“Apologetics in the Void” are repostings from an on-going electronic discussion and debate I had some time ago with members of our local community. The list serve is called Vision 20/20, and hence the name “visionaries.” Just reading my posts might be like listening to half of a phone conversation, but I don’t feel at liberty to publish what others have written in this space. But I have been editing these posts lightly with intelligibility in mind.
Dear visionaries,
Jonathan asked if we could clear up some rumors. I hope I can do so without starting any others.
The old cable television building, now called Anselm House, was recently purchased by Christ Church, and not by New St. Andrews College. The college is institutionally separate from the church, and has rented space from the church at Anselm House this last year. But because the college needs to grow, they are currently looking for their own space to move into — but it would be inappropriate to talk about any negotiations until everything is settled and the ink is dry [note: this was accomplished a year and a half ago]. This is particularly important because rumors and misunderstandings about what we are trying to do might provoke unnecessary distrust and concern. Tolerant liberal communities are often thrown into a panic at the first sign of genuine diversity or differences of opinion. At the same time, when NSA’s future home is settled, we are happy to make it public knowledge.
Your second question about our “abhorrence for the public school system for its pluralism and inclusiveness and all the rest” reveals again our need for continued discussion on the points we have been trying to make in this forum. We do not want to play at the game of pseudo-inclusiveness. We are not trying to take over anything. We believe your institutions are adrift and rudderless, and that they have lost a vision for the basis of true loveliness that makes life worthwhile. Without Christ, nothing coheres, nothing tastes. We are therefore engaged in building alternatives. So, to take your example of the public library, the logic of our position is not to try to ban any books from your library. The logic of our position requires us (in time) to build a different kind of library, one that exhibits genuine cultural richness. I am not trying to be rude here, but the goal would be to build the kind of library that you all would want to use far more than I currently want to use your library now.
The third question regards what our goals are regarding the “presence of the gay community.” Having been put on the spot, please take this answer at face value. My first and primary goal for the local gay population is for them to see the depth of forgiveness for all their sin in Jesus Christ, the cultural richness of the Christian faith, and the gracious invitation that God extends to all of us to live lives to His glory, enjoying Him forever, as the catechism puts it. In short, I want to baptize as many gays as I can. If they are already baptized, I want to exhort them to abandon fruitlessness in order to become faithful to their baptisms. And I do not want gays to read about these things in mere words, but rather I want them to see it lived out in our public worship, our loving families, our thriving schools, our busy restaurants, our rich libraries, our colleges, and so on.
Anyway, there it is.