Letters-0-Rama

What biblical reasoning do we have for self-defense? Why is it justifiable for us to defend ourselves and others? Do you have any resources I can read on this topic?

Eric

Thank you for the Biblical reminders and exhortations in your 10/21/24 post (and for countless others over the past couple decades). One follow-up question on that post: At the end, you quoted William Gurnall—“Sincerity enables the Christian to do two things in affliction which the hypocrite cannot—to speak good of God, and to expect good from God.” How would you encourage a genuine Christian who can indeed speak good of God and does indeed expect good (ultimate, perfect, ever-increasing Psalm 16:11 good) from God in eternity—but who struggles to expect good from God over the remainder of his earthly life?
I’m grateful for your ministry and looking forward to November.

Alec

“A Bit of Help for those Worried about the Election”
I appreciated the confidence in the sovereignty of God, and that he is Lord no matter what the situation. This is why I’m both Calvinist and postmillennial, because it is the only comforting thing in this hurricane of deception and wickedness called American Politics. I have a couple questions for you though.
1: While I agree that anxiety can be a sin, is it always a sin? Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion, which we now know is an actual medical condition induced by extraordinary anxiety. He was on his knees praying to his Father, begging to have the cup taken from him, but he was still anxious nonetheless. There’s also the countless times in the Psalms David voiced extreme emotional distress and anxiety, to the Lord. Is anxiety always a sin?
2: You said that voting for Harris is a sin, because it’s in direct defiance of God’s preceptive will. My question for you is this, is it not also possible that voting for Trump could be a violation of the same will? I know that your argument is that Trump can at least be reasoned with, but he is a man who lives in abject, obvious, debauchery. While I’m not asking for the Archangel Michael to be president, I expect better character out of our presidents. Trump lost a debate to Harris, who as you have said, “Is as coherent in her prime as Biden is in his dotage.” He lost entirely due to the fact that his poor, wittle ego got wounded by the bad lady. He is a man who only seems to fight for the unborn when it suits him (I would call myself a smash mouth incrementalist as you are, for the record), and has bragged about his promiscuity. So when is voting for obvious wickedness not in violation of the preceptive will of God, and when is it?
Those are my only two points of contention with the letter. Thank you for seeking to reassure those of us who can be prone to despair when it comes to catch 22 events like this upcoming election. Thank you for your good work in Moscow, and may the Lord bless you with his righteousness and increased faith.

Kenneth

Do you have any recommended books or other resources for guiding young adults in relationships with the opposite sex during the teenage/young adult years? I’m looking for something with practical takeaways and examples of what it might look like when done right vs just principles. We are Canon+ subscribers so all the better if it’s there. Thank you.

John

I have a buddy going through a breakup, and I want advice on how to minister to him. They fell into the young evangelical quasi-marriage trap (super-affectionate, oversharing, etc), and he’s taking it like a divorce.
He’s currently burying himself in work (lifting, school, work, and the like) and introspecting. How would you counsel him?

Josh

I just wanted to thank you for publishing Ride, Sally, Ride. I had a friend of several years change her colors one night recently and start soliciting me very aggressively. Very disappointingly, her husband was in on it and gave consent for whatever she proposed. I was dumbfounded but one of the coherent thoughts in my head was of Ace telling Jon about the weight of those ten minutes in Steven Sasani’s room. I felt what Ace describes there exactly and so I was able to identify what was happening. I said no. If there was ever a voice in your head saying a book about 1st degree murder of a sex doll was a silly idea, I’m glad you wrote it anyway.
God bless you.
And a merry NQN’s eve.

GM

I am a student at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. I am interested in starting a classical school in rural Illinois . . . I know Logos is a thriving liberal arts school started in a rural area, so I zoned in on you and perhaps your wife as people who could provide beneficial information.
Best regards,

Hannah

How would you go about helping a Christian man married to an abusive non-Christian wife? She won’t let him find work or leave the house. He normally attends church but that is a source of great aggravation to the wife.
Someone somewhere mentioned you had done a podcast on abusive wives. If so, perhaps directing me there would be the best thing.
Thanks for your time and help.

Josh

I want you to know you have been (and continue to be) instrumental in my understanding of Reformed doctrine, as well as my understanding of marriage, family, children, and a whole host of other topics. When I have theological questions, my first impulse is “I wonder if Pastor Doug has talked about this.” Suffice it to say, I admire and respect you and your work. Thank you for your decades of faithful Christian ministry!
With that qualifier, I’d like to know who you’re referring to in this statement from your recent blog post: “We also have some tender-hearted pastors who for some reason are trying to sideline themselves by adopting a Revoice-style strategy for Nazis—you know, for Side B Nazis, not actual Nazis.”
I think it’s important for matters of discernment to know who these men are.

