Helping Out Darryl Gnostic Hart

DGH wrote,

After a visit to my father at his local hospital, I had a worldview moment. What should have alerted me from the outset was the name of the place – St. Mary’s. But then I noticed that the spiritual services wing of the hospital had dropped off for him a brochure about their activities which was included with information about television channels and daily menus – talk about trivializing the eschaton. But the kicker was the crucifix in my dad’s ICU room. Shazzam!!! That’s a whole lot of idolatry for a man who is on a heart monitor.

Bret responds,

First we are sorry that Darryl’s Father is ill. It’s always difficult when our parents get to this age where we are watching them deteriorate in health. We trust Mr. Hart (Darryl’s Dad) will rally.

2.) It is true that the crucifix is idolatry and I’m fairly confident that the hospital staff wouldn’t object to your removing it in favor of a non-crucifix cross, or even a blank space on the wall.

Oh … and it would be a whole lot of idolatry even if Darryl’s Dad was not on a heart monitor.

DGH writes,

But is Roman Catholic medicine really any different from Reformed medicine or even – dare I say – secular medicine. If worldviews go all the way down to the very tips of our toes, and if we can’t escape the claims of Christ in any parts of our lives, can I really look the other way in good conscience when entering a hospital room that displays an image of Christ on a cross?

Bret responds,

1.) The old proverb that “even a blind old sow, finds and acorn once in-a-while” applies here. No Biblical Christian (worldview Christian) believes that false worldviews get it perfectly wrong always, all of the time. We merely believe that they have in their worldviews significant contradictions. As Bahnsen offered, “I don’t doubt that you can count. What I want to know is if you can account for your counting given your worldview.”  So, Roman Catholics have medicines that work? No one ever doubted it. Even brothel workers can wear lovely evening gowns, but underneath it all they remain brothel workers.

2.) Worldview types often speak of the fact that the unbeliever is often involved in felicitous inconsistency. This accounts for Rome or other theological dispositions stumbling and getting some medicine matters correct. Medicinal Rome has snuck in some stolen capital from Biblical Christianity to get their Christ denying worldview off the ground. See Van Til’s, “Mr. Black, Mr. Gray, and Mr. White here.” So, Rome’s medicine works in spite of their world and life view and not because of it.

3.) Hart uses that word “secular” above, when he mentions “secular medicine.” If by secular he means a medicine birthed without theological a-prioris and faith commitments then of course his idea of “secular” is a myth. Does he doubt that? Perhaps, in the future, should he have heart problems like his father, Dr. Hart would consider consulting a animist Shaman, or a third world witch Doctor for all his medicine needs, or, he could consult a Western Medical doctor who also believes that boys can be born in women’s bodies. Worldview doesn’t affect how medicine operates? Methinks that the inability for many professionals in our health fields to authoritatively be able to answer “What is a woman,” kind of pulls the plug on Hart’s theory that “Worldviews don’t effect medicine.”

Maybe Hart, upon contracting a fever, would like to have a Doctor pull out leeches in order to bleed him so that he may be cured?

4.) Then there is the issue of Math. Math is, in and of itself, subjective right? If anything proves that worldviews don’t matter it is Mathematics right? Well, until you start attending Harvard and realize that there is a chap there who is teaching that 2+2 can sometimes = 5.

Kareem Carr Explains Why 2+2=5

Then of course there is Hinduism and math. If, as Hinduism states, all is one, then how does mathematics get off the ground? (And let’s not even talk about how believing “all is maya,” affects mathematics if Hindu math was consistent with their worldview affirmations.)

DGH writes,

And then there is the concern for quality of health care. If Abraham Kuyper was right that Roman Catholicism “represents an older and lower stage of development in the history of mankind” and if Protestantism occupies a “higher standpoint,” shouldn’t my dad try to find treatment at a Protestant hospital? Kuyper, by the way, wasn’t real complimentary of Roman Catholicism on science either.

Bret responds,

It certainly is the case that if presented with two hospitals having the same type of quality of care, I would definitely recommend Mr. Hart Sr. to go to the Protestant hospital.

I can speak to this point with some experience. This past year, as some of you know, I underwent open heart surgery for a valve replacement. The Doctor I was assigned was top shelf, in terms of reputation, but I knew little of his faith or theology. I had a whale of a time trusting myself to this process because of this. However, in God’s incredible providence a Christian cardiologist who has 20 plus years of experience contacted me. I took nearly everything Dr. A, who was doing my surgery, immediately to Dr. B (the Christian) to confirm every step of the way? Why? Because I trusted implicitly the knowledge of Dr. B, as existing in His Christian world and life view vis-a-vis not being sure of Dr. A’s world and life view. These things matter.

DGH writes,

It could be that I have once again misunderstood the claims of neo-Calvinism and that some algorithm exists for taking the gold of scientific advances from the dross of defective worldviews. But it could also be that the language of worldviews and the difference they make for every aspect of human existence is overdone, simply a rallying cry for inspiring the faithful, but not anything that would prevent my father from receiving treatment from unbelieving nurses employed by Roman Catholic administrators. Then again, the power of modernity is stunning, making all of those religious claims about connections between spiritual and physical reality look fairly foolish – as if a creed actually produces better medicine.

