Introduction
As our globe continues to perambulate around the sun, it was of course necessary that at some point we once again would have to deal with the fact that November is coming. And, as you should know by now, here at Mablog we have instituted the custom, every November, of saying just what we think, without reserve, without qualification, without careful framing, and also, incidentally, and as kind of a side point, without any jam.
We are not yet into November, but we can see it from here. And because we are seeking to continue this most valuable custom of ours at the same time that our secularist overlords are trying to conduct their No Sanity November, for which they have to be in diligent training for eleven months to make sure they nail it, we appear to have no shortage of material for our observations. In fact, there is an embarrassment of riches. It is what the Navy would call, were they here, a target rich environment.
And so, in preparation for a month from now, I have decided to receive nominations from the floor. Comments are open. What would you like to see addressed a mere four weeks from now? What topics, in your view, are overdue for a drubbing? And by drubbing, I mean a thrashing, a fisking, a walloping, a dusting of their jackets with a cricket bat. In ecclesiastical parlance, we might call these posts exhortations or mild admonitions.
And precisely because it is not yet November, allow me to make a qualification here, of the sort that I will not be making when that fateful time arrives. In the paragraph above, in my reference to the dusting of “their jackets” with a “cricket bat,” please know I was not encouraging violence against any individual persons, however worthy of it they might be (Prov. 10:13; 26:3). Rather I was speaking of certain jacketed topics. Certain topics will get a drubbing. I am a writer and I deal in metaphorical blows.
To repeat, so that you may make your nominations more easily, I have opened up the comments down below. You may also, if you wish, nominate something to be burned down.
Call, and Raise You Ten
I should also explain, for your edification and amusement, that this November is likely to be different. The stakes have been raised in various ways, and so perhaps this year I might get three visits from the FBI.
As we are having our clashes in this world of digital controversy, a lot boils down to who is giving the microphone to whom. Whenever something particularly fruity floats by in my Twitter feed, wherein I stand accused of getting my jollies through the kicking of victim puppies, the first thing I do is click on the profile in order to discover that this person has seven followers, including mom and two sisters (who are so proud). If I reply to them, I have handed them a much bigger microphone than they ever dreamed of having, and I have thereby made their day. So then, I says to myself, don’t do that. Don’t reply. Don’t answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:4).
But the opposite is also true. When we get attacked, as a recent piece in Vice attempted to do, they are handing us a microphone. Did they spell my name right? If so, then all is good. As the saying goes, when the flak is all around your airplane, it means you are over the target. When they are foolish enough to give you a much bigger microphone than you had before, then go right ahead. Answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:5).
Remember that Christians are under explicit orders to not be bothered about this sort of thing.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Matthew 5:11–12 (KJV)
We are not supposed to give a rip. Jesus said.
Incidentally, in case you are curious, I haven’t read the Vice piece because I did read the questions that the writer sent to Nancy and to me while “researching,” and the said questions were all more loaded than the entrees at Tater’s, Home of the Grand Stuffed Potato Buffet. Way too many bacon bits.
On a related note, we have heard a rumor that Christianity Today might be gearing up to do a piece on us, since their pursuit of Mark Driscoll has proved so popular. If they do, depending on how they handle it, I might read that. If they don’t do something, I hasten to add, I won’t read it, but then again, neither will you. And if I read it, and if there are any howlers in there, such that they have handed me their microphone, I might clear my throat and say a few words.
If you are new to this blog, as quite a few of you are, and you haven’t gone through any of our previous rounds of controversy, here is an encouragement. If you read anything that unsettles you, and you would like particular answers to specific questions, we have made them readily available. On the top of this page, over to the right, we have a box called Critical Questions. We located it there for the convenience of lazy reporters. In addition, if you are in need of even more detailed answers, under the About menu, I have a feature called the Controversy Library. I think that it would be difficult for you to have heard anything nefarious about us that is not addressed there, and addressed there exhaustively.
The short form is this. We are dealing with a small dedicated cadre of the most frightful liars, and a much larger group of Christians who have not been taught how to respond to the most frightful liars, meaning they have not learned the rudiments of biblical justice (Prov. 18:13; Prov. 18:17). Despite my repeated exhortations, they have not purchased A Justice Primer, a book which is most helpfully displayed at the bottom of this post. This book, in its e-form, costs a mere dollar. And if that is too steep a price, please contact me and I will see about sending you one for free.
At the Same Time . . .
Even if you are an old-timer around here, the terrain is quite a bit different this November, so I would encourage you to be prepared for that. The first thing is that as No Sanity November has been turned into a year-round carnival of buncombe, and as more and more leading voices in the Christian world refuse to call this madness by its actual name, the more rank-and-file Christians, let down by their leaders, are turning to those places where clown world is being accurately described. This is one of those places. Second, all the indications are that the broader strategy being employed against us is moving from silence to slander. Be prepared for that, check the resources above as needed, and be assured that we are not bothered by the lies. They can tell their story, but we were here and know the whole story. And last, coming as a result of all the above, and also as a consequence of our efforts to amp up the output of content, our voice is being heard in many new places. I say this, not to brag or boast (Prov. 27:2), but rather to let our adversaries know that they are actually helping us out a great deal. I record a video of my Monday and Wednesday posts, and we started a You Tube channel dedicated to those recordings. We started that just six months ago, and we just passed a million views, and, as a real badge of honor, one of those videos did not meet YouTube’s community standards.
Oh, and here’s a book you should read.
A Justice Primer
A basic introduction to the principles of biblical justice, desperately needed in our time.
It is, as you say, a target-rich environment. Here’s one for the gender confusion file:
https://notthebee.com/article/here-it-is-your-woke-tweet-of-the-day
As a Muswell Hillbilly once said:
“Girls will be boys and boys will be girls.
It’s a mixed-up, muddled up, shook up world…”
…except for Lola.
I find it hard to keep up with the constant perversion of normalcy without my television. Can’t say that I miss it much but fodder for despair is hard to find in my current circle of friends. Good luck with the targets of opportunity!
Address the irresponsible and unrepented fecklessness of John Piper’s using his high profile for pre-election public handwringing in rejection of Trump as too proud and unpleasant (— because the only alternative, Joe Biden, is so humble and pleasant?). A handwringing followed, as far as I am aware, with no statement of regret, rethinking, or realization.
