Category: News/Politics

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Deconstruction, Trump Appointees, and Mandates

1) The deconstruction movement within evangelicalism continues to gain an audience among many. Baptist pastor Matt Chandler who attacked “deconstruction” as a philosophical approach taken from Jaque Derrida received some pushback which led him to defend his comments by saying that he was not talking about modern attempts at “deconstruction” from within evangelicalism, but rather on atheist assertions that the text is unknowable. He writes:

“I have the deepest empathy and compassion for those who find themselves wading in those waters. I certainly don’t want to make things harder for anyone in those seasons and struggles.”

This is an entirely disappointing response. The “evangelical” deconstructing taking place is often led by leftists who despise traditional roles in the home and church and who spend most of their time promoting politically unsustainable ideologies like BLM and social justice. These apologists are not using “deconstruction” as a code for struggling with the faith, but as a re-ordering of the social structures of traditional Christian ethics and theology.

This modern attempt falls squarely in line with Machen’s exhortations against the religion of liberalism. Deconstruction has the same goal as liberalism did in the 20th century–to reform the faith after the image of modernism. Chandler’s original observations are true not only about the textual implications of deconstructionism from a philosophical perspective but also in modern attempts to re-examine the faith. It applies to both and he shouldn’t have to apologize or nuance his observations.

2) A public school in Los Angeles bribed students with pizza so that they could get vaccinated. And here is the kicker: “don’t tell your parents.” You do need the parents’ consent to give your child Aspirin, but vaccines are another level of importance according to these arbiters of truth.

I have been speaking about the religiosity of vaccine mandates for a long time, but this form of the priesthood is an entirely new level of ecclesiocracy. Apart from the fact that COVID vaccination for children is entirely irrational scientifically and sociologically, this sphere tyranny puts the issue at the forefront: how long until parents begin to see the ultimate agenda of godless pedagogy?

3) Despite some of the turmoil going on nationally, Christians should be thrilled about the recent legal decisions made across the country. Part of this stems from Trump’s genius in appointing young, conservative judges. The Guardian some years ago referred to Trump’s appointments as a revolution, especially on the pro-life side:

“The new rules threatened to shutter Planned Parenthood clinics and other facilities that offer abortion services alongside healthcare subsidized by federal funds.”

We are now fairly close to seeing his strategies bear national fruit. But beyond that, we are also seeing many of the vaccine mandates overruled as the AP reports:

“A federal judge has blocked President Biden’s administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of federal contractors. It’s the latest in a string of court victories for Republican-led states and others challenging a series of federal vaccine requirements.”

This is good news all around and we should give thanks to God!

4) If you were to ask, “What organizations should I support financially that are doing good cultural and biblical work?” I’d choose two: a) The Center for Cultural Leadership led by P. Andrew Sandlin and the Theopolis Institute led by Peter J. Leithart. These two bodies are decisive in their biblical vision and are seeking to educate a new generation to think about the cultural, economic, and theological implications of the faith.

5) The Church needs more musicalization training which means that she needs to sing more. Music is a hermeneutic to discern where to go in our age. As the Church sings, she is conformed more and more to her Lord, who sings over her (Zep. 3:17). 

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Leavening Roe out of Existence

One of my central arguments for a Trump presidency was the Supreme Court. But it’s not because I find the Court some inerrant body operating in harmony with the divine council. In fact, I find much of the way the Court operates troubling. There is a vicious cycle of punting fundamental decisions to the future and as a Legislative Branch of Government, I’d rather like to see unconstitutional laws overturned in 3…2…1. “Stare decisis” can go to hell, for all I care, if it doesn’t comport with God’s laws. And Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a prime example of how such perturbing things need reasonable judges to make reasonable arguments even if they lack the kind of theocratic starting point.

I think we are all in agreement that such arguments yesterday were incredibly favorable toward banning abortion in Mississippi after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Ideally, 1973 will also enter the history books as a year where moral courage bid adieu, and 2021 resolved to see moral fervor back through unlikely judges. Judges, might I add, brought by the tanned man.

I return, however, to my original point: Trump was a good thing for this country and I pity those who could not share the corporate outrage or those who are too tired to fight. Trump was a fighter; the kind of pugilist that entered the ring and started throwing punches everywhere and out of sheer “luck” ended up hitting a couple of really precious artifacts of leftist ideologies.

