On Evangelical Fascism
RE: The Crisis Regarding “Evangelical Fascism”
Posted on Monday, January 20, 2020 Well done. This “I feel” instead of “I think” is dangerous and part of the feminizing of our culture. I’m old enough to remember when feeling was no substitute for thinking but now it is much preferred.
BTW, I had to check my calendar and make sure I hadn’t gone through a worm hole into November.
David
David, the bad guys are trying to make it always November and never Christmas.
Today’s blog post, “The Crisis Regarding ‘Evangelical Fascism'” is timely and helpful, but I think needs to be tempered a bit by John Frame’s recent post on Gentleness. I think if we can attain to gratitude, confidence, joy, AND gentleness (where appropriate—Jesus was not ALWAYS gentle) in our fight, we’d be really well set.
Scott
Scott, thanks for the reference.
What should a faithful man do if he believes his church is falling victim to the sentiments you describe here? Well intended as the elders may be, it concerns me. Should I gather the evidence leading me to my hypothesis and present to the elders? How can I ring the alarm bell and demonstrate respect at the same time without undermining authority.
Tim
Tim, it depends on whether you are picking up a vibe, or whether there is concrete evidence. If there is evidence, then you absolutely must submit what you see to the elders. If one of the Sunday School classes is going through some awful book, then yes. Submit your concerns. But go straight to the elders — which is how you demonstrate your respect.
Or Maybe Romans
I have a friend who is a marginal Catholic, he is always dealing with the fact he feels like he never measures up, and has severe depression. He is the father of two and is constantly feeling like his prayers don’t go farther than the ceiling. So I was shocked that he asked me to do a Bible study with him. My question for you, is where do I start? What would be your starting place? I was thinking 1 John, but is there a better book to study together?
Thank you in advance.
Jonathan
Jonathan, I would do a book like Galatians. You want something that is gospel heavy, in a high octane “no condemnation” form.
Career Advice
I am a Christian in the first year of my undergrad at a state school in Georgia and I want to teach post-secondary education at a non-religious school (history or philosophy in particular). However there are some difficulties: I believe in God, I believe in the Bible as His inspired Word, and I also believe that men are men and women are women. Taking all this into consideration, is the idea of someone that I have just described teaching at a secular institution laughable? Is my pursuit of a career in higher education worth-while in any way? I would appreciate any resources or information you could point me to!
Grace and Peace,
Justin
Justin, the way things are going, the pickings are going to be pretty slim. Honestly.
Postmill Resources
This is actually in regards to your “Reformed Basics” video on Amazon Prime. Where might I find some solid resources and books on postmillennialism?
Wayne
Wayne, as an introduction I would recommend Keith Mathison’s Postmillennialism. A more detailed treatment would be He Shall Have Dominion by Ken Gentry. And if you wanted to make me happy, you could get my book on it, Heaven Misplaced.
Permission Granted
My name is Dennis and I’m a christian blogger from Germany.
I have a question: Would it be possible that I translate some of your blog posts into German and publish the translation on my blog?
Of course, I will refer to your website and set a backlink. Thus it will improve your domain authority at Google and indicate who is the origin author.
Are you okay with that?
Kind regards,
Dennis
Dennis, absolutely. Have at it.
What to Do?
Re: Rabshakeh, Chief of the Pronoun Police
Posted on Friday, November 29, 2019 So I’m reading your post thinking, “Great, Wilson is gonna tell me how to deal with this lunacy.” Like, do you use the preferred pronoun or not and in what circumstances, and if not, then how to navigate it without going to jail or being murdered.
I already have my own ideas on how to handle it if (when) the need arises. But anyway, I get to the end of your post and decide, “Rats, I guess I’m gonna have to read the link.” So I did. Not very satisfying. Please, tell us what to do.
David
David, sorry for leaving you hanging. I do need to write more about it. I believe that Christians can use the new proper name that someone has adopted, but that we should refuse to adjust on the nouns and pronouns. If a man changes his name to Heather, that really is his name now. But he has done nothing in God’s world, which is what the pronouns refer to. I believe that Christians should simply refuse to comply.
Sweater Vest Question
I just finished the sweater vest dialogues and very much enjoyed the conversation. There were some enlightening moments for me, specifically differentiating between eternal and incarnate and how we view God the father and God the son in relationship. Thanks so much for doing these videos. I am however unaware of the “controversy” this talk came from. Can you point me to what you and James were referring to that started this?
Thanks!
Jordan
Jordan, here is a rundown on some of it.
