46 thoughts on “We Already Have a State Religion | Doug Wilson”
"Nations" in Matthew 28:19 is the Greek word "ethne," (where we get the word ethnicities) and refers to people groups, not political nation states, hence the disciples are commanded to baptize and teach them. You cannot baptize and teach political states to obey all that Jesus has commanded. And you cannot make political states become disciples. The gospels clearly situate discipleship as an individual's response to Jesus' command to repent and follow Him. They are commanded to go out and proclaim the gospel among all nations (people groups), making disciples and then baptizing them and teaching them to obey all He has commanded. This is why they can use the word within the context of the Roman Empire which was one political state comprised of many "ethne."
This has been the consistent testimony throughout church history regarding the Great Commission. Here is Tertullian (207AD) writing: "Even to the last he taught us, when he sent forth His apostles to preach his gospel "among all nations," for he thus fulfilled the Psalm: "Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" [19:4] (Against Marcion IV:43.).
Indeed, Doug's reference to the Great Commission strengthens Dr. R. Scott Clark's argument. How do the apostles acting and writing in the New Testament period interpret Jesus' words, which they heard personally? They do not go out and try and establish political kingdoms or advocate for a Christian state-they preach the gospel and create small communities where the Spirit is at work calling, regenerating, saving, and sanctifying.
Lest someone challenge that the early church did not seek to establish a spiritual, messianic kingdom state with the reason being that it would have been practically impossible, the Jews themselves attempt to do this very thing in 70AD, and it is why the Romans go in and wipe Jerusalem out. The Jews of the First Century were filled with exactly the kind of ideas Wilson espouses with his dominion theology, and it is what led them to rebel in 70AD under the claims of the Messiah having come (there were many rebellions in Judea around this time started by some messianic movement claiming to be from God to overthrow the Romans). If the Apostles understood Jesus' words the way Wilson suggests, they would have gone exactly the way of the Jews who were literally their fellow kinsman, and would have angled their ministry and message to be about establishing a new political state. Instead, as John says to the Samaritan woman, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” Jn 4:21–24.
Wilson is not worth ever listening to and is certainly not a trustworthy guide to Scriptural interpretation.
Dear humanity… The only good religion is a dead religion. Stop lying to yourselves and living in fantasy worlds of sin, sacrifice, and redemption. Everyone knows deep inside that there are no gods, ghosts, or tooth fairies that can save anyone from the end of their existence. Life is temporary and nothing anyone says or believes has the power to change that simple fact. Nothing including you lasts forever. Be brave. Be honest and accept the real world you were born into. No one needs to waste their lives worrying about gods, evil spirits, or eternal damnation. Use the common sense you were born with to break free from the old outdated myths that enslaved countless generations before you. Then and only then will you find the true peace you have been searching for. Then you will finally be free to experience all the wonderous joys life has to offer. Do it now while you still have the chance. Live free and be happy.
Why does Clark still have a prominent platform? He routinely gets taken down like this (altho this one is a doozy), he cuts off debate (as Wilson alludes), and when he does engage, he's the least irenic "reformed" guy out there. Enough with this dude.
@CanonPress …. as I'm learning and trying to track between Mr. Doug Wilson and his observational response to the fellow…Clark… Doug mentions Pluralism as the current standard and Secularism as the State Religion. Could one honestly say that even though these two are factors at play, perhaps it is Syncretism that is actually the overarching religion of the masses and potentially even Evangelicalism?
It seems to me the great commission is for the Christian church. Paul actually says he is not so interested in how people outside the church go about their lives as well. I get the idea of Christian morals and how society would be the better for abiding in them, but it is the Spirit that gives life & resilience to the church, not the letter of the law. There was a time when Christianity was respected to a point. But also, hostility to the gospel is a very real thing. Preach the gospel says Paul. Sure, we should pray that we may live quiet & godly lives & defend the faith always. No matter the temporal government of the day that may foolishly reject the wisdom & kindness of God. I don't think Doug has bowed to fear or the government. "There is some good in this world & it is worth fighting for."