The spectators were left speechless because they thought that no one had the courage to enter the ring against established dogma. But he did it! He did it on Twitter; he did it on national television; he did it on debates; he did it in electing judges; he did it in protecting the rights of religious institutions, and he did it in various other ways.

Now, of course, we can sit down and talk about how the match was pretty chaotic and how he ended up hitting a few of us, and how his coaches were pretty corrupt as well, but the end result is that we are sitting fairly close to seeing some fairly monumental things about to happen in this country in 2021.

Think about it: these last two years have been the most magnified sight into the devious and devilish devices of Democrat powers. They have sought to endanger our health, history, and hope. They have tortured the American conscience by putting friends against friends at the Thanksgiving table; they have filled the cup of wrath by instilling fear as a commodity and currency. Democrats offer misery and betrayal to morality and classical mores. There is no way–unless one pushes the gymnastic hermeneutic really far–to see Democratic policies as nothing more than outrageous attempts to build Babel on the broken and rotten wood of Genesis 11. This was the year that leftists argued that children ought to obey their masters even though they stifle our speech, our humanity, and our bodies through mandates and madness.

But God loves to shock us back into hope. He works with broken Trumps to achieve the good. He takes a notoriously unhealthy specimen of morality–though far healthier than the alternative–and uses him to offer a few good men on the Court. And even assuming that this whole thing goes awry, even if somehow things remain as is–which I do not believe–we have still made pagans squirm with fear of the mere possibility that babies could live. In fact, as of now, if Roe is gutted, the Democratic-led Congress is unlikely to have the votes to counteract it legislatively. We should be hopeful moving into 2022. We should always be hopeful in season and out of season. But it seems that certain seasons offer some divine comedy, and I hope to see God’s humor thrive over the affairs of men.

When the whole 2016 business dawned upon us, I argued in a long post that Christians have one fundamental task in this world: to use the resources he has to provide the best outcome possible in a fallen world. Sometimes it doesn’t look the exact way we think it should. Sometimes our leader breaks too many things when he should have only broken three. But still, we rejoice over the specificity of judgment on the unrighteous and blessings on the righteous.

We are somewhat naive to think we can operate on the basis of Benedictine order. God is perfect, but he is not a perfectionist, as Doug Wilson once stated. Purists live in monasteries, and as a Protestant, me-no-can-do.

We need more Bonifaces to shatter the wisdom of this world and break a few extra tables. Christians should see the long game and see every win as a movement of mustard seeds being planted in our society. The kingdom grows slowly, which does not mean–for the ideologues–that we lose slowly, but that we move slowly like parabolic plants, leavening the whole world. And while the Trump era is done–and should be–I am grateful he fought the right people and afflicted the comfortable, even if we had to sit back and cringe a time or ten.

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Why Old Leftist Men Go Insane?

Biden’s cognitive decline is rather evident these days. It’s not the snoozing at a tedious gathering in Europe; the best of us do such noble deeds at one time or another in our 40’s and from what I recall growing up in my father’s congregation, some happily do it in their teens. So, far from me to criticize a 78-year-old man for taking a quick power-10 during a meeting spoken in different languages.

My point has more to do with the fruit of one’s work. I confess I don’t know how to prove such assertions with dogmatism, but there is ample evidence that conservatives are happier than liberals and therefore age with much more grace and sanity:

“Years of psychological research have suggested that people who are politically conservative are happier than their liberal counterparts. This so-called “ideological happiness gap” has inspired elaborate theories for why conservatives enjoy life more than liberals do.”

This is not the time to speculate too much on the ideological happiness gap, except through the via negative. And the lesson here is, “Don’t be like Biden, kids!” And age has nothing to do with it. If our psalmic lifespan is threescore and ten, and by reason of strength add ten more (Psalm 90:10), let’s say Uncle Joe is getting rather close to that happy limit. But again, age does not have much to do with this. In fact, I have a couple of dear saints in my congregation in their 80’s walking 3-6 miles every day and functioning with normalcy. But the Biden crisis is rather unique, isn’t it?

What happens when your entire political career has been the cumulative effect of policies that destroyed the economy, discouraged virtue as central to the oikos and the polis, and over-taxed everything and everyone, and put animals’ rights above ordinary babies in wombs? The accumulation of these leftist ideologies can only lead to misery and pain.

