC Sproul Jr in late 2005 to his denomination, the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly. As word of these charges spread a number of other former members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church also stepped forward and corroborated the allegations, including the fact that some of their own children had been plied with alcohol without their consent. These and many other charges were to have been adjudicated by the presbytery in a formal trial. RC Sproul Jr formally confessed in writing of "abusing his authority in an inexcusable manner" (i.e. spiritual abuse), thereby effectively pleading guilty to at least some of the charges.
"Coming as his own accuser and confessor" the presbytery voted unanimously to depose him from the ministry. Having already made plans with Doug Wilson to make his exit strategy to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, RC Sproul Jr pleaded to be released from the jurisdiction of the RPCGA and transferred to the CREC, which they granted. Having no further jurisdiction of him the RPCGA cancelled the trial and permitted RC Jr to transfer membership to the CREC. The CREC allegedly reviewed the charges and held an investigation (an "investigation" in which they didn't interview a single witness who had submitted formal written charges). The CREC ignored the evidence and testimony, including the charges of drinking abuses and drunkenness, and reinstated RC Sproul Jr after issuing a report. Having had his dirty laundry cleaned by the CREC, RC Sproul Jr subsequently departed the CREC to be ordained by the Covenant Presbyterian Church Presbytery. Then he later took his place at his father's ministry, Ligonier Ministries, where his annual compensation quickly rose by 2014 to $279,702, all at the expense of Ligonier Ministry donors. It seemed his troubles were behind him. But it didn't last.
On August 31, 2015 RC Sproul Jr outed himself for having "visited" Ashley Madison. In reality his "brief visit" involved him setting up an Ashley Madison account, including registering his "Affair Limits." All but his most adoring fans (of which he seems to have had many) saw through his "confession" and "repentance" and recognized it for the sham it was. His suspension from Ligonier Ministries was also a sham -- a six-figure ten-month paid vacation -- a golden parachute suspension.
Even so RC Sproul Jr still retained many adoring fans who were eager to "forgive" and ignore the overwhelming evidence that he was unfit to function as a minister of gospel of Jesus Christ. But then many of them were the same ones who ignored the overwhelming evidence that he was in no way fit as a minister when he was defrocked by his presbytery in 2006. Just how bad does the evidence have to get for some people before they cease their hero worship? Perhaps RC Sproul Jr's arrest for drunk driving and endangering the life of a minor child will finally be the end of it?
The State of Indiana has charged RC Sproul Jr with four criminal counts:
Count 1:
35-46-1-4(a)(1)/F6: Neglect of a Dependent def. places dependent in situation that endangers the dep
Count 2:
9-30-5-3(a)(2)/F6: Operating Veh. While Intox or Controlled Substance: Passenger Under 18
Count 3:
9-30-5-2(b)/MA: Operating A Vehicle While Intoxicated; Endangering A Person
Count 4:
9-30-5-1(b)/MA: Oper Veh w/ Alcohol Concentration Equivalent to .15 or More
From the records it appears that RC Sproul Jr may have remained in jail for up to a week after his arrest awaiting a bail hearing (although this isn't entirely clear from the court record). On December 7 RC Sproul Jr posted a $5,000 bond. His next court hearing is February 2, 2017.
We can only hope that he loses his driver's license and is required by the court to enter rehab. Anything less continues to put the public in jeopardy.
It was obvious to us that the RPCGA had it right when they said in the their Declaratory Judgment of RC Sproul Jr and his cohorts in ecclesiastical tyranny in 2006:
"Most importantly, their actions manifest that they lack the qualification for the ministry (1Timothy 3:1-7). It would be unwise to allow these men to continue to hold an office for which they are not qualified."Doug Wilson and the CREC ignored that very wise determination, as did the CPC, as did Ligonier Ministries, as did many other ministry leaders who paid RC Sproul Jr to speak at their events. Their collective whitewashing of the scandal-ridden career of RC Sproul Jr served as an example to the church at large. As a direct result too many gullible Christians have been willing to "give him the benefit of the doubt," as though there were some credible basis for doubt.
There are important lessons to be learned here, not the least of which is this: the church of Jesus Christ needs to repent of its idolatrous practice of placing mortal men on pedestals. There is only One who is worthy of our adoration.
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This post first appeared on Spinderella Sproul: Lessons In Spin With Spinmeist, please read the originial post: here
