If Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler can apologize openly, honestly, and definitively for his past support of C.J. Mahaney, why can the trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary — either jointly or separately as men and women of honor — not apologize for their misguided support of Paige Patterson?

Sweeping the past fifteen years under the rug will only exacerbate the problem. Come clean. Admit errors. Seek forgiveness.

“For to him who knows what to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

“He who covers his sin will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes his sin will find mercy.”

We are surprised that righteous vandals have not already begun throwing projectiles through the stained glass windows at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. If ever a bonfire of vanities were called for, now is the time. The windows are at the same time garish, tacky, and idolatrous. They should have been removed by now. Period.

In the coming days as Southwestern Seminary prepares to elect a new president, The Baptist Blogger is going to write a profile on every living person depicted in the windows. That the call to remove them has not been public, unified, loud, and unqualified by the men and women who are portrayed in them is an indictment on everyone.

So if we cannot shame the trustees into removing them — and they do not see the wisdom of making a clear statement about their future removal before shouldering their new president with the burden — then our only recourse is to bring greater exposure to the continued embarrassment and disgrace their enduring display is to the school.

Seriously, it’s time to smash them into oblivion, and if necessary, grind them into dust and make the whole board of trustees drink down the damning dregs as an act of penance for their unwillingness to stop the Mad Hatter from memorializing such vanity and fiscal irresponsibility.

As long as they remain in place, the chapel of Southwestern Seminary is a temple to men. Seminary students should rather worship in a Fort Worth mosque. At least there they wouldn’t find the kind of pagan self-worship that forces you to honor the creature rather than the Creator.

So stay tuned . . . Operation Ernest T. Bass is about to commence.