Now, some may say that conservatives can be quite a nuisance as well and provide their share of crankyTrumpers at home. Yes, I grant that premise pastorally, but to quote sociologist Brad Wilcox “conservatives marry more and divorce less,” and this should not be a shock to society. Conservative marriages can still lead to madness, but when policies are built on the foundation of destroying civilization at the point of birth and then at the point of all existential questions (money, marriage, and morēs), the end result is a kind of insanity. As my old friend, James Jordan used to say, “The result of insane policies is insane lawmakers.”Biden’s decline may have something to do with his age and health, but it seems the deeper element has to do with the imbibing of ideas that ultimately lead you to madness. Leftism leads to incurable sadness of life and loss of sanity. Nietzsche knew it well and I think the Maxine Waters of this world do as well.

You may think these assertions are rather preposterous, and I have added enough variables to avoid any major statistical stupidity, but the central premise can’t be challenged: God gives distraught and deceitful old men over to dreary sleepiness.

Biden should rest assured that while we pray for him (I Tim. 2:2), our prayer is not some generic silliness; it’s filled with sobering cries for his sanity and strength to return while there is time.

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Cheers for Cuban Freedom!

I know it’s hard for leftists to see the appeal of conservative thoughts among other populations. Therefore, it must be a doozy to see Cubans tearing Che Guevara apart as one who in his own words, “really loved to kill” and who despised religious people, and anyone who would dare disagree with his ideologies.

When the Cuban doors are opened fully, and they will be, make no mistake about it, what will unleash will be thousands of stories of a regime that did not support the Veggie Tales’ version of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro constantly satiating American television. The man who finds himself in the t-shirts of thousands of Americans as an icon for the weak and downtrodden was quite literally a murderer of the weak and downtrodden.

The recent protests, which will likely increase, and the creative ways in which Cubans are finding to bypass security strategies by the government to hinder communication to outside by ordinary Cubans will fail. Cubans will eventually bring not only their coffee and cigars grown in their fertile land freely over here, but they will also enter into the dynamic and flourishing Cuban population here in the U.S. This country was largely dumbstruck when they discovered on the day of the election just how quickly the Cuban population rose to vote for the Republican candidate. Leftists made quick assumptions that Latinos favor the party of gifts; that Los gringos could easily persuade the Cuban population to see the Democratic Party as a party that gets the Latin experience. So, they give you Senora Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and they try to use the “charismatic” Bernie Sanders as attractive propositions. But Cubans, especially those who have moved into this country in the last decade, want none of these superlative clowns.

The socialist rhetoric of Castro and Chavez brings nothing more than terror to the minds of Cubans. Of course, the population in Florida and other places are not a monolith, but enough of one to dissect the trickery coming from the left, and to see that for far too many of the Cubans holding mass rallies in Havana, freedom from tyrannical practices and a high morality among Cubans are still a thing to consider. Therefore, the left is panicking over the saturation of the news cycle from a population that has known idiocy personally for too long and is befuddled by American sentimentalism towards their monsters.

So, I am having a Cafe Cubano in celebration of the many Cuban friends I had in college and seminary and who fill the streets of Havana this morning.

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How to Greet Biden’s Evangelists

White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said that “We will be going door-to-door to Americans who have not been vaccinated.” In light of their upcoming visit to my property, and to honor our blessed government representatives, I have prepared remarks for the occasion upon their arrival.”My dear friend, grace and peace to you. It is an honor to have you come to my front door. Thank you for your profound concern for my well-being. Indeed, your desire for my bodily welfare means much to me. That you would take my own money and pour it into affairs that concern my life and health and prosperity as a citizen of these Unites States prove a level of concern for my happiness. I am grateful.

However…since you are here and since there is an unending source of money backing your endeavors, I am going to assume that time is not of the essence. So, please hear the following words, for they too stem from great concern that I have for the well-being of the government for whom you work.

It has come to my attention that your interest in my felicity is highly misguided. In fact, I am certain that my body will be just fine, for I know that if the body they kill, the truth abides still, and his kingdom is forever. Now, forgive me if I have just waxed poetically in the name of a German monk. But this is a profound truth. While you stand here acting out your role under the guise of American happiness, you must know that the local abortion clinic in my community remains open with young ladies, mostly under pressure, but often under ignorance, and at times under the premise of evil, are giving their bodies to government-approved institutions whose intent is to terminate the life of little humans in the womb. Will you commit to going to their front door next?