Doug already addressed this! John Piper and the fire in the attic
Yeah, that angered me out for a few months… especially since he celebrated and wept for joy (check me on the facts, I have the clear memory of reading that on DesiringGod.org when Obama was elected….. who (I believe) is the perfect example of what C.S. Lewis wrote about: “The greatest evil is not done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint…it is conceived and…moved, seconded, carried, and minuted…in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.” ………………..… Read more »
Isn’t it time to let go of this? Besides there are reports I am inclined to take seriously of abused women in Piper’s former church coming to light. I fear this may be the result of the obsession I have observed over the years with wives submitting to husbands amongst more ardent evangelical devotees of complementarianism. This can very easily morph into abuse. Perhaps something to balance this up would be good in November with husbands in the firing line. An old pastor of mine used to say ‘it’s not your job to worry about your wife’s submission but to… Read more »
I think you live in another universe, Ken.
In any case, Christ’s instruction for wives is to submit to their husbands. Any church that doesn’t teach that isn’t serving women.
Nathan – my observations have very much been of this world in this universe! My point was not that wives submitting to their own husbands was not a NT instruction. It is. I have no wish to remove it – nor make it a cardinal doctrine of the faith. It was that some men have an obsession with this aspect to the neglect of the instructions given to husbands about loving, nourishing, cherishing, considering etc., which are more numerous and ought to be what they are preoccupied with and doing. Submission cannot be enforced, and men who try to do… Read more »
Are you suggesting the NT doesn’t instruct women to obey their husbands?
Submission can be enforced in various relationships. Or rather, insubordination can be punished. Whether and how it ought to be is another question, and varies depending on the nature of the authority.
Are you suggesting the NT doesn’t instruct women to obey their husbands? I had already said My point was not that wives submitting to their own husbands was not a NT instruction. It is. I have no wish to remove it That ought to answer your question unless you are insisting on the word obey instead of submit. The latter is what the text of the NT actually says despite centuries of Anglican wedding vows. Due to the old shepherding error even the word submit was debased coinage for a long time. If the apostles had actually wanted obedience it… Read more »
You’re on a trip, man.
I’m sorry that Ken B burst your man bubble.
Ken, you are correct, the instruction to wives is to submit, not to obey, as children are instructed to do. Two different words. In what ways and to what degree do you think submission on the part of wives will look different than obedience? Submission must entail something in practice, and I think many Christian women ask the same question. If it is not the business of husbands to worry about Biblical instructions to wives, it surely is the business of pastors and other teachers to point them out without equivocating or flinching and we should not object when they… Read more »
Ken, you are correct, the instruction to wives is to submit, not to obey, as children are instructed to do. Two different words. I think we have to be honest in that the Greek word for submit in Eph 5 is also used by Peter for servants. So the word can include the meaning of obey depending on context. (I have not learned Greek and know not to make pronouncements on it from online resources!) As to what submission actually entails, this is a good question and not an easy one to answer. I think it starts as an attitude… Read more »
“I fear this may be the result of the obsession I have observed over the years with wives submitting to husbands amongst more ardent evangelical devotees of complementarianism”
Talk about something to let go of. That’s a problem for like 0.00002% of the Christian world.
I was talking about letting go of the US election result.
That would be a very foolish thing to do.
I was coming at this from a Brexit point of view. I wish the UK on balance hadn’t left the EU, there are plenty of others too but I have noticed an unwillingness or inability to let it go amongst many of them. It’s happened and it not going to be reversed in the near future or ever. Complaining about it won’t change anything. The results are of course still unfolding and are not what was promised. The US election result isn’t going to be reversed at this late stage, isn’t it time to acknowledge this and take it from… Read more »
Ken, the problem is not reversing the election, but showing to the public that there were sinister forces moving the election improperly so that all clearly understand it was not what it appeared to be. You don’t know you are breaking the law until you are shown the law and your actions in detail. In the same manner, the House Select Committee hearings showed that the individuals interviewed on TV perjured themselves repeatedly. The news didn’t push that point at all and instead trumpeted the opposite. For those who did read the transcripts and who actually read US law, it… Read more »
Exactly. In addition, if you just “let go” of cheating, you’ll end up with more cheating and more tyrants like Biden/Harris and Newsom. And there’s no way you can trust the 2022 mid-terms. We’ve gotten to the point where those questioning the results are potential “domestic terrorists” whom activist judges are throwing the book at.
Maricopa’s election results are not reliable and should not have been certified – Deep Capture
Sounds a lot more like a 1984-ish banana republic than a constitutional one.
The very first sentence of that article is ridiculous. It claims that 57,000 ballots had “serious issues” which in reality were nothing more than two voters sharing the same name and birth year or a voter moving residences after he voted. Not only are those not “issues”, they are things the Cyber Ninjas could have double-checked in any real audit. Why didn’t they investigate those voters with the same names to see if they were different people or not?
Because they realized their attempt to prove fraud had failed, and now only want to cast doubt.
An update on Stickergate would be appreciated.
Nate & Co. just gave one on Crosspolitic in the past couple days here: https://rumble.com/vmzwve-jeff-durbin-stand-with-warriors-n.d.-wilson-in-studio-stickergate-update-ri.html
Thanks!
Since we are in the mood for giving no quarter, let me be the first to accost you for your unbiblical turn of phrase in your opening sentence: “As our globe continues to perambulate around the sun.” This statement is in direct contradiction to every single Biblical passage that describes either the movement of the sun or the non-movement of the earth. I will leave just three examples: Psalm 19:4-6, Psalm 93:1, and Joshua 10:12-13.
Just curious – Do you have to work at being that foolish or does it come naturally?
Just curious – Do you hate Biblical revelation or are you just comfortable being told what to believe by other people who hate it?
Hey Corey, funny, it was the first thing I noticed as well. I was tempted to ask for some evidence but decided I’ve had enough of Disney landing on the moon for one lifetime.
Do you ever say that “the sun comes up in the morning.”
Sam, the flat earth issue with the Bible isn’t poetic license. Rather, it’s the order of creation in Genesis 1. You’ve got the earth being created first, the sun revolving around it, and the stars inside earth’s firmament, none of which makes any sense based on what we currently know about the solar system, but which makes perfect sense if you’re an ancient flat earther. We can quibble about whether the passages Corey cites were intended to be taken literally, but it’s really tough to argue that Genesis 1 does anything other than teach a flat earth at the center… Read more »
It’s a “once upon a time” story, not a science textbook.
