Category: News/Politics

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The Political Jesus

The life of Jesus is a political life! Our Lord is not hiding from the politicians of the day, and he is certainly not hiding from the political figures who collude with religious leaders. This is how we know that the God we worship is political—not because he wants the favorability of politicians, not because he desires the acclaim of “religious leader” of the year, not because he is craving for some private meeting with them, but because Jesus is eager to destroy all earthly political powers and replace it with something completely divine.

When our modern politicians fear that Christians are taking positions of power in society, they have no idea just how much more fear they should have. We don’t simply want positions of power in society; we want a totally Christian society—from D.C. to California. We want a society where every thought is captive to the obedience of King Jesus, where politicians submit to a crucified and risen Messiah. He was declared King at birth and even at this death, he was declared Basileus ton Ioudaion (βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων)-King of the Jews. Intentionally or unintentionally recognizing Jesus’ Lordship, Jesus is still Lord.

So, anytime unbelieving villains warn of the dangers of a Christian civilization, you should LOL-your-way through it all.

Jesus is Lord!

If you want a neutral society where drag-queen story hour receives prime time in our culture, then this worship experience today is nothing more than a few hundred apathetic religionists gathered to offer privatized praise to a God who is divorced from human and political reality. But if you believe the Great Commission envisions a society where God is all and all, and where society lives and moves and has its being in God, then what you do today is deeply political.

If God is Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, then to worship him is the most political thing you will ever do! Come, let us sing for joy to the God who reigns enthroned on high!

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The Case Against Trump

I was standing there about 100 feet from the former president, Donald J. Trump, as he introduced a young, energetic Harvard Law School grad named Ron DeSantis. DeSantis was all politics at the Pensacola Airport Hangar a few years ago. He went on to win an election for governorship over a thug later found in a Miami hotel with male prostitutes. Imagine the tyranny if we, happy Floridians, had that embodiment of sewage leading us during COVID!

These introductory remarks, resembling the start of a happy ending, are the prequel to the following statement: Donald J. Trump, who gave us much happiness and made the right enemies during his solitary four years, is acting with much buffoonery.

Trump is looking to take credit for developing the COVID-19 vaccines, which continually appear to have been a wrong move for history and humans. But apart from that, it was a great idea. And let us not forget that Archbishop Trump put the high-priest of sadistic arts, namely Antonio Fauci, to lead the task force. Fauci was such a fraud that fraud was feeling timid about its definition.

Years later, Trump continues his idiocy tour, accusing Ron DeSantis of sundry things. Now, don’t think I am so naive as to assume Trump is some rookie insult connoisseur. The man masters in insult; frankly, it was worthwhile, needful, helpful, charming, and funny. Seriously, the man has a gift. But again, this is one of those moments when his gifts need to stay close to his Mar-a-Lago staff instead of addressing them to what some–mainly me–consider one of the great benedictions in Florida history.

DeSantis took on COVID like a prophet. He publicly perspired priestly oil on C-SPAN, and we all watched in amazement how he stood there against all odds and challenged the status quo. Yes, he could have done more earlier, but again, our expectations for politicians could be higher.

Trump is being Trump. And I just wish he would stop it! I am not asking for something extraordinary. I am asking for a year of monastic living. That’s it. But I know this won’t take place. So, I think it’s time DeSantis answered a fool according to his folly and exercised that sharp rhetoric to prove his record.

There is no mistake I wish to preserve Florida’s sanity for four more years, but the more I hear Captain Tan-tan poke fun at one of my heroes, the more tempted I am to make Florida America again.

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A Brief Case for Voting

I just cast my vote in Florida. The event was rather mundane up to the front door and then quiet as I walked in to hand my ID. No one harassed me; no police guards looked at me with threatening eyes, and the two or three folks around me acted and enjoyed their minute walk to the front of the line. I was even given a sticker. We are unique in this respect.

It may take a perspective from an outsider to appreciate the validity of voting in the United States. Despite concerns about election fraud–which has been with us for a long time–our system is still the best in the Western world. A quick glance at most voting booths worldwide will give you a sense of the vast chasm between order and chaos regarding this American social practice.