It has also come to my attention that your agenda for American health and happiness is rooted in a fundamentally flawed perspective. You cannot seek to persuade me to take a vaccine while also imposing regulations that diminish my liberties to pursue my Christian religion. You see, my happiness and joy stem from the faith, which your current leader is seeking to eradicate by stupid measures meant to weaken the labors of the church. I hope you can see my skepticism in your appearance this morning. I have nothing against you, but I do have plenty of grievances against the agenda you wish me to succumb to. From my perspective, you are entrenched and a participant in a comedy of errors. You have come to the wrong door, not because I wish you any malice, but because what you represent is precisely what I fight against as a minister and citizen. Your definition of “well-being” is precisely the opposite of what I envision for the well-being of the people and the opposite of the role I see for the government. In my ideal world, your government would begin the day with a pastoral prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, while you begin your day with mandates to go door-to-door knocking like eager evangelists.

In fact, since you are here, I wish to tell you that unless you surrender your well-being into the hands of God, you will perish. And if, perchance, you happen to be a church-goer of some Bible-believing church, let me urge you to forsake your ways. I do not believe your desire is to persuade me of a vaccine–which people of good rapport may differ–but I believe you are here to persuade me of the power of the government to give me true health. This cannot be done, for true health is not something the government is called to dispense, but it’s something my local physician and my community give to me, since they know me best and truly care for my happiness.

If you do not know my Lord and King, I urge you in the name of health to submit to him now or submit to him at the judgment day. That latter submission will not be gracious.I truly thank you for your time and for hearing my words. I have some cold water and fresh bread if you’d like. If not, thank you for your time and I pray God would grant you true health.

Have a pleasant day!

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COVID CARD PIETY!

Looking around the interwebs, one would think that the multitude of selfies is a new trend for some revolutionary movement. But alas, it’s true! These revolutionaries are ordinary human beings holding what I call a COVID-piety card, which states that they have received the first or second COVID vaccine. Let freedom ring! Their smiling faces next to a filled-out paper is a powerfully symbolic statement. Let’s put politics aside for the moment. Nah. Who am I kidding: let’s talk directly about the politics of such things.

It is very clear that virtually everyone showcasing their card with some fancy hashtag and proudly showing forth their front teeth to their screens are convinced that they are making a political statement. Further, from the 200-300 samples of people who I’ve seen on various platforms, a quick glance at their profile shows unmistakably that they proudly voted for Joseph Biden as the 46th American president. Now, I could read a lot into this, but I won’t, except to read the following three statements(!) into such displays.

First, these acts from priests and parishioners alike and a multitude of pagans, reveal that such shows to the world communicate a certain level of pride for such an accomplishment. They truly believe that what they did was a good thing and that others–for the sake of health–should follow similarly. This is a revolution of sorts. They could quietly get their vaccines and resume life as usual–a decision that I would highly respect– but that is not the intent of a revolution, which is often loud and hashtaggy! These are the new social media voices for an environmentally new world.

Second, these acts also mean that they have an elevated sense and respect for the word of the state, and not particularly in the Pauline sense if you catch my nuance. In particular, such people are prone to accepting Fauci’s analysis that even after the two shots, they should still wear masks and practice social distancing and other state-directed declarations. In one case, a well-respected theologian in the UK posted a picture of him and three of his children commemorating their ability to see each other after quite some time but also stating his sadness that his fourth child could not join because it would violate local COVID numeric regulations, and that was more important than having the whole family together.

Finally, there is no doubt that for most, these displays are acts of revolutionary piety. Mind you, most of these folks posting selfies are people born after 1999. They are the smartphone generation that has less than 1% chance of dying or even suffering major side effects from COVID. These are the future leaders of our nations, who will take every opportunity to speak truth to power one selfie at a time and one piece of paper at a time. If COVID vaccines came with numbers, they would gladly tattoo it.

These are in my estimation another religious example of the principle that everything is religious. These folks are not showing forth their baptismal cards to the world in submission to the Triune God, but they are stating that their new symbol of freedom is a piece of paper with the signature of a medical professional that testifies that now their body/soul is safe from all alarm.

