As We Have Come to Expect from You, Letters

Re: Tranny Wedding
Incredibly, a friend of mine (both of us men) recently decided he was a woman and his girlfriend decided she was a man, and they planned a wedding with him as the bride and her as the groom. It made me realize we need additional definition to a biblical marriage: one man (who knows he’s a man) and one woman (who knows she’s a woman). Wild times. To end the story, tragically (or maybe not), she ended up taking my friend’s money and running off.

A Reader

These two quotes: “In other words, these accommodating Christians would in fact be willing to use a demeaning reference like whatsit—provided an unstable, untrammeled, and mentally disturbed ego demanded it. And yet, at the same time, they are unwilling to use it when a holy God, His righteous Scriptures, and the whole created order demand it. All must offer a pinch of incense to the Emperor of Ego, and as long as you have registered your dissent “off-budget” somewhere, as it were, you can still observe all the external pagan formalities that are being demanded of you.”

-and-

“and incidentally, we must remember they were not actually good representatives of James”

are more closely related than we know. In this case, the tsk-tskers who would take issue with your use of “whatsit” may actually *think* they are being good representatives of “winsomeness”, when in fact they are not. Not even close.

Guymon

Didn’t the breaking begin before we got to this point? Didn’t it start cracking when pastors failed to uphold the holy in matrimony and became agents of the state by the power vested in them, you know? We might say believer-unbeliever. Non-starter. Okay. But the pressure is on. He really is a nice guy. Maybe she can get him to come to church. And Jesus loved the tax collectors and sinners. And running in the background is, they are a dedicated family in the church. Good givers. Influential. If this causes a stink, we’d be in a bad way. They are going to get married anyway.

Two unbelievers. Well they should be married anyway. It’s an evangelistic opportunity. I get to speak to what will likely be many of the unbelieving friends and family. Taking oaths and vows to God, well, I don’t know the work-around for that. Meanwhile, they are thinking, cool, I get a cardboard cutout to say some religious things, and we get our nice church wedding. Might be a tad cynical, but not too much.

Two Christian kids shacking up. Why aren’t they under church discipline (except most churches don’t do this and see ‘running in the background’ above)? Seeking forgiveness, confession, living separately and chaste is the repentance plan.
Pastor Doug, I am not trying to be contrary, contentious, nor disrespectful.

However, I do believe because we did not regard God as holy regarding heterosexual relationships and marriage, we are responsible for this gross debasement we see today.

Jeff

Re: the Liberty Catechism

Question 36 is: “How are rights and obligations related? If a man has a right to something, then all other men have an obligation to recognize and honor that right. Every right comes with a corresponding obligation.” It seems to me that perhaps obligations come before rights. For instance, we have an obligation to assemble to worship God, so we have the right of free assembly. We have an obligation not to murder people created in the image of God, so we have the right of life. We have an obligation to use our property to fulfill the Cultural Mandate, so we have the right of property. Etc. I know this is kind of a chicken and the egg issue, but would love your thoughts.

Bill

My family and I have started reading your books within the last few years and have found your insight to be extremely helpful. Thanks for all you do!

I wanted to write and get your thoughts and potential advice on the issue of bullying, specifically within a Church setting. For some background, my family (myself, my wife, and 5 children) currently attends a Reformed Baptist church in SC, and we are generally very happy where we are.

However, we have run into a recurring issue with our 6-year-old son getting bullied by some of the boys around his age. He is constantly getting name-called, physically pushed around, and generally provoked to get some kind of a reaction, and when he does eventually react in anger, they go and tattle to their parents, who then inform us that our son is acting wildly toward their children.

At first we weren’t aware that any provocation was happening, and we tried to deal with his behavior as best we could. However after repeated incidents, and then some of our other children witnessing the taunts, I questioned him and he told us what has been happening.

We instructed him that the boys were in the wrong, and he should just ignore their taunting as best as he could, and that he is responsible for his own behavior and not theirs. However they have not let up, and it has been over a year of constant bullying. I have more recently talked with the other boys’ parents, who have brushed it off as a “boys will be boys” thing. To make matters worse, some of the boys doing this are the pastor’s children, so there isn’t much recourse, since he has all but said he won’t be addressing it.