But I have addressed this too often before, and now I am here only to state what a profound joy it is to vote in this country; to be able to live a life where religion is practiced freely without hindrance and where the inferno of idiocy is not always at the door as it is in Chile, Venezuela, and other nations.

In early colonial times, voting was accompanied by eating and drinking. It was a festive occasion where those qualified to vote gathered together and spoke up or stood to signify their choices. Later on, that process was changed to secret ballots. Voting was a fairly restrictive right. It was reserved for those considered “freemen.” The freemen were those who were invested in the financial well-being of the colonies. Eventually, the only voting members were those with membership in a local church; what some would call a “religious test.”

In our day, voting is accessible to every citizen 18 and older. It is simple and free. But voting is often mocked by purists as if it is the new sacrament of the polis. The escapist philosophy deeply impacts the modern urge to avoid the things of the polis. Why vote when this earthly terrain is destined for destruction? This eschatological apocalypticism affects conspiracists and ordinary people alike.

But the case for voting is that it is merely an extension of the humanity of every being placed in a particular place (Acts 17:26) by God. The position that voting is too imposing is rather extreme, seeing that even advocates of two-kingdom theology perceive an ordinary secular (saecularia) function for voting as legitimate. Even the farthest from Puritan political theory find voting compelling, or at least an ordinary function of society. Politics may not be within the sphere of the holy for them, but it is still a function of ordinary pilgrims in a pagan and disposable world.

Thus, to turn voting into a waste or an inadequate principle for citizens violates basic principles of citizenship and the natural order. If we are to desire the good of the city (Jer. 29), then we must contribute to the ordering of that city. To refuse to vote is, by all accounts, an effortless way out of the complexity of life. By Puritan standards, it would be to despise the citizenship of redeemed humanity placed within a sphere and called to express that dominion most locally and tangibly.

But finally, it is also to despise the benefits of living in a free country. How many around the world would cherish a glimpse into an overall orderly structure (few exceptions aside) of this nation where voting is counted and where free citizens participate in seeing trajectories change both locally and nationally?

We must have a healthy realism about the fallen world we live in, but we should not assume that because of flawed candidates, we are called to give up voting and pursue something nobler. We have been called to express our authority over all things, and if we relinquish voting to a lesser and unnecessary sphere, we are abdicating our authority. 

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What Lula’s Win Means for Brazil

This is a sad day for my home country. Lula won a narrowly divisive runoff election this Sunday and will begin his third term as president at the age of 77. Convicted of corruption, he served 580 days in prison, and after his release, he became the symbol of victimhood.

He sought old partnerships and was able to reanimate a nation to the old causes of social transformation through the state. It didn’t matter the misery incurred by such policies in Venezuela, Cuba, or Argentina, Lula’s charm and political capital earned him overwhelming victory in the poorest part of my country, the Northeastern part (where I grew up). Lula functions in some ways like a Neo-Pentecostal leader who appeals to the poor through promises of prosperity, offering a Gospel as convoluted as a Marxian paradigm. And the people said, “Amen!”

Bolsonaro, on the other hand, was the Tropical Trump; if Trump could dance and recite the Lord’s Prayer, he would be the Orange Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is equally charismatic as Lula, and the oddity of the whole thing is that wherever he went in the Northeast, he was received with immense approval. But politics is a tricky business. The people may love a candidate, political inclinations, or moral declarations, but they are easily seduced by flattery and promises of statist charity. I’d also happily admit to Bolsonaro’s number of blunders throughout, but the options were so universally contrary to one another, leaving Brazilians with no excuse.

The tremendous benefit is that this entire thing has awakened a conservative resurgence in my home country. Conservative principles are now much more common than before Bolsonaro’s election. I suspect the various movements will only continue to grow. Certainly, the environment is ripe for a conservative nationalism that sees Brazil’s interests, morally and economically, as the heart of a prosperous nation.

This entire monologue leads me to the declaration made by the most respected Presbyterian minister in Brazil, Augustus Nicodemus. Right before Brazilians cast their votes, he publicly declared that Jesus is Lord, and therefore, Christians were free to vote for whomever. I rejected his declaration and was purged from his platform, a decision he has the right to make, as do any of us.

