Wolfe’s Accurate Appraisal Of Today’s Clergy Work

“Theology and sentiment are being used (by clergy) to shore up the prevailing system of the day.”

 

Stephen Wolfe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ4FAfBL2Bo 

The prevailing system of the day that Wolfe is rightly complaining about is the post-War/Warren Court consensus “liberalism.” Actually, by the time of the Warren court’s rise “Liberalism” was being used as a shoehorn to bring in legal Cultural Marxism. In other words, “Liberalism” was being re-interpreted through a Cultural Marxist grid. Cultural Marxism had been hard at work in these united States since the late 1930s. The Warren Court, via the civil rights revolution, implemented Cultural Marxist principles and by the civil rights revolution gave us a new Constitution. (See, Christopher Caldwell’s, “The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties .)

Wolfe’s quote is accurate. It is indeed the case that;

“Theology and sentiment are being used (by clergy) to shore up the prevailing system of the day.”

Unfortunately Wolfe’s philosophical humanist Thomism is NEVER going to overthrow what legal Positivism has built under the Warren court since each and both rely on the principle of human autonomy. Wolfe rightfully repeatedly complains about the Warren court but the Warren court was likewise merely acting as autonomous agents implementing their desire. Wolfe has a different desire than the Warren court. Most of that desire I would agree with. However, the methodology that Wolfe is seeking to leverage in order to fight off the legal positivism that juiced the Warren court (and continues to juice legal minds) is afflicted with the same humanism as that legal positivism. With both Warren and Wolfe that which is legal (or should be legal) is mere projection of man said loudly. Neither Warren nor Wolfe anchor their epistemology (source of authority) in Scripture and as neither anchor their source of epistemology in Scripture both end up with subjective routes to their desired ends. Now, as I said, I like Wolfe’s ends. I do think that for the most part they are Christian ends. However, his methodology guarantees that he will not win out. Wolfe’s Thomis is a denial of the Reformed doctrine of total depravity and so can’t be Christian.

Wolfe rightly rails against the post-War / Warren Court consensus liberalism. The problem is that his Thomism doesn’t have the anti-septic power to deliver us from the scourge of humanism, precisely because his Thomism likewise is driven and authored by Humanism. Humanism will never cast out humanism.

What is needed is the disease delivering power of Theonomy. Only reliance on God’s Word can serve as an epistemological astringent that can deliver us from the poison of the post-War Warren court consensus.

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him.

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