Your Cast of Characters OK, for the newbies to the blog, here is a short list of the cast of characters from the Fighting Fundamentalist Forums. First off, the narrator and author of this blog (which has been called BASS's Wicked Blog by my detractors, much to my delight)--me! In other frames of reference I go by jeriwho, but on the Fighting Fundamentalist Forum, I am known as BASSENCO Here are two terms you should know:

IFB-KJVO: This stands for Independent Fundamental Baptist - King James Version Only. These guys believe that the King James Version of the Bible has equal or greater authority than the original manuscripts. It's an insult to stupid people to call them stupid. The IFB-KJVO sect of Fundamentalism tends to be the ultra-rule set: no slacks on women, no movies, no modern music, short hair on men, and soul winning as a means of "staying right with God". This Fundamentalist sub-culture has also produced the grossest sins in self-proclaimed Christianity I have ever seen: allegations of male bus workers sodomizing bus children, pastors molesting little girls, pastors commiting incest with their daughters, statutory rape, pornography, and---of course---rampant adultery, domestic abuse, and numerous allegations of fraud and hucksterism. Many of these perpetrators are supported and sheltered by the "100 percenters," who view investigation into wrongdoing and testimony against church workers as gossip.

Hundred percenters: When Jack Hyles was alive, he demanded 100 percent loyalty, and people in his church actually wore buttons proclaiming that they were hundred percenters. There are still preachers today who, for the sake of being a hundred percenter for Jack, refuse to consider the mountain of evidence about the scandal, corruption, and heartbreak that can be traced back to Jack's ministry.

Browsing Next, that hero who has too often been called a villain, browsing. While taking a break from chasing ambulances (hee hee), browsing has spent his spare time taking up the cause of those who have been trampled under the heels of the IFB movement. And he has suffered for it. Yet he remains a good natured, eloquent, and gracious man who tries to reason with his opponents---for the most part. Every now and then he encourages me by slapping a deliberately obtuse hundred percenter upside the head with the facts. he is the author of the impressive and conclusive Fundamental Seduction.

"Stephan Peters" A man who would far rather make friends and work on building lives and relationships, this man has probably suffered more from Jack Hyles than any other man. Having written the explosive Wizard of God that was the first book to really rive open the dark inner sanctum of deceit, corruption, and sexual sin at First Baptist Church of Hammond, he spent years without being heard by most of the IFB community. After losing his wife to Hyles and charging him before the Christian church with alienating her affections towards her husband, he stubbornly refused to give ground before the FBCH machine. Usually very gentle and kind, "Stephan Peters" also refuses to accept the usual crap and drivel that gets spouted by those who want corruption covered or who try to make it go away. He's a balance of extreme gentleness and extreme toughness.

Green Beret Focused more on the deeds of the Douglass family, Green Beret is a relatively recent comer to the Fighting Fundamentalist Forums. Jack Hyles and Dave Hyles are viewed by most of us as the prime culprits in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement (the KJV-only part of the group). However, Green Beret is focused on the Douglass family (a father and his sons), and GB has pulled out some strong allegations and challenges to them online regarding sexual sin and financial deception, which overall they refuse to answer clearly. They certainly don't produce the proof they claim will vindicate them, and they often resort to truly abominable poetry as a form of defense.

Speed Racer Less prolific than some of us, Speed Racer is one of the kings of the Socratic questioning method. When one of the hundred percenters posts something that is doctrinally horrendous (usually some brainchild idea of the late Jack Hyles), Speedy goes into questioning mode. He will occasionally give an assessment or conclusion, but he seems to find it more credible to have the dunce who declared the impossible to recognize the error and make necessary corrections. Of course, they seldom do this. I consider Speed Racer far more patient and subtle than I am, but browsing calls us a couple of book ends.

Average Joe Average Joe doesn't post a lot, and his posts tend to be short, abbreviated questions in the method used by Speed Racer or else direct questions to see what a person has to say over the current gross corruption in IFB-KJVO circles. If he has something to say, he will say it, but overall he posts fewer comments and keeps them pretty brief. However, he accomplishes a lot with a few words. I'm always glad to see him post.

Coyote Coyote spends at least 90% of his time on the Texas Baptist College Forum in the Fundamentalist Forums. He went to school there and has penned a hilarious 30-episode memoir of his experiences. Coyote doesn't venture often into the debates about Jack Hyles and Dave Hyles, but his memoirs are a compelling (and extremely entertaining) indictment of the IFB-KJVO mindset. Starting in November, I will be linking to each of his Tales from the Temple, so stay tuned to this blog for updates.

Now from the other side of the trenches: The Douglass Family According to Green Beret, the Douglass family is guilty of sexual sin and financial impropriety. He's posted a pretty articulate list of grievances under a screen name of "Summerfield Shuffle" in the Berean Baptist forum of the Fighting Fundamentalist Forums. The Douglasses have been online under a variety of screen names, mostly disputing and mocking or else excusing gross sin. Their screen names include WOW, SPORT, Rick Philips, Xman, Jeremy Peterson, Jeremiah. But in spite of saying they have evidence to disprove Green Beret's allegations, all they do is deny them, counter-accuse, and write really horrible, incredibly egocentric poetry that is so narcissistic that they lend Green Beret a lot of credibility. Go read their posts, especially the narcissistic poems.

WOW I used to be afraid of WOW, back before he posted much. Now I am amazed at his incredible ability to make himself look guilty even when nobody is talking to him. WOW is one of the Douglass clan, though I forget which one--not the father. His posts alternate between mocking people and freaking out. When I say freaking out, I mean freaking out from some type of fear, as far as I can determine. He has often come across to me as nervous and guilty, even when we are talking about hypothetical situations. Somebody will say something like, "What would you do if your pastor committed adultery?" and WOW will pipe right up with something like, "You'd better have proof of this!" I find it hard not to think he's guilty of something. Anyway, he seems to think he is.