But the larger point is that when a statesman, an elderly pastor, who has garnered the respect of millions of Brazilians of varying traditions, argues publicly that there is no difference between Fidel Castro’s ally for decades and who viewed Venezuela’s decaying state as one of blossoming prosperity, and another candidate whose right-wing perspective offered an infinitely greater opportunity for ecclesiastical flourishing, someone needs to call things as they seem.

Nicodemus is a part of a greater sacerdotal elite that views politics as a neutral sport. He’s the Scott Clark of theology and the Ligon Duncan of ecclesiology. He is content to appeal to the masses to not lose his appeal. The end result is the election of Lula, who will unmistakably take Brazil to the pastures of paganized statism and regulate businesses and serve as an ambassador of environmental causes for Justin Trudeau. He will further regulate the healthy growth of the homeschool movement in Brazil and regulate speech at various levels.

I hope the Bible-Believing Brazilian Church will find the strength to refuse such alternatives and carry on the mission of revival and renewal, whatever consequences may come. Every crisis presents opportunities, and I hope the Church uses this opportunity strategically.

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The Religiosity of the Left

It is essential that we understand the religious nature of our present crisis. At this point, “Jesus” is still a very useful tool in the hands of tyrants. The liberationists, socialists, barbarians, and Scythians can easily use Jesus’ name to fit into any of their agendas. Jesus can be the easiest way to push a “love thy neighbor” program that can apply to just about any modern governmental impulse. The reason Jesus is such a compelling figure is that unbelievers know that there is still a modicum of spirituality among the leftist base that still cherishes Jesus as a decorative piece in the intellectual journey of any human being.

We should, of course, decry such a thing and fight back with the feistiness of Poirier’s knockout against McGregor. We cannot tolerate seeing our Lord manipulated by the speeches of evil men. Chesterton adds this piece to his masterful hymn, “O God of Earth and Altar,” which jumps right into our current political cycle when he warns about the:

…lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men.

Cruel men are easily comforted by easy speeches, religiosity displayed in the name of collective faith, and variations of “Amazing Grace” that give even the foulest men goosebumps. But in the end, the entire message is a ploy to get you to think goodies are the government’s specialty. And to deliver these goodies, Jesus becomes the means to an end. It’s like AOC with her hands tied behind her back pretending to be arrested. It’s all fabricated like an American Cubano.

Ever since there was an Arius and Marcion, and Ilhan Omar, guilt manipulators were using Messiah Jesus to convey their ABC’s. Leftists need Jesus, but one made in their image, and they prey on the ignorance of evangelicals to get them to side with their causes. They offer nice, shining propositions to mild-mannered men led by strong-willed women.

This entire scene explains the New York Times’ fascination with the religiosity of Biden. He is “perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.” But here is where the rubber meets the cathedral: Biden is, says NYT, “a different, more liberal” kind of Christian. It grounds his life and policies.” Now, I am in my early 40’s, and I, too, have fallen off my bike. That’s not a prerequisite for leftism. The prerequisite for leftist ideology is drawing on life verses to build a platform; the life verses are found in the Sermon on the Mount and synopsis of big Bible themes. Suddenly, being meek has nothing to do with Moses who was glad when the Egyptians were swallowed by baptismal waters. Instead, it becomes a pretense for public sweetness to everyone except you and me.

Machen said long ago that “there can be no greater mistake than to suppose that Jesus ever separated theology from ethics.” Nobody on the Left separates theology from ethics, but what they do separate is theology from Jesus. If men can create a new Jesus–and man is a factory of creativity–then they can offer the world a new ethic based on a Jesus figure. This allows them to carry their “nice” Christian identities around the Fox News world while simultaneously carrying their “intolerance” identity towards us on MSNBC. It’s a win-win.

Good people, don’t negotiate with manipulators. Bury your eyes and hands in the work of the kingdom. Keep the Pentecost Spirit going–the spirit of hard labor and bold proclamation. Pick up your psalter and believe every word of Psalm 83 and when you start singing Psalm 92, make sure to sing the word “stupid” louder than other words, ’cause they need to hear their evil schemes for what it is; a charade pretending to be like Jesus, but they are of their father, the devil. 