Do you have any advice for this? Should I be hands-off, and let my son figure it out? Is it truly a “boys will be boys” thing, or should I be stepping in to protect him, drawing a line in the sand with the parents? I’m even to the point that I’m thinking about beginning to teach him to defend himself, both verbally and physically, and informing their parents that he will be defending himself, and any attempt of tattling will be met with the same “boys will be boys” attitude. However this flies in the face of what we’ve been trying to teach our children about loving their Christian brothers, and being at peace with others as far as it depends upon them.

Lastly, I also want to do what is right by the leadership, and I worry that this could bring about discipline from the pastor if handled wrongly. But at this point, I think my son’s well being needs to be the priority.
Thanks in advance.

Bob

On Begging the Question: Pastor, it used to be, back in the day, that ministers of weddings (and even a few JPs) would ask all those in attendance: “If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined together, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.” I suppose if we were still regularly enjoined at our weddings in this manner, then the grandma in question could attend for the sole purpose of standing up and saying, “Hell no, they can’t get married—one of em’s a tranny!” That might be ONE reason to attend . . .

Andrew

I’ve recently released my first book—The End of Wisdom: For Those Who Want to Be Wise, Not in Their Own Eyes—which I describe as being born out of a simple yet profound Scriptural truth which begs an unanswered—even unasked—question: If the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, then what is its end?
If it peaks your interest, let me know and I’d be absolutely delighted to send you a free paperback copy through Amazon, no strings attached.

You can learn more about it here to further gauge your interest.

Blessings, my elder brother in Christ.

Caleb

Forgive the Nom De Plume, but nowadays it seems needed. Misdirection in a war, culture war even, is prudent. The inflatable Sherman tanks in England used to distract Germany from the actual D-Day target in 1944 comes to mind. The chair is against the wall. Now that all the intelligence agencies are thoroughly intrigued, perturbed, or confused, and the diversity hires therein likely googling what war occurred in 1944, we may continue on to the subject at hand…

My wife and I have a few children biologically, however due to medical reasons my wife is likely unable to have any more children. We’ve both agreed domestic adoption is in our future and we’d like to adopt while we’re young (early 30s, late twenties) rather than later.

Do you have any recommendations for Christian adoption agencies?

Government agencies are a nonstarter. Between being a Christian patriarch and holding opinions (facts) such as 95% of modern men ought to quit acting like a bunch of fairy princesses competing in a ‘Who can be the most gay competition’, my farm overalls wouldn’t even make it past the front door of a ‘gubmint’ agency.

And, bless their heart, my blood pressure can’t take an educated-beyond-their-intelligence rainbow hair, with not a single callus on their dainty hands, trying to lecture me on the adopted child’s preferred pronouns. I’d have to go home and watch John Wayne for hours while eating a steak just to recover.

In all seriousness, our Church does not have experience in adoption. A church as large as yours likely does have experience. Reality such as it is, I will heartily appreciate any recommendations of Christian Agencies from you, and from any readers of the blog here.

Thank you kindly for your time and advice. May the diction in this letter grip your attention and excite your cerebrum as the insanity, and baseness, of the world roars about outside in jealous reaction to our Glorious Lord.

SR

I struggle with the sins of self-preservation and self-righteousness. It’s not so much that I believe I’m better than other people, but that I don’t want to look stupid in front of them and will often fight tooth and nail to keep appearances. It’s rooted in a fear of other people, I know. It makes loving confrontation feel impossible, and lately, I have not been courageously defending the Gospel because of the pride in my heart. My heart is never in the right place at the right time. In addition to that, it also means that I rarely am offered accountability because I come off as unapproachable and defensive. I want to be like Paul, keeping a right heart towards my brothers and sisters, but I do not know how. How does a Christian discipline her heart to be loving like God’s? What does the brain work look like, to take every thought and feeling captive?

TBD

I have just discovered you within the past month on YouTube and thoroughly enjoy listening to you. After 40+ years of labeling myself as a post-tribulation pre-mil eschatologist, I am excited and comfortable with the newness of the post mil path I am on now. Two questions I have.

