More Letters, and Why Not?

Let’s say someone—who grew up in a Christian home, went to church when they were younger, etc.—gets a civil union with his girlfriend. Is this case something closer to marriage, or solemnified fornication? And how close to one or the other should Christian family members treat it as?
Thank you!

Michael

What does a masculine worship service look like? Do you have a recording so I could see it? I’ve been working for a few years to change the way our services are structured, but it would be helpful to show what I mean to others. What songs do you use? Are there only guys singing? Stuff like that. How do I “practically” make it happen?
Thank you for your ministry. It’s helped me grow a lot over the years.

Robert

I recently read Greg Bahnsen’s “CHRIST IS KING-Theonomy and Civil Government.” I really had a hard time finding anything to disagree with in this short and concise book/series of essays. I know he was at the original RTS campus in Jackson, MS in early 1970’s. I’ve always heard that he and RTS had a falling out over theonomy etc and his tenure there was very short. Could you give me any details on that.

Jerry

Thanks for this article. Your commitment to God’s Word/Truth and to clarity are very refreshing. One thing you could do to help with clarity for those listening to your podcast rather than reading it is to give a cue when you begin a quote.

Honey

I want to talk to you about narcissism in the church. About women being silenced when they’re being emotionally abused and when there is abuse and infidelity and being told that’s submission. there’s a lot about the CREC that I love but women being silenced when they’re being abused really bothers me. Enabling narcissists that are hurting people in the church is traumatizing people and it needs to be addressed.

Reyna

I wondered if you had any input. I just finished a two-year youth pastor position at a PCA church. We love the church, but it was too far away, so we decided we had to move on. Very good friends of mine planted a church in a nearby city, and the church has flourished. I went to seminary for part of a time with two friends who started the church. So naturally, my family and I started to attend their church.
My family is growing here, and we love the church. However, the church leans very strongly, pre-millennial, and credo Baptist. I on the other hand, lean very strongly towards a post millennial outlook. On top of all this, I have definitely felt the call to preach and teach, and I have a great desire to do so. Yet, after meeting with my good friend/head Pastor, it is clear that I would have to be sympathetic to the pre-millennial view in order to teach.
I feel very lost. As I said, we love the church, and the teaching and sermons are extremely biblical to a fault. I also love my friends very much, and want to support them. I don’t want them to feel rejected if we choose another church. But again, as I said, I have a strong desire to teach and preach. Sorry for the rambling. I wondered if had any insight as to steps I should take moving forward. Thanks again.

BS

Are you going to release a magnum opus?

Will

I want to begin by thanking you and your family for your impact in my life. It was through one of your father’s coffee shops/book stores in Gunnison, CO that I found Reformed theology. Thank you! I am a seminary student at Westminster Theological Seminary and a pastor and have been wrestling with your brand of Christian Nationalism, trying to understand what you’re saying. I’ve also seen and read articles from others, such as Kevin DeYoung, who criticize, with varying degrees of charity, the ministry there in Moscow. Thinking about these things, I would like to put this to you and ask if I’m right in thinking that your Christian Nationalist endeavor rests upon your Postmillennialism. Now, I certainly agree with you that we should pass and desire to see passed just and righteous laws. That is obvious. But given your Postmillennial milieu, you expect for a carnal kingdom to appear someday apart from any cataclysmic return of Christ. Premillennialism agrees with you on this point, though they look for the necessity of Christ’s prior return. While you say that the kingdom will not advance through political means but only through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I certainly “amen” that with you, it seems to me that your postmillennialism throws the weight in your actual ministry air-time behind those mechanisms of the expected and hoped-for coming carnal kingdom. While you say the right things and, so far as I can tell, have orthodox theology, for which I am thankful, you give much more air-time to political matters than to anything else. I’m assuming that’s due, again, to your postmillennial emphasis and the desire for a carnal kingdom partly defined by Christian control of the levers of power. Therefore, when I think about DeYoung’s critique in particular, while he commends the many wonderful things going on in Moscow . . . and I agree with those compliments and am thankful myself for Canon+ and the many other things you guys are doing out there . . . it seems to me that what he and others are pointing out, but don’t quite ever put their finger on . . . is that the center has slightly shifted due to postmillennialism. In other words, it seems many are trying to point out that the emphasis is on secondary, or peripheral, issues and therefore, something “feels” off. My question is, is this a fair critique? Does your emphasis rest primarily on the milieu of the carnal kingdom lent to you from postmillennial expectation? I don’t mean to be disrespectful, and forgive me, brother, if this comes off that way. I greatly respect you and the others in Moscow and am thankful for your ministry. I have seen it do much good. And at the same time, I find myself concerned with what seems to be the actual outcome and emphasis of postmillennial theology. Thank you for your time. May the Lord bless you in all your work for Him.