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Neutrality No More!

One of the increasing benefits of a polarizing era is that men and women are now much more self-aware of what conservative ideals are. Of course, wise Christians know that there can be vast distinctions between conservative politics and a Christian political order. As polls constantly demonstrate, lots of conservatives know much about modern politics, thanks to a steady diet of vegetative cable news; on the other hand, they grade somewhere between a fig and a potato chip when it comes to basic biblical knowledge. That chasm shows that there are a lot of conservatives who love D.C.-ness more than Kingdom-ness.

Still, many who were once naively conservatives or who inherited conservatism, are now being forced to make ideological decisions or to think more deeply about their commitments. Now, they have to answer the questions: “Are you for BLM? If not, why not?” “Do you believe there is a disproportionate use of force used by police against black people? If so, should we defund the police or seek reform?” “Are riots that end private property merely a necessary ‘spectacle’ to get attention?” Some of these questions are easier to think through than others. They touch on the very heart of conservatism and its focus on freedom and private property.

The end result is that we can no longer remain neutral on political issues. We can afford to be less frustrating, and we certainly need to seek ways to draw people to our message rather than send them away, but we cannot be neutral bystanders, playing Switzerland to our own beat.

Congregations that attempt to harmonize the Bible with a myriad of political positions as a way of appeasing the cause of diversity will eventually realize that the diversity-crowd can never be appeased. But congregations that equip their flock to see righteousness from unrighteousness, the ant from the sluggard, the fool from the wise will shine bright as the sun. They will build a generation of convinced humanity who know the “what” and “why,” “who” and “when” of a faithful political system. There will always be those who fall by the side and cultivate friendship with the world, but they will be exceptions.

The great benefit of our age is no one can afford not to know where they stand. And for those just starting their journey, remember, Jesus is Lord! Begin there, and a lot of conundrums will be solved. At the very least you are standing in Jesus. Every political system that begins there will not be put to shame.

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Centrism, Anabaptism, and Admirationism

A friend asked recently why so many have abandoned core principles of conservatism. Now, it bears observing that not all conservatism is created equal. I am not advocating for some strict approach to economic theory or models of warfare, though all these shapes the conservative agenda. I am advocating for a moral conservatism that fights and doesn’t move in the face of trendy hashtags.

Hence, the question of why folks like David French have fallen so far away from reality is an interesting case study. What we see in Mr. French is a reflection of what has transpired in the paradigm shift of folks like Russel Moore and Tim Keller. Other names could be added, but since these names rule the present conversations, they will serve as prime examples of how these things take place.

No one is minimizing the efforts of these men in some capacity for the kingdom. Russ Moore, for example, has been a great voice in the adoption/fostering revolution. Keller has added much gravitas to the larger apologetic discourse while operating in the most insane part of the Western world; the Amsterdam of civilization, New York City. And we can’t forget the contributions David French has added to the church like…

Now, the original question is fascinating because I think there are culprits that accelerated the political decline of these figures. I have three in mind, which can be applied to all sorts of kids playing provocateurs online, and they are:

First and foremost, Donald J. Trump. Trump made America great again by revealing the centrists for what they are: disinterested participants in Christendom. Centrists–you know, the folks who are dubious about who to vote for in an election and always desiring some instantiation of John F. Kennedy or Marcus Aurelius to rise from the ashes–add nothing to societal solutions because they vacillate between gay marriage and Tom Brokaw. That is, they never know what to stand for and therefore, they live in this ethereal world filled with potentialities like political Molinists. Centrism is the reason for the decline of these once stalwarts.

Now, I read a lengthy article from Keller recently where he does a fine job explaining why he loves mercy and justice so much, which is because the prophets love mercy and justice so much. Therefore, Keller argued, he is perceived to be a liberal by conservatives. I appreciate Keller’s interest in deriving a political agenda from the Old Testament prophets. I think more people should do that, but it is remarkable how picky Keller’s political ideology is. While he uses a buffet of texts from Isaiah about mercy and justice, there is little interest in engaging an economic theology from Proverbs and Psalms. “Imprecation?” No, thanks. Incentives to hard work and responsibility? Nada. The problem is not the texts about justice and mercy; the problem is that centrists find proof-texting delightful. I will take “mercy and justice” for a $1,000, Alex! Yes, but that mercy and justice need to be incorporated in a larger political view of the world.