1-Is the modern Zionist state of Israel Biblical in which I do not believe it is?
2-If abortion is murder, when does the zygote, embryo, fetus become a living soul?

I am considering running for a special election for state rep as an Independent. According to post apostolic church father’s writings, abortion was considered murder. I personally believe it’s not murder until the child takes the breath of life to become a living soul. Is it sin? Yes. But I don’t think we want legislatures to go down the slippery slope of passing laws concerning sin which some would include women wearing britches.

Sincerely Thankful,

Craig

I have recently been taking to a friend about women wearing head coverings, I wanted to know your opinion on them. Any information you can give would be much appreciated!

Blessings,

Annie

I’m hoping to glean some nuanced wisdom from you. I’m 29, and a brand new associate pastor at a non-denominational church in Canada. My spiritual upbringing was Pentecostal, however during the process of accepting this new job as a pastor, I became heavily influenced by Reformed Theology (thanks to you) and most of what I read now comes from thinkers within the Reformed camp.

At this moment, if I’m being blunt, this is not the type of Christian environment where I’d want to raise our children (we have none yet). There are many weak spots in our church’s culture, biblical literacy, leadership etc. . . . however, when we received the call to join this church we really felt that it seemed God was moving us here—it’s a long story.

Here is what I’m wrestling with. A lot of the general advice out there on ‘when to leave a non-reformed church’ would say that we should pack our bags and go. However I read your story and it sounds like Christ Church was a totally non-reformed Jesus Freak church in the 70’s when you started . . . and look at it now! Is there any advice or wisdom you could offer me to help think through this with discernment? I don’t want to be reactionary and leave just because things aren’t great, but I also don’t want to play the fool and naively believe we’re going to see real change. What are the issues worth fighting through and what are issues too deep for change? Please help me ask the right questions. I want to honour God and lead my family—the burden of responsibility weighs heavily on me.

Thanks again for your time, I really appreciate it.

C

I’d like to start by saying that this letter is completely hypothetical. No semblance to any real locations, persons, or events is intended. In fact, I’m asking for a friend who just watched a Blog and Mablog video called “What Women Want . . . and What They Say They Want.”

So my friend is fresh out of high school and working full-time, intending on attending College in the Fall. He spent last summer working at a Christian camp in Michigan and started dating a girl. She seems wonderful, despite the small issue of sometimes overwhelming (and often described as clinical) anxiety. He wasn’t sure what to think about this anxiety, but found her upstanding and attractive enough outside of it to pursue her. Oh! There’s one other problem. He lives in Florida, she lives in Michigan.

But the summer has been over for almost 5 months now, and, despite everything, he still thinks she’s wonderful. That “everything” is referring to her anxiety’s being an ostensibly insurmountable obstacle to the relationship. She has expressed this sentiment three separate times since the decision to separate was made, along with claiming that if distance wasn’t a factor, she would be willing to try to make it work. My friend is convinced that she is being as honest as she can be (which, considering her mind isn’t the friendliest place at the moment, isn’t that honest) and that the winter months are only serving to heighten her anxiety. The truth of her incidental self-deception was further proved by her latest statement that she “doesn’t know what the situation will be by next summer (when my friend can be with her again at the camp), much less next fall (when my friend has the chance to go to College very near her).” My friend has made it his object throughout to speak the truth to her, that God is working this terrible anxiety to His own glory and to her salvation, citing the wonderful ways God used her over the previous summer (over the summer she had been almost totally anxiety free, which her mom attributes in large part to her relationship with my friend).

My friend’s decision is between a far off school with a terrific faculty and an exuberant community (NSA, you’ve probably never heard of it) and a smaller, but comparable (Reformed and Classical) school that’s much closer to family, friends, and his girlfriend. Finally, how would the firmness outlined in the above mentioned Blog apply to this decision? Or would it at all?

EM

Why do most non-charismatic evangelicals typically not practice exorcism? Every other major branch of Christianity (RCC, EO, and Pentecostal) has a theology/practice of exorcism.

Do you think this could be a serious obstacle in the progress of the Gospel among our churches?

