Gays, Gamblers and Gunslingers

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Wesley Hill has asked if he will be gay in the resurrection. He raises the question thoughtfully and carefully, but the trajectory of his thinking is going in a decidedly different direction than my own thoughts have gone on this same general topic. His post is here if you want to check it out first.

First, the comparison with same sex temptations with other “disabilities” may seem initially attractive, but I don’t think it bears up under examination. If a man, for example, had levels of testosterone that precluded interest in women at all, that would be a disability. Some men are born eunuchs (Matt 19:12). It is no sin to not be attracted to anybody, but it is certainly would be a disability. But to “be gay” in the sense under discussion is a state the natural terminus of which is an unnatural, immoral, and prohibited act. And if a man were in possession of certain characteristics that did not create that particular temptation, then I wouldn’t see the sense in calling it gay. What would be gay about it? Are there no heterosexuals with the same gifts?Takei

In short, is there such a thing as a “gay sensibility” that is a positive thing in its own right? I don’t see how this could be. What happens when we plug in other sins? Is there such a thing as a pedophile sensibility, for example? Is this something to be celebrated, just so long as the sexual aspect to it is resisted at all times? Will certain Christians have this pedophile sensibility in the resurrection? To ask it this way is to have the answer, it seems to me. To be attracted to the wrong sex is at least as bad as being attracted to an underage person of the right sex. So to have room for a “gay sensibility” in the resurrection, and to not have room for a “pedophile sensibility” there, is to demonstrate how effective the propaganda machine for the sexual revolution has been thus far. Too many Christians have been listening to broadcasts from Tokyo Rose.

Once every inclination to sinful behavior is completely removed in the resurrection, which it will be (from all of us), I don’t see how we will have any gays, gamblers, or gunslingers there.

Second, I think there is too much emphasis on “identity” thinking in all of this, and identity thinking is not only anchored to earth, but is also anchored to a particular intellectual fashion in our generation, a true wisp of fog if there ever was one.

If someone who is autistic, for example, cannot imagine life in the resurrection without that absence of autism destroying the “self” he had always known, what does this do to the healing miracles of Christ, which were, in their way, initial foretastes of what God will do on a cosmic scale in the resurrection? Confronted with a man born blind, or a lame man, or a leper, Jesus and the apostles always knew what direction the healing was supposed to go. Not only that, they went there. Even if the man born blind had his identity wrapped up in his blindness, Jesus still seems to have not cared about that very much.

I say this cheerfully granting that the resurrection will not take us down to a bare stump in order to grow us up again from scratch. I believe that we will still be men and women. And I believe that we will still belong to our nations and tribes. The resurrection will be in color, not black and white, which means that each of us will be a color. That’s fine. There will be true continuity with who and what we are here. But nobody will still be a member of their therapy support groups.

So last, my central concern in this is that by emphasizing the “positive aspects” and non-sinful ways of being gay, we may actually be perpetuating characteristics that we falsely believe to be virtuous. Whatever the resurrection is going to be, it will be glorious, and so in certain respects, we can wait to find out. But certain speculations about the resurrection should be a concern to us because they reveal something about what is going on down here — and not what will happen “up there.” For a ludicrous example, suppose you encountered a man who said that Heaven was going to be segregated, and he was looking forward to living forever in the “whites only” sector. The debate that followed would not be about the nature of the resurrection so much as it would be about his thinking here and now.

One of our problems with this is that the Christian world has lionized effeminacy, which is actually a hard thing to do. Effeminacy doesn’t lionize very well — but we have done it. In other words, we in the church have been really nervous about true masculinity for a long time. Not only are we generally nervous about this, I also know that I have a certain class of reader that goes off like a bottle rocket whenever I talk about recovering masculinity — as though I am urging all males to swagger a bit more, to grow John Knox beards, and to talk out of the corner of their mouths. So that’s not it.

But the church has falsely equated piety with certain feminine virtues for so long, we have created an environment in which women commend themselves to us as potentially superb pastors (which, by the new definitions, they would be), as well as create a scenario in which a number of men have cultivated virtues valued by the church, but which have also created a circumstance in which they, disciplined in this fashion, find themselves attracted to other men. Put bluntly, what we thought was the cart might actually be the horse.