Doug, Which form of the Christian religion gets to be the 'Christian religion'?
State sanctioned religion seems to have as bad a track record as state sanctioned non-religion. There is the Inquisition of Rome, but Geneva was no picnic for those who dared waver from the official statements, either. I thought we, as Americans, believed in freedom of religion? Isn't the real question one of how do we elect Christian men to hold public office who will not compromise on the things of God?
And let's talk about this idea of Nationalism. I had always thought a nationalist is one who says, 'My country, right or wrong,' whereas a patriot is one who loves his country enough to call for her to do that which is right. Perhaps we would differ in our definitions, but per my definition, Nationalism does not have a glowing history, either, and certainly not a Christian one.
Christians absolutely have a right to hire and fire based on common interests, trust, & loyalty. That's what you do with dissenters. That alone would destroy the secular left.
England is effectively the only powerful and significant state in the world, that is officially Christian as a state religion, with the head of state as the head of the state church. I don't think Americans or the rest of the world are prepared to follow England's example in tradition, especially seeing as how it seems every pressure possible pushes against the Christianity of England, against Christianity and England in general, but the reality is that it is the only significant officially Christian state left in the world.
American people are Europeans, but they wear the cloak of the American ideology. America is a Liberal and secular state in all conception. European has withered in America's shadow from the west, and in Communism's shadow from the east. Europe has been liberated from itself.
I am orthodox from Balkans and i must say that i am really sad for christian americans today. We orthodox just like catholics got street prossesions on mayor christian holidays where we carring icons,crosses,christian banners,…. , in USA and western Europe you got "LGBTQ+ pride month" , and Doug Wilson is right , that is now american state religion. In communist countries was the same sh*t , all that banners,Stalin pictures,….. So , mister Doug Wilson is defintely not blind and stupid , Americans must choose which God Americans want for their nation and which state religion , because if you don't choose on time priest transmen or transwomen will baptize your children in the name on their god.
Couldn't the idea of Discipling the nations mean the people within the nations, rather than by way of the governing system? Paul appealed to Agrippa and others, but was that to change the governments focus, or did he care about their personal pursuit of Christ apart from his position?
There's kind of an assumption in the brief bits of support Doug's using from scripture here. I agree with Doug on much and find the Christian Nationalism thing worth considering(from the position that has been presented by Doug and what I have heard from the fellow who wrote the book), but the way scripture is being used to support it smacks of other "scripturally supported" logic that doesn't full fly logically.
Sorry you are wrong on this the Lord has called us to be separate from the things of the world. Paul, Peter, Or any of the other first century Christians never once put their focus on the politics of the world their world was not here. nations and states are things of this world we are to go into the world and preach Gods word, and if we did that the rest would fall into place.
i should have waited till the end to comment man are you so off base. You do not seem to believe that God is the one who appoints rulers. If Christians were more concerned with who has heard the word of God then who has registered to vote we would not need to worry about who was elected because the nation would be a God fearing nation. but no you know best you are going to legislate morality and get the "right man" into office that will solve things. well you and your kind have been trying this tact since the late 70s, how's that working out for you sir? Either trust God and follow his word or just go join Huckabee and do the "real work of the lord" .
I think Doug is also missing an important point. He seems to recognise what he would like for America but not pressing into the will of God. Is God restoring the US or giving it over to captivity? I am seeing very little repentance in the States, even from the Christian right (although, admittedly i am not in the states). I cannot see restoration for the US without that.
