Dear Mark and Jennifer Epstein:

Your work first caught our attention during last year’s blogsplosions. Before then, no one from WATCHMEN ever heard of you. Mark, we did not examine your archives but rather scanned them and noticed what appeared to be a levelheaded approach to current events, etc. You struck us as a sharp thinker who could clearly articulate his thoughts in writing. We spent even less time reading your wife’s blog but what little we read indicated she is an equally competent thinker and a fine helpmeet to you.

These observations are just another way of saying that you two piled up a lot of capital in WATCHMEN’s bank of credibility. We had no idea that Boerne Christian Assembly excommunicated you; we never even heard of Boerne Christian Assembly. Sure, we heard of Doug Phillips and Vision Forum. Every homeschooler in America has seen their polished catalogues selling everything from Puritan reprints to Daniel Boone coontail caps. But we would guess that most people were like us, not connecting VF with the leadership of a Christian church let alone your excommunication.

So while we heard of you during last year’s blogsplosions, your approach to blogging appeared much more responsible than the fool masquerading as “Frank ‘your name will be mud’ Vance.” Your posts addressing the Sproul suit seemed reasonable, though we don’t agree with your interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6 and we wondered why you didn’t question Frankie’s blatant contempt for biblical process. Nevertheless, you didn’t resort to name-calling and you actually used your real names, unlike the coward who fabricated the original defamatory story in the first place. You were above the fray.

All of this changed, however, when you retained Ministry Watchman, aka “Frank Vance,” to tell the story of your alleged unbiblical excommunication. We would have listened to Mark and Jennifer Epstein if you told us your story, because we already did listen to you on other matters. This is what makes your case so incredible. If you really got jacked by BCA, then you should have disclosed the facts on your blogs with the same dispassionate analysis that gave your archives such credibility.

But you didn’t do that. You publicly aligned yourself with a malicious ghost — “Frank Vance” — who stood against every biblical virtue that you espoused. And now, the only two real people with real names and real faces that anyone can identify with the embarrassingly unbiblical Ministry Watchman are Mark and Jennifer Epstein — the husband and wife who at one time strenuously advocated biblical procedure.

Worse yet, we learned details about your marriage from a coward hiding behind a pseudonym who made his bad reputation by libeling a well-known Christian ministry on the worldwide web. Unfortunately, this same craven fraud also informed us of your excommunication, apparently intending to scandalize BCA as he scandalized Ligonier — sans Bible — and you inexplicably endorse this cad’s method.

Then there’s the big mess spawned by Mrs. Binoculars and Danny Boy. You have to admit that Mrs. B’s hairdo, nose, and cheeks look remarkably similar to Mrs. Jennifer Epstein’s hairdo, nose, and cheeks. It makes us say, “Hmmmm.” And what about the brilliant discoveries documented by mrsbinoculars.com after WATCHMAN went into cover-up mode, lying every step of the way? You have to admit that WATCHMAN didn’t watch himself. If WATCHMAN really wants to hold Christian ministries accountable, then why has he not accounted for Mrs. B’s findings?

Oh, then there’s the racism thing. In a previous post, we linked to a blog entry at Little Geneva that chastised WATCHMAN for working with two Jews. That’s you two. You see, Little Geneva doesn’t like Jews. They don’t like blacks either. And they don’t like Mexicans. In fact, they don’t like anyone whose skin isn’t bright white and who doesn’t agree with their backwoods, inbred kinism. So when they see the postfix “stein” on a name, they think “Jew,” which is just another category like “nigger” to them. In short, the Little Geneva folk are bad folk who say and do bad things; and they’re in tight with WATCHMAN, an avowed kinist.

Finally, we have to note Jennifer’s argument about WATCHMAN’s anonymity:

Although I don’t know if the authors at Ministry Watchman write under their own names or under pseudonyms as alleged in this statement, I do know that RC Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries filed a lawsuit against Christian blogger (and Ministry Watchman writer) Frank Vance. I also know that Doug Phillips has threatened to sue us and others. Under the circumstances — Christian public figures who refuse to obey the command in I Corinthians 6 to refrain from suing fellow Christians — it could be very prudent for Ministry Watchman contributors to write under pseudonyms. I certainly don’t fault them if they have chosen to do so.

Mark, your wife needs instruction. If she really doesn’t know that “WATCHMAN” is a pseudonym, then there is much more wrong here than we have already documented. And if she believes that WATCHMAN uses phony names to protect himself from lawsuits, then it’s even worse.

It goes like this. Our founding fathers adopted the First Amendment, which people commonly refer to as “freedom of speech” or “freedom of the press.” The First Amendment grants freedom of speech to everyone and it protects everyone from sinful people who abuse their freedom to deliberately malign others with defamatory falsehoods. But the threshold for proving defamation in a court of law is exceedingly high. First, the plaintiff must establish actual defamation. Second, he must prove that the respondent acted with malice. Third, the plaintiff must demonstrate actual damage that resulted directly from the defamation, and most juries pay no attention to hurt feelings. All of this is to say that if someone speaks the truth, then no one can prevail against them in a suit.

So if WATCHMAN’s stories were true and someone sued him, the plaintiff could not satisfy the burden of proof. Furthermore, WATCHMAN could recover his attorney’s fees. And all of this would be front-page news, the kind of news a real journalist with a legitimate story would love. In this case, WATCHMAN’s hits would soar and his victory in court would finish the plaintiff, ministry et al. That is the goal, isn’t it? — to kill Ligonier Ministries and Vision Forum for their alleged corruptions?

But WATCHMAN hides his identity precisely because he knows the falsehoods in his stories expose him to huge liability in a libel suit. He essentially admits this every time he documents his fear of getting sued; his background as a “paralegal” will inform the jury against him that he uses a pseudonym because he understands the legal consequences of his behavior. In legalese, WATCHMAN has acted with reckless disregard for the truth; in plain English he’s in a buttload of trouble.

The issue is not whether Christians should sue professing Christians; the issue is whether professing Christians should hide behind anonymity to defame the brethren on the worldwide web. The issue is WATCHMAN’s persistent libel. None of these blogsplosions would have happened if “Frank Vance” didn’t launch Scuds at Ligonier last year. Don’t forget, WATCHMAN still has not proved one allegation against Ligonier.

But this open letter is to Mark and Jennifer Epstein. You need to take responsibility. You invited a lying coward to tell your story and this has utterly ruined your credibility and your reputation. It’s sad but true. If a Christian ministry abused you, then you should not have aligned yourselves with a so-called ministry that is no less abusive and unbiblical than the things you decry. You defiled your testimony by placing it alongside all of the fabrications on Ministry Watchman, and all of your cheerleading on the blog sidelines simply adds to the shame.

If your allegations are true, which we sincerely believe is not possible, then you should wait for the judge of all the earth to acquit you rather than the bonehead who won’t even use his real name. Either way, we urge you to close your blogs and learn discretion. You blew your capital in matters of “Ultimate Truth.”

Sincerely,

W A T C H M E N