I have often said that for all Christians — and not just those who struggle with homoerotic temptations — that the real trick is not to repent of our vices. The real trick is to repent of what we thought were our virtues.

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"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago

“the real trick is not to repent of our vices. The real trick is to repent of what we thought were our virtues.” John 8 39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have… Read more »

jigawatt
jigawatt
8 years ago

Interesting tweet, Mr. Takei. So, … do you also tweet when you’re going to violate various state and local statutes when you drive your car without a flagman running ahead to warn all the horses? Oh, you say those laws are no longer in effect? But people thought they should be obeyed 100 years ago, so they MUST still be obeyed now, right?

40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
8 years ago
Reply to  jigawatt

Uh….I think that’s kind of what he was driving at – Christians regard the laws against mixed fabrics and many other laws from Leviticus as non-binding anachronisms, so IHO laws against sodomy are likewise obsolete,

jigawatt
jigawatt
8 years ago

IHO laws against sodomy are likewise obsolete,

You think he considers “Do not murder” to be obsolete?

Victoria West
Victoria West
8 years ago

I just want to know if I will be slim in the resurrection.

bethyada
8 years ago
Reply to  Victoria West

Possibly, but skinny jeans will remain anathema.

Mark Hanson
Mark Hanson
8 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

And yoga pants

ME
ME
8 years ago
Reply to  Victoria West

Ha! Thank you, that was also a concern of mine.

Ilion
Ilion
8 years ago
Reply to  Victoria West

If my mother — who never walked a day in her life — can run, I expect that you can be slim.

At the same time, the desire to be slim is generaly grounded in the desire to be sexually appealing … and Christ certainly seems to be saying that in the world to come, being sexually appealing just isn’t anyone’s concern.

jesuguru
jesuguru
8 years ago
Reply to  Ilion

Not completely convinced of that. Jesus said there will be no marriage in the resurrection, He never said there would be no sexuality. He was born, raised, and resurrected a man, and we will likewise all be raised as (perfected, glorified) men and women. How that might work out absent marriage is a mystery, of course.

Ilion
Ilion
8 years ago
Reply to  jesuguru

Sure, we’ll still be men and women, rather than neuters.

jigawatt
jigawatt
8 years ago

Second contribution:

Tomorrow I’m going to violate Leviticus by wearing a cotton/polyester blend.

And I’m going to stay up past 9 o’clock. That’ll show my dad!

Art
Art
8 years ago
Reply to  jigawatt

Right. When I was a little boy, my mother told me not to lie and not to plug anything into an electrical socket. When I grew up, I was allowed to plug in my own electrical appliances, but lying was still out of bounds.

bethyada
8 years ago

After reading Hills’ post I had 2 major thoughts which you have mentioned. The first is the disability metaphor is not helpful. We use the word weakness for sin. This is okay as long as we remember it is a sin. A person with a strength for languages is not virtuous and one with a weakness for maths is not a sinner. A sexual desire towards a person of the same sex is fundamentally a sinful desire (even if others are as much to blame). Down syndrome or missing limbs occur because we live in a sinful world but aren’t… Read more »

ME
ME
8 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

Don’t you think all identity situations are idols, idolotry? Like feminism, anything that calls us to have an I-dentity that places more emphasis on how we define our own selves rather than our identity in Christ?

bethyada
8 years ago
Reply to  ME

I think all can. I think only some do. I don’t see a clear movement originating from anger or theft, though many include these aspects. Major idols would include feminism, materialism/ naturalism (with its associated humanism/ atheism), and the homosexual/ transgender movement.

If a vice (or perspective) has an associated worldview then it would be an idolatry.

ME
ME
8 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

Perhaps we can add pets to that? Because while I love animals, their are people who believe animals have souls and refuse to participate in any kind of resurrection if their pets are not beside them.

I don’t wish to argue whether or not animals have souls, it is simply that the behavior reminds me of I-dentity, where we cling to what we think we know and demand that God meet our perceptions of what is moral and fair.

bethyada
8 years ago
Reply to  ME

I agree anything can be an idol for a particular person, even a good thing. But I thinking more of a philosophy that puts itself up against God.

