President John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

That being the case, we can begin to understand why things are so upside down in our country, and even in our own dear town.

Denis P. Edeline describes Ferndale’s 1892 reaction to local sexual immorality, saying “A moral cyclone struck Ferndale.” The Enterprise preserved the spirit of Ferndale in that day: “And be it understood that the Enterprise or the element of Ferndale’s population for which it claims to speak, is not in favor of prostitution or intemperance, but on the contrary believes in upholding the high moral standing of our town…”

Today, the local advocacy of sexual immorality and intemperance is not met with a cyclone of morality but is itself a twisting tornado promoted by a few influential citizens and, to our great shame, even some of our elected lawmakers.

Extra marital sex is immoral (1 Cor. 6:12-7:2), yet in 2022 one is hard-pressed to spot a reactionary dust devil in the 95536 let alone a cyclone. Likewise, homosexuality is immoral (1 Cor. 6:9) but in June of 2021, when an LGBTQ twister touched down in front of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Councilman Stephen Avis took the opportunity to greet the angry, immorality-advocating crowd who moments before were shouting to drown out the truthful words of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

“I’m glad there is such interest in making this happen,” Councilman Avis said. “And I want to thank you all for being here.” Avis concluded his remarks by further encouraging the proponents of immorality. “I’m so glad this community is here. I just wanted to give my support. So thank you for being here.”

It was suspected prostitution that prompted what Edeline calls a moralcyclone. “The cyclone—actually the fury of a dozen Ferndale ladies, with the help of a good stout horse—struck only one building, that of Edna Gardner and Minnie A. French.” How regrettable is it that in our day it’s not a house of sexual immorality but morality—a church—that has been struck by the fury of a few Ferndalers? And while they don’t have the help of a stout horse, they’ve learned how to use their social media presence to leverage support from those of a like mind across the county.

In 1892, when Ferndale’s high moral standing was unjustly assaulted, our predecessors met the accusations with a swift and public defense of “the good morals of the people of Ferndale and… the honor and integrity of” our residents. We should want to be able to do the same today. But can we? Honestly? Objectively? Are our morals still of high standing? Where is the moral compass our forefathers possessed, which guided their path? Do we still have the moral fortitude of our ancestors, which they needed to settle the Eel River Valley and stand up to immorality when it tried to do the same?

On June 26, 2022, another rainbow-striped cyclone of immorality is scheduled to touch down in town. What will be Ferndale’s response? How will the Edeline’s of the future record the events of our lives? Will there be any moral standing about which to write? Sexual immorality was once struck by a cyclone in Cream City. Is there enough morality left among us for those winds to swirl yet again?

We shall see what the weather will bring.

I, for one, believe we will see the gale-force winds of a moral people once again. I know too many moral men and women in and around our town who cherish our history, grieve over our present, and are praying for a healthy future for our posterity.

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Tyrel Bramwell

2 Corinthians 12:10

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This sin shield lets us continue in our error and, if used well enough, not only will it silence the Christian, but it might get him to join us in our heart-hardening happiness, at least that’s the subconscious hope, isn’t it? (1 Peter 4:40).

Jesus’ words shut down the conversation simply because He says them, and even in our godless age we still recognize that it’s always good to listen to what Jesus says.

But we must actually listen to what He says—all of what He says.

Matthew 7:1 isn’t a stand-alone statement. Jesus didn’t dish out disjointed truths on individual pieces of paper stuffed into cookies to delight His disciples when they had finished their Kung Pao Chicken. No, Matthew 7:1 is followed by four more verses about judgment as well as a conclusion statement, not to mention that its part of God’s 66-book library (the Bible) that clearly, repeatedly, and emphatically instructs God’s people to use His Word to judge their neighbor’s behavior for their neighbor’s wellbeing. Christ’s opening line catches our attention and then He explains:

“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:2-5 (emphasis mine).

Jesus is teaching us not to judge our neighbor from a place of hypocritical self-righteousness, but in humility, as a fellow sinner, seeing our own sins as far worse than someone else’s. In other words, we’re to be like St. Paul who said, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost,” (1 Timothy 1:15). St. Paul acknowledged the log he needed to take out of his own eye, and he did. The act is called repentance. And because he was repentant, he was able to judge the sins of others. The New Testament is full of examples of the repentant apostle removing specks from the eyes of his neighbors!

