When you write things that are kind of “out there,” as I have sometimes done, you do have to explain different aspects of the situation from time to time. Consider this is one such attempt.
First, let’s deal with the optical illusion of “out there.” The situation was first created when a bunch of us grew up in Sanityville and then, in response to strange impulses – my theory is mysterious beams from the UFOs – everybody up and moved to Crazytown. Some of us stayed behind, and so it is that we are now “out there.”
Why am I out there? Well, I think guys shouldn’t wear dresses, and the lipstick is just creepy. I think that lesbian volleyball coaches shouldn’t have the hots for their players, and I heartily believe that our sex ed courses should have done a much better job of teaching our youth about what goes where. And suffice it to say that I, simply by staying put, am now a hater. It is a very sad story.
I also confess myself to be out of the mainstream. But that is just the way I like it if bobbing along in my beater kayak from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and I hear an ominous rumbling. All the approved people say it is the applause of the ages. It is they say, the voice of many waters, the sound of throngs of right-minded people on the right side of history cheering us along. But I pull over and pensively sit on a log, eating the sandwich that Nancy packed for me, and I watch the party barges float by.
Some of the party barges have a dinghy floating behind them, full of two-kingdom theologians.
Now as I explain the lay of the land here, I am not in a position to reveal my sources and methods, as a CIA operative might say. But suffice it to say that I have substantive reasons for believing this is a genuine description of a lot of what goes on.
Lone voices are rarely alone, and herein lies the explanation. If you look across the world of Reformed and evangelical leadership, you have to realize that you’re looking at a water polo game, and with no camera below the surface. A lot is going on under the surface, and more than one pair of trunks is on the bottom of the pool.
There are men who are dead set against what I represent, and they police their boundaries well. There are men who are more sympathetic with what I am saying than not, but are not in a position to say anything because of the first group, and the last thing they want is trouble with the donors. Then there are many young men in the second tier of leadership who read me regularly, but as a guilty pleasure. They would sign on if they could, but they can’t yet. Give it time, give it time. After the third or fourth party barge goes over, we should be able to get more of a hearing.
With a little thought, and some Googled information concerning the Great Lakes, I find I can eventually catch up with him.
A trenchant alternative to “Where am I going, and why am I in this hand basket ?” That guy at least confesses his ignorance and properly recognizes his environment, if not the implications.
Although I don’t think I fall in the second or third group, I’ll sign up anyway.
The ERLC’s Russell Moore is definitely in the two-kingdom dinghy.
How so Alex?
I think perhaps the most recent example was when he essentially threw Judge Roy Moore under the bus for opposing a US district court which said Alabama had to recognize homosexual “marriage.” When Judge Moore defied this order and issued a counter-order for all marriage officials in the state to ignore the district court’s edict, Russell Moore used his bully pulpit to assert that homosexual marriage is “inevitable in American culture” and to argue that those officials who “could not discharge the duties of his office required by law would need to resign and protest it as a citizen.” He… Read more »
Yes – the world HAS gone *More* mad than usual, it seems… BUT – let’s remember that this is also nothing new…. The more I dig into it – the more I am convinced that it’s simply more of the usual “Secular world casting about for fulfillment, peace, and joy”…. Let’s face it – Secular, NON-God centered marriage is a spectacular trainwreck that brings those involved nothing but pain, emptiness, frustration, envy, greed, and longing for the greener grass over there in somebody else’s bed – EXCEPT for that one glimmer that is your kids (When they aren’t a train… Read more »
“Then there are many young men in the second tier of leadership who read me regularly, but as a guilty pleasure. They would sign on if they could, but they can’t yet.”
I suspect this number is substantial. So please continue writing, Pastor Wilson, even if it seems that one half of the stands is full of hot-headed soccer moms and the other half full of crickets. Give it time, indeed. Spoken like a true postmillennialist.
(raises hand)
This is the first time I have heard of two-kingdom doctrine. I am a lay mere-christian.
Does anybody have a link to pro-cons of the doctrine starting with first principles? A succinct summary of it? a logical argument for each starting with basic premises and ending with the conclusion?
thx
Oh, no one else has responded? Hoo boy, OK then, here goes the ol’ college try. Two-Kingdom theology seeks to divide the created order into two realms: The sacred realm of the church — which is considered the entirety of the kingdom of God — and the secular realm of everything else outside the church: Government, business, etc. Now, many “radical” two-kingdom guys — R2K — would say that Scripture applies only to the sacred realm, but only natural law applies to the secular realm. Perhaps some would modify that, but it seems the intention is to divide the world… Read more »
Thank you.
The implications are self evident. Basically, God is kept in a box off to the side and ‘the world’ is free to go about sinning to its hearts content (with learned commentary and deep scholarship, of course)
If I’m not mistaken, the historic two-kingdom view is (unsurprisingly) less radical in that it holds that scripture applies to the secular realm, but is applied differently than it is to the church. But for purposes of clarity, it is the radical version that Wilson has in his sights here. And yes, timothy, I think you have the implications right. Also, the purpose of the church is to bring individuals into right relationship with God, but salvation does not have definite implications for how we behave in the “secular” realm. There seems to be an absurdly sunny optimism about how… Read more »
And of course, Wilson has written about it, with a definition and a demolition.
https://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/five-questions-about-two-kingdoms.html
My personal experience is that those in the dingy (first tier) can’t be bothered discussing any of this seriously. I tried and was labeled as a heretic. Their logic is so impermeable that they can jump directly to the ad hominem and avoid wasting any time on real dialog. And this from someone considered conservative. One advantage of the 2K view is the same button can say ‘Conservative’ on one side and ‘Liberal’ on the other. Saves buttons.
“They would sign on if they could, but they can’t yet.”
It looks as if their time might be approaching?
“‘We will not obey’: Christian leaders threaten civil disobedience…”
http://tinyurl.com/mzmhs9q
It appears that you’ve forgotten the one and only rule of the diversity crowd: All men have the right to free speech, but some men have more right to free speech.
It’s important to point out that not all two-kingdom folk are content with hearing the Word within the safe confines of the church…only to roll contently with the chaos on the outside. The Reverend Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has gotten in the proverbial face of Power–particularly with regard to our eroding religious freedoms. And, interestingly enough, he’s used the tools of the Power Brokers to do it.
Correct — Pastor Wilson is taking aim at what is known in some circles as “Radical Two-Kingdom,” which is a particular school of thought.
Thanks for posting regularly Doug. To your last point…there are probably more young men than you would even think to expect. -From the heart of Silicon Valley