I find the entire exercise ridiculous on a number of levels, not because I oppose vaccines, but because I oppose statist piety, and because I oppose the entire political agenda behind the curtain. Count me a post-vaccine selfie card skeptic.

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Springsteen’s Magic Middle

Why is it that the “center” is so beloved by leftists and moderates? Why is it that Bruce Springsteen is so charming portraying the center as a romantic ideal? When they decry the divided position of our country asking for the reunited states of America, what precisely are they asking for? What does the center look like through the lens of its advocates? I can imagine a host of issues where consensus would be fruitful: disproportionate incarceration, illegal wars, free speech, etc. But when the “middle apologists” ask for the middle ground, are they inquiring how we can more easily end the abortion of human beings in the first trimester? actualizing an ethic derived from Genesis instead of Lada Gaga? The answer is too obvious to even ponder.

We need to remind ourselves that the Van Tilian paradigm stands on just about every phase of human growth. When we contemplate articulate modes of communication, we need to truly ask, “who is to gain?” The evangelical wing of the republic, the Bible-believing radicals who vehemently support the thesis of Genesis 1:1 and 3:1, or the romantics of Middle-Earth who are eager to entice you to an agenda that is diametrically opposed to biblical truth?

I have never been afraid of loving my neighbor, and I’d like to think that I have gone an extra mile in doing so throughout my life; at times fully knowing that there was no reciprocation. But I am deeply afraid of people who fight in the “love thy neighbor” banner without advocating loyalty to the Lord thy God who is quite diverse in his applications towards our neighbor. The “middle” ground comes in all shapes of “love thy neighbor” sizes.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the idea of the magical middle ground. I love the idea of coming together and reaching an agreement about the color of the rug and the ideal coffee beans to grind, but where you lose me is when I have to negate some part of my Christian identity in order to join the happy middle. It’s not that I can’t come together with you, but my disposition and desires are inherently tied to my identity. And therefore, such effort, however noble, is simply an impossibility.

The political center is the place people come when their convictions are weakened. When Yahweh called the people to reason together, he was not calling them to the center. He was calling them to see their entire world just as he sees it.

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The Florida GOAT!

Let’s just pause our week and thank a stellar man in his 40’s. Let’s thank him for holding the fort down and pressing on without succumbing to the fears of the millennials Monday-morning quarterbacks running around. Let’s thank the man who won the Superbowl of 2020 hands down, and has my vote for MVP in 2021.

Let’s thank Ron DeSantis.

We could take the time to speak of Tom Brady’s capacity to de-throne himself and re-assume that throne in a little start-up company called Buccanners Inc. But in actuality, let’s face it: De Santis is the real GOAT at the end of the day.

Imagine for a moment if Andrew Gillum had won Florida. Now, that you imagined it, go and spit that thought out in the backyard. Progressivism would have shattered our beloved state. Progressivism and leftism are the viruses Florida cannot afford. From the beginning, DeSantis took this Covidness seriously enough to not let it destroy the state’s economy. True, there is a lot of recovering to do, but Florida is hundreds of miles ahead of most states, save South Dakota–peace be upon Gov. Noem.

The Superbowl would not have happened in another state; no other state would have had the capacity to host 25,000 people in a stadium, because most other states are still panicking as if this is March 2020. Vaccines, natural treatments: nothing will take the panic-state of the liberal states of America. Florida went for Trump because of DeSantis and because we did not play the politics game CNN-style.

My first perusal of the news cycle this morning consisted of the hysteria of the Left over the festivities in downtown Tampa after the Bucs’ victory. In fact, the trend in twitterdom is that every time a “journalist” sees a gathered group in Florida not distancing more than the assigned rule, they begin their mockery lap across Twitter. It’s humorous, actually. Then, their friends join to mock those imbeciles taking life with a grain of sugar and salt and margaritas and a good steak. “Those Floridians are murderers taking all this life and showing off their liberties like normal human beings!”

Let’s also remember that DeSantis was one of the first governors to say that worship is essential. These words matter, because back then Mother Los Angeles and sister New York wanted to keep the family within the confines of 600 ft., which can be easily afforded for a meager $1,700 a month. Thanks, Cuomo! But Florida allowed rental properties and beach condos to flourish. The housing market is booming in my neck of the woods. In South Florida–four hours to the south of the Superbowl host, for you outsiders–2020 has been magical for the market. The same South Florida that went for Trumpito went for casitas mucho as well.