“We can quibble about whether the passages Corey cites were intended to be taken literally” No, we really can’t. If you aren’t willing to take it as a given that a verse that starts with “The Lord is robed in majesty” is clearly not speaking literally, there isn’t much discussion to be had. Unless you’re supposing what the verse means, the verse in Psalms I might add, was saying that God forged the concept of majesty into a tangible substance to then weave into a fabric, so that He might enrich Himself by wearing it, then you can’t even argue… Read more »
Justin, I think it’s an entirely plausible argument — though not one I hold myself — that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are literature rather than history and none of it literally happened as recorded. But the problem with those types of arguments, including the one you just made, is that it becomes really subjective really fast as to what is, and is not, intended to be taken at face value. At the time the Bible was written, probably nobody believed that majesty was a literal fabric from which divine robes could be fashioned, but there were plenty of… Read more »
“But the problem with those types of arguments, including the one you just made” I didn’t make an an affirmative argument. I pointed out the flaws in your argument. I did not make a claim for how you should read Genesis. I made a claim for how your reading of Genesis cannot be definitive in the way that you claim. You made the claim that it specifically and factually was *not* an issue of poetic license. Further, you’re twisting what claims were made. It isn’t an issue of literary vs. historical. Its a matter of how broad, vague, or otherwise… Read more »
Someone misunderstands the Bible entirely.
Have you never heard of genres? Psalms is poetry, Genesis is History. Case closed, and no further argument is needed.
(unless you are a heretical Darwinist)
Just curious – would you consider BB Warfield, Charles Hodges, Machen, Spurgeon, Bavinck, Kuyper, etc. heretics? Not to mention people like C.S. Lewis?
“What genre is Genesis?” is not a simple question. For one, if it is history, it is unclear who the author was. If he was a historian, it is unclear where he would have acquired the “history” written in the book, especially that which comes before Abraham. Nowhere in the Bible does it state who wrote Genesis. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God told the author of Genesis a direct history, and there are several indications in the text that Genesis 1-2 isn’t that sort of history at all. Old Testament scholar and Westminster professor Tremper Longman… Read more »
Another you could read on the subject is Vern Poythress (Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Westminster and editor of the Westminster Theological Journal) who has written an entire book on the subject. In terms of genre he identifies Genesis 1-2 as ancient narrative prose nonfiction….and yet with a careful investigation of the text and the world both he still argues clearly against 24-hour days of creation, against YEC, for an old Earth, and for animal death before the Fall of man.
Jonathan, Poythress is pretty fair in his treatment (though he also gives some absurd readings…) but he is a YEC.
You are right about the Genre considerations though. Gen 1-2 doesn’t match other histories very well. There have been a number of theories across time. One with ancient provenance (and which preserves quite a lot of the tradition) is that the 7-days correspond to Moses’ 7days on Sinai and he received the vision in seven discrete parts. This has plenty of problems though.
When did he come out as YEC? The material I read seemed to say an Earth of any age could be possible, to the point that dogmatic Young Earth Creationists denounce his as “opposing creationism”.
https://creation.com/review-vern-poythress-redeeming-science
Here is another essay where he seems to be saying the matter is unsettled and different theories have their strong and weak points, but at least in his treatment here seems to prefer a form of the analogical-day theory over YEC.
https://frame-poythress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013ChristianInterpretationsOfGenesis1.pdf
I’m sorry, but your side simply decides to ignore all the science (and massive amounts of theology) that contradict so you can be accepted by the culture, compromiser.
I think he has always been a YEC, he is just a reasonable one. Anyone who is critical of YEC material is labeled an infidel by the true believers, so don’t take the ICR stuff too seriously!
If you dig around at frame-poythress.org there is a ton of interesting stuff, but he is light on hard conclusions.
Yes, he certainly seems to leave a lot of room open for different interpretations, especially when it comes to length of days and overall age.
Or for example this work of Poythress, where he seems to say that it is difficult for us declare any single concrete answer for the “length” of the first six days. I’ll admit it’s not easy to pin down exactly what Poythress is saying about age here, but he includes passages like this: https://faculty.wts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Time-in-Genesis-1.pdf Third, the continuity hypothesis does not provide useful guidance with respect to some portions of modern scientific research. One of the strengths of this hypothesis is that it does appear to provide some guidelines, at least in a general way. It says that each of the… Read more »
It’s simple to anyone who doesn’t let Darwin get in their contact lenses.
It’s obviously history, it’s written by Moses (or at least compiled by him)
And of course God told them a direct History! You denyin’ the Divine Inspiration and utter Infalibility of God’s Word now?
I mean, obviously you are, and you’ll pull all of your compromisers to do so.
As early as the 2nd century Origen stated that the days of Genesis were allegorical, not literal. In the 5th century Augustine said the same, and rejected 7-day creationism. Are you going to claim they were influenced by Darwin too?
And no, there is no evidence that Moses wrote Genesis or that God dictated Genesis as a history, neither of those claims are anywhere in the Bible and that’s not at all what divine inspiration and infallibility mean. Can you tell me where you get such claims?
First off, for any person that you give who believes Genesis isn’t literal, I could give another that says it is, (i.e. John Calvin) so that proves nothing. Second, Augustine actually believed it was all created in one day, not six, and yes he was wrong too. No they weren’t influenced by Darwin, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t wrong. There are plenty of reasons to believe Moses wrote the entire Pentateuch, but I’d have to link to a site you don’t like anyway. If Genesis isn’t history, at what point does it become History? Adam? The Flood? Babel? Abraham?… Read more »
You claimed that interpreting Genesis was “simple” to anyone who wasn’t influenced by Darwin. Now you’re arguing that you can find Church Fathers who hold differing viewpoints. Will you at least admit that there were numerous highly esteemed Church Fathers who read Genesis as not entirely literal long before Darwin came onto the scene?
Also FYI – Darwin’s work has nothing to do with the age of the Earth anyway.
Here’s another essay on why the internal logic of Genesis itself insists on non-dogmatism with regards to the age of the Earth, and that taking the account of time in Genesis 1 non-literally has been present since the earliest days of Christian theology, whereas dogmatic YEC is a recent phenomenon.
https://www.affinity.org.uk/foundations-issues/issue-71-article-3-the-age-of-the-earth-a-plea-for-geo-chronological-non-dogmatism
If you think I haven’t thoroughly researched this topic already, you’re quite mistaken. Not a single argument for OEC or Evolution holds up in the slightest. So no, I’m not going to go read the links you’ve sent if I already know they are wrong and have a good guess at what arguments they will use.
