Over here;
https://www.agradio.org/blog/the–reformed–version-of-christian-nationalism-is-splintering?fbclid=IwY2xjawFZSq9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY1zysOOA4JuIbDu93vAEIEhyY0vVOwhupaEugd7NWtqpXHIv49iSP4FmQ_aem_v4tAR7HN-H87WRcxRU-FkA
Rev. Chris Gordon insists that both postmillennialism and Christian Nationalism is a spent force if indeed it ever was a force. Keep in mind that Chris is infected with the deadly R2K virus and so is writing this from a militant Amillennial perspective. We certainly can’t expect R2K aficionados to be able to correctly analyze non R2K movements. And this is what we find.
The article is outrageously torpid. I thought about just ignoring it but my rage and rend impulse has gotten the better part of me.
We will fisk some of the article below,
Chris Gordon writes,
I’m not sure if people have been following the recent discussions from the key players in the modern Postmillennial movement (yes, I’m making a distinction), often shared with the more recent Christian Nationalist project, but things are not faring well for the movement. The shelf life seems to be expiring on a movement that has no real direction, cohesion, or plan to bring in the Postmillennial vision outside of social media perceptions of grandeur and in house fighting among Christians which now seems to be aimed at each other.
Bret responds,
1.) Postmillennialism believes it is the Holy Spirit who, having brought in the Kingdom in principle, will progressively bring in the Kingdom in history until the Kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. I note this in order to refute Chris’s silly notion that the postmillennialists themselves have to have a plan in see the flowering of the already present Kingdom. God has a plan, and God’s plan can’t be thwarted. This is true even if the postmillennialist themselves are disorganized. Remember, Chris, God is the one who draws straight lines with crooked postmillennial sticks.
2.) Because God has a plan, there is no shelf life on the movement.
3.) The same observation is true for Christian Nationalism as it is for postmillennialism. Since Christian Nationalism is God’s intent it really doesn’t matter if the project fails as from the human side of things. Since Christian Nationalism is God’s project it will come to pass. The nations will become Christian. Resistance is futile.
4.) Keep in mind that Chris is R2K and being R2K he can’t help but believe that all this is, by definition, impossible. His R2K worldview will never allow him to see any possibility that the Amillennial pessimistic vision could possibly be in error, and it would be seen to be in error if the postmillennial Christian Nationalist intent was unmistakably and indisputably blossoming.
Chrissy writes,
James White and Stephen Wolfe are now being characterized as being at war with each other, resulting in Jeff Durbin from Apologia “reneging” on his agreement to speak with Wolfe at the upcoming “Right Response Ministries” conference stating, as the reason, “a lack of godly wisdom and interaction displayed by Stephen Wolfe, among other concerns.” Doug Wilson and Stephen Wolfe argued publicly over the “White Boy Summer” video that appeared to many to promote pro-Nazi sentiments. Wilson expressed criticism; Wolfe called for tolerance. It’s clear there are fundamental differences between the two. As one podcast decried, “We have the theonomist crowd, the Moscow crowd, the Ogden Utah crowd, the Apologia Crowd, the Gab crowd, etc. This is an unnecessary war that we don’t need right now.”
Bret responds,
Imagine, if you can, that you’re living in the 16th century and some Roman Catholic apologist writes a internet article on Abounding Dumbarse Radio that it was clear that the Reformation was going nowhere. He could easily write that “Martin Luther is at war with Ulrich Zwingli.” The Roman Catholic providing analysis could note that Knox was at cross purposes with Calvin on female monarchs. Our Roman Catholic prelate could write about all the different views on the sacraments as expressed by all the different Reformers and conclude as Chris has done, “there is a real struggle going on here for power, and precisely which version, that ‘of the coming Reformation will rise to supremacy, and which figure will rise to the top. And how again does anyone expect them to create a Reformed Europe if they cannot get along among themselves? The movement is clearly divided within itself. As Jesus expressed, such a divided house will be unable to stand together.'” Clearly, that analysis would have been grossly inaccurate, just as Gordon’s analysis is grossly inaccurate.
From this point Chris gives his reasons for why he thinks that the postmil Christian Nationalism project is failing
Chris writes,
1. The current movement is, inherently, one that has been created on the internet, within social media platforms.
Bret responds,
If this were true the CREC would not exist. Now, typically, I am not a fan of the CREC because I think that much of it (not all of it) really isn’t pushing the Overton window hard enough. I think they are compromisers. However, all because that is my conviction that doesn’t mean that they aren’t seen by many to have made real impact beyond “social media platforms.”
Then there is the Ogden, Utah group who are likewise making impact with books and conferences where real people show up to be encouraged with the burgeoning Christian Nationalist post-mill movement.
Even here in little Charlotte, Michigan we have moved beyond internet presence with a real Church community plus being taken so seriously beyond the internet that National organizations in the real world have had to arise in order to denounce this very real threat to them.
So, while the internet may have been instrumental in getting the word out, it is not the case that this movement has remained an internet movement.
Chrissy writes,
The current movement has no unified vision.
Bret responds,
I do not think this is true. In point of fact the one thing we all share is the vision. Our differences are not over vision but over strategy and tactics on how to implement the vision. The unified vision is a Christian Nation, being ruled by Christian law (whether Natural or Revelational) to the end of glorifying God. This is something that the Ogden folks desire. This is something the Moscow folks salute… this is something that we Theonomists long for. We all hold on to this unified vision. We merely differ on the tactics and strategy used in order to implement this unified vision, as well as what this unified vision might exactly looks like.
However, as stated above this is not uncommon in history with these kinds of grand movements. If one studies the Marxist/Communist movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries one sees the same kind of splinters in the movement. One had the Bolsheviks, the Mensheviks, the Syndcalists, the Anarchists, the Fabians, and others and yet when the time came they all found a common enemy and came to apex, even though before coming to their apex they were at each other’s throats. Now, naturally, I hate all expressions of Marxism but it still is illustrative of the fact that at some point various splinter factions can come together. How much more true could this be of Christian splinter groups that all have Christ in common even though there is a great deal of infighting going on?
Chrissy writes,
3. It’s unclear how the current movement is demonstrating faith that “Jesus is Lord” in the face of opposition.
Bret responds,
Any trained historian will tell you that “history is messy.” That includes Church history. Crissy complains about how people in different factions of the CN/postmil movement argue and yet certainly Chris has to know how much arguing was going on between the Reformers during the Reformation. If Chris had been alive in 1525 I can just envision him writing, “it’s hard for us to see how spending the day arguing and complaining about the wicked (church) is doing any good for society in general.”
Sometimes, I think these kind of complaints are driven by a jealousy that the R2K movement can’t manage to “gather masses of young men” who talk theology all day long. Keep in mind, dear reader, that R2K has its own hero worship. This looks a great deal like the pot calling the kettle black. For example Chris complains about these masses of young men sitting front of a screen all day all the while missing the irony that he is sitting in front of a screen complaining about young men who will be reading off a screen all that he is writing. Et tu Brutus? Doesn’t Chris know that “productive people are not doing this?”
Finally, Chris complains about a lack of foot soldiers among the CN/postmil types. I would bet the farm that the people I know who are being thrown in jail for protesting abortion clinics (as one example) are definitely NOT R2K. Another friend of mine is facing a huge court imposed fine because he was out protesting the wickedness in our society. I would guess though this kind of being a servant to our enemies doesn’t count in Gordon’s world.
However, resisting our enemies is definitely an act of love towards our Liege Lord and towards our enemies.
