Catholicity, Orthodoxy, and Lordship
For Subscribers, I begin a three-part series on Romans 11 and the Future of Israel. I lay the groundwork for current discussions, and then offer the modern dispensational framework, and set the stage for supersessionist models in the upcoming article.
Rory Wilson, grandson of Douglas Wilson, is a student at Columbia University and has recently made the news for stepping up to bullies. That fetal position theory is not aging well, Lig.
Now, mind you, 99% of those masked on campus have no clue what is taking place in the Middle East and, like their leader, Joseph Biden, wouldn’t know the difference between the presidents of Egypt and Mexico. Kosahri and Tacos…blah, blah, blah!
As I have argued elsewhere, these theatrical displays are attempts to pin down their own guilt on Jews or Woodstock hippies, also known as their dads. It’s not anti-zionism or Trump that drives their ire; it’s that success is something they cannot envision for anyone else but themselves. They envy those who can actually get up for class.
Dr. Yoram Hazony observed that the question is not “What kind of American are you?” The question is whether there is an American nation going forward or not.” And that is becoming clearer each day because there is a portion of American evangelicalism that would rather sulk in victimization. They genuinely do not think Jesus has a better strategy than his opponents, so they delve into wild theories to rationalize their opponents’ actions.
But that theory is rather straightforward in Psalm 57: “They are setting traps for themselves.” I mean, did you see how that dear leader of the Columbia Revolution stood before reporters, saying that they were in a state of protest where they needed humanitarian aid? She was begging reporters to please sneak in some tailored glutten-free souvenirs. After all, we do not want them to die of starvation. And that is almost a direct quote, except for the glutten-free part, which is implied by every conceivable context.
The reason we win is because the opponents, the pro-Marxian lollipop guild, are self-defeating. They can’t keep up with that ancient word called “logic.” And all we need to do is stand in front of doors and make it difficult for them to come in because, sooner or later, they will need to retreat to the comfort of their cannabis cookies.
The purpose of the CREC is not to be the PCA without Tim Keller or the OPC without D.G. Hart. We reject third-wayism and dualism, but there is much more that comprises who we are.
We are a communion of Reformed churches deeply interested in cultural renewal within the church and the home, theology that comes out of our fingertips, and a liturgy that enriches God’s people with joy.
Our confessions, diverse yet unified, reflect our catholicity. But it’s our shared distinctives that truly define us. We acknowledge that these may differ from the trajectory of other Reformed bodies, but they are the pillars of our 130+ churches. Among them are our eschatology, epistemology, and ecclesiology.
Our postmillennialism is deeply embedded in our lives. This is more than a preference for historical optimism. Postmillennialism is how we see the Bible moving. It is far from a mere academic discussion. In fact, it would not be easy to function happily in the CREC without that eschatological predisposition. It impacts everything from our preaching/teaching to our education and interpretation of the times.
Our presuppositionalism asserts that we are not ashamed of the Word of God or its language. The language of the Scriptures is the vocabulary of heaven, and we submit to its wisdom in totality. It further gives us confidence in affirming doctrines like six-day creationism, though many consider us Neanderthals. It is nearly impossible to come into the CREC denying that Genesis paradigm. We do not belittle tradition but restore tradition to its rightful place. The testimony of the church (tradition) leads us to a high and reverent esteem of the Sacred Scriptures.
Our paedocommunion practice is fundamental to our existence as a whole. Without the communing of baptized children, the CREC would fail to offer the grounds for our covenantal theology. Covenant communion is the way we enflesh our theology of children. We affirm that baptized children shall receive all the covenant benefits. We also believe that they are integral members of the body of Christ, without whom worship would be incomplete. While some congregations can function outside this system, they must understand that they are co-laboring with an undeniable majority who believe life and table, water and word, bread and wine, worship, and participation belong unto them.
We are happy to form fraternal relations with many denominations, and we have a growing sense of unity with a host of institutions and denominations who share our conservative political convictions against the insanity of the leftist ideologues. and the goal is to build much more on those in the months and years ahead.