Headcoverings Once More
A few weeks ago you received a few questions about head coverings in I Cor 11. You dismissed the commandant as either cultural or not required b/c of verse 15. But the command of the head covering was universally practiced in the early church and widely practiced across church history up until recently modern times. So if it was cultural or not actually required, why was it practiced for so long? What happened in the late 19th and 20th centuries that made not wearing acceptable? Then I read this from you today, “… the end result is that such a person finds himself seeing what nobody else wants to see, and saying things that nobody wants to hear.”
My assessment is that pastors aren’t willing to preach I Cor 11 straight down the middle, because they know there would be a roughly 0% acceptance in roughly 100% of American churches. They can’t see the text clearly because they know what it would mean for them if they became convinced that it is a command. The pastor would immediately be labeled as a legalistic and kook. But isn’t that the call of pastors? To “see what nobody else wants to see, and say things that nobody wants to hear.”
Thanks,
Roger
Roger, thanks. But I think you may have misunderstood me. I don’t believe it is a cultural thing at all (like foot washing). Paul teaches us that the very nature of things requires women to have their heads covered. I believe that the requirement is very much in force today.
Theonomic Hard Edges
Modern Day Theonomy I’d like to know what cherem laws (Deuteronomy 13:3-11) are supposed to look like for us today alongside the idea of how only an explicitly Christian settlement can truly protect the religious liberties of a people, more so than any other religion.
In your post “Moses and the Modern World” you state . . .”to say that something in the Old Testament fell under the cherem ban does not mean that it does not apply to us today. Rather, this principle affects how the cherem penalties should be applied.”
If a Christian government were operating according to it’s full function, would the death penalty eventually be instituted for those who practiced false religions?
And if did not require death or penalize their worship of false God’s in any other way, would a Christian government eventually want to change it’s constitution to prohibit non-Christians from obtaining any position of magistrate? How else would you preserve itself?
Since all societies are inescapably theocratic, this question comes from a place of belief, not doubt. Just seeking remedy my ignorance. You’re thoughts are always a good for that.
Rope
Rope, okay, for instance. I believe that in a consistent Christian republic, church bells would be legal, but minarets would not be. At the same time, I don’t believe it would be in any way illegal to be a Muslim. The severe cherem penalties are fulfilled in Christ. But then Christ told us to disciple the nations, teaching them obedience. That part of it is done via gospel, not via sword.
A Stumper
Do you know of any good books about our cultural fixation on youth / fear of aging? I’ve looked but I didn’t find anything except cutesy devotionals and self-help trash. I’m only 26 but I’m already getting upset about my receding hairline, pining after my old college days, etc. But I don’t want to become one of those pathetic 40 year old men who’s dressing like he’s 20. I want to learn how to leave behind youth and embrace manhood. Any advice or resources about this?
Thanks!
Ryan
Ryan, sorry, no, I don’t. And that’s a shame because it would be a most helpful resource to have a book like that. The only resource I know of is Bruce Springsteen’s song Glory Days.
For Ryan, this addresses only the externals, but still might be useful: The Art of Manliness website and podcast promote an adult, manly way of life.
https://www.artofmanliness.com/
From a Christian perspective, Michael Foster and his site (itsgoodtobeaman.com), CR Wiley and Aaron Renn are all excellent on masculinity. Unfortunately, Renn’s old articles are no longer available unless someone else saved and posted them. You can find interviews with all three via YouTube or your favorite search engine.
As for style, there’s a guy named Tanner Guzy (a Mormon, who’s obviously pretty conservative) who has some good material.
For Ryan, another suggestion is the 2017 book by Lutheran theologian, Andrew Root: Faith Formation in a Secular Age: Responding to the Church’s Obsession with Youthfulness. As you might imagine he is engaging with Charles Taylor.
This weekend we hosted a family gathering which included my sister’s family and our little niece who was declared to be a nephew when she was three. Our policy has been to use her first name (and even that has been changed a couple times) and to avoid pronouns altogether. In actual practice, this is more difficult than it sounds. The mouth truly speaks from the abundance of the heart, whether good or evil. Those “shes” and “hers” will come out, no matter how hard we try to avoid them. Since it’s family, all we get is hard stares and… Read more »
Is employment protection legislation so weak in the US that you could really lose your job for using wrong pronouns?
That said in the UK where I would imagine employment conditions are usually a bit better it is getting harder to get a job if you are considered unreliable when it comes to the new death cult of LGBT & Co.