Ah yes, YEC is recent. If you ignore all the people through History who believed the earth was young. But let’s ignore them because hey, compromisers gotta compromise.
Just when I had my hopes up. You said, “I won’t waste time explaining them to an ignorant old-earther though.” What happened?
you admit you’re ignorant? so we agree! 🤝
No, but I thought you just might be someone who kept his word. Why are you so angry?
I didn’t say YEC was recent. I said dogmatic YEC is recent, and even now you have major Reformed scholars stating that it is untenable. If dogmatic YEC is old, then why weren’t Augustine and Thomas Aquinas dismissed as heretics long ago? Why do conservatives hold them in such high regard? Not to mention Wesley and Warfield, Spurgeon and Kuyper.
Also, if you look deeper you might not see John Calvin as an ally anymore. In cases where he saw science and Genesis conflicting, he told us not to take Genesis literally because the author (in his view Moses) is speaking to the common man and Genesis should not be expected to have literal scientific accuracy. Here he states that Genesis 1:14-16 should not be taken literally because it is meant for common understanding, not scientific truth: “..Moses described in popular style what all ordinary men without training and education perceive with their ordinary senses. Astronomers, on the other hand,… Read more »
If you read my response, I said appealing to a church authority was entirely unhelpful. I used Calvin as an example that you can’t say “so-and so said it so it’s true” because Augustine and Calvin, for instance, aren’t both right. That’s why we argue on the merits of the position, not who held them. All Old-earthers and Darwinists ever do, though, is quote every single source except scripture to back their claims. An analysis of Scripture, with proper hermeneutics, allows only one possibility. There were people who disagreed earlier, yes, but mainstream acceptance of this specific position is relatively… Read more »
Everyone is a Darwnist today. The theory is so successful that basically the entire anti-evolution espouse natural selection as the primary mode ofspeciation. Go read AIG or ICR and you will see constant claims of extremely fast evolution, especially post-flood.
If you are against “Darwinism” you should probably define your term.
you’re mixing Microevolution and Macroevolution to purposefully confuse. You know well what I mean by Darwinism. The Theory of Evolution, as it relates to common descent.
Joshua is also history, and that was one of the references I gave.
I am in no way a flat earther. That is unbiblical. I am, however, a committed geocentrist and geostatist, because that is what the Bible reveals plainly.
One of the things Galileo pointed out is that Joshua’s miracle, of the sun standing still, is almost impossible under the Ptolemaic system. The outermost sphere is what sets the whole machine in motion. Without it, there is no change, no life as we know it. If that stops, everything stops.
I was quite fascinated when reading the Galilean debates in college. He appeared to have a much better grasp of Scripture than those he was debating, which is something we rarely hear regarding that controversy. After Mr. Arrighetti related the details you had mentioned, they gave me the occasion to go back to examine some general questions about he use of the Holy Scripture in disputes involving physical conclusions and some particular other ones about Joshua’s passage, which was presented in opposition to the earth’s motion and sun’s stability by the Grand Duchess Dowager with some support by the Most… Read more »
The problem was clearly with Ptolemy’s pagan model, not geocentricity in general. Tycho Brahe had the most accurate model of the solar system of his time, and it was completely geocentric. There is a lot of misunderstanding of this issue amongst those who don’t know a lot about astronomy and astrophysics. It is too easy to be duped by arguments like this.
You’ve got to be joking right? The explanations for those passages are so simple a child of three could understand them. I won’t waste time explaining them to an ignorant old-earther though.
Thank you for not wasting our time. I only wish you had come to that blessed decision months ago.
Would be interested in an analysis of how the broader Evangelical world deals with community and whether you feel there is widespread disobedience in this area. Especially since it’s such a big deal for your church.
Just a general survey of Canada would do, fish in a barrel. Australia is too easy though.
I find it hard to keep up with the constant perversion of normalcy without my television. Can’t say that I miss it much but fodder for despair is hard to find in my current circle of friends. Good luck with the targets of opportunity!
Burn a house down
based
Will you please remind your readers that being on the right side of the culture war is not the same as being on the right side of God on His day of judgment? Remember your ordination and your responsibility for souls under your care and warn those who have no fear of God and no holiness (without which no one will see the Lord) that it would be better to be vaccinated and forever masked up under the world’s most tyrannical communist regime than to go their judgment without repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. Social media and the… Read more »
This is a good word.
Well said!
(As much as I admire Doug Wilson’s insights and practical application of the Bible to various circumstances)
And the notion of being “on the right side of history”.
You should have said “it would be better, if it were possible.” But it isn’t possible to submit perfectly to the Left’s ungodly tyranny and live in repentance and faith toward Christ. Faith in Christ will get you killed under the world’s most tyrannical communist regime.
I don’t think this would be particularly helpful or useful. Not that you’re incorrect, but that its a statement that is only useful for people who don’t need to hear it. The problem isn’t that people are actively choosing to invest themselves in worldly struggles over Godly struggles. The problem is they don’t think they’re choosing one over the other at all. Telling them to choose God is meaningless then, as they don’t see the distinction you’re making. Its like telling people to “drive safe.” The people who aren’t driving safely aren’t being dangerous because they like to be dangerous.… Read more »
Agreed. Good word.
We’ve got the message that we should never, ever take the bait, but at what point do we engage in some judo and flip them over their aggression toward us?
That’s jiu-jitsu, dangit.
Judo is simply a more sport-oriented offshoot of jits.
Yes, it being in the Olympics and all.
How about using that sharp eye for the sins of the world and looking for the sins in our own corner of the church specifically the CREC. It is so easy to see the sins in others. It’s much more difficult to see our blind spots. I will give you a hint, it has to do with pride and haughtiness.
Yes….as one who struggles with conceit (for no good reason)…. I have noticed over the years that many post-mil folks (e.g.) seem to manifest these things in the name of the Lordship of Christ…. yet Titus 3:2 (for example) “…To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”
I’ve noticed the same and it’s honesty caused me to have less interest in the Crosspolitic crowd. The effect I’m seeing results in a confidence that easily morphs into obnoxious arrogance.
