It was good of Pastor Wilson to write this piece…but it’s yet another area where speculative theology has threatened to leaven the whole CREC lump. Those of us adjacent but distinct from them will have to deal with the consequences in our own churches (aren’t you already? I am). Add it to the list: FV, paedocommunion, face masks are statist idolatry, political postmillennialism, and nationalism (leaning toward sacralism). In many ways, this latest iteration has me most worried.
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And this dropped recently (today?):
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What do you mean by ‘speculative theology’?
But I agree with your worries. That this piece was even necessary and continues to be necessary (really, again???) is troubling.
Whether or not DW himself is a problem (I regularly find him useful in cultural analysis and critique and have commended his observations to others, albeit with certain qualifications), he seems to have a lack of discernment to the point of culpable naïveté regarding the character of his friends. The amount of neo-nazi-ism DW spends time dealing with among his own disciples and close friends of his sons is deeply concerning to me.
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I think it would be better for me to say novel theology…but the more you study history the more you find that what you think is novel has been tried before and found wanting.
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Wait a minute.
So after publishing Christian Nationalism and being told of the obvious racist components hiding in the movement, which they denied with warnings against jumping to conclusions, etc., now all of a sudden they throw half the Christian Nationalists that they embraced off the bus and deny that they’ve been giving them quarter since before last November?
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That’s an apt summary.
2,200 words saying what…
This is a mess, but I’m the good guy?
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2025’s gonna be great. And that’s just the Christian side of it.
He’s the amber ale Christian nationalist.
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Okay…that’s funny.
Only downside is the Oatmeal Stouts are blackshirts.
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I believe Wilson thinks that the good that can come from what Pastor Dionne calls speculative theology, outweighs the bad. I think he believes he can manage and wrangle with the fringe element successfully, which is like grasping at wind. I see this same characteristic in many of his more vocal proponents always defending him, willing to allow schismatic teaching in the door, because he’s so good on the cultural engagement side of things.
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My concern is he creates the fringe element and then only distances himself to a certain extent after they’ve been given cover and increased.
I often used to say (when it cost me a great deal in my PCA presbytery) the same thing—“You’re crazy if you don’t pay attention to Pastor Wilson on cultural issues.” But this whole CN/racism issue is the cultural issue writ large. Sadly, I’m sure I’d not make the same qualification today.
I did the same thing….covid woke me up
How many of these situations with ‘fringe elements’ do there have to be before we’re no longer dealing with a fringe but a portion of the mainstream?
A small but statistically significant percentage of his disciples and even sons seems to metastasise. And given the movement’s dependence on Rushdoony, this is starting to look like something much more like a key component.
And one more and I will be done.
Now, I’m going to pray that they have the necessary resolve to fight against this sin in their midst (and a signed declaration will not be enough).
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What a strange document. Reads like a reactionary blog frantically trying to put out a fire.
Seems to speak volumes of the chaos within the Christian Nationalist crowd.
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I could never sign a document that I don’t understand, or expect it to do much good. So either I’m really out of touch with the details of the particular type of racism they are fighting, or I’m ignorant, or they are writing useless stuff. Here is what it starts with:
WE DENY that the Kingdom purposes of Christ and requirements of His Word can be equated with the seating positions of political actors during the French Revolution
I confess I can’t make heads or tails of the first sentence.
Edit: I should add that I’m happy to have somebody explain if I’m just out of touch or ignorant. I’m actually somewhat curious what they’re going on about.
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I noticed there were women signers at the end.
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And the weird bit about Aristotle? Just White’s throwing a few punches from his presuppositionalism?
It almost seems those who sign are all confessing they’ve lost control of their own corner of the movement.
You only need a document like this because there’s already a significant problem with the issues it addresses.
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