While we wish to continue growing, we understand that not every church is a good fit for the CREC. While we cherish the hundreds of inquiries received worldwide and the overwhelming interest in our communion, we also want to grow in a manner that honors who we are without diluting the principles that made us who we are.
What would cause a small denomination of about 130 churches worldwide to have two representatives–in the span of seven days–interviewed by one of the most listened-to shows in the world?
It requires what I call “happy generalism.” You must desire an ecclesiastical culture that is at ease in the priestly world of Exodus and the heavenly world of thronerooms in Revelation, who sits in the Shire, Wessex, Middle Earth, and walks through wardrobes.
To have something worth sharing, you need curiosity about the world. In other words, you cannot be interesting unless you are filled with interests. A happy generalist must be saturated with imagination, ready to twist the plot at any second, prepared to explicate things from a unique angle, avoid cliches, and see the world through new eyes.
I guarantee you that this is not the fruit of public education nor a steady dose of Fox News; it is a mind equipped with the literature of the West, biblical preaching, abundant discourse and dialogues, festive meals, and champagne toasts.
I have seen congregations of 50 people achieve more publicly and intellectually than congregations of 5,000. No one should be allergic to growth, but we should all be allergic to incurious growth, the kind of increase that happens merely on emotive or entertainment grounds.
This week has been more than instructive. We have seen that good ideas articulated carefully, rooted in undaunted courage, can take you to some of the biggest platforms. In those places, you can tell millions that Christ is risen indeed, halleluiah!
This was an enriching interview. I was able to offer some of my history in pursuing pastoral ministry and then delve into the purpose of the armor of God. The questions were engaging, and the conversation flowed easily.
I have done hundreds of interviews, but these guys set the bar pretty high for excellency.
Various forms of racial/ethnic animosity are a common thread in a disenchanted world. It is far easier to find massive scapegoats to alleviate our people’s political and social sins or our own.
In this paradigm, we can live reactionarily, passing out guilt cards to everyone else and every people group but ourselves. Then, our mistakes can be atoned for and absolved by those who regurgitate the same priestly language. It’s “their fault” is not a 21st slogan. It is as old as midday in the Garden of Eden. This model chooses a seatbelt society specializing in safety but never giving heed to the adventure of responsibility.
Nick Fuentes appeals to many young men because our youth is looking to attach their anger at something or someone to explain our massive lack of civil order. But many find the wrong enemy to attach their misdirected anger at civilization. Outrage has become the currency of choice for many in our day. But the outrage is not imprecatory in nature, seeking wisdom and justice from on high; it’s rooted in the imbalance of their theology, which only understands reactionism as a paradigm. It is undeniable that these men are seeking father figures. They are self-appointed popes submitting to a self-appointed pope. Their hatred of people groups is a subscription to an anti-creational and anti-redemptive structure and worldview.
When it comes to antisemitism (“the notion that Jews are uniquely malevolent and destructive in their cultural, economic, and political influence in the world”; see Douglas Wilson, “American Milk and Honey,” pg. xv), the issue here is not whether there are negative things to observe about Israel’s geo-political strategy; the point is that those who believe in Jewish tyranny are generally prone to insurrection ideologies. They are incapable of rational argumentation except to utter incomprehensible fragments attempting at lucidity. Here’s an example from Fuentes and the natural outpouring of antisemitic rhetoric:
“I don’t hate Hitler, you know, I mean, I don’t. I’m not in favor of genocide or whatever. But I look at Hitler as a statesman. Hitler didn’t kill my people or anything like that.” -Nick Fuentes
Fuentes is a product of misdirected anger. He attempts to give honor to whom honor is due by forgetting that we do not call good evil and evil good, and neither is Jesus calling us to praise Judas’ good deeds nor is the devil seeking compliments.
Fuentes attempts to harmonize his Jewish hysteria with his Catholic faith. But he repeatedly fails because he and those who follow him cannot think clearly because their lenses are putrid and that accompanies his analysis of everything. They need a scapegoat to vent their unrighteous indignation. They are the blind leading the blind.
