Letters To Remind Us of Whatever It Was We Decided to Write About

I could not believe there are people out there with such a bigoted, intolerant and hateful view on life. The ONLY reason I write this is to register my abhorrence to such a disgusting human being. Burn in hell you disgraceful waste of skin.

GB

My take away from all this Russell Moore stuff is that in order to get an all expense paid tour of Moscow and a bunch of time with you is to build up a following of people on the Internet and start saying a bunch of obnoxious things.
I’ll get right to work.

Thomas

States are not moral agents, just the arm of the moral agent(s) running the show (Putin, Xi, Kim, the US president—whomever that might be, etc). The only difference is the first three do so unilaterally. In the US there are just more hurdles (judiciary, congress, the Constitution, the people-ballot box) for the president to get his wishes done unilaterally, and we all should thankful for that. That doesn’t mean they don’t try however (executive order, etc.) . . . and sometimes even prevails.

Rob

Bro. Doug,
Great article . . . as far as it went. But just speaking here as your token “dispensational pre” type of reader, I really felt the need of discussing the eschatological angle. Once the Calvinists are tee-totally in charge from sea to shining sea, what then? I fully expect our national epidemic of sex-related crimes to diminish. That would be a great victory for America.
But there’s not a good history there for maintaining civil and religious liberty downstream of the takeover. If we put the Calvinists in charge, they will own The Power. And nothing attracts the conniving lust of the Secular Man quite so much as power. What will he NOT do to get it? You would find no shortage of criminal men who would swear allegiance to the WCF as readily (and deceitfully) as they now swear to the Constitution. Sooner or later, the Christian regime would become another stage where sinners can do their thing.
Even if we could establish an overtly Christian government and make Bro. Doug the Supreme Dictator for Life, your silver cord would eventually break, and the world to come would succumb by and by to the lostness of man. “Few there be that find . . . ” Until Christ Himself reigns from David’s throne in Jerusalem, the very best achievements in human governance are going to temporary exceptions to the general history of the world. As for me, I’m heartily on board with helping you create such an exception and enjoy the fruits of it as long as possible. But as Benjamin said, Donkeys live a long time.*
Maranatha!
Whoso readeth, let him understand.

Bro. Steve

“And if there really is no God, then it would seem that the ideal position to occupy would be that of the clever criminal—where you get everybody else to obey the categorical imperative, thus avoiding the societal chaos, but in your private life doing whatever suits your animal lusts.”
If you can’t say Amen, say Ouch!
P.S.—I thought NQN was in November?

GH

“But religious liberty cannot accommodate jihadists flying planes into skyscrapers, or Aztec priests slaughtering prisoners on ziggurats, or child prostitution in Hindu temples, or Islamic honor killings.”
Right now, nobody is willing to acknowledge what the First Amendment requires of people. I can get the Sabbath off of work, unless I work at the post office. But the Sikhs quickly find out that “weapons are part of my religion” doesn’t extend to airplanes or government schools, or to JWs not giving their kids blood transfusions.
The last big test of this was COVID shots. You can have a religious exemption that requires you to be irrational. You can’t have one that says you reserve the right to think about it, because thinking makes it not religious anymore. I think you drew an analogy where you could refuse to wear any blue whatsoever, but not refuse to wear just blue hats?
We’re stuck with the inconsistency, that the First Amendment allows you to bypass laws that compel/forbid some activity because of religion, unless it would be embarrassing for the government on the news. The only consistent way to approach this is that the state has a religion, and that anything that conforms to it is fair game, and that anything opposed to it is still banned.

PPM

I just listened to your Blog & Mablog about the podcast reaction CT’s drawing-room harpies (including those who identify as men) had to your CNN interview.
Before I knew any better, and before he came down with serious Trump Derangement Syndrome, I had some respect for Russell Moore. But he didn’t take the TDS shot, wear the mask, and socially distance.
To remind myself I looked up Trump’s comment about Russell Moore from around 2016. At the time I thought it was rude and harsh. Now it seems insightful and evergreen: “Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with no heart!” I too pray for him. Often.
I’m late to the Doug Wilson/Moscow Mood party, but it’s been fascinating to watch peoples’ reaction to you. Is there such a thing as WDS? Is there a WDS vaccine? Has Francis Collins endorsed it?
Grateful for your good work.

