On November 20, the vice-president of the Christian organization, Chalcedon Foundation, Martin Selbrede, responded online to an open letter alleging that Chalcedon defended Doug Phillips in spite of known past concerns. Mr. Phillips recently stepped down from the ultra-conservative Vision Forum because of an extra-marital affair. Mr. Selbrede offered evidence against the allegation and concluded:
“Let it no longer be said that Chalcedon sat idly by and squandered its integrity by simply giving Doug Phillips a pass, or looking the other way.”
The evidence included two articles that critiqued various strands of “biblical patriarchy.” Also included was a revelation of a ten-year old secret: Chalcedon gave $5,000 to help defend “against the legal assault Doug Phillips had initiated” against Joe Taylor, of the Mt. Blanco creation museum.
The old legal debate (from 2001-2004) was reported in several local news sources. Lubbcokonline.com reported that the disagreement was over who deserved credit for finding an Allosaurus in Colorado.
The response by Chalcedon was quickly followed by Joe Taylor’s concurrence of the event in a separate comment. Mr. Taylor continued to explain that he tried repeatedly to “to warn not only Chalcedon, but ICR, AiG, and others in the home school, Creation, and American Heritage movements about Doug and his partners.”
Mr. Selbrede was eager to defend his organization’s reputation:
“Now, I was invited to post here because Chalcedon’s integrity has been challenged: why didn’t Chalcedon ever oppose Doug Phillips? Why didn’t Chalcedon lift a finger against him, or deal with patriarchy or abuse, or stand in the gap…? The truth is found in the article links I provided above. The truth can also be seen in Chalcedon’s checkbook register.”
The vice-president of Chalcedon also referenced a new article, “Liberty From Abuse,” on how to discipline leaders who abuse their power, which they believe the Vision Forum board should follow (refer to Chalcedon’s comments on another spiritual-abuse website).
This is the only reported organization that has explicitly explained itself in relation to various teachings of the defunct Vision Forum. Chalcedon Foundation was founded by the father of Christian Reconstructionism, Rousas Rushdoony.