Caleb

I currently find myself in a dating situation and I’m asking for advice and guidance. The young girl I’m dating right now has good Christian virtues and she shows that she will be a great wife one day. And the same goes for her because she has explained to me how she sees in me a great husband figure. The only problem I’m having right now is that I do not find her physically attractive all the way or should I say 100% (There are days I do find her attractive and then there are other days I don’t). My question is if I’m making the right decision dating her and feeling this way towards her at times. Thank you.

R

“Faith as the sole instrument of justification refers to faith as the sole primary instrument. There are plenty of lesser instruments, lesser means—preachers, tracts, sermons, mothers, mission agencies, the Lord’s Supper, soup kitchens, baptism, and bumper stickers.” The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 471

Sole instrument or sole primary instrument? I’m flummoxed by this quotation. Sola fide or not sola fide? Please help deflummox me.

Ian

My wife and I are reading your book, “To a Thousand Generations” as we recently gave birth to our son, and are navigating the weighty topic of baptism. My wife and I both were baptized as infants under the baptismal regeneration understanding of baptism. My wife went on through confirmation in her teenage years and made a profession of faith in front of the congregation following such classes. However, during those years, she was living in gross sin and lacked daily repentance. In college, these very sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness, etc. became an obvious and open lifestyle and she was no longer attending church. Although she always professed faith, her actions revealed the heart of unbelief and rebellion. She did not abide in Christ or make any effort to work out her salvation. A few years into our marriage, she began reading Scripture and came across all of the warning passages regarding such rebellion, apostasy, and unbelief (some of which you mention in your book); and now fears that she is beyond hope as she has trampled on Christ after having professed to know Him. Your words in the introduction- “. . . has been the point of stumbling for many professing Christians into a soul-destroying nominalism . . . bringing up children who embrace the form of religion , but deny the power . . .” get to the heart of many of her fears regarding her own life. Today, she deeply desires a right relationship with God, to follow Christ in obedience, and to have the Holy Spirit sanctify her according to the righteousness of Christ; but fears she can no longer receive the forgiveness of her sins in light of how she has sinned so grotesquely against the Light of Christ.

Is there any hope to be offered to her? She has found this to be particularly troublesome as she tends to agree with you on the topic of covenental infant baptism and does not know where to go from here regarding her own salvation, and desperately wants to do right by our son in raising him up to know our LORD.
Thank you for any insight and wisdom you may be able to offer to us.

Tanner

I hear you and I agree that we pledge allegiance to the creeds and yet fail to show up for the draft. We have not yet counted the cost for the call to pick up our cross and follow Him. Really, truly follow Him. Obey what He has said. Hold fast to the canon.

So speaking of the canon, may I submit to you honestly my frustration about the current state of the spiritual gifts debate?

My husband is pastoring a small home church in a little lakeside town outside uber weird Austin, TX and the divisions of the national evangelical world can be visibly observed here.

An honest reading of 1 Corinthians 12-14 has left me cut to the chase that I honestly have not earnestly desired the gifts but rather have despised them. So I repented and asked the Lord to bless me and the gathering of saints with the gifts. When I got off my knees and opened up social media, the algorithm had guessed what I was talking to the Lord about and fed me every debate about the gifts. Being Reformed (much credit to understanding the Scripture’s arguments of soteriology by your teaching and also James White—many thanks!), I have found myself frustrated that the cessationist view is contrary to the consistent exegesis of the text. I have heard all the rhetoric and various arguments, but they ring as hollow as Leighton Flowers’ Rom 9 debate with Dr. White.

To my point, now that you know where I’m coming from, I hear you on the disconnect of applying Scripture and doing what the word commands. Doesn’t this apply also to the command from the Apostle Paul to earnestly desire the gifts, especially that we would prophesy? It seems the same fears that keep the current reformed crowd from application—binding of conscience and all that, apply to this, maybe especially. This subject has caused such deep divisions in the body here, split churches, and there is a dominating spirit of fear that it cripples our witness to the community. I am asking you to consider the Scriptures for themselves in regards to the spiritual gifts given to the body for edification, exhortation and consolation and recognize the same spirit you have mentioned above in regards to the gospel that have rendered us impotent, divided, and empty. I am thankful you take a much less hostile stance (as witnessed by your conversation with Joel Webbon and the Remnant Radio guys earlier this month) and I trust your willingness to go where the Scripture leads rather than the crowd. Either way, I appreciate your ministry so very much and have been much blessed by your boldness ever since I read your Case for Classical Christian Education way back in 2013. I also think of myself as a closet Presbyterian having been baptized as a baby, myself, but alas, I went and married a Baptist

Thank you for your love for the Lord, for building the Kingdom and I think of you and your Moscow crew as the Riders of Rohan.