Clayton

“The book is Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor by Caleb Campbell.” I must know—how audible and deep was the laugh when you stumbled across this gem?

Ian

Re “The Wine of Red Forgiveness”
I presume you’ve invited bro Campbell to blog back and forth with you about this, or some similar procedure?
As I may’ve mentioned here before, if bro Campbell (and most PCA elders) are not globalist Christians wanting to be ruled by the UN, nor imperialist Christians wanting to go conquering other countries, nor tribalist Christians wanting to Balkanize the US, then they’re nationalist Christians. Welcome to the club.
And for Presbyterians, was anyone at the Westminster Assembly NOT a nationalist Christian? They didn’t think they were writing the Constitution for one denomination among many; they thought they were writing the theological articles of the constitution of England (with Scottish help, and maybe tips of the hat to Ireland and even Wales?)

Andrew

When I first saw the cover of Campbell’s book, I was confused. It says “disarming Leviathan,” which I naturally assumed to be the Federal Government, AND it says “loving your Christian nationalist neighbor.” We are going to do both? Maybe we will gain C.N.’s trust by showing him that we ALSO want to disarm Leviathan?
But, alas …

Jennifer

Someone will say, “I concede the desirability and essential goodness of Christian morality, but that desirability does not prove that Christianity is true.” I am skeptical of that claim. That rationale is sound when we are talking about small things. I am not sure it applies to the biggest of things—where alternatives are few and mostly intolerable. When we’re talking about significant enough things, it may really be that the beautiful is the good is the true.
However, let’s assume that claim is sound for the moment, and let’s look at something even more basic: Is there a God?
I don’t believe anyone is really a moral relativist. I think everyone believes in objective morality, but some are prone to making lame excuses, and some are prone to indulging lame excuses. We all know murder is wrong. We know it as if Someone actually said, “You shall not murder.”
What accounts for this knowledge? Everyone experiences this commandment as a law—not a vibe, not an urge, a law: an instruction backed by authority. And none of us will allow anyone to plead ignorance of this law. Everyone knows this law. And everyone knows that everyone knows this law.
There can be no effect without an adequate cause. It is as though Someone spoke this law into existence in such a way that no one can escape its notice. It is exactly like that.

Daniel

Got a question concerning financial transparency, specifically regarding a leader’s actions. Let’s say a pastor has used the church cards/checks for his personal use when those should be used for the church, but he’s quickly paid the money back yet he hasn’t told his congregation/committees about such actions, only the secretary & treasurer knowing. If these financial statements are later seen by the congregation, would this be sufficient grounds for removal? What if he pleads the fact he forgot his personal card and so he used the church card, and he’s very sorry won’t happen again . . . still grounds for removal? My thoughts are to question his sincerity and integrity with money, and he is therefore unfit to serve. Eager to know your thoughts. Thanks!

