Has not the Radical version of the political gospel said, “All men are by nature mechanically equal”? And “man,” here means, not vir, but homo; the species irrespective of sex. It means that a woman has a natural right to do all the particular things that a man does (if she can), to sit on juries and shave her beard, to serve in the army and ride astraddle, to preach sermons and sing bass.
“Women’s Rights Women”
The Presbyterian Quarterly
Over the last 48 hours or so the social media world has been a buzz over several issues both within and without the church that might seem unconnected. However, I am going to argue that these issues have a intimate connection that makes them all related.As to that which is within the Church recently one Rev. Benjamin Glaser has been online boasting about his newly minted US Marine daughter. Now, Rev. Glaser insists this is alright and even noble because his little girl will not be in a combat position. At least, that’s what the military promises. However, we all know how good military recruiting officer promises are. The position of his own denomination teaches,
“Therefore, be it now resolved: That, while recognizing the right and duty that women have to self-defense, which may involve physical violence (Judges 9:53), it is our conviction that Biblical teaching does not give warrant to employ women for military combat” (RPCNA 168th Synod, 1998). Page 85:
The problem here is that Rev. Glaser has lost the ability to make concrete distinctions between male and female. This inability is not unique for Rev. Glaser, working as he did to depose and excommunicate Rev. Ketcham all because Rev. Ketcham did retain the ability to make distinctions between people groups. I suppose Rev. Glaser is being consistent in his lack of ability to understand Biblical distinctions inasmuch as the man has himself lost the ability to distinguish between men and women as well as the ability to distinguish between people groups. As far as his daughter is concerned Rev. Glaser, by sending her into the US Marines is doing the equivalent of using roses as kindling to start a fire, or using a spoon to split wood.
Another situation in the Church that has social media all atwitter is the fact that Rev. Rick Appleton of the Presbyterian Church of America has been deposed (removed) because he preached a sermon from the book of Titus where St. Paul makes distinctions between men and women (and older women and younger women). Rev. Appleton made some observations that would have been considered completely pedestrian only 40 years ago. However, the PCA has been captured by the effeminate and malakoi Kellerites and so he was stripped of his ordination by the Pittsburgh Presbytery by a 41-0 vote with one abstention. (Whoever that abstention was better be watching his back.) Rev. Appleton was also charged with being guilty of the Don Rickles school of stand up comedy in some of his comments pointed at people like Tim Keller, David French, and Russell Moore. Apparently, Appleton was so hilarious with his barbs that the Presbytery couldn’t bring themselves to find him guilty of being “not nice.”
The point here again, like the Glaser Marine daughter case, is the inability of the PCA Pittsburgh Presbytery to make distinctions. Essentially, they found Appleton guilty of making distinctions that run afoul of the “new’ Christianity interpreted through the grid of Cultural Marxism that is now in the saddle of the PCA. The PCA Pittsburgh Presbytery, like Rev. Benjamin Glaser (and the whole ARP) has revolted against distinctions that were long embraced in the non-Radical/Revolutionary Reformed church.
All of this continues the war against distinctions. The first salvo was fired in the garden of Eden where the wily serpent told Eve, “you shall be as God determining good from evil.” Other heavy salvos were fired during the French Revolution where all Revolutionaries wore the Phrygian cap and dropped the pronouns that differentiated class and marriage status in favor of the ubiquitous “Citizen.”
There is more down this line though. Discussion continues fast and furious about the legitimacy of Christian Nationalism. “Scholars” like Darryl Gnostic Hart (Prof at Hillsdale College in Michigan) recently stoked the fires of the debate by having a piece run in the Wall Street General claiming that the PCA had rejected Christian Nationalism. More than a few responses to D. Gnostic Hart claimed that the good professor lied when he made that claim in the Wall Street General. At the end of the day this issue is also about the refusal to make proper Biblical distinctions. Dr. D. Gnostic Hart particularly wants to insist that all religions in America should be treated as equal. For Dr. D. Gnostic Hart all religions have the same status. No distinctions are to be made by magistrates between Christianity in the public square or between the demonic Allah or the Bastard Jewish god or Vivek’s murderous Hindu gods. Dr. D. Gnostic Hart says, “No distinctions allowed.” Per Dr. D. Gnostic Hart, America must not rule in such a way so as to communicate that Christianity is superior to all other religions.