Yeah as soon as he says he doesn't even invoke his civil rights I have to stop right there and ask if this guy's even reading the same Bible. Invoking his civil rights is the whole reason that the book of Romans got written, is this guy smoking something
The thing that's so silly about all of this is that we are so far from coming anywhere close to establishing a Christian nation that it's pretty laughable for any Christian to be spending even a single thought or breath trying to head it off at the pass. Our nation is openly worshiping false gods and sacrificing their children, and celebrating the most base degeneracy imaginable, even going so far as to co-opt the symbols of God in order to spit in his face more effectively. How dare any Christian for even a second try to put his foot down and say Christianity goes this far and no further. Traitors and heretics
What are you going to do with those of us who resist? You mean a Christian who holds his citizenship in the kingdom of God as a reproachful thing? I will tell you what we would do with them, treat them as fallen and heretics
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20 ESV
Is the "them" referred to in the great commission the future disciples that would come from "all nations" or the actual nations themselves? The "them" are to be baptized and taught. Do we really understand this to say that we should baptize entire nations, willing or not? Compelled obedience is not obedience.
Clark is not arguing for neutrality. He is arguing that the state needs to enforce creational or natural morality (which IS theocratic since God is Creator) but that the government (based on the 1st amendment) should not punish doctrinal deviance, blasphemy, or religious heterodoxy. In fairness, Wilson is right that this is a shift in thinking from the Westminster Confession which came before the first amendment and in fact Clark is augmenting his Reformed background here with American developments.
However, Doug doesn’t seem to be engaging the central point here. Clark is right in recognizing that if we believe in religious liberty this means the government should not burn heretics – especially as Clark notes – the Roman Catholics will likely have the final doctrinal standard here and not the Presbyterians or Baptists. Wilson’s rather quick dismissal to this element of Clark’s reasoning concerns me at 12:15 – it’s not a “side trail” but rather the very heart of Clark’s point. As a Reformed Baptist, I am concerned by how an explicitly Christian theocratic system can allow religious liberty when historically it has led to the persecution and punishment of Christian movements deemed to be sects (as baptistic Christians were often seen to be).
I would like to see the whole discussion here – both in Wilson and in Clark – grapple more substantially with the question of what it means practically for the government to exercise authority in doctrinal matters. Because actually the morality both men are pushing for is largely the same and whether rooted in nature or law both ultimately find their origin in God as Creator. The real difference centres around the powers afforded to the state in enforcing religious orthodoxy and there is a lot of talking past one another on that point.
Why does Doug sound eerily similar to those pushing socialism today. "Yes, it was corrupted in the past, but we're going to do it the right way this time." Is there not sufficient evidence that the "mirage" between the church and state has produced some of the greatest corruption the church has ever seen, the pinnacle being corruption of the gospel itself?
And before someone gets all sly with quoting an English translation at me, you’d better be able to show me the paper that got you into the translation commission for that version.
‘It’s says it in English silly’, as one falsely equivocates nearly every word of the passage.
Flanuer Record did a lecture series on The Lutherans pushing back against tyrannical government from a Biblical position. Three Estates.. Etc.. It's pretty good
We can't go back because the reason we left was the majority of the population is no longer Christian even in a vague cultural sense. They are pagans. And our ruling class, unlike Constantine, who was hardly a believing Christian, just a politician who used his state religion for his own purposes, our ruling class is actively anti-christian in an Antichrist sort of way. They are the party of the Beast. They want us dead. They aren't going to stop until Christ returns and stops them. In the meantime, we should go do the things Christ commanded, and that our granparents quit doing in the 50's and 60's and go make (real) disciples. Not go add members to your church–go make DISCIPLES. Barna surveys show 75% of American adults have "made a decision for Christ" i.e. prayed the acceptance prayer. Does our nation look like 75% of the population are Christian disciples? They are not. They never agreed to that. They asked "jesus into their hearts" and then went on with their life as usual. No repentance. No discipleship. Nothing changed except they were innoculated against real Christianity. They think they're Christians but nothing actually changed. And those people now fill our churches which no longer even know what disciples look like. Our churches are social clubs where people feel good about God loving them no matter what they do, but without any real sense of their own sin, no repentance, no desire or interest in taking up their cross or becoming more like Christ. And the rest of society no longer even pretends. They're actively anti-God, anti-Christ. The difference between the alphabet people and Christians is for the majority, the alphabet people live their religion, and believe and pursue its extension. The who point of drag queen story time and sex education and secular public school indoctrination is they are making disciples, something most Christians, even the ones who ARE Christians, no longer bother to do. And thus Western Christian Civilization dies.