Carson

I enjoyed your post from Aug 4, 2021, “The Coming Preference Cascade.” Sharp writing!
I posted this on Facebook and linking to your article.
“I cited this article by Doug Wilson earlier today, talking about preference cascades. It’s a very insightful article, so I’ll provide a link.
An excerpt:
“…bunglers never want to leave well enough alone, so they continue to bungle some more. At some point it gets to intolerable levels. And one individual starts to think, ‘Hey, this is getting to intolerable levels, but I guess that’s just me.’ But as time goes on, and the authorities continue to think that the climate control thermostat on the wall of their insular bubble is representative of the way it is outside the bubble, and they continue on with their clueless and dunderheaded ways, a time comes when that one individual looks across the room, and his eyes meet those of another individual. Recognition occurs. You too? They glance around the room, and recognize at least six others nodding their heads.”
“When this is not going on, the authorities seem like a fixture, like a granite wall that isn’t going anywhere. But when a crisis of authority sets in, the authorities, unaccustomed to having their authority questioned, start doing all the wrong things. They issue mandatory requirements, intended to display their authoritative decisiveness, but which only have the effect of setting the whole thing on fire. There is a way of commanding that is an exercise of authority, but there is also a way of commanding that simply serves as an accelerant to their vanishing authority. The more they issue risible decrees, the funnier it becomes.”
“The aura of authority is volatile, meaning that it can evaporate at room temperature. And if the temperature rises just a few degrees, then all of a sudden . . . the word that comes to mind is poof.”
Doug Wilson wrote this article back in 2021. He didn’t have to update it in order to keep it relevant. The Biden presidency kept it relevant for him. Hardest hit was the so-called ‘news’ media. Their authority evaporated once it became clear that they had to have known all along Biden was too cognitively impaired to serve as president. But they acted like the events had blindsided them, too.
“As Pastor Wilson said, ‘The word that comes to mind is poof.'”

Lee

I’m currently enrolled in the Master’s University and will be finishing my Bachelor’s in biblical studies by next fall, if God is gracious and sees me through it. I have been in contact with a Navy recruiter over the prospect of commissioning in the Navy as a chaplain. I have questions that are in the process of being answered, and I am even in the process of seeking out faithful Christian men who are currently serving as chaplains to ask the necessary questions that I have before seeking to go further.
My question to you is this: Based on your experience, do you think it is possible for a Christian to serve as a chaplain in the military in good conscience? I’m sure that you are in contact with military personnel regularly, who are seeking similar answers that are already serving our nation. If I’m going to do this, yes, I will be willing to throw my career away for the sake of Christ. At this point, I’m seeking answers as to whether or not this is something I should consider at all. I was in the Army, and those times were among the darkest in my life, and I was no Christian and wish that I had a chaplain to tell me so (and consequently, it causes me bewilderment at the concept of joining the Navy), and I know the spiritual desert that military service can be. If possible, I want to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to those in uniform.
Sorry for the longer email, and thank you for your time.

John

I hope you are doing well. I have recently begun reading “The Habsburg Way. 7 Rules for Turbulent Times” by Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, the current Hungarian diplomat to the Holy See. I’m reading mostly for a historic curiosity about the Habsburgs in general, as well as because I believe this Habsburg to be quite a warm and inviting fellow who has some interesting thoughts on broader cultural topics.
This book details how he believes the Habsburgs, and the way they ruled, lived, etc, could assist us moderns in living in a constantly changing and rather turbulent world. Something he has now brought up in two chapters is his belief that one ought to be Catholic to pursue both holiness in life as well as excellence in getting through life’s difficulties and in a challenging era in human history. Just so you’re aware, I’m not a Roman Catholic; on the contrary, I belong to a local CREC. I have zero intention to convert to Roman Catholicism, neither is this book convincing me to do so.
My question more lies in the realm of Christian Nationalism, Mere Christendom, and theonomy. The Christian Nationalism discussion has been focused primarily in the United States, as this is where the discussion and debate seems to be happening in Protestant circles. Reading this book, however, reminds me that there are other culturally conservative Nations still in Europe, such as Hungary, as well as Italy and Poland. However, these three nations I’ve named are historically and staunchly Roman Catholic. If these nations were to become Christian nations once more, as they were during the first Christendom, how would this affect our understanding of theonomy, eschatology, etc, if at all? What does this do to the Christian nationalist conversation?

