Reisinger's compromise with Pedos

REISINGER'S COMPROMISE PASSED
ALONG TO THE FLOUNDERS' SECT

The evident infatuation which the Flounders (aka "Founders Ministries") have for the Pedobaptists (baby baptizers) is perhaps primarily due to the early compromise of Flounders' Founder Ernest Reisinger with the Pedobaptists who own and operate the Banner of Truth Trust in Great Britain (See Ermest C. Reisinger, A Biography, page 106).

Iain Murray, head of the BTT and virtual "godfather" of the Flounders, saw in Reisinger a great asset in promoting sales of Banner of Truth books in the United States. Reisinger had earlier formed "Puritan Publications" in Carlisle, Pennsylvania to promote sales of BTT publications, and Puritan Publications eventually became the Banner of Truth USA branch for BTT publications.

Murray evidently wanted to make that association with Reisinger secure by having Ernest to serve as a "trustee" of the BTT. This was enacted in 1968, and the British company has subsequently made a small fortune from USA sales, thanks primarily to the promotional efforts of trustee Ernest Reisinger and his associates at Carlisle, Pennsylvania and later with the Flounders.

When being considered for installation as a trustee of the BTT, Reisinger was informed by Iain Murray that Pedobaptist dogma would be the final authority, and any dispute would be "governed by the Westminster Confession and John Calvin's Institutes . . . the [Banner of Truth] Trust deed is not strictly neutral on the point of baptism" (ibid, page 106).

This doubtlessly demonstrates why at least the Flounders' leadership has always maintained a rather cozy attitude and relationship with the Pedobaptists; the Flounders were originally rooted in Reisinger's compromise with the Banner of Truth Trust Pedobaptists and have remained sensitive about maintaining the status quo ever since.

Thus, Reisinger-related endeavors in the USA have been perhaps the most active literary disseminators of Pedobaptist dogma on this continent. While maintaining his Southern Baptist affiliation, Reisinger and the Flounders have "straddled the fence" on doctrinal differences, soft-peddling with the Pedos and never making baptismal issues to be major "tests" of ecclesiastical relations. "Unionism" with the Pedobaptists has been the "rule" rather than the "exception." The Flounders have a record of reaching-out to the Pedos, tolerating any differences for their greater cause -- the promotion of Pedobaptist Reformed Hybrid Calvinism.

The current discussion on some of the Southern Baptist blogs pertaining to "Baptist Identity" and "Great Commission Resurgence" is rooted in the Reisinger compromise, as it is perpetuated by the current Flounders led by Tom Ascol. This compromise is now apparently infecting some Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary leaders as they contemplate a compromising "consensus on Calvinism" which would be palatable to both Pedobaptists and the Flounders' types.