Eubulus

Two observations:
1.) The recent Canon Plus ad—the one with Russell Moore calling you guys losers, set against a montage of God’s amazing blessings on and through all the Moscow stuff over the last several decades—was truly a sight to behold. How is this not a clear case of when Christ said: “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers” (Matt. 5:11, NLT). All praise to the Triune God.
2.) I have been wary of adopting the label Christian Nationalist, but after reading through the material of Disarming Leviathan and your interactions with it, I am reminded of what Chesterton once said after listening to some lectures by an atheist of his day: ““As I laid down the last of Colonel Ingersoll’s atheistic lectures the dreadful thought broke across my mind, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian Nationalist.

Haddon

Re: In Which Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, and Your Humble Servant Have a Frank Exchange of Views
What a hostage to fortune that pic of Russell Moore in the double mask is. He went for being in the inner ring of the Covid maniacs and now doesn’t have the self awareness to know why people might find him slightly a teensie weensie bit untrustworthy. He is a case study in being a silly person with a serious sounding voice, which is not what we need right now.
I’m not sure if you’re what we need right now either tbh Doug, but I think you win this round.

Roger

Re: Demonizing for Fun and Profit
A small niggle about this quote:
“Did original hearers of the Ten Commandments . . . have any opinions at all concerning the doctrine of Manifest Destiny? Again, no.”
Well . . . perhaps not by that name. But what could be a more manifest destiny than Exo 3:8, 6:8, Deut 1:8, etc . . .

JPH

If you put Russell Moore in a lineup, I could not, if my life depended on it, point him out. I did a little duckduckgo search with key words “Russell Moore” and “double mask” and I found out that photo above IS REALLY HIM!!! Bahahahaha! And I’m the idiot for reading Doug Wilson. Oh well, I’ve been called a lot worse by far more honorable men for far better reasons than this clown. Make no qualms, he is a clown. Look at him, he’s wearing two masks inside a car when he’s all by himself. And with all due respect what is CT worried about? That interview was on CNNLOL. You would’ve had more views on the jumbotron at the Coldplay concert than on CNNLOL.

Ryan

What are your thoughts about the economic theory of Distributism?
Regards,

Some Lutheran Guy From Wisconsin

In the “EXTENDED-ER CNN INTERVIEW” published today by Canon Press, you are recorded as saying that, were you transported with your current beliefs to the antebellum south, that you would have fought for the South as a “Southern abolitionist” concerning slavery.
While I am greatly sympathetic to that answer, I am wondering why you would not have been a “Southern smashmouth incrementalist.”
What rules govern the strategy of your approach, and why choose abolition for slavery, but smashmouth incrementalism for abortion?
God’s blessings to your family and ministry.

Cam

Can you help convince me that praying out loud in the presence of other people is Biblical (instead of in one’s closet)?
Assuming you are successful, can you help me understand corporate prayer meetings? Should I understand it as purely an act of corporate worship? Or is there real value in a group of believers taking turns praying out loud, often about a similar topic, often repeating one another (and potentially rambling a little)?
Thank you sir,

Justin

What’s the latest on the MGB?

Joshua

Was listening to Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn, and during their conversation they did a review of “That Hideous Strength”.
Here is the link to their podcast, and it starts at the 1:41:10 mark.
I know you have a packed schedule, you might however appreciate their take.
Have a great day . . .

Blair

I appreciate you writing out such a detailed response to the CNN story. I do not get a chance to ask someone like you many questions so hopefully you see this as it is, an honest way to inform myself. I am a 45-year old life-long Christian. I see things in this country a little differently then you as the problems we have. What I want to ask in particular though is how you match the Gospel teachings and actions of Jesus with the current administration that the conservative/evangelical church and its members are generally supportive of.
Let’s start with:
“Then the king will say . . . for I was hungry and you gave me food (EBT and social services being cut by the OBBB), I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink (USAID funding cut), I was a stranger and you welcomed me (ICE budget of $46B to deport millions of people), I was naked and you gave me clothing (USAID cuts), I was sick and you took care of me (Medicare cuts), I was in prison and you visited me (Innocent people sent to CECOT, and possibly guilty ones sent there with no due process).”
Now, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .” (Legal vengeance on Media, Law Firms, Educational Institutions, Prosecutors, etc.)
Now, “But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” (Pardoning the tried and convicted January 6th rioters).
Not the Gospels but Paul . . .”Ever since the creation of the world His eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things He has made. (Repealing EPA standards, cutting funding to green power sources, and actively doing things that hurt the climate).
I don’t know how a more liberal president would be doing now. All I have to go on is history and no liberal president (or conservative actually) is doing what President Trump’s administration is doing, and it’s only 8 months in that is antithetical to Christian ideology.
I guess what it comes down to is, are you willing to give up your values and ideals for a better seat at the table here on Earth, or will you fight for the less fortunate (human and environment) to secure a place that we all eventually want to be at. Like Jesus said . . .
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Thanks for possibly reading this.