Clark (and the Episcopalians) wondered onto a battle field by mistake. He was shot with an arrow that is now stuck in his chest. He's looking at the arrow, admiring the nice feathers. If he's going to live, one of us needs to remove the arrow for him. The rest of us can remain fighting the battle together like the post resurrection disciples we are .
What is required beyond these basic rules? 1) Christ is King; affirmation of Christ at all gov levels including education; required to serve office 2) Male-only political franchise 3) Outlaw Usury/Compound Interest/Finance Capitalism 4) Affirm and enforce traditional Christian sex mores, outlaw anything outside of it 5) Christian-affirming media; Christian media ownership 6) No business on the Sabbath
Everything else left to smaller jurisdictions. Sanity from these changes ought to flow to everything else.
Yes! All nations are theocratic nations. They put forward, worship, and proselytize the gods they favor. America was founded as a Christian nation and we need to repent and return to Christ as King. Christian nationalism all the way!
It would be great if Doug would share some must reads on Christian resistance and its champions in Europe and America.
"Nations" in Matthew 28:19 is the Greek word "ethne," (where we get the word ethnicities) and refers to people groups, not political nation states, hence the disciples are commanded to baptize and teach them. You cannot baptize and teach political states to obey all that Jesus has commanded. And you cannot make political states become disciples. The gospels clearly situate discipleship as an individual's response to Jesus' command to repent and follow Him. They are commanded to go out and proclaim the gospel among all nations (people groups), making disciples and then baptizing them and teaching them to obey all He has commanded. This is why they can use the word within the context of the Roman Empire which was one political state comprised of many "ethne."
This has been the consistent testimony throughout church history regarding the Great Commission. Here is Tertullian (207AD) writing: "Even to the last he taught us, when he sent forth His apostles to preach his gospel "among all nations," for he thus fulfilled the Psalm: "Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" [19:4] (Against Marcion IV:43.).
Indeed, Doug's reference to the Great Commission strengthens Dr. R. Scott Clark's argument. How do the apostles acting and writing in the New Testament period interpret Jesus' words, which they heard personally? They do not go out and try and establish political kingdoms or advocate for a Christian state-they preach the gospel and create small communities where the Spirit is at work calling, regenerating, saving, and sanctifying.
Lest someone challenge that the early church did not seek to establish a spiritual, messianic kingdom state with the reason being that it would have been practically impossible, the Jews themselves attempt to do this very thing in 70AD, and it is why the Romans go in and wipe Jerusalem out. The Jews of the First Century were filled with exactly the kind of ideas Wilson espouses with his dominion theology, and it is what led them to rebel in 70AD under the claims of the Messiah having come (there were many rebellions in Judea around this time started by some messianic movement claiming to be from God to overthrow the Romans). If the Apostles understood Jesus' words the way Wilson suggests, they would have gone exactly the way of the Jews who were literally their fellow kinsman, and would have angled their ministry and message to be about establishing a new political state. Instead, as John says to the Samaritan woman, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” Jn 4:21–24.
Wilson is not worth ever listening to and is certainly not a trustworthy guide to Scriptural interpretation.
I can now see why Scott will NOT debate nor correspond with Wilson.
R. Scott Clark looks like Sam Elliot if Sam Elliot never heard of steak.
Dear humanity… The only good religion is a dead religion. Stop lying to yourselves and living in fantasy worlds of sin, sacrifice, and redemption. Everyone knows deep inside that there are no gods, ghosts, or tooth fairies that can save anyone from the end of their existence. Life is temporary and nothing anyone says or believes has the power to change that simple fact. Nothing including you lasts forever. Be brave. Be honest and accept the real world you were born into. No one needs to waste their lives worrying about gods, evil spirits, or eternal damnation. Use the common sense you were born with to break free from the old outdated myths that enslaved countless generations before you. Then and only then will you find the true peace you have been searching for. Then you will finally be free to experience all the wonderous joys life has to offer. Do it now while you still have the chance. Live free and be happy.