Jesus was the meekest man who ever lived, and yet I’m pretty sure no one watching His cleansing of the temple or His berating of the scribes and Pharisees would think Him very meek. In other words, our definition of ‘meekness’ may need some updating.
Meekness doesn’t definitely doesn’t include cowardice.
While there may be some truth to that, it pales to the sheer cowardice and man-pleasing coming from the larger “conservative Christian” denominations in the last decade (especially the last 18 months). I’m not saying there aren’t issues, but when looking at it from a “which churches are standing for the truth” vantage point, it’s a speck vs. plank thing when a hipster megapastor accuses them of arrogance.
Don’t you think that one should clean his own house first before he points his finger at others? Someone else’s bad behavior doesn’t excuse mine. At least that’s what my mother taught me.
I’ve attended 2 CREC churches in my area. My original intention was to become a member in the first one until a couple of months in, a trend was emerging, especially with the “main” preaching elder, preaching gospel light or 0 gospel sermons, more man centered. The second church, similar stuff, not all, but too many topical sermons based on the opinion of the one preaching, not the word of Christ. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe too picky…Should a solid liturgy be enough? Wonderful and inviting people in both churches! They had me at no mask! It breaks my heart. I… Read more »
The problem with the idea that only “the gospel” should be preached is it ignores the example set in scripture. Each of the letters written to the churches in the new testament were obviously full of the gospel but they were also full of correction, doctrine, and edification. If preaching doesn’t resemble all of God’s word it is not being faithful. There is also a problem with this artificial dichotomy between preaching the gospel or the word of Christ and the opinion of men. Upon examination this position is untenable. Preaching the word always involves the opinion of the person… Read more »
Yes!
The amazing thing (and something we would not do) is that almighty God chooses to have humans handle His word at all!
It shows us His mercy, His generosity, and His absolute confidence!
I couldn’t agree more JSM. I have been in CREC churches for over 15 years, and we have our own set of vices that are rarely targeted.
I think pride and haughtiness are right on. Also related, reviling of authorities and intemperate rhetoric. There is a tendency to be uncharitable to opponents and a tendency to adopt a general stance of sneering. I have noticed this growing over time to the degree that listening to CrossPolitic or ND Wilson’s stories podcast makes me feel like I need a shower, it’s constant sneering and belittling – often of their betters.
I know you’ve addressed this in various ways, but a NQN post on it would be great. The church tears apart any pastor/leader who has even a hint of bullying or overly strong leadership (“spiritual abuse”). It seems like the popularity of the Mars Hill podcast speaks to that. Meanwhile, passive men get a pass. For every believer I’ve met who was the victim of abuse from their father, I’ve probably met 10 who were the victim of a passive or absent father and the damage is still very real. I find myself terrified of being an abusive, bullying leader… Read more »
True.
This is urgent, thank you, Nick
I have seen many obese pastors in the pulpit (usually teetolalers). Are they disqualified for lack of self control or for gluttony? If so, how fat is too fat?
I second this
FACT: Not all fat people lack self-control and/or are gluttons.
The vast majority are, though. If it were largely genetic, we wouldn’t have seen such a marked rise in obesity over the last 40 or so years.
Yes.
Let Big Eva have it.
Natural Law…Go!
Yep.
Yes!
My first thought is of course a bunch of things that annoy me–malakoi-infested church music, the way Christian women idolize encouragement, children’s church just as a concept–but I don’t want to be the guy with the fire extinguisher on the Titanic. I could really use some spiritual sandpaper on the topics of diligence and feeling entitled to excessive leisure, or how the internet lets us gossip and gawk at our pick of weirdos and freaks.
Also I think you should try burning down a large shed or garage, something big enough to drive a truck through.
Second this. Please do something on laziness.
Can you address the rampant and unrepentant pet idolatry that is pervasive in the church? Also, can you address the subject of domestic responsibilities within the home? I get a lot of questions about how much help a husband should provide a stay-at-home mother as it relates to the dishes, the laundry, getting up to bottle feed babies at night, etc. For context, these questions are coming from first-time parents. I know of a lot of young men who are basically using “servant leadership” as an all-purpose excuse to completely abdicate any actual leadership in their home and are essentially… Read more »
Yes please! As my father always said,“Stupid people and their stupid dogs.” Why does every mattress ad have a dog curled up in the sheets? Who the heck out there is sleeping with their dogs?! Funny story, we were talking to a family with five kids, who had to move into a camper for the husband’s work. The wife was talking about the space issue being especially challenging, since they had two giant dogs. My daughter considered this, looked the wife in the face and said, “Shoot ‘em.” My kids, great problem solvers. 😂 But seriously. Romans 1 anyone?
I wonder if the people with all the filthy pet habits are the same people who are foolish enough to buy into the lie about sexual deviances that are promoted in secular media/culture today as though they were normal behaviors. I will spare the detail but I will specify that I am referring to practices to be performed by a heterosexual couple involving body parts placed in decidedly unsanitary contact with one another.
If I could still edit, in hindsight I would specify “non-reproductive body parts”. But perhaps the notion is clear enough regardless.
There are parallels between rejecting the natural function of woman for a solid waste chute and rejecting the natural function of human relationships
by attempting to find companionship among the animals.
But, that is an interesting thought. I guess if one accustoms himself to living amidst solid waste, then he might be functionally desensitizing himself to the ick-factor of sodomy.
Are you sure your daughter wasn’t referring to the five kids?
I counseled numerous school aged kids who were basically starving themselves because they didn’t have enough money to feed themselves and their stupid pets. Or were spending all their money on animal surgeries.
I confess and do not deny that I counseled them to eat their pets.
Despite the fact that man was not able to find a companion among the animals, we are doing our best to do just that.
College kids with emotional support animals…
Filthy disgusting homes…
Pet “children”
It’s a big problem
I definitely need to repent of making fun of people walking their little dogs in dog strollers…
In Vancouver people must give up their seats on the bus to accommodate women with babies in strollers. A man was feeling grumpy about having to make way for a large baby stroller covered with a rain shield. He looked inside and said loudly, “That’s not a baby, that’s a dog! Why do I have to give up my seat for a dog?” Why indeed? But the people on the bus sided with the dog’s owner and not with the aggrieved old man. I am passionately fond of almost all animals (with legs) but I draw the line at giving… Read more »
I sympathize with the old man, but I draw the line at riding buses.
I kid you not, I saw no fewer than 3 people this weekend wearing their little dogs on their chests in carriers or wraps, as if they were newborns. Absolutely bizarre!