This and other reasons always make me pause thrice (see KJV) when someone says they are not Republicans or Democrats. Almost always it is code for some idealized view of old Rome and Romanticism. It’s the centrist version of “Hold my beer while I show you the way!”

The “Donald” brought all these things to the forefront. I have written much about how all these political examples of “progress” (see my article on the “Myth of Progress”) began after the Trump election in 2016. Since then, many have fallen faster than David Frum from the conservative roller coaster. What Trump did was bring out the propensities of centrists to happily centralize government and give unto Caesar so much more than he actually deserves. Trump, who barely opined a linguistically sensical sentence, brought out of their caves the linguistically insane. How are the mighty fallen!

The second piece of the pie is Anabaptist theology. Since Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option” came on the market a few years ago, we have had a harsh acceleration towards Wendell Berryism. Now, I have added some positive things about the “BO” in the past and since I have a close connection with people very close to Dreher, I know many of the sentiments invested in that book. It is also worth mentioning that Dreher is Orthodox, as in the “road to Constantinople,” Orthodox. This comes with all sorts of sociological impetus-es. Still, the Benedict Option is a fruit of an anabaptist assumption, which I thought was dealt with quite well by Calvin in the 16th century. But apparently, many of these–Russell Moore, et. al.–operate in a significant “spirituality of the church” paradigm. This is a short way of saying that the church ought to stay away from politics, until, they spouse our “politics.” Pardon my modernized translation. I add that Dreher has made lots of helpful clarifications and I stand behind “Live Not By Lies” more so than the isolationist implications of Benedictine monasteries.

I have argued for the Boniface Option instead, which is a bit more intentional about making every thought captive. The argument for idealizing small communities and separating for the sake of re-education is good and wholehearted, but why it has attracted mostly those who have accepted amillennialism into their hearts is another interesting case for why anabaptist theology has gained so much interest in our day.

Some of these advocates are often allergic to conversations about big numbers, and they always view you with suspicion when your project starts to get attention. It reminds me of a historian of a certain denomination who once stated that the beauty of his denomination is that for 100 years it had not grown and therefore, it was not susceptible to compromise.

My general approach is that what is beautiful attracts, even if that attraction takes time to age well in a cellar. In other words, I can stand behind the premise that quick attraction kills, but beautiful things are seed planting investments and you should certainly question a few things if after many, many years that thing offers nothing more than a few dogmatic poster kids.

The other side of the muddy river offers you those whose numbers grow with the wrong kinds of disciples. You need a generation or two to see what doth ideas produce. You need to see if the disciples caught on to the thing, but it’s a sad thing when the disciples take an even bigger turn towards Amsterdam ethics. The Great Commission is a numbers game and David French is gaining the world, but producing disciples that will offer very little but niceties to the political discourse.

The third piece of this pie is the admiration paradigm; what I call admirationism ethics. Now, I don’t think we should purposefully make enemies of folks. But there is a spiraling downward impact that occurs when people find more in common with AOC and Pelosi than with Trump.

I do not believe Keller and others woke up one day and decided to make Joe Scarborough happy with their politics, but Joe does now admire them, and that trajectory happened because of 1,000 little moments of weaknesses. They believed that the discourse required pleasantries and alignment with Black Lives Matter. The beginning was fun. The cocktails were delicious but in the name of racial reconciliation, they allowed voices like Jemar Tisby to whisper into their ears that white people all share the same burden of tyranny. And then they felt that they needed to do something to show their benevolence towards the cause, and then they began to hate Republicans who voted for Trump, and then they started having kale drinks for breakfast. Something like that unfolded, more or less in that order.

The point of it all is that trajectories don’t happen overnight. David French will have to answer for his blatant guilt manipulations techniques and his ever-increasing terrible writing habits that seek to find some new Christian nationalist to hate.