Jesus didn’t tell us not to judge our neighbors’ sins, but to judge them according to the same objective Word of God by which we judge ourselves. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (Mark 12:31). We’re all in need of Christ’s crucifixion for the forgiveness of our sins.

Christians don’t cherry-pick Jesus’ words but listen to all of His teachings. This is how the apostles were able to tell us that, “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work,” (2 Tim. 3:16). These things involve the act of exercising judgment.

Christ said to His disciples, “Pay attention to yourselves!”—the Church. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,” (Luke 17:3). Contrary to the popular misuse of Matthew 7:1, Jesus literally instructs repentant Christians to judge one another. It’s a loving thing to do. Christians, if they are truly Christians, receive correction from Scripture with thanksgiving to God. Do you?

If you would like to find out more about judgment, repentance, and the orthodox understanding of Scriptural doctrine, I can be reached via the contact page.

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Tyrel Bramwell

2 Corinthians 12:10

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The accusation is false. It does, however, reveal that the accuser believes Ferndale is racist or, as I suspect is more likely, that the accuser knows that “racist” is an ugly word that causes people to recoil in disgust. Such ugly words terminate dialogue and discernment before they have a chance to develop.

If you’ve lived in Ferndale for any length of time, you’ve more than likely heard this racist accusation, too. Don’t let such an ugly word shape your view of our neighbors and our amazing community. People who resort to ugly words tend to suffer from a lack of communicative skills and prefer group-think over personal inquiry anchored in the rational and honest exploration of the realities of nature, objective truth, and the personal reflections of such things.

I have been called a racist more than a few times since June 2021. I have also been called a bigot, hater, murderer, rapist, colonizer, fag, unloving, a closet homosexual, gay-hater, Nazi, and all kinds of other derogatory terms that need not be repeated (Eph. 4:29). Just because people call me these things doesn’t make them true. Not at all, and I don’t hesitate to dismiss the allegations. I know what I am and what I am not just as you know what you are and what you’re not.  

As a Christian I engage in the routine practice of self-reflection and repentance, considering my sins before the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God who sees my heart and cannot be mocked or deceived by me (1 Sam. 16:7; Job 13:9; Gal. 6:7). This, coupled with the daily study of God’s Word and regular church attendance where I hear God’s Word spoken to me, reveals how I sin and how Christ has dealt with those sins so that they are not what define me. God’s use of words reveals the truth about Him, too. He is forgiving and formative. His Word about us is what defines us. He uproots the evil within us. Ugly words spewed by fellow men are of little importance when compared to God’s good Word (Gal. 1:10; Prov. 29:25).

Besides this, we can look at our words and actions that have resulted in someone using ugly words against us, and, if honesty is our aim, we can easily determine if an accusation has any merit. For instance, recently, I publicly criticized Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. I spoke to their anti-biblical positions, specifically regarding trans, queer, gender, and abortion issues, as well as an audacious claim that all black women speak for the Creator. On this last issue, I addressed the claim of speaking for God, not the color of the speaker’s skin. And even though I clearly articulated that God shows no partiality between races (Acts 10:34-35), I received numerous hate messages calling me a racist.

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Furthermore, I received the following from Sin@hotmail.com (caution advised):

“may you and you whore wife [name], your bastard of a son [name] and your for sure slutty daughter [name] all burn in hell you piece of shit, but not before a big black man rapes said whore wife and slut daughter in front of you, and the[n] makes you dig their graves.” (Names of each family member were included in the original message.)

The names of each family member were included in the original message.

Nevertheless, an honest review of my statement (and all of my words, many of which are archived publicly online) reveals that the ugly words lobbed at me, and my family, are not rooted in truth. And since that is the case, they have no impact on reality.

Similarly, an honest review of our great community reveals that racist is nothing more than an ugly word used without provocation by people who don’t know Ferndale’s heart. And since that is the case, they need not have an impact on the residents of Ferndale, given that we live in reality.

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Tyrel Bramwell