ON

On Reformed use of the sign of the cross
I recently heard a quote from Tertullian about Christians signing themselves with the sign of the cross: “At the beginning and during the performance of all that we do, when we go in and out of the house, when we dress ourselves, when we lie down to rest, in fact in everything, we mark ourselves on the forehead with the sign of the cross.”
I thought this sounded like it would fit in well with the Moscow project of “all of Christ for all of life.”
What are your thoughts regarding a Reformed person using the sign of the cross as a short, physical dedication of every daily activity to Christ, and as a reminder to themselves of His lordship over every aspect of their life?
It seems to me that, while in modern times the sign of the cross is associated almost exclusively with Catholicism and entangled in Catholic superstition (e.g. a 50 day indulgence each time you make the sign of the cross), that shouldn’t stop us from trying to reclaim the symbol as it was used in purer fashion by the early church.
Interested to hear your thoughts.
God bless,

Ben

I have recently enrolled in a course of study at a theological seminary. At the chapel services at this seminary, communion is regularly celebrated, with members of the faculty who are ordained ministers presiding. My understanding is that the proper place for the celebration of communion is in the worship service of the local church, and the seminary, while a Christian community, is not a local church body. Would you say this is a good or wise practice, or not?

Samuel

Re: Elephant and the Rabbit
I am unfortunately one of the many Americans frothing at the mouth over the handling of the Epstein case. I am pretty angry at the president right now. I think the crux of your arguments was basically (to paraphrase), “If Trump was in the documents the Democrats would have weaponized them.” But what if multiple stakeholders are in them? What if Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Israel, and the CIA are involved? Suddenly it’s not such a fun thing for the DNC to salivate over.
And I for one am TIRED of being asked to entertain a Trump legal strategy as anything but fickle and dishonest. This is the FOURTH time Trump has announced the imminent arrest of Barack Obama. We’re always about to prove election fraud. Don’t tell me Trump doesn’t have control of the “Deep State” when he has 6 Supreme Court justices, the director of the FBI, the Attorney General, a majority in the Senate, a majority in the House, and a multi-billion-dollar personal fortune. I’m tired of hearing about invisible boogeymen stopping him from jailing pedo-rapists. What resource exists that he lacks?
Pam Bondi’s DOJ memo was insulting to our intelligence (which is saying something given we just got done with COVID). Epstein’s plane had a crew of 6. None of them thought it was odd that Uncle Epstein had so many underage nieces to fly around? There were >1000 victims, but none of their parents, or guardians, are culpable? He amassed a billion-dollar fortune which not a single person has come forward to explain the origins of. And if he was an Israeli spy, why is that an excuse? I thought we preferred Israel over Islamic fascists because of the rape and subjugation of women?
Once again I’m a fool precisely because I lack the mystic discernment of knowing when Trump is Lying-Lying vs “Lying” vs lying “but you know what he really meant was this deeper truth.”

Conny Spiracist

Could you recommend readings for apologetics against Eastern Orthodoxy? I have talked with a few online and they usually have me beat on just history and philosophy spamming. I’m not a major in either field so it’s difficult for me to stick to the Scriptures when they want to leave the Scriptures for councils and philosophers. A major critique is the canon and my arguments never suffice for them. Is this battle worth fighting for right now? I’d like to hear your breakdown of why this religion is heretical, they have been quite cunning in their apologetic development and I see their influence is increasing in the face of liberalism infiltrating the Protestant church. Men are more inclined to EO because they don’t have churches with rainbow flags or congregants hopping and hollering in tongues. Thank you for your service to the church your content has blessed me in raising my family, God bless you.

Ivan

Beloved Brother,
I am currently teaching PE at a Christian school in Georgia. The boys and girls are combined. I see the obvious difference between girls and boys, and at times I don’t believe everyone else does, as far as physical education is concerned. For example, I would want the boys to be rough where necessary (like hockey or soccer), competitive, and have normal masculinity displayed, but the girls shouldn’t show forth that behavior. At the same time, I wouldn’t want the boys to display femininity. I wish I could separate the boys and girls, but alas! I am not able. Also, sometimes it seems that the parents want their girls and boys to all be gender neutral when it comes to sports and PE and the things in my field, which is repugnant to me. Do you have any suggestions for me on how to encourage godly masculinity and femininity in the PE classes I have?
Thanks in advance.

Ryan

So grateful for you. What have been some of your favorite books on biblical piety and sanctification? Thanks.

Ben