"Dan Peters" Dan Peters came on several months ago to defend Dave Hyles and make fun of people who oppose Hyles. Now that madisonmadness has surfaced with a handful of knowledge about Dave; and now that Green Beret has also appeared to declare that Dave is ready to be caught, Dan Peters has cooked up a huge story about having to break ties with Dave and move away in order to hide. He has been quite elaborate in telling the forum in miniscule detail how carefully he is hiding from Dave. Some people think he is Dave, and they could be right. Frankly, I don't care any more. I created an award called "the FFF Net Award for Cluelessness" and nominated Dan to receive the award. The vote is not yet in, but at last count he seemed likely to get it. The prize is a small trophy with "DAN, NOBODY CARES" engraved across the bottom.

BAPTIST BAPTIST doesn't really deserve a slot here because he's really a teenage boy posing as an IFB-KJVO preacher. However, he has been able to fool the other IFB-KJVO preachers into thinking they are dealing with a peer, so perhaps he does get credit after all. He knows even less about doctrine than the real IFB-KJVO preachers but attacks arguments with gusto and unfailingly loses every time because he is so ignorant. BAPTIST's main claim to fame is that when he gets pinned to the wall he starts inventing new screen names to come in and join the fight. Of course, he gives himself away by having all of them claim to be impartial observers, and then they spout off about how great, wise, witty, and insightful BAPTIST is. He's sort of an IFB-KJVO only preacher in training, and he is learning the ropes of the trade: lie, flatter, excuse, masquerade, and quote Hyles.

Pastor Marty Braemer Marty, like so many of the IFB-KJVO guys, likes his titles, so he'll tell you right up front that he's Pastor Marty Braemer. He holds the record for inspecting the most evidence against Jack Hyles and consistently declaring he has not yet seen anything conclusive. Most of the other IFB-KJVO preachers won't check the huge pile of documentation against Jack. Marty has (or anyway, he claims that he has, and I do believe him) and still refuses to admit the grossness of the corruption. I asked him once if his eyes don't get itchy from all that wool pulled over them. Marty knows that I drink beer and wear jeans, so he has christened me "Trailer Lot Barbie". When I asked him, since he believes God keeps track of trifles like jeans and beer, what God would do to him for following a man who covered the gross corruption of a son who engaged in porn and adultery in the ministry, Marty fell silent.

Dr Frank DoD Frank also likes to get that "Dr." right out there. He'll tell you in no uncertain terms that he is NOT a hundred percenter. And it's a good thing he'll tell you, because otherwise you'd probably never figure it out. He has been accused of being an alternate screen name for Pastor Marty Braemer, but browsing tells me that no, they are two distinct people. Frank's claim to fame in my book is that he called this blog BASS's Wicked Blog, a title I like more and more. He also has the habit of asking me what he seems to think are tough questions, and then when I answer them, he has nothing more to say.

Baldpate This guy is Christian Farris, son of Everrett Farris, the pastor who took Dave Hyles on church staff after Dave's sordid history at Miller Road Baptist Church and after Dave was identified as the prime suspect in the death of Brent Stevens. Baldpate appeared when the fire hit the fan concerning Pinellas Park Baptist Temple. He relies on energy, complete loyalty to his pastor, and a thorough lack of knowledge of the Scripture. His major complaint against me appears to be that I did not take my concern to Farris before I went to the police. I have explained to him that (1) I was relying on the exact same witnesses Farris had already repeatedly rejected, so I had nothing new to say to Farris; and (2) Christians are not to seek pastoral approval to report suspected criminal activity to the police. I went to the police because I suspected a crime(s) was/were being committed. Of course, he doesn't accept this, but then, these unbiblical clowns tend to be hooked on the supremacy of pastoral authority. Eventually Baldpate disappeared and "Pate Bald" appeared. This happened after Baldpate posted a quite vicious verbal attack against me and signed his full name and church office, and I documented it. Don't know if the two events are related or not, but these Farris guys do like to change names to cover their history. It's a handy alternative to facing up to responsibility.

Crossing sides: madisonmadness madisonmadness (or MM for short) initially came on strong as an advocate of reform. But after a couple months of promises that were never fully realized, MM posted information designed to mislead about Green Beret and do him irreparable damage, and then MM sanctimoniously urged us to love one another more (I assume the rest of that would be, "lest you suffer this fate"). After browsing vouched for Green Beret, and Speed Racer and a regular named Bharris pointed out the inadequacies of MM's post, I voiced the opinion of many that MM has failed to deliver on previous promises to bring proof against Dave Hyles and has only tried to damage an innocent man who disagrees with MM's leniency with disobedient churches who refuse to examine the lives of new applicants to verify their professions of faith. MM pulled the offending post and came on soon after to announce another empty promise about future charges. I replied by calling him a huckster, and nobody else bothered. MM has lost all credibility but probably won't give up posting entirely. There were samurai like this: wild, full of hot air, and dangerous with a sword. You didn't especially want to face them as enemies, but you really didn't want them on your side, either.

The Good Doctor The Good Doctor is the son of the man who accepted Dave Hyles into fellowship at Pinellas Park Baptist Temple and brought him onto church staff, thus giving Dave a paid hiding place to continue to do damage. Others, including both Green Beret and Average Joe tried to warn the father and were dismissed as "disloyal". Now that everything has busted loose about Dave Hyles, I tried to keep quiet about the gross errors committed by this church. But when Jonathan glibly asserted that such an error would never happen again, I let him know in no uncertain terms that such error was entirely likely to come from that church. This launched a war of words in which I asserted that the leadership of PPBT needs to repent of their culpable negligence.