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago
Reply to  ME

Psalm 96 11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. All creation will rejoice when The Lord comes to judge the earth, all that is in the sea, and everything in the fields! In fact, my dog is… Read more »

RFB
RFB
8 years ago
Reply to  "A" dad

“He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

timothy
timothy
8 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

, shaping the friendships I form, inclining me to certain kinds of reading, drawing me to specific types of conversations and hobbies and artistic pursuits. To derail your excellent comment thread, it is a failing of American Christianity that “certain hobbies and artistic pursuits” are frowned upon. I contend that this impoverishes masculinity, robbing it of expressiveness. I posit that this helps ‘herd’ men who enjoy these hobbies and artistic pursuits towards groups who do pursue them. We love us some football (I do) but the lineman who collects fine china (he exists, btw, I forget his name) is only… Read more »

Moor_the_Merrier
Moor_the_Merrier
8 years ago
Reply to  timothy

This is an astute observation Timothy.

Not only does the American church often have trouble making room for artistic pursuits, but the church has largely embraced our society-at-large’s lack of a category other than “gay” for effeminate men. If the men of the Church did a better job of celebrating the arts and of showing platonic/brotherly love to those men who don’t meet the sometimes arbitrary standard of what it means to be masculine, we could go a long way to helping reverse the trend you’re describing.

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  timothy

Timothy brings up a very interesting theme. I think we’ve also seen a retreat from sciences and biology as a result of the imposition of the evolutionary worldview. Our temptation is toward abdication, because fighting to take and hold ground is hard. Our eschatology then comes to resemble our abdication. Taking back symbols, such as a rainbow, or a holy kiss, is not easy. Sometimes you have to win other battles first. What we can’t do is eat the meat sacrificed to idols if it is confusing and stumbling our weaker brothers. It’s not about the symbol for its own… Read more »

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago
Reply to  timothy

Tim,
One thought for personal consideration. Jesus was presumed to be a carpenter or mason, yet “foxes have their holes, and birds their nests, but the son of man has no place to rest his head.”

Perhaps it is not so much that Christendom is against any particular art, masculine or otherwise, but that we think we store up treasure in heaven by other means.
Though to support your point, some will naysay, whether we play a dance or a dirge. Come to think of it, Jesus said that too!????????????????????????????????

jillybean
jillybean
8 years ago
Reply to  timothy

This is excellent, Timothy.

jsm
jsm
8 years ago

You say we will still belong to our nations and tribes. When scripture talks about the nations being represented after the judgment what indication do you have that we will still belong to them in any significant sense? I had always thought the use of nations in that case by scripture was just a shortened way of refering to jews and people from every gentile group on earth. Are national ties stronger than marriage since Christ told the pharisees that marriages will be over in heaven? How could you maintain your view without thinking inter national and tribal marriages are… Read more »

PerfectHold
PerfectHold
8 years ago
Reply to  jsm

Belong in any significant sense? — in the sense that once a tribe and a marriage has been redeemed and resurrected, it will become a facet of the jewel of you.
Your one-flesh partner here will not fade away from closeness there — but rather transform into greater & more of a connection.
Your Aleut & American mix will become a more solid & interesting & valuable aspect of the improved you.
It doesn’t get worse, it gets better.

Jsm
Jsm
8 years ago
Reply to  PerfectHold

I think you have our individual unique heritages in mind while I was referring to the funtional divisions of tribes and nations. The nations and tribes will all be represented in the sinless aspects of their uniqueness by the elect before His thrown. But the only division will have already taken place with the sheep and the goats. If we are still divided by national or tribal bonds in glory we run into the same problem the jews posed to Jesus about marriage. This is how Kinism gets off the rails with claiming interracial marriage is wrong. They claim since… Read more »

jsm
jsm
8 years ago
Reply to  Jsm

Throne not thrown auto correct once again

PerfectHold
PerfectHold
8 years ago
Reply to  Jsm

Interested — who do you know that’s into kinism that this is concerning to you?
Is this a direction some folks you care about are promoting?