Much love in the unity under the banner of Christ,

Katherine

Thanks for your Blog and Mablog post concerning obedience in the 26 January edition.

For a long time, I’ve wondered if part of the problem with evangelicaldom is a misunderstanding of “We preach Christ and him crucified.” How many times have I heard it said that this means that we preach “the Cross” as the heart of the Gospel? But that is a failure to understand plain Greek!

The word “crucified” in the original is a perfect, passive, participle. Paul’s point is that he preaches Christ—the Risen, Reigning Lord of Glory (as is consistently the case in the Book of Acts). Yes, the Exalted Christ who once was crucified, providing an atonement for sin and a model for discipleship, but the Christ who now reigns as Lord, and to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been committed by the Father. With schoolboy pedantry, we could translate it as “We preach Christ—the one who exists now as the Lord who once was crucified.”

The mistake has led to evangelism’s being all about my sin and God’s mechanism for its forgiveness, with Christ fulfilling the role of facilitator. So that faith/trust is directed to “the finished work of Christ at Calvary,” for example, rather than towards the Living Lord who still welcomes sinners to take up their cross and follow him.

A proper emphasis upon who it is that calls us leads immediately to the call to obey him, for it is the Lord Christ in whom we trust.

This is a far cry from moralistic therapeutic deism; it is the call to the “obedience of faith” (Rom.1).

Peter

Is there any noteworthy Bible commentaries that specifically focuses on typology that you would recommend?

Samuel

Is there a Study Bible (or any resource) that you would recommend for new born believers?
Thanks,

Peter

My first question is: Is it wrong for an unmarried woman to require a potential spouse to be older &/or taller than her? For me, I believe having these traits would help elicit a natural order of respect in marriage. Is it okay for age & height to be non-negotiables, or should they remain in the strong preferences list?

Secondly, how much weight should unmarried people place on physical attraction? Is the answer different for women & men? In my singular past dating experience, I went into the relationship knowing I was not physically attracted to him, but greatly admired his character & reverence for God. I was told by trusted church mentors that attraction can grow (especially for women), but this was not the case for me. If anything, it was rather opposite. Ultimately, the relationship ended over theological differences (he remained Lutheran while I became a Reformed Baptist).

I’m now of the mindset that God created attraction for a good reason, but it still feels borderline-sinful to say no to a suitor solely on the basis of his appearance when he seems like a solid God-fearing man. I would greatly appreciate your wisdom & advice!

Thank you,

Lexy

Yes, yes, yes! The accompanying picture should have been one of the old Batman scenes with “Pow, wham, kaboom” bubbles as he blasts the Joker. As I read your list of sample applications I thought that you are in a small group of ministers who would be willing to mention any of that from the pulpit less they risk offending their “sheep.” Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised given the eschatology of most modern Christians. Mission is downstream from eschatology, don’t you think? Since they’re watching and waiting for Christ to reappear, transport them out of this mess and deposit them in Paradise, why should they do anything other than talk, talk, talk and hope to persuade others to take a seat next to them on the bus to Paradise? It’s a pervasive form of Gnosticism; almost everything has only an “upper story” relevance. The “lower story” or earthly application is to be avoided. So we end up with prepackaged thimbles of grape juice and a dime-sized wafer for the Lord’s Supper served by men with medical gloves. It’s the thought that counts, right?