This is probably my favorite video so far. Thanks Doug Wilson!
The state IS religion. Praise the state, is to praise the god of this world.
Absolutely fantastic as always… Thanks Doug… Thanks Canon
"The only choice is which 'Theo', which God, is going to be the God of the regime" – love that point.
DW isn't reformed either, especially on faith alone. Ya, I have always disagreed with RSC on this issue, but at least he's solid on the gospel.
Man what Doug would give to have been invited instead of Clark 😏
“No they’re scared, because we’re going back.”
What a battle cry, Doug. Amen. Let’s do it.
I've long said the USA's State Religion is Celebrity Worship.
Why does Clark still have a prominent platform? He routinely gets taken down like this (altho this one is a doozy), he cuts off debate (as Wilson alludes), and when he does engage, he's the least irenic "reformed" guy out there. Enough with this dude.
@CanonPress …. as I'm learning and trying to track between Mr. Doug Wilson and his observational response to the fellow…Clark… Doug mentions Pluralism as the current standard and Secularism as the State Religion. Could one honestly say that even though these two are factors at play, perhaps it is Syncretism that is actually the overarching religion of the masses and potentially even Evangelicalism?
It seems to me the great commission is for the Christian church. Paul actually says he is not so interested in how people outside the church go about their lives as well. I get the idea of Christian morals and how society would be the better for abiding in them, but it is the Spirit that gives life & resilience to the church, not the letter of the law. There was a time when Christianity was respected to a point. But also, hostility to the gospel is a very real thing. Preach the gospel says Paul. Sure, we should pray that we may live quiet & godly lives & defend the faith always. No matter the temporal government of the day that may foolishly reject the wisdom & kindness of God. I don't think Doug has bowed to fear or the government. "There is some good in this world & it is worth fighting for."
Doug,
Which form of the Christian religion gets to be the 'Christian religion'?
State sanctioned religion seems to have as bad a track record as state sanctioned non-religion.
There is the Inquisition of Rome, but Geneva was no picnic for those who dared waver from the official statements, either.
I thought we, as Americans, believed in freedom of religion?
Isn't the real question one of how do we elect Christian men to hold public office who will not compromise on the things of God?
And let's talk about this idea of Nationalism. I had always thought a nationalist is one who says, 'My country, right or wrong,' whereas a patriot is one who loves his country enough to call for her to do that which is right. Perhaps we would differ in our definitions, but per my definition, Nationalism does not have a glowing history, either, and certainly not a Christian one.
Christian Nationalism is just another name for EvanZionism. It is idolatrous heresy of the most evil kind.
Christians absolutely have a right to hire and fire based on common interests, trust, & loyalty. That's what you do with dissenters. That alone would destroy the secular left.
England is effectively the only powerful and significant state in the world, that is officially Christian as a state religion, with the head of state as the head of the state church. I don't think Americans or the rest of the world are prepared to follow England's example in tradition, especially seeing as how it seems every pressure possible pushes against the Christianity of England, against Christianity and England in general, but the reality is that it is the only significant officially Christian state left in the world.
American people are Europeans, but they wear the cloak of the American ideology. America is a Liberal and secular state in all conception. European has withered in America's shadow from the west, and in Communism's shadow from the east. Europe has been liberated from itself.
Christ or chaos.
I am orthodox from Balkans and i must say that i am really sad for christian americans today.
We orthodox just like catholics got street prossesions on mayor christian holidays where we carring icons,crosses,christian banners,…. , in USA and western Europe you got "LGBTQ+ pride month" , and Doug Wilson is right , that is now american state religion.
In communist countries was the same sh*t , all that banners,Stalin pictures,…..
So , mister Doug Wilson is defintely not blind and stupid , Americans must choose which God Americans want for their nation and which state religion , because if you don't choose on time priest transmen or transwomen will baptize your children in the name on their god.