Thanks, DeSantis! You’re the GOAT! #RonDeSantis

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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 agenda. Jesus can be the easiest way to push a “love thy neighbor” agenda that can apply to just about any modern governmental impulse from forcing masks to wearing Bernie’s mittens. 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,” that 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.

Ever since there was an Arius and Marcion, and Raphael Warnock, there were guilt manipulators 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. This entire scene explains the New York Times’ sudden 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.

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 Epiphany spirit going–the spirit of hard labor and bold proclamation. When Lent comes to town, we can mourn while singing psalms of imprecations against any who would use our Lord’s name in vain. 

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Moving Forward in the Biden Era

Let me go ahead and speak my mind because I have been somewhat shy lately, so here it goes a day after 46 took office. What we are witnessing now is the demise of evangelical culture and the solutions to resurrecting this culture has to come from the remnants within.

There is no way around it, and here are some things we ought to expect in the days and months ahead. First and foremost, churches that uphold orthodoxy on Sundays will have to uphold it throughout the week. And that means that you cannot subscribe to Leftist ideologies, which are the exact opposite of the conservation of classic traditional principles of morality. You simply cannot affirm the legitimacy of “gay Christians” or Leftist causes and remain soberly faithful to the Gospel. It’s historically and logically impossible.

My suspicion is that what we will see in the months ahead is a coalition of forces from conservative churches that do not want to see this country collapse under the weight of inglorious bastards. They may even share differing theological perspectives, but they are united in desiring a nation that understands reality. Conservatives need to see that if we have transgender activists in the White House, we need to have godly men and women in our little houses, which means it’s time to start punching the right things, rather than wasting time on foolish causes. In my estimation, the University of Woke City is out of the equation for my children, even if it means losing a prestigious medal made out of kale products.

Secondly, I also believe that such churches that hold firm to conservative causes and who speak truth to high towers will likely grow numerically in the months to come. If these same churches do not cower to the voices of illogical leaders, and if they continue to do those same sacred duties, they will actually be on firm standing as their local bodies will begin to attract the presence of people who are simply fed up with the liberalizing approach of their own churches. If your current congregation seems to be headed towards their fourth sermon series on critical race theory and begins to denigrate the conservative agenda because we don’t uphold “Love Thy Neighbor” as they deem best, you need to begin thinking carefully about your priorities. I have written about how to leave a church wisely, which does not mean you wait until this or that passes before having a conversation. Move speedily and find out where in the world your church is headed in 2021.

Let me also stress the need to pick up Machen’s “Christianity and Liberalism” as a guide through these trying times. He noted a long time ago that “The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from “controversial” matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life.” This is not the time to act as if the other side is going to standby silently while you parade your radical free speech proclaiming “Jesus is Lord!” They will not! They are eager to change your vocabulary. And, following Machen’s logic, this is certainly no longer the time for gnostic subtleties like “We are not of this world” or “We look to another country.” A quick read will tell you definitively that this world is ours (Rom. 4:13), and that God’s world has come down. As the hymn states unequivocally, “This is my Father’s world!”

The Great Commission is given to the Church, and now it’s time to let it be known that our agenda is to baptize millions of disciples young and old who will bring holy disarray to any living body that rejects Messiah Jesus. You can expect us to be civil and lucid in our presentation, but we will not tickle your ears.

The reason liberalism is so enticing is that it allows you to make friends everywhere under the guise of sweet orthodoxy. But the fragrance of orthodoxy is foul to the world. Further, you have noticed by now that liberalism is deeply religious. Just take yesterday’s prayer where the Right Reverend of Theological Drunkenness ended by saying, “In the strong name of our collective faith;” that stunt was a symbol of a new body of politics that has absolutely no interest in the grammar of orthodoxy. The religiosity of the Left is good in the sense that it encourages us to know where God’s revelation is found and where it isn’t and also to clarify that atheism doesn’t exist; what does exist are religious people who either love the truth or willingly suppress it.

My deep and sincere hope is that this entire season revealed those who prefer the allotment of Job’s wife rather than the oil of Aaron’s beard. The more the Church proceeds with truth in this season, the more she will be united in the kingdom and the more little churches will grow in numbers and wisdom. But the more she acts as a collective faith, she will shrink into oblivion and her children’s children will have no inheritance.