If by “divided” by national or tribal bonds you mean “separated to”, I’d agree with you.
But we’ll have thousands of years to dig through our history and there discover & rejoice to find where God was working.
It won’t separate us to know ourselves in the context of the tribes he stuck us into.
Won’t we marvel for each other?

jsm
jsm
8 years ago
Reply to  PerfectHold

I have seen the idea surface in the comments on this and other blogs a few times. After seeing it I did some research and found Kinism is an idea that is actually embraced by a small group among the reformed. When Doug mentioned us still “belonging to” our nations, and tribes it sounded similar to the interpretation of those relevant portions of scripture by Kinists. Which brings me back to a better explanation of my original question. If after the resurrection we will still belong to our nation or tribe in the since of being divided along those lines… Read more »

PerfectHold
PerfectHold
8 years ago
Reply to  jsm

Imagine wearing a white robe.
But they give you merit badges.
Oh, look — I see from your badge that you came from Liberia?! Me too!

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  jsm

jsm asks: When scripture talks about the nations being represented after the judgment what indication do you have that we will still belong to them in any significant sense? I believe Wilson has in mind the various Scriptures that refer to Christ as the heir of the nations. Psalm 2 has God saying, “ask of Me and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance”. We are told that Christ rules the nations, and will bring healing to the nations. Christ is called King of kings. Revelation 11:15 says that the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdoms… Read more »

Daithi_Dubh
Daithi_Dubh
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

Indeed, since our hearts are, as Calvin noted, idol factories, why shouldn’t family, kinship, culture, nationalism, etc. be any less prone to being made into false gods? However, I strongly suspect that those in the church who revel in all things global and cosmopolitan, at the expense of the traditional family, kinship, and community, are themselves frequently guilty of an idolatry every bit as objectionable as what they accuse the traditionalist of!

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  Daithi_Dubh

Agreed. Just because our primary identity together as believers is Christ, it does not follow that we can have no other secondary identity or affection, or that we cannot make moral distinctions and generalizations across cultures. To avoid idolatry, we need to have our affections in the proper order.

timothy
timothy
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

Its interesting watching some attempt to shame those who recognize nations, tribes and ethnicity as being immoral, racist, ignorant, etc…yet, as the emergence of the NRx shows, these things are real and people know their importance. It is interesting that the attempt to erase national,tribal,ethnic identity occurs in tandem with the attempt to erase sexual identity. As you state, outside of Christ, these things become idols. That is their weapon, the devil eats his own. In Christ, a divine ordering occurs, outside, disorder. Isn’t it fascinating how more complex life in Christ is? Outside Him, the mind goes for the… Read more »

ME
ME
8 years ago

“The real trick is to repent of what we thought were our virtues.” Those are incredibly wise words there. I have had a long and painful journey learning the truth of them. In my case I had very narcissistic and feminist mother, a mixed blessing indeed, but a blessing just the same, because I know very well that there are many feminine characteristics perceived to be virtues that can in fact be very abusive and sinful, not only harmful to women themselves, but to the people around them. There’s another side to that too however, what we think are our… Read more »

Rob Steele
Rob Steele
8 years ago
Reply to  ME

Scripture frequently speaks of righteousness as clothes. We dress up in identities to hide our nakedness because we are absolutely and fundamentally exposed before God and we hate it. Every identity that we try to put between God and us is worse than useless. It’s like covering ourselves with sewage. It’s true that there’s somewhat less skin showing but on a deeper level it just makes us stink. It’s easy to see how openly rebellious identities are evil but it’s hard to see how our outwardly compliant ones are. Think un-prodigal son, who nevertheless did not love his father but… Read more »

Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
8 years ago

So, Cruz fans – any thoughts on his not one, but FIVE alleged affairs? This is from the same magazine that broke the news about John Edwards’ affair several years ago.
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/03/24/the-national-enquirer-runs-story-of-multiple-ted-cruz-affairs/

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago

‘Don’t know that I am a Cruz fan, but hasn’t he been probed by aliens way more than 5 times?
Oh, and those other NE lounge lizard busts? They were all libs!
????

Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
8 years ago
Reply to  "A" dad

Probed by aliens? Hmm…There’s these curious pics, but I don’t know if the other guy’s a citizen or an alien.
comment image

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago

Johnny Cochran clone?????

jigawatt
jigawatt
8 years ago

So, Cruz fans – any thoughts on his not one, but FIVE alleged affairs?

What are you getting at? Even if the allegations are true (due process, anyone?) are you expecting Cruz supporters to say, “Well, I can’t vote for a guy who cheats on his wife — guess I’ll have to vote for Donald Trump.”?

See. Doesn’t work.

Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
Doesn't Look Good for Ol' Ted
8 years ago
Reply to  jigawatt

LMAO

katecho
katecho
8 years ago

If this information is true (and I will reserve judgment on the evidence so far), then Cruz has disqualified himself as far as I’m concerned.

mkt
mkt
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

If true, it confirms this is the craziest group of candidates ever. We have a socialist, one who should probably be in jail, Trump and now Cruz who may be hiding multiple affairs…and could have “birther” issues. Then there are a few moderate, mushy Republicans who can’t get any traction–despite the past nominations of Dole, McCain, Romney, the Bushes, etc.
Sounds like something out of a low-budget indie movie/mockumentary that became surprisingly prophetic.

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  mkt

I think God may be trying to tell us something.

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

I wonder if it’s:
“Write in “A”dad?
????

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  "A" dad

I’m not sure I could do that to a friend, unless I knew that they knew what they were in for, and why they wanted to face that intense heat.

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

????, I doubt that I have been ordained for any office other than husband and father.
I will say that any heat that’s been ordained for us to face, can be faced, because our God is able to make us stand, even in the face of things we could not have imagined !????????

mkt
mkt
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

I agree. And GOP voters are sending a message to the establishment. I wish Ron Paul (or even Rand) could’ve been the successful maverick candidate instead of Trump, but either way, the message is loud and clear.

timothy
timothy
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

ripping away a veil, removing an idol…

Michaela
Michaela
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

Whether Michaela agrees or not (as aforementioned, Michaela finds it all confusing), Michaela appreciates katecho’s consistency on this. Michaela thinks that in the wordsmithery and contests (or avoidance thereof), though, the reasons behind this position (and others) have gotten lost. Michaela would appreciate it if katecho has the time to explain the “why” of the above stated position. Things like: Why would this disqualification him? What are your qualifications? How vulgar is vulgar to disqualify someone? What biblical passages do find to be clear on this matter? How much then is left to conscience? Those sorts of things. Michaela would… Read more »

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  Michaela

It’s not popular today to hold ecclesiastical or civil officers to basic moral standards of conduct, but Scripture does outline some very basic qualifications for elders and leaders. I realize Cruz is not running for savior, or Pope, but there are still basic standards that we should expect from our leaders. Infidelity to one’s marriage vows tells us a great deal about how someone will or won’t respect the rule of law. These things are connected. I don’t believe that the moral expectations for a President should be less than those for leading a local church. I will reserve judgment… Read more »

Michaela
Michaela
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

“I don’t believe that the moral expectations
for a President should be less than those for leading a local church.”

Is this a belief of conscience, or is there a biblical passage you use (along with reason) to persuade others of it also? Or do you consider it more of a private matter, and thus don’t think we should hold others to it or attempt to persuade relentlessly?

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  Michaela

I believe that Scripture sets a minimum for basic moral qualifications for leadership (whether civic or ecclesiastical). Psalms and Proverbs have a lot to say to kings and princes, for example. The fidelity issue goes directly to the trustworthiness of a candidate’s word. It’s like the big E on the eye chart. It is possible to live in a time and place where all candidates are substandard, and somehow Christians may get a vote anyway. In this case some may be persuaded to vote for the least evil candidate, regardless of a basic minimum. Some even say they would rather… Read more »

Ilion
Ilion
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

A rather odd time to start caring about compromising about the basics, don’t you think?