Jacob

This is in reference to a letter under the heading ODDBALL THEOLOGY concerning “Tataria”.
I have been living with my family in Chile for several years. Reformed postmillennial theology has been making strong inroads here in South America and is been posing quite a threat to the socialist thought that is so pervasive here. This Tataria thing is all over Facebook and came on sudden like. I find it to be interesting that the timing is so strategic when so much is under public suspicion. I also find it to be interesting that much that may be true in history that has been “thrown under the rug” (giants, hidden archeological findings, etc.) are being thrown in with fantastical aliens, advanced civilizations and so forth.
This makes me wonder if this might be more of a sinister move to discredit a resurgence of Biblical sanity than just a nutcase fringe group. By the way Antarctica is the focal of this theology point down here.

Wade

You have said somewhere, “Resolve to have no problem passages.” I could use some help please.
I’m stumped on the following verses.
2Sa 24:9 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
1Ch 21:5 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword.
And also…
2 Sam 24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
1Ch 21:24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
1Ch 21:25 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.
How do you account for the discrepancies with the census numbers and the payment of Ornan’s property?

Joshua

Last week a fellow named Josh was asking about the identity of Melchizedek and talking about Shem, that he would’ve been around until just before Abram was born. I offer here, for your and his consideration, a video that certainly appears to make a lot of sense concerning the timeline that we might very well be understanding incorrectly. For what it’s worth, here’s a link. I’d truly appreciate your comments on it, if you take the time to watch it through (about 32 minutes and reasonably entertaining as well).
Thanks for your consideration,

SK

That was a delightful read. Thanks for sharing little glimpses of your childhood. I imagine that you, Evan, and Gordon probably were up to a lot of hijinks as kids, young adults, and maybe even older adults. Your parents were undoubtedly blessed with many occasions to adjust your senses of humor . . .
Perhaps there will be a lengthier read along the lines of “Memoirs of a Wilson” that includes many such anecdotal snippets of life in the Jim Wilson household?

Andy

I am curious about the year(s) you may have been at Pioneer Camps in Ontario. My Australian father served as a camp counselor (his camp name was Aussie) in the summers between 1961 and 1963. He has been with the Lord more than 30 years, and was a very great gift to me, a father, a Bible and Theology teacher, and a pastor in rural Alberta. Graeme Crouch was his name. I just wondered if you might have crossed paths with him. He may well have predated your time at Pioneer Camps, but he always spoke well of Pioneer Camps and I know he pointed people to Jesus there. I enjoyed reading your summer memories, and finding a memory of my dad lurking in the midst of them.

Michelle

What a fun—and funny—trip down memory lane. It made me think of some of my own camping experiences. Thank you for sharing these delights.

Melody

“The Enneascam”
In anticipation of another No-Quarter November and research on a particular topic, I perused one of your old salvos from 2020 to glean some of your insights and considerations on a recent trend in Big Eva.
In light of your rousing exhortation at the end of the piece (namely, to imitate the Ephesians in shedding pagan connections), I was curious whether you regard any value in average pastors (or lay leaders) maintaining any sort of “heresy shelf” for reference on various matters. Any apologist worth his salt will have to engage with original sources like the Koran, the Book of Mormon, or the writings of Richard Rohr to more precisely define and describe the errors and dangers of various cults and false teachers in their departures from orthodoxy.
Presumably, church leaders should not stock Joel Olsteen in the church library for wide circulation. But should they keep handy original sources of any of the perceived threats to give them better understanding and ammunition as they seek to guard the flock?

A Curious Churchman

Before I begin, I want to thank you for all the books you’ve written as well as writing this blog. God is using your work for the good of His Kingdom. I wanted to ask you about your view on Christian Political Involvement. I acknowledge that Christians should participate in political pagan society (an excellent Biblical example would be Esther) and that Christians who say politics don’t shouldn’t expect a righteous ruler to come out of the blue. At the same time, however, I believe we as Christians shouldn’t support a man who supports what God hates: abortion, which is “the lesser evil.” Let me be apparent. I would have voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. It’s not about Trump’s salvation, personality, likability, or motives. It’s about what he does. In your blog post in 2020, (7 Reasons Why Christians can Vote for Trump in 2020 Without Getting a Defiled Conscience and Losing Their Soul), you said this: “So for Christians, voting for Biden is out of the question for a host of reasons, but his abortion stance makes it a settled issue. It is not possible to vote for him without voting for a man who actively supports the continued slaughter of the unborn. It is not possible to support Biden and be right with God.” Spot on. Supporting and voting for a man who supports what God hates is not possible for a Christian. Right? Participating in politics as a Christian does not necessitate voting for such a candidate. So what flipped? Shouldn’t the Evangelical Church stand up as a whole and pledge to withhold support from Trump unless he reverts his position on Abortion? Millions of Christians? If we are talking negotiation and political involvement, that would quickly send Trump the message. God will never bless a nation whose people are godless and whose church refuses to stand for what He loves and stand against what He hates. If we, as Christians, vote Republican every time, no matter what, every election, aren’t we no better than the Christian who never votes? Any political group makes sway by choosing when to vote and choosing when not to vote. Question 1: You said this about Biden in 2020, why does this not apply to Trump. What flipped? Question 2: Do you think the church should have stood up and refused support for Trump for reverting his pro-life stance, standing firm in the Word, and against what God hates?