No Quarter November got an extension this year
Couldn't the idea of Discipling the nations mean the people within the nations, rather than by way of the governing system? Paul appealed to Agrippa and others, but was that to change the governments focus, or did he care about their personal pursuit of Christ apart from his position?
There's kind of an assumption in the brief bits of support Doug's using from scripture here. I agree with Doug on much and find the Christian Nationalism thing worth considering(from the position that has been presented by Doug and what I have heard from the fellow who wrote the book), but the way scripture is being used to support it smacks of other "scripturally supported" logic that doesn't full fly logically.
Sorry you are wrong on this the Lord has called us to be separate from the things of the world. Paul, Peter, Or any of the other first century Christians never once put their focus on the politics of the world their world was not here. nations and states are things of this world we are to go into the world and preach Gods word, and if we did that the rest would fall into place.
i should have waited till the end to comment man are you so off base. You do not seem to believe that God is the one who appoints rulers. If Christians were more concerned with who has heard the word of God then who has registered to vote we would not need to worry about who was elected because the nation would be a God fearing nation. but no you know best you are going to legislate morality and get the "right man" into office that will solve things. well you and your kind have been trying this tact since the late 70s, how's that working out for you sir? Either trust God and follow his word or just go join Huckabee and do the "real work of the lord" .
I think Doug is also missing an important point. He seems to recognise what he would like for America but not pressing into the will of God. Is God restoring the US or giving it over to captivity? I am seeing very little repentance in the States, even from the Christian right (although, admittedly i am not in the states). I cannot see restoration for the US without that.
A lot of Christians in the United States have got us figured out all wrong, we are Christians first in American second not the other way around
It's difficult to believe the words coming out of that dude's mouth, wow. Talk about milquetoast shilling for paganism.
Yeah as soon as he says he doesn't even invoke his civil rights I have to stop right there and ask if this guy's even reading the same Bible. Invoking his civil rights is the whole reason that the book of Romans got written, is this guy smoking something
The thing that's so silly about all of this is that we are so far from coming anywhere close to establishing a Christian nation that it's pretty laughable for any Christian to be spending even a single thought or breath trying to head it off at the pass. Our nation is openly worshiping false gods and sacrificing their children, and celebrating the most base degeneracy imaginable, even going so far as to co-opt the symbols of God in order to spit in his face more effectively. How dare any Christian for even a second try to put his foot down and say Christianity goes this far and no further. Traitors and heretics
What are you going to do with those of us who resist? You mean a Christian who holds his citizenship in the kingdom of God as a reproachful thing? I will tell you what we would do with them, treat them as fallen and heretics
Sorry, Doug. U bowed the knee to baal & lost your base.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matt. 28:18-20 ESV
Is the "them" referred to in the great commission the future disciples that would come from "all nations" or the actual nations themselves?
The "them" are to be baptized and taught. Do we really understand this to say that we should baptize entire nations, willing or not?
Compelled obedience is not obedience.
Clark is not arguing for neutrality. He is arguing that the state needs to enforce creational or natural morality (which IS theocratic since God is Creator) but that the government (based on the 1st amendment) should not punish doctrinal deviance, blasphemy, or religious heterodoxy. In fairness, Wilson is right that this is a shift in thinking from the Westminster Confession which came before the first amendment and in fact Clark is augmenting his Reformed background here with American developments.
However, Doug doesn’t seem to be engaging the central point here. Clark is right in recognizing that if we believe in religious liberty this means the government should not burn heretics – especially as Clark notes – the Roman Catholics will likely have the final doctrinal standard here and not the Presbyterians or Baptists. Wilson’s rather quick dismissal to this element of Clark’s reasoning concerns me at 12:15 – it’s not a “side trail” but rather the very heart of Clark’s point. As a Reformed Baptist, I am concerned by how an explicitly Christian theocratic system can allow religious liberty when historically it has led to the persecution and punishment of Christian movements deemed to be sects (as baptistic Christians were often seen to be).