Seconding BibCnsl’s request. Commentary on deciding between career and children, contentment in the home, and whether it’s an appropriate and biblical expectation for the wife to expect the husband to operate like a second mom in the household on top of being the breadwinner, would be of interest.
Sharing responsibilities, being partners, being a helpmeet, and complimentary roles, are all concepts that seem to get muddled, perhaps in no small part to the influences of secular feminism and culture.
This sounds pertinent. I think women are startled by the difficulty of basic homemaking (which is taxing, physically and mentally) and they can become bitter. The husband finds it easier to wash dishes than to help his wife confess and deal with her bitterness. (a wise husband will probably help her with the bitterness and dishes both). Women are allowed to be soft on themselves and become very bored because not much is asked of them in the home or spiritually with their self control. We wouldn’t be impressed with a lazy husband and tell him he’s doing a great… Read more »
“Enervates” is a good word in the context, and right on!
I would like your opinion on Ammon Bundy for Idaho’s next Governor. Please don’t regurgitate the MSM’s or the “polite” Republicans tainted assessment of him.
Thank you
Address feminism’s fears.
I have enjoyed your thoughts on how to respond to a church that has overstepped its boundaries by placing its covid directives onto its members. I would appreciate reading your thoughts on those churches who have chosen to do just the opposite, that is, burying their head in the sand and refusing to acknowledge or engage in comment on any of the insanity spinning in the world around us while we search for some direction in these times.
(Also, of course, an update on the falling away of the Southern Baptist Convention.)
Big time ditto!
My former church was like this. This would be good
Yes, the burying-its-head-in-the-sand phenomenon is a big problem in a lot of churches. I’d like to hear about that one.
We’re not liars. I am NOT lying and I believe the stories I’ve been told. Your church is a breeding ground for abusers. You have helped abuse continue, you have fostered it, you have failed to recognize your hand in it. I wish your God actually existed since even if you won’t answer to us you would HAVE to answer to him.
Your god is the state.
When there is no God above the state, the state becomes god—the highest authority in the lives of those governed.
An accusation too vague to measure, so it will be rightly ignored.
If you’re so insistent on not being a liar, you might want to make a statement with enough clarity that someone can engage with it. You don’t even define “abuse”, which is a fairly broad term. You give nothing about how he allegedly “helped abuse continue”.
So even if I grant everything you say as absolute 100% truth, it is too vague for it to even change my opinion of Doug. He did something that helped something continue.
BURN DOWN A SMALL CABIN
Please post a picture of a three pole flag display. (In the style of Flags Out Front)
Burn a cigar and a potemkin village, like a false front movie set. Shaped like a university, or some other citadel of the left.
Burn a room while you’re sitting inside it —sort of like burning a couch while you’re sitting on it, only more so
How about you let your woke trolls have one over the noggin?
+1
+2
Something about answering a fool according to his folly etc. would be great!
+3
There is a certain person (and we all know who he is) whose commenting privileges should be severely curtailed, if not outright revoked. He sucks so much oxygen out of the room, the rest of us can’t breathe.
+4
+5
Pastors not protecting sheep.
If you can’t afford to burn a galleon at sea, maybe settle for wearing a patch, peg leg, and a hook while you burn something more affordable. If you can start the fire with a flintlock blunderbuss, even better!
Aarrrgh matey!
How about you give the Moscow Brand a drubbing, directed at the fanboys?
George Orwell writes of H.G. Wells in this fascinating article, “Up to 1914 Wells was in the main a true prophet.”
At what point have the “Wells” of our own generation (ex. David French) stop becoming prophets, and why? Orwell says Wells “belonged to the nineteenth century,” and I can’t help feeling that some of our own political sages belong in the Reagan era, more or less. Minus the bit about divorce.
How about the idolatry of science in the church? There are “Christian” scientists who act as though science is a power that can be sovereign, and equate it with the power of God. Like this: “God is omnipotent and sovereign, and I know these ‘absolute’ concepts from science, in which I can be absolutely confident because God created science, right??” Meanwhile, they forget that science is observation and experimentation intended to discover natural laws; not the laws themselves. The very worst vitriol I’ve heard in the past 18 months has been from people I know from (thankfully, former) churches who… Read more »
Yes.
I would like to hear more about the relationship between the spread of the Gospel and the rise of western culture. My knowledge of history is not great, so I could be wrong on this point, but there does seem to be quite a connection between the two. America appears to be a great example of this. With all the anti-Americanism both inside and outside the church, I feel like a crash course in this area would be helpful.
– Tyler H.
Tyler, Try this book out:: “The Book That Made Your World,” by Vishal Mangalwadi
https://smile.amazon.com/Book-That-Made-Your-World-audiobook/dp/B07R95S8TH/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=mangalwadi&qid=1632960001&sr=8-3
I think Mangalwadi had his heart in the right place but the book was more aspirational than historical, often substituting a couple anecdotes for any sort of serious study. I thought Chapters 5, 11, and 12 were some of the better ones, while Chapters 7, 8, 10, and 18 were particularly poor. In some of the other chapters I think his point was likely true, but he just didn’t actually make the case, and in other chapters he started off on the right track but then got distracted by focusing on current hotbutton political issues instead of making the historical… Read more »
Lack of offensiveness from Christians. Seems we are mostly reacting to what others are doing versus promoting and articulating what we are about.
Here are a few topic ideas: Angry moms at school boards: Is it working or should we look elsewhere? Where should we circle the wagons to get a win (physically or topically)? (One gets the feeling a move is coming, but also it would be nice to grab a win or at least land a good right hook.) What to think about all the liberals moving into the “conservative camp” calling for a “bigger tent?” Time to buy Jim Bakers buckets or plant an apple tree? Objects to burn, in no particular order: Dumpster Mountain of masks LGBT flag (bold… Read more »
What I would like pastor Wilson to bring charge against is communitarianism (neo-communism but worse). I understand this term is foreign to most, but the affect this gnostic philosophy is having in ALL communities is hidden in plain sight. We tend to focus on politics primarily …Communitarian law is the force behind most things political, right or left, doesn’t matter. I hope the following link works for those that want to learn more. I’m not looking to promote fear, I believe this (secular) book will provide much situational awareness, specificity and clarity regarding the enemy behind the enemy…Get a view… Read more »
Maybe you have addressed this before…… but isn’t there a difference between being persecuted for the Gospel and being persecuted as a true patriot? or being persecuted for “merely” standing for freedom in a tyrannical regime?