Count it joy, then, that your mouth speaks good from the abundance of your heart. Your niece certainly is a “she” and she needs that firm, obvious, and most natural reminder, angry stares notwithstanding. It is most grievous that you are in this situation with your family. Draw strength from the Lord, who gives in abundance. In the sincerest form of love and gentleness, insist upon using feminine pronouns. That IS love.
To webmaster. My wordpress account doesn’t work. I think my password is correct, but nevertheless, attempts to reset it give me an email. Following the email link takes me to the reset page with no ability to set a new password. (I am logged in currently on my google account). On an unrelated matter, the new format is hard to navigate, especially on a mobile device. It is difficult to see which posts are new, and whether I have missed any. You can classify posts differently without putting them in various places around the webpage. For example, if I wish… Read more »
Name changes vs. pronouns: Hmmm…I agree that when someone changes their name, it is not the same thing as “changing their pronoun,” for the reason Pastor Wilson states. Saul became Paul upon conversion, adoptees frequently undergo first name changes along with their last names, and sometimes, kids grow up with a name that no longer suits them in adulthood (born Jimbo; he want to be known as James). I think there are many legitimate reasons to change one’s name. But there are illegitimate reasons as well. Prince does not have the liberty to change his name to a weird squiggly-Q… Read more »
Point taken; however, I specifically did not mention names like Stacy and Kim because that was not my focus. I know both a man and a woman named Asher; this is not relevant. What IS relevant, in my belief, is when someone is born Jim Bob and after succumbing to homosexual proclivities announces that he shall now be known as Tad. My response is, “No, thank you, Jim Bob.” (Also, Gene is a boy’s name; Jean is a girl’s name. :-) It would help things greatly if we stopped thinking it was all right to take a boy’s name and… Read more »
There is a difference between saying “it is wrong to do that, I will not condone that it has been done” and saying “I must live as though that has not been done.” People do many things that are wrong, yet we live in light of what people have done, not what they ought or ought not to have done.
I disagree, Jane. I think. Most actions are real and have real consequences–murder, abuse, theft, lying, etc. In these sorts of “tangible” wrongs, neither the action nor the consequences can be undone. Thus, as you say, we all must live in light of what they have done, not what they should have done. We can’t pretend it didn’t happen, in other words. But I believe pronoun abuse is just that: pretend. Our culture has fallen through the rabbit hole of self-identifying “ad nauseum.” Boys can pretend to be girls, Mulattos can pretend to be Blacks, Mrs. Warren can pretend to… Read more »
On evangelical fascism. Doug’s comment on fascism is good: private production with government control. I had an interesting insight recently somewhat related to how people use terms. So a discussion mentioned government subsidies of petroleum with disdain (I hear this often but am not certain which countries are subsidising all this oil). And a disparaging comment was made about capitalism. Now as a free-market person I said that’s not capitalism, but as it was tangential the conversation didn’t go there. Yet this same person was fond of renewable energy and (I think likely), almost certainly found of so called “green… Read more »
I’m with DW on this one as I weekly negotiate around the various mines in my work place. I’ll call you any proper name you want – that’s your name. No pronoun changes, you don’t have authority over the language. Then all you need to do is refer to the person by their proper name or “the client,” “the patient,” “the victim,” “the perpetrator,” etc. in documentation or discussion.
Postmil Resources: I can’t believe you didn’t mention David Chilton’s “Paradise Restored”! It’s the single best introductory book on the subject.
P.S. – I did just finish reading “Heaven Misplaced”, and it’s pretty good, but Chilton sets the gold standard for glory-filled Bill-Paxton-Giving-an-Independence-Day-Speech postmillennial edification.
Sorry, that was Bill Pullman, not Bill Paxton…although he might have done a good job with that speech too, given the chance…
For Ryan, Here’s some helps for embracing being a grown up: In most cases you get progressively less stupid, you get progressively less poor and your circle of deep relationships widens. Fewer regrets, greater resources and family bonds – you have lots to look forward to. Enjoy!
Re headcoiverings: I’m reading “Paul Among the People” by Sarah Ruden, and her take is that respectable women wore headcoverings and despicable women did not, so telling everyone in church to wear them, including prostitutes converted yesterday, gloriously expressed gospel inclusion. I’m not sure lady Ruden believes in God or fully understands Paul’s vision, but she knows classical culture well enough and is honest enough about it to make clear that what Paul was against was astonishingly awful (think last five chapters of Judges.)
Ryan, go lift some freaking weights, bro. Do Starting Strength. The difference you feel will be astounding.
As far as clothes, just actually care about what you wear and buy clothes that fit.
Geez. At 26 your best years are ahead of you. Get a grip. You don’t need yet another book to tell you what to do.