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  Ilion

Ilion’s case is not based on any moral basic, but on an unsubstantiated legal technicality. I would have been happy to grant the legal technicality as well, but Ilion did not successfully convince me of his case against Cruz’s status as a natural born citizen.

jillybean
jillybean
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

I would probably not go so far as you do regarding moral expectations, but I certainly think the following attributes should be non-negotiable:
– does the candidate keep promises great and small?
– is the candidate self-controlled, unimpulsive, and mature in judgment?
– does the candidate tell the truth even when the truth goes against his self-interest?
– have past significant moral failures been dealt with honorably?
I am not a Cruz fan, but I am really, really hoping that none of this is true. Five strikes me as a ridiculous number of mistresses for any one man–even a politician.

Christopher Casey
Christopher Casey
8 years ago
Reply to  jillybean

“I am not a Cruz fan, but I am really, really hoping that none of this is true. Five strikes me as a ridiculous number of mistresses for any one man–even a politician.”

Maybe he’s French-Canadian… ;)

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago

In any case, he’s no Bill Clinton! ; – )

jillybean
jillybean
8 years ago

Mais oui, mon ami!

jesuguru
jesuguru
8 years ago
Reply to  Michaela

If you’re going to mock, at least get the mockery right. Katecho never refers to herself in the 3rd person, only others.

David Trounce
7 years ago
Reply to  jesuguru

Funny, I always thought Katecho was a man. My reasons were based on the style and substance of Katecho’s comments. I wonder what that says about me?

jesuguru
jesuguru
7 years ago
Reply to  David Trounce

I hope I’m not wrong myself… But I thought katecho was Kate Cho. Then again, I wrongly thought Bethyada was Beth Yada. First gender-confusing bathrooms, now gender-confusing internet names, what’s society coming to?

bethyada
7 years ago
Reply to  jesuguru

katecho is male, as am I—look at the Greek and Hebrew.

But it usually matters little to the arguments.

jesuguru
jesuguru
7 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

.

jesuguru
jesuguru
7 years ago
Reply to  bethyada

Thanks then, and apologies to katecho. And yes sir, I already was made aware some time ago of your name’s linguistic origin.

Of course it usually matters little to the arguments. However, recent posts on this blog are highly relevant to gender (eg slut shaming), Therefore helpful to see recent comments from the perspective of both genders.

Ilion
Ilion
8 years ago
Reply to  katecho

How odd.

The fact that he isn’t a natural born US citizen doesn’t disqualify him as far as you’re concerned. The fact that he *knows* that he isn’t a natural born US citizen doesn’t disqualify him as far as you’re concerned. The fact that *you* know that he isn’t a natural born US citizen doesn’t disqualify him as far as you’re concerned.

So, that his very candidacy is a dishonoring of and violation of the US Constitution — a sin that directly affects all of us — is totes OK, but this asserted sin is a sin too far.

katecho
katecho
8 years ago
Reply to  Ilion

Ilion wrote: The fact that *you* know that he isn’t a natural born US citizen doesn’t disqualify him as far as you’re concerned. Ilion isn’t in a position to tell me what I know, especially since I was very clear on the reasons why I didn’t find his “natural born” argument convincing. Ilion’s view depends on the notion that one can be a citizen at birth without being natural born. Ilion did not demonstrate any legal precedent for such a distinction. The Supreme Court recognizes only two ways to be a citizen, not three. One is either born a citizen,… Read more »

David R
David R
8 years ago

Haha… the National Enquirer. According to the National Enquirer, Hillary Clinton and OJ should have been dead months ago, President Obama has a gay lover and had an affair with Caroline Kennedy, and Dr. Phil ran over his wife…. on purpose. Didn’t they say Kanye cheated on his wife, Kim, with Bruce Jenner?

Keep up the good work, Trumpkins.