If the people of North Korea marched for liberty and (sadly) were arrested and jailed… that would not be the kind of persecution Jesus talks about in Matthew 5, right?
So why does it qualify as being persecuted for Christ in this country if we protest encroaching government control and are persecuted for it? …. vs. being persecuted for preaching the Gospel?
Thank you.
Textual Criticism, specifically the kind that admits from the gate that God’s Word has not been persevered in all ages. The Critical theory taught to me and thousands of other seminarians of late.
I have a suggestion for the cricket bat dusting: please take to task the professing Christian elites who are deconstructing all of the Old Testament and most of the New, and leading others down that path. Pete Enns comes to mind. I’ve been witnessing the outworking of this in a formerly close friend, who thinks Enns is all that and a can of creamed wheat. It has been painful to watch him deconstruct his faith and throw out as mythology so much of the Scripture. Along with addressing these “theologians”, I would appreciate hearing advice on how to respond to… Read more »
Since we are living in Clown World , I suggest burning up a clown car , preferably with dummies inside made up to resemble our head clowns, Fauci, Biden, Harris, Pelosi…we have no shortage of clowns… one car could not hold them all.
A significant portion of southern evangelicals have sentimentalism as the cheap replacement for the solid foundation of true, cask strength, Biblical religion.
The “chicken soup for the soul” variety, with ultra-sweet stories of reunited families, quaint holy spirit whisperings of “it’s time,” or “your future wife just walked in front of you,” are what get people excited down here in the “Christian” south. This refuse has enough sugar in it to make a honey bee vomit, and well it should, for it is more saccharine than an actual nutrient.
Please take some time to address this addiction to sentimentalism.
You just explained a lot of what I’ve seen in my husband’s family (who live in the south). Sentimentalism is the perfect way to describe it – thanks!
It would be nice if the burning somehow made fun of book burning or Burning Man.
Burn a boat flying the rainbow flag with a pair of skinny jeans hanging from the yard arm….set it on fire by blasting it with a canon (spelling on purpose)
Where are the conservative Christian men in political leadership? Why is it that conservative women are often stronger and don’t mince words?
Could we get a biblical explanation regarding the talking point that 1 trillion dollars spending plus 3.5 trillion dollars spending equals zero cost?
“What would you like to see addressed a mere four weeks from now?”
I would like to know if any of the Westminster Seminary/Christianity Today teachers and contributors have openly repented of their vote for Biden? Have any of these jellyfish contacted you or your staff to say, “I’ve been a baaaad boy?” or should we assume they are digging in for the sake of embarrassment and reputation?
Their decision made no sense at the time, now it borders on criminal.
I would love to see a drubbing of the Greatest Generation and their failure towards their children (the boomers) and the subsequent failure towards all of their posterity. May we place blame at the feet that deserve it in order to properly shame that behavior in our and our children’s generations.
1. Put an end once for all on the evil Jew cabal theory; unpack it more
2. Prepare us for the Unidentified Ariel Phenomenon UAP coming religion
Being a former Medic in the 10th Special Forces, our missions were planned very carefully with certain details that must be met:
Enemy strength, enemy weapons, enemy response time to our insertion. Basic unconventional warfare 101. These idiots in charge of the Afghanistan debacle couldn’t plan their way out of a wet paper bag. They all need to go along with the FBI, CIA, State Department and any other fools who were involved with this failure. May God continue to play out Psalm 2 in this nation and may God’s people wake the hell up!
Since you mention the Vice article, would you mind addressing it? Obviously it’s only one side of the story, but according to it, a deacon was getting drunk and raping his wife and the church did nothing but condemn the wife for it. Shouldn’t the deacon have been stripped of his office for drunkenness and counseled just as strongly about his failure to love and cherish his wife and treat her tenderly?
Why would you believe a word of that drivel? It’s from Vice.
It is a heap of rather serious allegations that paints a particular picture of the Kirkers, and that is what people are reading about them. Given their remote location, it is likely most if not all who read that article will not have the opportunity to learn firsthand whether or not it is an accurate portrayal. It would be up to the Kirkers to provide a response if they care to defend their reputation. If it goes unaddressed, the public has only have one side of the story, which Proverbs reminds us may even seem right until we hear the… Read more »
There are certain things that occur within the church that the leaders must keep confidential for the sake of the reputation or privacy of those involved, even if the other side tells “all the details” (which never are). Accusations brought by a single witness are an example, or a refusal by accusers to confront the person(s) they accuse. This happens mostly when things don’t progress as far as a trial in a church court, or one of the parties intentionally short-circuits the process.. An example is when the elders confront someone who is accused of sin and they do in… Read more »
If a wife is raped by her husband in the home, she will by necessity be a “single witness”.
Describing the difficulty in determining an accurate accounting of an event that happened in private does not make it any less difficult to determine, nor does it absolve third parties of the responsibility to have some external evidence to prove a claim before treating an accusation as indisputably true.
The living, breathing Holy Writ address marital rape charges and similar issues:
@metoo Ch. 2, v. 4 “Believe all women” (2017)
@SaintGeorgeFloyd, Ch 3. v. 7 “Unless it’s a white, media-described ‘Karen’ in a conflict with a non-white man. Never believe her!” (2020)
Gotta keep up!
You should be careful when laying charges. But blankly insisting that a single witness is insufficient to demonstrate marital rape is absurd.
Let’s take this scenario straight from the article. A woman is repeatedly raped by her husband. Due to the nature of the offense, she is the only witness. She repeatedly goes to church officials, then tell her to stay. Eventually she gets a divorce because being raped repeatedly is a horrific thing.
Should the church discipline her for unjustified divorce because she never proved her rape claim? Yes or no?
I think we should hang the accused even with zero witnesses. Just to be safe.
Still not decided whether we should always wait for an accusation.
hahaha
I guess we’ve passed the point of a serious discussion and have entered the “deflection” stage. Still waiting for an answer to this question:
If you can demonstrate that such a scenario has enough likelihood of happening *without* any other indications that her husband is abusing her in a way that could be independently verified, that might be a reasonable question to demand that someone answer. Since I think that the likelihood that a husband regularly rapes his wife without physically abusing her in any other way (or causing any physical harm in the process that could be verified) is effectively nil, I’m not sure anyone’s obligated to address it.