Centrism, Anabaptism, and Admirationism are the culprits of this abandonment of core conservatism. That’s my meager attempt at solving this riddle. The anxiety of the left will do everything to stir anxiety among conservative-minded folks. Stay healthy, my friends. And don’t listen to the Frenches.

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The Myth of Progress

The idea of progress is a myth. The case is summed up in the leftists’ agenda to reconcile the world to ideals of refinement and development via mandates and ultimatums. Still, there is the inherent tendency to make labor and diligence trivial in these scenarios because the ultimate goal for progressivism is to accelerate movements to a breaking point and then hit the re-start button in a continuous cycle until progress emerges pristine for the watching world.

When Caspian confronted such an idea in that brilliant “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the Governor eager to use slavery as a currency asks Caspian, “Have you no idea of progress, of development?” Caspian wisely retorted, “I have seen them both in an egg…and we call it going BAD in Narnia.” Caspian knew that models that opposed Narnia’s ethics could never move forward rightly if progress was the agenda.

Progress is a tricky thing since it evokes a sense of wonder and glory. “Look at this car!” “Look at my view!” “Look at how liberated people look!” But all of this is a façade, and in fact, progress is an epic myth. It breathes the air of forward-thinking, but it only takes humanity away from clear-thinking.

C.S. Lewis writes that it’s a cowardly thing when ordinary people shut their eyes to the facts, and those ushering the name of progress do not care about true truths, they only care about the endless fabrication of narratives. What they seek is to be the arbiters of right and wrong; to be the tree of life dispensing wisdom to the nations without an ultimate fact-giver.

This plays deeply into the illusion played out by leaders in our culture. They are selling us a vision of utter hopelessness in the name of progress. There is a reason leftists are referred to as “progressives.” They envision a world where racial reconciliation occurs through the lens of compulsory actions. “Love thy neighbor” becomes “Force thy neighbor to love.” Progressivism triumphs through the nature of platitudes: big ideas with the substance of a dinner of herbs.

And this is the unique phase of history we find ourselves in. The Christian does not subscribe to some yuppy ideals of progress. We embrace a full-orbed tradition rooted in the basic morals of hard work and reality-driven ethics.

“Progress” is endearing because it does not demand complex ideas, or nuanced debates, but the simple orchestration of ideals on a piece of paper. We could get rid of all college loans overnight, and we could pay all third-world debts, and we could let Annie sleep with her boyfriend to liberate her, or we could take up the mundane tasks of doing the next right thing in front of us without the expectation of rewards, but only the supreme approval of our God.

The only kind of movement forward that Christians make is the movement that says, “If the Lord is willing, we shall do this (Jam. 4:15).” Apart from that, any movement or progress, or development is doomed.

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The White House as Drummer Boys of Doom

After a few days of traveling and festivities, I wanted to begin this last week of Advent with some gentle observations about the recent White House post kindly attached for you. And by gentle, I simply mean that I wish to approach this subject in an unsympathetic and take-no-prisoner kind of gentleness.

I keep harping on these shenanigans because the Bible offers us a chronology of the wickedness model that unfolds from the lips and acts of fools. I think we too need to chronologize snobbery and sanctimonious details from the 17th floor of Jezebel’s luxury hotel.

Sample number one is Gavin Newsom; the presider-in-chief of the most extraordinary acts of self-deception in California’s history (which is saying a lot). He recently noted that “The overwhelming majority [of Omicron cases] have been fully vaccinated. That’s why masking becomes even more important in this environment.” Therefore, a new mandate was imposed in the People’s Republic of Chinafornia.

The response from one reporter was puzzling. He inquired of Darth Newsom why there wasn’t a more strict penalty for those unvaccinated. The governor said he had hope that we would do the right thing. I stand appreciative of Newsom’s Christmas spirit.

Those who love truth and have been vaccinated for whatever reason they deem best should find this act a violation of the sobriety principle. They should stand–as many vaccinated are around the world–for the rights of basic freedom of conscience. That is, we should all express a corporate sense of rage towards men who act the same way sober and unsober.