40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
8 years ago
Reply to  David R

LMAO Amanda Carpenter, one of the women Cruz is accused of having an affair with, is a well known conservative columnist who’s very active on Twitter. In hindsight, several of her tweets over the past years are very revealing. Two years ago, she and Cruz both got the exact same temporary tattoo of Winston Churchill, on the exact same day. She once tweeted, at 5:22 AM, that everyone should watch Cruz on Fox and Friends later that morning, because “he’s in a fun mood today.” She knew at five in the morning that Cruz was in a fun mood that… Read more »

David R
David R
8 years ago

“Two years ago, she and Cruz both got the exact same temporary tattoo of Winston Churchill, on the exact same day.” Yes, most of his staff did. It was an April fool’s joke. https://twitter.com/MrJoshPerry/status/713557280046714882 She says “Cruz is about to do something very sweet. I may cry.” The date of this tweet is Sept 24th, 2013. This is the date of Ted Cruz’s filibuster of Obamacare that lasted 20+ hours. This tweet is in reference to Cruz reading a bedtime story to his girls: Green Eggs and Ham. “She refers to him as “Daddy Cruz.” She referred to him as… Read more »

Luke Pride
8 years ago

Spurgeon mentions the need for their to be no Fops in the pulpit in his Lectures to students. Even he saw, before homosexual expression, that the “homosexual values” were not appropriate for a leader. Men should act as men and women as women, though to be fair misdefining what a man or a woman were has caused damage akin to that of denying it. ” Even if the man born blind had his identity wrapped up in his blindness, Jesus still seems to have not cared about that very much.” This comment may seem like a throwaway, but it struck… Read more »

"A" dad
"A" dad
8 years ago
Reply to  Luke Pride

For instance, Doug and Nancy will not be married in eternity . As much as they like being married now, they know that Gods way is better!????????

Luke Pride
8 years ago
Reply to  "A" dad

True that.

Michaela
Michaela
8 years ago
Reply to  Luke Pride

I often wonder what Wilson and the like think of “marriage” and “eternity.” The statement from RCS, Jr. upon the Ashley Madison situation came across a little odd to me. ” “I did not sign up for their service or interact with any clients. I have always remained faithful to my wife even after her passing.” That made as much sense to me as his disclaimer that he wasn’t there for “critical commentary”. Does dating someone after a spouse dies equal adultery in their eyes? Is it really a place to go and be a missionary or do research? I… Read more »

Luke Pride
8 years ago
Reply to  Michaela

I think RCS Jr. wasn’t saying it was wrong to date after his spouse died. He was explaining that his lapse in moral judgement (okay, sin) did not result on full fledged cheating on his wife (if he went on during marriage) or that this was not a sign of how he acted in marriage (if it was after her passing) By saying he wasn’t there for “cirtical commentary” I think he is admitting he was went there with wrong motives. He wasn’t doing research for a paper on how awful some sites are. Maybe the point being missed is… Read more »

Dunsworth
Dunsworth
8 years ago
Reply to  Luke Pride

Precisely.

timothy
timothy
8 years ago
Reply to  Luke Pride

The Internet version of “I only read Playboy for the articles’.

Michaela
Michaela
8 years ago
Reply to  timothy

:) and “I only search for Melania’s pics and website to make memes.”

Mike Bull
8 years ago

Maybe Doug and Wes have missed the point to some degree. Adam was given a limitation (one single prohibition) in order to humble him to prepare him for rule. Submission before heaven (priesthood) was required before he could be given the promised dominion on earth (kingdom). Adam’s temporary limitation was to transform him into something better. Of course, Adam was innocent and we are not, but after Adam sinned there were limitations on longevity and fruitfulness to humble him. So whatever the specific areas of brokenness in our desires, they were given to us by God to shape us into… Read more »

andrewlohr
andrewlohr
8 years ago

Labels have their uses (and limitations). “The Athanasian Creed” works as a label, even if we know Athanasius didn’t write it–that is, it does not work as a description.

Laurie Higgins
Laurie Higgins
8 years ago

Thanks so much, Doug. Very helpful.

40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
40 ACRES & A KARDASHIAN
8 years ago

Looks as if this #cruzsexsscandal thing is just getting warmed up, and there’s a lot more info out there. First off, Trump wasn’t behind this – it was Rubio pals and associates who have been pushing this Cruz sex going back months, trying to get someone to write about it in hopes of knocking Cruz out and sending his voters to Rubio. A Breitbart staffer tweeted about getting ready to drop a “bombshell” on Cruz over a month ago, but then later tweeted that an editorial decision had been made to not run with the story. Probably Ben Shapiro’s call.… Read more »

Joshua
Joshua
8 years ago

But Doug elsewhere you have at least urged for more John Knox beards.