Mike

It would love to hear your counsel for Christians in America concerning how to think and act regarding health care and health insurance. I couldn’t find any content particularly focused on this on your website.
Thanks so much!
In Christ,

Andrew

“In Calvinism, man hates predestination because God predestined him to hate it and then God predestined Calvinists to talk about how man hates the thing he was predestined to hate as if man has an ultimate choice to hate it in the first place.”
These retorts are coming from the provisionist camp, how would you respond?

BS

What advice would you have for helping a married couple restore sexual intimacy after the wife committed adultery and they have chosen to remain married? Am friends with/counseling such a situation and they have walked through significant repentance and restoration but have not been intimate going on 8 months.

AH

I’m an American who met my wife in South America and we’ve been happily married for 2 years. We’re planning to move to the US, but we’re still waiting on my wife’s visa. We applied 1 year ago (in hindsight, we really should’ve applied right away . . . ) and the USCIS website currently puts our estimated wait time at 18 more months. Unfortunately, that number keeps getting pushed back, as it seems legal immigration is pretty much at the bottom of the current administration’s list of priorities. To make things even more frustrating, my wife has EU citizenship and so can visit the US without a visa. The only thing stopping us from moving tomorrow is respect for the law (and its Giver).
What are your thoughts on this situation? We’re willing to continue to sit back and wait (and are exploring ways to speed up the process by contacting local representatives in Congress). However, do you think at some point continuing to wait would be a violation of our God-given rights (whether Constitutional or universal)? What about after, say, 5 years? I’m wondering from a theoretical standpoint since practically not waiting sounds too risky. We’re doing okay here, but it’s not a great place to raise a family and we’re hoping for a better church situation in the future.
Appreciate your thoughts,

IE

No post in particular, generally in relation to the Justice Primer . . .
How do you think about juridical process with regard to potential a “pattern of sin” alleged independently by multiple people against one individual?
A hypothetical situation in which you are the lawful authority: Billy, Sally, and Joey all say that Thomas elbowed them in gut when they weren’t looking. You have a high degree of confidence that when Billy brings his complaint, he has no idea that Sally and Joey have brought similar complaints. Same for the other two. No one else was around to witness any of the specific times Thomas did his alleged elbowing. As far as you are aware, Billy, Sally, Joey, and Thomas are all upstanding individuals.
Questions:
I assume that, because none of these incidents meets the standard of 2-3 witnesses, Thomas can’t be formally charged/disciplined as a one who elbows his coworkers in the gut. Correct?
Because there are not multiple witness to any of these individual instances, are these instances to simply be dismissed out of hand? (A la 1 Timothy 5.)
If they are to be dismissed out of hand, is there anything to be done about the pattern of testimony has begun to emerge. If so, what would be a reasonable way for you, as the proper authority in the situation, to proceed?
Is there anything else relevant to consider in a situation like this?
Sincerely, puzzling over process,

CVT

First I would just like to say thank you for always contending for the faith! My family and I have been blessed by your ministry.I would like some advice or guidance. Our church has been using a book titled: “Who Shall Ascend, the Mountain of the Lord of Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, by L. Michael Morales. He’s a professor at Greenville Presbyterian Seminary in South Carolina.”
The class from Evangelical Fellowship Church: Leviticus “Prologue” Bobby James June 15, 2025, Jun 14, 2025 This material may be protected by copyright.
Anyway he starts my using the Ancient Near East cosmology to understand the crest and claims it’s a “mythopoetic” basically denying God as creator and making Noah an archetype. Mostly saying Genesis 1-11 isn’t historical but showing us that it’s based in a cosmic mountain, the fall is called exile instead of sin. Trying to be brief, we’re meeting with our associate pastor, but if they believe that Genesis 1-11 is , “mythopoetic” what additional steps should we take?
Thanks again,