Jane, first off, are you acknowledging that one witness to the rape is enough or not? What “other indications” would you be willing to accept in order to validate a marital rape claim? Please be specific. And your focus on verifiable physical harm suggests you have little experience with sexual assault victims (or are just denying what you know). Numerous rapes occur without verifiable physical harm and that is especially true in cases where the victim is relationally close to the assailant. My wife is a counselor to abuse victims and I have had several friends who left their husbands… Read more »
I am saying your “one witness” scenario is immaterial, and it’s immateral about what anyone thinks about that, because the probability of that going on in a marriage without other things that do admit of a witness happening is so vanishingly small that it’s not necessary to cry that a woman will never get justice if more than one witness is necessary. It’s a distraction. A woman who is being abused by her husband to that extent is being abused in more than one way, and the other ways will not be hidden.
Yes, let’s have a “serious” discussion about about an article from a Christ-hating site that pulls wildly distorted material from an untrustworthy blog then twists and turns it even more. We can certainly trust them more than Bible-believing Christians, right? Especially when they publish such other fine articles a “A Beginner’s Guide To Watching Feminist Porn-The Lifesaving Magic of Gay Smut” and “Inside the Subreddit for People Who Stick Things Down Their Pee Hole.”
No.
If the husband denies the accusation, should the church discipline him because he never proved his innocence?
Han, in today’s market place it is hard to present the truth. Over the years, I have sent source documents, court documents and such to various authors, professors, noted individuals such as Rod Dreher and the American Conservative magazine pointing out where they were completely wrong and that they really should correct their stories. I have pointed out to posters on blogs that they were telling falsehoods. They didn’t care. No, instead, they refused to make corrections or to seek the truth. The only individual who took action to correct an error is Professor Crawford Gribbon at the Queen’s University… Read more »
Han: “It is a heap of rather serious allegations…”
Ah yes, the old ‘it’s not the nature of the evidence, but the seriousness of the charge that matters.’
Because, after all, the more serious the charge, the more true it is, right?
We could test this theory if you like…
Remember Ravi Zacharias and the culture of denial and absence of discernment he revealed. All to keep an evangelical empire going.
A cautionary tale in that although we have a culture of victimhood these days some really are victims.
Evangelicals criticising the woke but being asleep when it comes to what is going on in their own midst.
To your point, here are some recent article headlines from Vice. I love how SJWians fully trust such sources when it comes to reporting on “conservative extremists,” COVID or presidential politics but ignore the sewage they revel in. -My Gay Prison Gang Fights Neo-Nazis -A Beginner’s Guide To Watching Feminist Porn -The Lifesaving Magic of Gay Smut -How the Bay Area’s Polyamorous Relationships Shifted During the Pandemic -Inside the Subreddit for People Who Stick Things Down Their Pee Hole -Inside The Baffling Subreddit Where People Talk About Having Sex With Bees -The Secret Lives of Cuckolding Gigolos of India -Queer Women On… Read more »
The author of the article contracts her writing. She isn’t VICE herself.
Not that I agree with your assessment of it per se.
Your first point is immaterial. The “gay smut” authors may very well be contracted as well. Your second point is telling. I’ll leave it at that.
To just address this one thing, we never had a situation anything like that. IF we had a deacon getting drunk, he would have been removed from office. IF we had a deacon raping his wife, he would have been brought under church discipline.
Of course I believe you when you say how biblically you would have taken care of this woman. You have a track record of such things , we can see. I’m sure she would have been able to produce the two or three witnesses you idiots would have required to give her any justice. And she would have received tons of empathy from your circles because after all empathy is hierarchical. I’m scratching my head with that one Doug but of course in your world it all make perfect sense. You probably would have required picture proof too so you… Read more »
Doug Wilson you are behaving like a fool when you don’t even read the article but are convinced it’s just all lies. Also, how can you even think this is how a man professing to be a pastor should behave. What if it’s not a pack of lies. The alternative is you have been in some way culpable for hurting a lot of women. Your arrogance in this matter is definitely preceding you and your narcissistic behaviour is evident to anyone who has eyes to see. They are leaving you in droves contrary to your pompous boasting. Quite frankly those… Read more »
Funny you believe baseless accusations. How ’bout some evidence? The form of “justice” you believe in is totally unbiblical.
I’m just wondering in what way you seem to think you would have proof of a man raping his wife?? Ya gonna stay the night?
No actually what’s funny is you believe that you could ever have evidence or proof of a man raping his wife. What you gonna do spend the night?
Do you really want to use the word baseless? Wow! Just wow! We sure are arrogant!!
Most of what was said in the article Doug’s own blogging can substantiate. He has incriminated himself with his own foolish mouth that never stops running.
Furthermore how you figure you are going to have evidence of a man raping his wife? Ya gonna spend the night? Take pictures? Y’all really have no idea do you of how ignorant you sound or you would probably stop talking.
Dude, burden of proof rests on the accuser. Beyond that, not my problem nor business. Nuff said.
Ray misspoke, the article referred to the son of a deacon who was doing those things, not the deacon himself. Did the person interviewed in the article report that situation to pastors at Trinity Reformed because they were worried about reporting directly to Christ Church (that’s what they state that they did), and what was the response?
Correction: It was the son of a deacon at Christ Church who was raping his wife, not a deacon. I’m wondering if that means that, according to Doug Wilson’s comment here, it is not okay for a deacon to rape his wife— he will be removed from office and disciplined— but it is acceptable for the son of a deacon to rape his wife. Clarification needed.
It would not be according to Doug. To hold church office your household must be in order- and this accusation violates that. But still, we do not believe all accusations without any merit.
I’ll be surprised if he answers directly. He’s played this game before – take a reasonable question, find a technical error that allows him to dispute the entire thing without even addressing the actual question, and then refuse to answer after the error has been corrected.
*laughs at hypocrite Jonathan libbie*
I would love to see something on BioLogos, and how their perversion of the gospel is so dangerous and anti-christian.
Doug wrote a (terrible, unfortunately) article on Biologos several Novembers ago titled “those unbelievers at biologos” or similar.
I read it, it was great! They are unbelievers. I doubt there’s more than 10 christians among them.
Would you please discuss the issue of women preaching in the church with a focus on what to do when your whole flamin’ city is getting on board (Launceston, Tasmania, Australia).