It’s good to be back and see that the world acted just splendidly without my insights. I have used seasons like Lent to read and write more to a limited group. My substack account has filled that void, and I would encourage you to subscribe: https://drbrito.substack.com/. I suspect the world will be headed toward a more de-centralized writing platform allowing writers to use their gifts without much censorship. Substack has been wonderful in giving readers a sense of my journey in travels, writing, and projects.
I was also able to spend a significant time this season talking about my new book. Books like mine have a one-month momentum, which needs to be absorbed. I tried to use that short season to do 15 podcast interviews, including a talk at New Saint Andrews College’s Sword and Shovel Bookstore. The evening was wonderful and filled with delightful conversations.
Beyond that it has been great to hear of churches buying copies for Book studies. That was one of my central reasons for writing a book on a familiar text. I wanted folks to see the armor of God in the context of priestly warfare. I think the argument is compelling and has been compelling to various audiences.
Those who have seen my work as a kind of typological overreach have their concerns, and I respect them. But what I attempted to do is build the armor through priestly patterns, patterns that I believe are overwhelmingly present throughout the Scriptures. I have run away from mystical and esoteric interpretations, choosing the Scriptures to speak its own language with its raw simplicity.
I have further argued that Paul was not a bored prisoner staring into a Roman soldier and building his metaphor, but instead richly active, imaginatively using the categories from which he builds his entire pastoral theology (and if he did write Hebrews, the pattern becomes even more striking).
I may not have convinced everyone that there is something to consider in the priestly theme, but I have hopefully moved the ball in the right direction.
The world thrives in tombs. It thrives in the dark places. John writes that man loves darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The worldly systems convulse at the sign of truth. She hides from truth, and when she confronts it, it offers more lies.
Ultimately, the world, the flesh, and the devil delight in emptiness. The Devil would rather have a world without form and where darkness is in the face of the deep. The devil does not want a creator God because he displays just how uncreative the devil is.
The world thrives in tombs, thrives in evil deeds, attracts unseemliness, and finds refuge in scoundrels who guard the tombs of prophets, priests, and kings. They do their job without ever confronting their masters. They are puppets of the empire.
But while the world thrives in tombs, the Church thrives in empty tombs. We do not delight in death, which is why our religion bursts forth from death; our faith triumphs over tombs whether there are 2-3 or 10,000 soldiers guarding its gates. The Christian Bible proclaims a Lord who sees death and tombs as symbols of defeat and who laughs at them.
O, Death, where is thy sting?
It is there in the tomb—that’s what remains on Easter morning. Jesus left death in the tomb, paralyzed and incapable of chasing after him. Death couldn’t escape. Death was stung by its own sting. Death is what remains in the tomb, but Christ has risen from the dead.
The world thrives in tombs, and Christians specialize in departing from them. We make the world better by calling all men to leave the tomb and embrace new life in the King who defeats death.
We are united to Jesus by faith, and our faith is reflected in how we choose daily to unite with him. Some of us unite with him with as little as we can give. We meander through life and say, “Maybe I have a little extra time to give to Jesus today. Maybe I will commit a prayer or two.” Jesus becomes like the piggy bank full of pennies.
Some of you will be ordinary in your communion with Jesus. You will walk with him, and you will talk with him, and you will cherish him. You will often realize just how much you need his grace when you blow up at your kids and when, for no reason, you lose your seven-day record of purity or fail to show up for your friend who needs you; in those moments, you recognize your ordinariness. And when that happens, remember your union with Jesus. Remember that to be united to Jesus is to have and need Jesus in good days and really bad ones.
Providence, Holy Week is for you!
Holy Week is a call for you to take your union with Jesus with greater seriousness. Holy Week is an exhortation to participate in the life of Jesus in his final week in biblical history. If you walk with Jesus this week, you will be walking in the ordinary of Peter’s loyalty and betrayal, the disciples’ certainty and uncertainty, our desires to find justice only to be met by a cross. If you walk this week to the cross, this week will put you in the ordinary of sin and sin forgiven; of cross and empty tomb; of disunity to unity with your crucified Lord.
Come, welcome to Holy Week! Enter into the life of Jesus!