Jeremiah

I work in a small USA city which is very liberal.
There is one question that I’m thinking about, given particular contexts that I am in. On the one hand, in this small city, I see many Christians whom I consider as aware of the signs of the times and they are actively discipling people scripturally. These believers are both active in church and in their communities and work, strongly plugged in to local community causes. They do this with the active knowledge that godless people need the Word of God and they seek not just the immediate cause but to also do the work of the evangelist.
On the other hand, there would be other Christians who are as fervent, but they would think—the only way to go about things is to withdraw from so-called “secular” workplaces and schools. They want little to do with local causes.
My conscience leans towards being plugged in to local communities and workplaces with the aim of redeeming and saving some (1 Cor 9:22b) and not beating the air, while being very aware of the evils that we can be associated with (e.g. Daniel was called the chief magician though he rose there most likely without practicing any sorcery). Yet, there is this impression from the other group that to be truly “holy”, there is a need to withdraw out from society (2 Cor 6:14-17—come out of their midst).
How should I think about glorifying God amidst this tension—getting plugged in to the culture, vs withdrawing? (It seems to me that you do both?? You interact with the culture, engage in culture-making, call those who are doing evil to repentance, yet you are not like the world??)

GH

I read the Simposio debate exchange you did with Dr. James White dealing with textual criticism and with regard to which biblical manuscript family/approach is best. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to you and Dr. White for doing that.
You said in that debate that this issue really comes down to faith and that it is an issue that cannot be answered by science (textual criticism). I think I agree with you.
I know Dr. White is also a presuppositionalist, and is as Calvinistic as they come with regard to the providence of God, so I was confused why he has such a strong opinion against your “providential slapdashery.”
If you had to sum up the heart of your disagreement with James very briefly how would you frame it?
After reading your debate, it made sense to me why you would be putting time and effort into the MGB. I was curious if that project was being overseen by your presbytery and if the profits from that project will be going into the mercy ministries of the church(es) involved.
I’m very grateful for your ministry and all the work you guys do up there in Moscow. Looking forward to seeing y’all soon in Fort Worth!
PS. I’m eager to get a copy of the MGB! But, if Dr. White ever says that the NA/UBS text platform “face-up puzzle pieces” have been “settled,” I’ll likely get a copy of that too! Any estimates on when the full MGB will be done?

Josh

I watched the recent “Million Women” gathering on the national mall. Mostly it was just a genuine session of prayer, worship (albeit in an overproduced rock and roll style), and rededication to the biblical principles that underlie our nation (along with a repudiation/repentance of the particular sins of our era).
One thing that stood out was a section where someone explained the similarities between everything LGBTQ + feminism vs the old cult of Astarte/Ashtoreth, and there’s simply too many similarities to be coincidental. It seems like the spirit of the air that’s currently steering America in these directions can be named. What’s your take on prayer for our nation that includes repudiation by name of specific demonic spirits?

Ian

Having difficulty with the application of 1 Corinthians 7:12-15.
I understand the literal Greek here takes “lives with” as “under the same roof”; this also fits well with the entire context re: salvation of a wife and holy children. But I’m unsatisfied with the wooden nature of that interpretation.
A husband (or wife) living a lifestyle not indicative of a Christian, who refuses to reconcile, forgive, &c., remains in the household while continuing to blatantly disobey God’s commands. By what criteria (if any) would there be justification for the Christian party to depart? Safety concerns? Continued impenitence?
Assuming a worst possible position, a husband is laying on the living room floor in the throes of a heroin addition most days, and carousing with sodomite prostitutes during the night. Backing it up several hundred notches, a wife is cold and apathetic to the marriage, spends time pumping liberal ideas into her mind from social media, and keeps a cohort of friends who make it assured that there will not be forgiveness forthcoming.
What’s the acceptable range of qualifying “abandonment” if a husband or wife are living in a manner that is a roadblock to the family, and causing perpetual misery? Understanding the flood of escape clauses that this does and has justified, and not looking for that type of loose interpretation.
I read in one of your books years ago, the statement that there are other criteria for divorce than what is explicitly stated in Scripture—I believe it was for violation of certain federal laws i.e. murder and such. I concur with that opinion; is this not approximately the same question?

Jimbo

Regarding “Jumping Off the Barn”: More of this please!
I am a homeschooling mother of two and Jumping Off the Barn was a perfect example of the kind of Socratic dialogues I would like to have with my children.
My graduate school professors were masters of the Socratic method and I learned so much from them. I have had some success using the Socratic method with my children, but much improvement is needed.
Would you share with me any resources of which you are aware that may help me hone my skills?
Thanks so much!

Sarah

From a Roger Olson blog post about Christian nationalism—
“The documentary was clearly made to alarm viewers as to the pernicious motives and influences of white American Christian Nationalism. I do think it would have improved the documentary had it included at least one sane advocate of Christian Nationalism. IMHO it didn’t do that. You might ask who I mean. Well, perhaps Doug Wilson?”
An anabaptist just called you a “sane advocate of CN” emphasis on the sane . . .
who woulda thunk?

Jimmy