Steven

I have a real-life question for you that has been troubling me and my family for decades. It has to do with my parents and their “marriage.”
My father, God bless him, has chosen to stay with my mother for over 50 years, despite the hell she has put him through. He was a minister of the gospel, but she has been his ball and chain from day one. She refuses to bow the knee to Scripture and submit to her husband in any meaningful way. She is unchurched and has been for decades. She claims the Name of Jesus, and even speaks in tongues (leaving my own thoughts on that subject aside), but has been in blatant rebellion to her scriptural role as wife for decades. I truly hate to say this, but it is so true. My mother is the gold standard for the word “bag,” and in the oddest way though, I love her. I really do. She is my mother and I love her so much, and personally, I even like her, but when I even think of her treatment of dad, I become enraged.
She simply wants to be a law unto herself. My father, and I mean this so seriously, is the best man I have ever known. He sacrificed, in a very real way, his entire life and happiness for us; because if he would’ve left, he would have gotten screwed by the courts and forfeited any meaningful amount of time with us (and consequently leaving us basically with her at all times which would have ruined us). In every way, dad reflects Christ more accurately than any other human I’ve ever known or read about.
Sir, I’m at a loss. Truly. This letter in no way does justice to how she has treated him through the years and continues to. Many of the things are just unspeakable, and I mean that. I told them both today that Dad should leave her—that he doesn’t have biblical grounds to divorce her or abandon her (meaning he is still responsible to provide for her), but that he should leave her. Did I give the right advice? What should a man do in a situation like this? Her speech and behavior through the decades is simply appalling, but yet she is so convinced she’s right with God.
Please help.

CF

I have a question on the ethics of deception within evil institutions. If it is laudable and holy for the midwives to subvert their command of unholy execution by lying, and for godly men and women within or without the German regime in World War II to use their positions of authority or citizenship to guard the Jews and so deceive the state, what of folks in business with evil institutions today?
For example, if there were a high up executive within Planned Parenthood—a man of great ability and responsibility in the finance department, say—and one day the Lord opened the eyes of his heart and he saw his workplace for what it was, if this man was your congregant and he asked for your counsel in the following matter what would you say:
“Pastor, I could leave my company and denounce it for the evil institution that it is—and that would be the most straightforward means of turning away from the darkness and into the light. But I am in a unique position to harass this arm of the evil one from within. I am not the king of Planned Parenthood, as if I could simply declare that we “close shop” and so end operations in a day. However, I am singularly suited such that, over time and in small but significant ways, I can cripple my company financially by being shrewdly yet spectacularly bad at my job, and so greatly limit the abominations they are logistically able to commit.”
Would it be wrong for this man to engage in such an endeavor?
If not, I find it hard to reconcile how we love and adore figures like Robin Hood and the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Willard

This is not regarding a particular post. I want to encourage my 3-year-old son to love and respect his mother. He is a very strong-willed child. He has been in the habit of striking her and speaking disrespectfully to her. Disobedience is very much something we are in the trenches with right now.
My perception is that my son respects me and my authority, but he is smart enough to have picked up on the fact that my wife is not as strong of a person as I am, and perhaps does not spank him as hard, and takes advantage of that. Since I’m head of household this is ultimately my problem. So I need to deal with it.
Right off the bat, he is baptized, he is in the covenant, and he is learning about Jesus (I know this from what we talk about and he tells me). I trust God’s promises so I know that it’s just a matter of time before I can see evidence of the Spirit’s work in this particular area (faith not presumption of course).
With that framework, here is the strategy I have come up with: :
(1) Searching my own heart and repenting where necessary. Is there something within me that he is seeing and trying to imitate?
(2)praying for him and with him about this issue in particular
(3) affirmatively and proactively teaching him that he must love and respect his mother and that disrespect will not be tolerated
(4) disciplining him when he fails, with more teaching (we spank)
(5) making sure that I am respecting my wife in visible ways so he can see a model of what I am talking about;
(6) making sure I allot enough time to spend one-on-one time with him (or with him and his brother) so he has my positive presence in his life a lot more than the related and necessary punitive presence.
From your pastoral experience, am I missing something?

JP

It’s been a while hasn’t it? I’ve a question I would love your advice on.
So I’m in a very wonderful predicament, in that the Lord has blessed me with great skill at my job. It has some pretty significant money making potential down the road if I just play the long game. My bosses love me, and this company genuinely loves its employees, and does try to give back to them. No workplace is perfect, but I’ve got it pretty good with this one.
Because I’m a top performer however, I’m worried about pride. The Lord tells us to do everything for his glory, and to play a part in his redemptive work in the world. This is the first time I’ve really felt that I’ve absolutely excelled in anything that I put my hands to, and it’s almost surreal. How can I practice humility in my position at work, while embracing the good parts of my ambition?
May the Lord increase you in humility, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

KB