The White House has taken this a step further and offered us a mimicry of tyranny unbeknownst since the White House’s last action a week ago. But this one brings the whole thing one step closer to where they wish to go.

Now, if you have been following my opinations for some time, it is evident that I saw this thing coming, and so did my four-year-old. But my little one doesn’t have the historical experience I have to make predictions of high magnitude. The formulation of class systems is nothing new in world history and certainly not in American history. The funny thing is that the same universal charges of discrimination uttered by the lips of pious men concerning egregious sins of the past are uttered favorably in our day.

For these angelic figures, the “unvaccinated” is a class separate from others. I would not be shocked at all if, in a few months the White House would deem us domestic terrorists like people carrying a time bomb in their backpacks. Of course, no one in their right mind would utter such distasteful remarks. Unless, of course, you are the Governor of Washington who said, and I quote, “the exact thing I said above.” Close quote.

There is very little common sense left when folks make that remark, which means that there is no common ground left. If nice people ever believed that our task is to find a middle ground with the White House, I call their bluff. There is no common ground with wickedness. The Christian should sit back from the comfort of his gathered family members around the Christmas table and loudly LOLOLOLOLOL these threatening scoundrels.

I have been around narcissistic individuals–folks who threaten their community through flattery and ultimatums. At that point, there is no more fruitful dialogue. We must go our separate ways and I must act as if whatever you say on this issue is gibberish to me. And perhaps, the Church would do well to shut her ears to these drummer boys of doom and listen to the adventing Christ who speaks words of comfort and joy. 

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News Updates: DeSantis, COVID, and More

1) There are many people like David Brooks and David French who want a “conservatism of manners” and not a “conservatism based on eternal truths.” This distinction made by Al Mohler is a fine one to explain the current movement of many who were once stalwart conservative voices moving ever so slowly, or in the case of some, above the speed limit, towards leftist ideology.

I am reminded of a section in my little book “The Trinitarian Father” where I observed that parenting is a covenantal thing. So too is politics. The grown man with kids who thinks it’s cute to flirt with Bidenism will discover a few years down the road that sweet manners–however good and noble–is not the crown of policy, nor is it the principal thing in politics. His children sitting under his teaching will discover that Biden didn’t go far enough and that they need to bring back the spirit of Bern. Your politics follow your religion, and your religion will be slowly turning towards David Brooks if you view niceties as the prime virtue.

For additional information, my piece over at kuyperian.com has been gaining lots of attraction. I wrote yesterday about how changes towards wokism occur. I argue that these changes are perspectival. If we break them down to existential (experiences), situational (cultural-historical), and normative (the authority of the Bible), we can arrive at a more accurate interpretive model for how these stalwarts move incrementally towards woke and BLM rhetoric.

2) Jeff Childers, who writes a daily update on COVIDness, observed that Middlebury College in Vermont has a 99% vaccination rate. Still, they have suspended “live classes, sports, and performing arts — again — after fifty students and employees tested positive for the virus.” $60K of tuition a year, and they are back to April of 2020 again. Can I get a refund? P.S. Oh, and Gavin Newsom is reimposing a statewide mask mandate.

3) Governor Ron DeSantis–also known as St. DeSantis–just gave state workers “an end-of-the-year holiday surprise: A couple of four-day weekends to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.” With the housing market in Florida booming with New Yorkers and Dave Rubin (by the way, welcome Dave!), those employees better rest for the work ahead. As a side note, I am pushing for a DeSantis 2022 re-election campaign in Florida. Stay local, Goburnator!

4) Dr. Joe Boot notes that “conversion therapy” is now prohibited in Canada. Technically, this means that pastoral counseling aimed at exhorting men and women to believe the Gospel and follow God’s creation order for man and woman in sex and marriage is now illegal. But don’t worry, the MP’s voted unanimously to adopt such measures.

5) Jesus is Lord! And this means that the central reality of postmillennial eschatology reigns supreme. Don’t believe the versions of peace the world offers. Christ is Lord, and the volume of peace belongs to him. In this world, Christians hear his voice loud and clear (John 10). Keep listening!