Letter to the Editor: As soon as I read news about the White/Mahler debate, the first thing I thought was, "I wonder if Doug Wilson will have something to say about this?" Just as I ...
Letters, As You Have Come to Expect Them
Theft Presupposes Property Rights
“I cannot commit adultery is there is no marriage. I cannot murder if there is no right to life. I cannot bear false witness if there is no truth. And, bring this to the point, I cannot steal or covet unless there is such a thing as my neighbor having a right to whatever is modified by his very own personal pronoun. To adapt the nouns from the tenth commandment—his house, his servants, his livestock, or anything else that is HIS.”
Three Years After the Congregation Took a Vow
“But in three years, that very same child might be careening around the cookie table like a chimpanzee on meth, with both fists full of cookies. If one of our parents remembers the vow we all took back in that heartwarming moment and attempts to talk with you about your child, how easy is it to get defensive? The answer: very easy. Your heart and your mouth are full of arguments that are, on paper, good arguments. This person doesn’t know your child’s name. This person doesn’t know your child’s favorite food (it’s cookies). This person doesn’t know your child’s bedtime (they don’t have a bedtime).”
Keep Your Kids, pp. 18-19
“Right You Are, Chief!” The White/Mahler Debate
Introduction: One of the things my father-in-law used to say was, "who has more fun than people?" This old observation of his came back to me for some reason when I started to think about ...
Of Necessity
“When there is no standard above the state, then the state becomes the standard. If there is no God above the system, then the system becomes god.”
Leaning the Wrong Way
“We should always remember our propensity to guard against the sin we are least likely to fall into. The indulgent parent is all on guard against tyranny, and the tyrannical parent is very careful not to be too soft.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 17
The One Remaining Nerve
Sin Doesn’t Balance Sin
“In contrast, the dictatorial parent thinks that he is simply being firm, while the indulgent parent thins she is simply being kind. In both cases, they call their failure something else. And on top of that, both types often believe that they’re ‘balancing out’ the other. They each lean in opposite directions in the canoe, which, incidentally, is how you capsize a canoe.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 16
No Coercion at the Center
“Any society requires force for the outliers but is not held together at the center by force. When the ruling elites start to opt out of this societal bond—‘laws are for the little people’—there is usually a time lag, but the little people do catch on. And when they catch on, the whole thing spirals down into chaos.”
Keep Your Kids, pp. 21-22
Feeding or Eating
“This is the behavior of a ruler who devours his people rather than a ruler who feeds his people. You can see the contrast in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus feeds the people by the sea right after Herod throws a banquet where the head of John the Baptist is brought out on a serving platter. One king feeds His people, one king eats his people.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 15