I would like to see the whole discussion here – both in Wilson and in Clark – grapple more substantially with the question of what it means practically for the government to exercise authority in doctrinal matters. Because actually the morality both men are pushing for is largely the same and whether rooted in nature or law both ultimately find their origin in God as Creator. The real difference centres around the powers afforded to the state in enforcing religious orthodoxy and there is a lot of talking past one another on that point.
Why does Doug sound eerily similar to those pushing socialism today. "Yes, it was corrupted in the past, but we're going to do it the right way this time."
Is there not sufficient evidence that the "mirage" between the church and state has produced some of the greatest corruption the church has ever seen, the pinnacle being corruption of the gospel itself?
Beyond words, grateful for Pastor Wilson's crystal clear apologetics.
2:46 yeah, that’s not what that says Doug.
And before someone gets all sly with quoting an English translation at me, you’d better be able to show me the paper that got you into the translation commission for that version.
‘It’s says it in English silly’, as one falsely equivocates nearly every word of the passage.
Flanuer Record did a lecture series on The Lutherans pushing back against tyrannical government from a Biblical position. Three Estates.. Etc.. It's pretty good
Flanuer Record You Tube.. Questioning Authority.. The 3 Estates.. Resisting Tyranny.. A Confessional Lutheran Biblical approach
We can't go back because the reason we left was the majority of the population is no longer Christian even in a vague cultural sense. They are pagans. And our ruling class, unlike Constantine, who was hardly a believing Christian, just a politician who used his state religion for his own purposes, our ruling class is actively anti-christian in an Antichrist sort of way. They are the party of the Beast. They want us dead. They aren't going to stop until Christ returns and stops them. In the meantime, we should go do the things Christ commanded, and that our granparents quit doing in the 50's and 60's and go make (real) disciples. Not go add members to your church–go make DISCIPLES. Barna surveys show 75% of American adults have "made a decision for Christ" i.e. prayed the acceptance prayer. Does our nation look like 75% of the population are Christian disciples? They are not. They never agreed to that. They asked "jesus into their hearts" and then went on with their life as usual. No repentance. No discipleship. Nothing changed except they were innoculated against real Christianity. They think they're Christians but nothing actually changed. And those people now fill our churches which no longer even know what disciples look like. Our churches are social clubs where people feel good about God loving them no matter what they do, but without any real sense of their own sin, no repentance, no desire or interest in taking up their cross or becoming more like Christ. And the rest of society no longer even pretends. They're actively anti-God, anti-Christ. The difference between the alphabet people and Christians is for the majority, the alphabet people live their religion, and believe and pursue its extension. The who point of drag queen story time and sex education and secular public school indoctrination is they are making disciples, something most Christians, even the ones who ARE Christians, no longer bother to do. And thus Western Christian Civilization dies.
Clark (and the Episcopalians) wondered onto a battle field by mistake. He was shot with an arrow that is now stuck in his chest. He's looking at the arrow, admiring the nice feathers. If he's going to live, one of us needs to remove the arrow for him. The rest of us can remain fighting the battle together like the post resurrection disciples we are .
What is required beyond these basic rules?
1) Christ is King; affirmation of Christ at all gov levels including education; required to serve office
2) Male-only political franchise
3) Outlaw Usury/Compound Interest/Finance Capitalism
4) Affirm and enforce traditional Christian sex mores, outlaw anything outside of it
5) Christian-affirming media; Christian media ownership
6) No business on the Sabbath
Everything else left to smaller jurisdictions. Sanity from these changes ought to flow to everything else.
What a surprise another reformed nerd with no spine. Bring back real men who loved reformed theology
Yes! All nations are theocratic nations. They put forward, worship, and proselytize the gods they favor. America was founded as a Christian nation and we need to repent and return to Christ as King. Christian nationalism all the way!
It would be great if Doug would share some must reads on Christian resistance and its champions in Europe and America.
Wow, that last statement …you saw that??… That wasn't a mic drop but a mic shove! Secularism is the Beast System!
I love Doug but the “neutrality myth” is just not a good argument. Certainly nobody is denying common grace that is accessible to non believers.