But on the other hand, if we make the mistake that many other Christians make — that of confounding forgiveness and trust — we will throw open the doors of the church blindly ‘because Jesus,’ and will unwittingly create a climate that favors the creepers, and which excludes and punishes the vulnerable. Churches that do this are really good at blaming the vulnerable whenever something goes wrong — because the vulnerable are the only ones who will put up with that crap. Churches that specialize in superficial reconciliation do this in numerous ways — demanding that the spouse who was sinned against pay all the practical consequences (‘no divorce, sorry’), or, on the basis of one ‘sorry about that’ email, requiring a molested niece to look at her uncle continuing to serve communion.
Douglas Wilson
Tagged “Jesus”
Club Thy Neighbor as Thyself
“The apostle Paul teaches us to punch back twice as hard.” — Douglas Wilson Continue reading
“Churches that specialize in superficial reconciliation”
“In this world, a woman is God’s chief instrument for making a man responsible.”
Because of our compromises with individualism, and because we use the word discrimination like a scarecrow, we tend to dislike generalizations. But Jesus generalized about the Pharisees, and Paul did the same thing with the Cretans. That being the case, “here goes” with regard to the young men. Taking one thing with another, there is no way to lead men away from poverty, away from crime, away from self-destructive habits, away from a life of laziness, without leading them to a woman. A woman is not the reward for being responsible. Almost all men need to marry before they are entirely responsible adults. A suitor should be a reasonable candidate for future responsibility, but he needs a woman to get there. In this world, a woman is God’s chief instrument for making a man responsible. He uses her to get him there. Just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, so also is the love of a good woman the beginning of male responsibility. Humanly speaking, you cannot get much masculinity without femininity.
Douglas Wilson
@NatalieGfield #millstone
Powerful men who profess Christ & then protect predators belong where Jesus said: in the bottom of the ocean, millstones around their necks.
— Natalie Greenfield (@NatalieGfield) April 9, 2016
Doug Wilson, the Defender of Boogie Men, puts on a conference on sexuality. His arrogance knows no boundaries. https://t.co/TaOdjmKEXH
— Natalie Greenfield (@NatalieGfield) April 9, 2016
“The apostle Paul teaches us to punch back twice as hard.”
Jesus tells us that when we are struck on one cheek, we are to turn the other. The apostle Paul teaches us to punch back twice as hard. Furthermore, there is no contradiction. If there is apparent contradiction, we are not to try to resolve it through ignoring half of the evidence.
‘And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just’ (Rom. 3:8).
‘Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works’ (2 Tim. 4:14).
‘For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ’ (2 Cor. 11:13).
Given the corruption of the times, it is not surprising that some churches are being attacked. The marvel is why more are not being attacked. Another marvel is why more churches are not responding the way the Scriptures instruct.
Douglas Wilson
Recap: How we got to this point
For those just joining us
Moscow, Idaho — Where they discipline honorable members and they send unrepentant felons on missionary journeys. Continue reading
“The Sin of Threatening”
The Sin of Threatening
Topic: Hamartiology
The word apeileo means to threaten, and is used twice in the New Testament. In both instances it is cited as a sinful kind of behavior. When the Jewish leaders were trying to shut down the apostles early in the book of Acts, one of the means they tried was that of threats. ‘But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name’ (Acts 4:17). And Jesus, when He was being abused by the religious authorities, refused to respond to them in kind. ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously’ (1 Pet. 2:21–23).
Douglas Wilson
On A Conflict of Interest
A Corruption of Justice Primer
If Doug Wilson had to recuse himself, then why doesn’t Randy Booth have to recuse himself? After all, they are business partners. Continue reading
On Doug vs. Doug
On A Stacked Committee
A Corruption of Justice Primer
“make her tits bigger”
Someone might say that these scenarios are not realistic, because nobody in those categories is (currently) demanding to be served. The Moonlight Bunny Ranch guy knows not to call the ad agencies that have that little fish on their web site. Right. But the issue is the principle. Suppose he did come into my little graphics shop, and I am being advised in the back room by Powers and Merritt. They are willing to show me the way Jesus would have done it, had He been a graphic designer. My customer thinks my first draft was okay, but he came back in because he wants me to “make her tits bigger.” That’s what draws most of their clientele, he explains. Wait, I say, because I have to do a quick consult on the back room — I fortunately happen to have a couple of experts back there. What, in the column they have written, would give me the right to go back out to my almost customer in order to tell him to put an egg in his shoe and beat it?
Douglas Wilson
“A Different Kind of Spine”
But if a place can be made hallowed by ‘a widespread belief’ then Mecca is as sacred as Ground Zero. In fact, it is more sacred than Ground Zero because a ‘widespread belief’ about a false transcendent faith is going to necessarily displace a ‘widespread belief’ about a false immanent faith. Despite his not existing, Allah still outranks the pushme-pullyou baals of consumerism and entertainment. If this is all we have, rape outranks masturbation. In order to answer the transcendental claims of the Koran, we need to appeal to the transcendental truth. It is not until we put Allah and the Lord Jesus Christ side by side that the one that actually doesn’t exist will then appear at a disadvantage. Until then, if we are forced to choose between an idolatry that knows what it believes and an idolatry that is never quite sure, the latter will always give way to the former.
Douglas Wilson