D.C. Talk!

The talk on Thursday evening was a great way to connect with some of the young D.C. staffers and meet some veteran operatives. The intersection between religion and politics is fascinating, and I have yet to find someone with more astute insights than the Dutch Theologian/Politician Abraham Kuyper. While I disagree on a few points, Kuyper was the apex of political theology in the 19th century. He builds on Calvin’s political inclinations and offers something lacking in our discourse. He offered coherence among spheres. He offered balance in an age of statism and ecclesiocracy.

The conversation that followed at each table was a delight. It was good to hear the comments from many in attendance that there is a need to recover the Church’s prophetic voice. Contrary to my expectations, I found a robust theology among the attendees and built some wonderful relationships with the young and old. I do hope they bear fruit in the long run.

Thanks to Nick Solheim and WC Dean for their superb hospitality and for giving me a tour of D.C.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Preparing our Children for the Future

I have been pondering many things said since March of 2020, and I am deeply grateful to be in a community replete with exemplary people–people who fought well against the principalities with dignity and courage. Two years into this war looks a lot better than it did before it started. We won lots of little victories and put some victory flags in strategic places.

A prime example of this is the local classical Christian school where a few of my kids attend. The headmaster who was there in 2020 is a man of integrity. So, it came as no surprise when he–together with the board–decided to go against the tide in our county and refuse to allow any students to wear masks. Of course, they offered alternatives to parents who were not comfortable with such a set-up, but from my recollection, the vast amount of students attended happily without masks. This avoided the potential tension among students and parents, and also, the headmaster asserted that whatever little protection a mask may have provided, it would not be worth the dehumanizing that would occur when the student body spent all their days together with their faces covered. Behold, a prophet!

This entire thing comes to mind as the leftist Face the Nation heard the opination of their chief correspondent, Jan Crawford. She observed that the biggest underreported story of 2021 has been the devastating effects COVID policies have had on children. The video has now gone viral, and for good reason. It received little to no pushback from other leftists. Now, I would love to nuance the conversation further, but her admission is a good starting point. Acknowledging the devastation this has caused on children mentally, physically, communally gets the ball rolling. I am not as hopeful about their solutions, but I will take any rhetorical victory.

I argued in March of 2020 that people would quickly set aside rituals that define them, and they quickly abandoned them at the altar of safety. And if you think the millennial generation was trigger-happy with their emotions, setting themselves up for victimization in every corner, wait until you see this one coming up. They will make wokey college students look like ideological wimps. This new growing group of humans will attack everything and will find ten reasons to end your happiness.

I had a brief exchange with Abby Johnson last night. Abby is a hero in the pro-life movement and she was pondering why people are so quick to accept all the words from Fauci even after supreme blunders one after the other. I remarked to her that every human is created to submit to something/someone. Submitting to the dictates of a man who makes Mitt Romney look consistent requires an enormous amount of faith. Abby agreed with my assessment, but the additional factor I failed to mention is that this corporate submission puts our children at risk in various ways. In other words, those to whom you submit also become masters of your offspring.

And this leads me to my final observation: this is a long-term game.

It’s our children versus theirs. And I mean that in the most adversarial way possible (Gen. 3:15). Our children will be warring against their children 10-20 years down the road. Of course, our weapons are not fleshly, but spiritual, but the spiritual will have a deep effect on the fleshly.

You may have seen the former cheerleader who spat in the face of an 80-year old man in a flight because he was eating without his mask. She berated him, cursed at him, and slapped him. Now, imagine what the child of this woman thinks of reality with a mother like that? Imagine what kind of human grows from that nurturing soul?

Christians are winning, but the kind of Christians who surrender because they don’t want conflict will realize that they have been duped and their children do pick up on these social and theological cues. They will grow into a world that sees everything through the lens of surrender, and their churches will be havens of submissive hearers and doers. They will not create a psalmic culture, but one that capitulates to everything and everyone.

For Christians, we have ourselves our 15-minutes of fame, which if things continue, may become 15 years of fame. We may have a prolonged season of showing off our theological muscles as churches and families. I trust we are fit during this season. We have the opportunity to show forth our God in his strength and build an army of bold and courageous iconoclasts.

Keep up the good fight! We are in it for the long-term! 

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.

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.