Allen

Your essay (Great Gospel Centered Crackup) sadly is right on. But sadder is the willful ignorance of so many of my Reformed brothers. I’m a member of a large PCA church in a conservative southern state. I have a very difficult time finding anyone who can discuss these topics. I’m approved by the Session to teach adult Sunday school. But if I was to teach anything remotely touching on the subjects of your essay a brouhaha would erupt. Today I am

Anonymous

On the Gospel-Centered Crack-up

First of all, ouch. It felt like November there for a while, and that’s not a bad thing. Probably even good. We’re about as far from Christmas on this side as November was on the other side, so it evens out. But you know, when someone is way down in a deep slumber, tapping on the shoulder doesn’t awaken them. Vigorous shaking sometimes doesn’t even do it. On occasion, you just have to rip the blankets off, grab the mattress, and flip the somnolent person straight onto the floor. With a thud.

But you also made me sad, for I recall not that long ago when I was attending a “strong, conservative” PCA church, the kind that stood up against Revoice and was prepared to exit the denomination if things didn’t go well over in GA—the kind that would have joined any other truly Reformed Presbyterian denomination . . . except the CREC. The kind that preached for four years unabated through the prophet Isaiah, skipping right over major holidays as if they didn’t exist and worldwide shakeups as if they never happened, plowing ahead in a way that would make Boxer swell with dutiful pride. Meanwhile, application was left up to men’s meetings over steak and beer, where we would ponder how to respond to St. George and Father French, where we swore off ever drinking Bud Light again. Because we were rarely given such instructions each Sunday morning, we had to work it out every first Tuesday night. But we knew the deeper meaning of Isaiah, verse by laborious verse, at the expense of four Christmas celebrations and a basic understanding of the global collapse affecting and infecting our daily lives.

So . . . I once thought my former church was a stalwart bastion of scriptural groundedness, and I suppose given the 100 alternatives in a 50-mile radius, they are light years ahead, and God bless them for that. There are many men in that church who would see its light shine much brighter over the city, and they do strive for practical application. I realize now, after reading your post, what I couldn’t quite put my finger on . . . the application was seldom preached. The pastor was too careful not to ruffle feathers or point for long at the problems all around us. He pointed only to Scripture, and never at milquetoast churches and pantywaisted preachers. He left us to figure out “now what.”

Thank you for your clarity. Thank you for being so boldly Puritanical.

Andy

I attend a Calvinist church two hours away from where I live, because of my work, so we only get to fellowship and meet people on Sundays. I regularly listen to and learn from your the content your ministry puts out.

Is it unwise to not live near church?

Thanks,

John

The way you speak about Kuyper in the context of post-millenialism has me intrigued. Where would you recommend someone start with Kuyper?

James

Well done on being the ‘Trump of Evangelicalism’ and I mean that as a compliment—for saying what is obviously true but nobody else has the testicular fortitude! Best

Stephen of Australia

I pray you, your family, and church are all doing well today!

I come to you for some biblical advice. My family resides on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. Since God saved my husband and me, we have been to six different churches. We attended two charismatic, two Baptist, and two Presbyterian churches, all in a span of six years. Our journey into Christianity has been an interesting one to say the least.

It’s really a long story and I don’t want to take too much of your time by you reading this but we are currently are attending a new Reformed Presbyterian church. The senior pastor, associate pastor, and elders always promote and quote Tim Keller and TGC. The pastor and its elders are always hyper-focused on only being Gospel-centered. In the couple of conversations we’ve had with two of the elders they really don’t like us talking or focusing on being “Reformed.” They always correct us and say they just want to be Gospel-centered but yet they do not preach or teach application of the Gospel. It’s a lot about God loves you just the way you are and not about you must repent and believe therefore you no longer dead but alive.

So far since attending only for about six months, we have heard from the pulpit “Googled 3-point” sermons where they always use worldly/secular/inappropriate analogies/illustrations. Again, they always quote Tim Keller, talk about national surveys/statistics, movies from Netflix, Disney+, and worldly demonic celebrity entertainers.

With all that said, just today the senior pastor asked my husband if we would like to become members of the church. We have an 8-year-old son and we would love for him to be baptized, but we don’t feel spiritually right to submit or affirm the church leadership with everything I said before.

What do we do and how can our son be baptized if we aren’t official members of the church?

I’m sorry this was so long, but thank you for taking the time to read it and help us. My husband and I are so very grateful and thankful to God for you and your amazing ministry! We pray one day we can come visit Moscow, ID and Christkirk Church! All Glory Be to God and All of Christ for All of Life!!