One more issue has arise in the last 48 hours or so that touches on the current vitriol against God ordained distinctions. This one has been in the larger culture though it still touches this issue. Recently a jury (per the malfeasance of the sitting feminist judge) found Shiloh Hendrix guilty of making a sharp verbal distinction between different people groups. It seems that it is an egregious example of disorderly conduct to starkly label the differences between people groups. Shiloh has been fined 1000.00 dollars and community service for this crime against generic humanity.
In each and all of these cases we see the war against making distinctions. We continue to live in the climate began with the French Revolution, accelerated by the Russian Revolution, reaching full blossom with the Chinese Revolution. In all of these the common theme is Marxism. Yes, I know the French incarnation preceded Marx but if you do the reading dealing with the intellectual ferment around that time its easy to see a proto Marxism present.
Of course we should not be surprised by any of this. The whole movement towards leveling the sexes in Transgenderism, leveling marriage in the sodomite marriage ruling, leveling leadership in the Churches by making women Pastors, Elders, and Deacons. (And y’all who don’t give the women the titles are not fooling us inasmuch as you are giving her the responsibility.) Scripture clearly teaches it is a curse to be led by women and children and yet we are embracing the curse both by being led by women and by being led by those who have the intellectual capacity of children. (Yes, I’m looking at almost of all our modern clergy.)
The greatest danger to the church right now, as well as to the broader culture, is the inability to make proper distinctions as well as making war on those who have the courage to say distinctions exist.
“For Dr. D. Gnostic Hart all religions have the same status. No distinctions are to be made by magistrates between Christianity in the public square or between the demonic Allah or the Bastard Jewish god or Vivek’s murderous Hindu gods. Dr. D. Gnostic Hart says, “No distinctions allowed.” Per Dr. D. Gnostic Hart, America must not rule in such a way so as to communicate that Christianity is superior to all other religions.”
This is the view of Matthew Harrison, 4 time president of the LCMS as taught in his lecture at Hillsdale College a number of years ago.
Hello Dave
How did you know that Harrison did that?
I was at that lecture and heard the man say that very thing. He was grilled pretty hard by my folks in attendance during the Q & A time.
I read the text of his speech online and critiqued it to my pastor who was praising him for his work as president. He agreed I was right and Harrison’s view was disasterous.
As events the last two years have shown, Harrison has been very bad for the LCMS. His behaviour with regard to the LCAC and its critics, especially Ryan Turnipseed was detestable.
Dave
I haven’t been online much and missed the Appleton one and saw a post about a marine but didn’t know who or what it was about.
Both are discouraging but I’m glad you had the discipline to look at the issues instead of just blasting Glaser like I would have lazily done. Conservative Dads of daughters allow so much. Living near MSU, I see so many Dads who look normal walk with their mostly naked daughters. It’s probably because Mom rules the home, so he shuts up to keep the peace.
It’s such a common occurrence that I know many of these men are church-going Bible-reading men. I suppose that’s a different loss of distinction, between a virgin and a billboard.
I see Glaser as the same. Instead of sexual empowerment for his daughter, he allowed masculine empowerment for his daughter. I’m sure she’s very polite and goes to great lengths to signal her feminity and submissiveness to Dad and men in authority, but that’s superficial eye-wash.
Then there are all the Dads okay with little princess living with a man. I’d say they should say, “you shack up, then I’m not walking you down the aisle.” But I have had that conversation with a believer and he’s not willing to do that consequence.