Sincerely,

Emily

I have benefited from your writings on the household, and would like to think further on how we got to our present, and disappointing, situation. I was hoping that you might be able to recommend some thoughtful (brief?) histories on feminism, America’s economy (specifically pertaining to consumerism, materialism), and our education system (as a feeder for that materialistic economy). I’m sure you probably have written on each in some measure, and if there are other sources you’ve found enlightening, I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. I was greatly helped by your book, Reforming Marriage, which is probably underneath some of the things that are now bouncing around inside my head, looking to find their way out.

Lonnie

For a while now I have had somewhat of a litmus test in my mind for how much I can trust a Christian pastor/apologist/blogger/etc. based on their view of the age of the earth, 6 literal days of creation, evolution, and global flood. If they fall on the side of taking the old earth/day-age/theistic evolution/local flood points of view, OR saying that they are possible and running cover for those views (punching right happily all the while), then I consider that someone who is to not be heavily trusted as a source of wisdom. I am not saying I don’t recognize their wisdom in other areas or think they are useless; I am saying that an otherwise orthodox and sound man who shows a “left turn” in their thinking is demonstrating that for some reason—and there could be many—they are willing to use a different approach to Scripture when it comes to the issues that the entire secular movement has founded their hellish anthropology on.

So my question here is, am I wrong to think this way? I recognize that these men don’t believe they are being inconsistent in their approach to these issues, and they will spend time showing how you can be “perfectly orthodox” and not affirm the historical Christian view of these things. Thank you for all that you do.

Colton

This is not related to a specific blog post, but since I’ve learned a little bit about postmillennial eschatology from your writings over the years, I thought you’d be a good one to ask. I recently watched a Youtube video of a brother in Christ explaining several of the different views (pre, post, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y), and at one point he described his own leaning, which he called progressive premillennialism. The big idea being that there is a now-and-not-yet element to Revelation, such that a partial, immediate fulfillment of prophecies (i.e. Nero, temple destroyed) could be envisioned while still anticipating a future, fuller (a.k.a. more global) fulfillment. In fact, this brother’s main concern with the postmil view seemed to be that it reduced the scope too much—that some of the prophecies and promises seemed more global.

And that got me wondering . . . is there a sort of progressive postmil view that takes the partial-now-fuller-later approach and applies it to the optimistic framework you contend for? I guess there would have to be some apocalyptic stuff right after the improving millennium but before Christ’s return. Maybe something like:

(1) 70AD immediate, localized, partial fulfillment of Revelation prophesy.
(2) Millennium of progressive improvement of God’s kingdom.
(3) Short apocalyptic tribulation as a future, global fulfillment of Revelation prophesy.
(4) Christ returns

Not sure if this really makes sense or just muddies the waters. It just seemed to me a possible way to harmonize the concern of some of the prophesy seeming more global in nature.

JPH

In Canada, we have mandatory employment insurance (EI), regulated by the government of Canada. A portion of each paycheck is deducted by the government and kept in an insurance pool, and whenever we are unemployed for no fault of our own (i.e. laid off, not fired), we may apply to have some of those funds deposited in our bank account regularly, but only for a time, until we find another job. EI is also responsible for funding leave payments for maternity, illness, and caregiving. Canada Pension Plan (CPP) works the same way, though pertaining to old age security.

Is this something that Christians should avoid taking advantage of, or no? What are the ethics of taking part in redistributive wealth? And to my fellow Canadian readers, does anyone know if my EI deductions stay in my name, or do they get redistributed to others who apply?

Thanks be to God for the ministry of Canon Press and Christ Church!

For Christ,

C-Anon

I really appreciate your angle on things. Perhaps that is because it is just the right combination of things that I’ve believed all along, ooh, I never thought of that, and just a dash of I’m not sure I agree with that.

As a Texan, I am deeply interested in what is happening in the legal (hopefully to remain so) fight regarding the razor wire at Shelby Park. I have very definite thoughts on what should happen, but since, being a Texan, I am emotionally connected I would like a steady relatively outside view from someone who is both Godly and well-versed on current events, the Civil War, the relationship of the Christian to the magistrate, etc.

Thank you and Blessings,

Jason