1.) I think it much more likely that Dr. Hart misconstrued as opposed to “misunderstood.” Because this is God’s world it is impossible for the Christ hater to get it perfectly wrong all the time, and so, as said above, they do import Christian worldview capital into their Christ-hating worldview in order to get their Christ hating world and life view off the ground. Some in Science do try to be consistent in their Christ hating worldview. Consider Lysenkoism for example. However, more often than not the Christ-haters are not as consistent as Lysenko was and they do import gold into their dross.

This isn’t that difficult for a Ph.D. like Hart.

DGH writes,

I mean no disrespect to the neo- Calvinists and their epistemological purity. But if they could help me out on this one, I’d be grateful. Does a Reformed worldview really make a difference for modern medicine and the ordinary decisions a sick believer must make in seeking a physician or hospital – under the oversight, of course, not of the elders but the insurance company?

Bret responds,

And as we have seen, the answer is resoundingly “yes, a Reformed worldview really does make a difference for modern, pre-modern, and post-modern medicine and the ordinary decisions a sick believer must make in seeking a physician or hospital.” For example, if Dr. Hart has any little ones in his life that he loves, I trust that if the little tyke complains of a belly ache they don’t take him to a modern Doctor who will tell him, “This clearly is a sign that the child is having unresolved gender issues.”

So here I finish, being happy to once again, to help Dr. Hart out on this one. I trust the good Dr. realizes that I also intend no disrespect to the neo-Gnostic Calvinists in our midst.

From the Mailbag; “My Pastor Ignores the Issue of Marxism”

Comment left on Iron Ink that makes my head want to explode;

___

“Very disappointing that my pastor ignores Marxism intentionally, and at a university-focused church. A distraction I suppose, to piety.

I am glad you write about it. Many Christian kids are pulled from the faith due to it and its manifestations, yet he somehow sees it as a distraction.”

___

Observations

1.) I would bet the farm that his minister doesn’t preach against Marxism because his minister is absolutely clueless as to what Marxism is.

2.) It is ministerial neglect of the worst type to refuse to address the world and life view that is the chief assailant in keeping Christianity as a minority faith expression.

3.) We can’t eliminate the “follow the money” factor here. The minister doesn’t preach against it, because doubtless in a University setting he would lose key members of his congregations who are freaking “Christian” Marxists.

4.) If it really is true that “many Christian kids” in this congregation “are pulled from the faith due to Marxism and its manifestations” can you imagine what a degree of dereliction of duty this minister is going to be charged with at the great assize?

5.) Don’t miss the “a distraction, I suppose to piety” quip. The commenter is being sarcastic here. He is saying that what passes for Christian piety doesn’t want to get its hands dirty by actually dissecting and exposing a worldview that desires to kill the Christian faith.

6.) One would have to ignore Marxism “intentionally” if one were to not preach on it, since Marxism is ubiquitous — and especially so on a University campus. In other words nothing else explains not addressing Marxism on a University Campus church except that one is intentionally avoiding it.

7.) This refusing to speak on Marxism is driven by the minister in question being R2K. I know of this chap. I know he has been infected w/ R2K. His R2K theology is informing him that if he preached on Marxism, exposing it as the chief competitor to Christianity in the marketplace of ideas, then he would be getting out of his lane since a Christian minister should let natural law deal with matters that exist in a jurisdiction other than the church jurisdiction he has been assigned to specialize. Marxism as a competing world and life view just doesn’t come under his portfolio as a member of the clergy.

8.) Understand that this ministerial malpractice is no different than refusing to speak on the matter of Islam were one ministering in a Church in a Muslim culture. This is no different than refusing to speak on Talmudism were one minister in a church that existed in a Bagel culture. This is no different than refusing to speak on Fascism in a church that existed in a Fascist culture.

Well, maybe he would muster up the courage to speak against Fascism since there are some elements of Fascism that can be misconstrued as Christian and our minister in question could never allow that misunderstanding to continue.

This whole thing sickens me. We, as Christians, are in a fight with people who own a world view that is sworn to snuff out Christ and His people and yet this minister, of this somewhat large church refuses to speak on it.

This chap, and many in the clergy corps like him, are like “Talkative” in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

To such clergy I say;

If you love your comfortable station better than honoring Christ, the perks of being respected and called “Reverend,” better than getting your hands dirty in this fight for your King, go from us in peace. We ask not for your wisdom or support. Crouch down and lick the Marxist hands which feed you. May your retreat not get in our way as we rush to the battle and may posterity forget that you were once called clergy.

R. Scott Clark Platforms Lems … Embraces Doug Wilson’s View of Ethnonationalism

“Furthermore, once a government separates people into groups based on ethnicity, I can’t imagine such groups existing without any racism happening. As a Christian, I’m fundamentally opposed to any type of political theory or nationalist view that separates people based on ethnicity.”

Shane Lems

1.) Governments don’t typically need to separate people into groups because it is ethnic groups that create governments. What Governments do is slam different people’s together so that the Government can control by dividing and conquering.

2.) Clark doesn’t define “racism” so I have no earthly idea what he is talking about when he uses that word therefore it is not possible to respond to such non-defined claims.

3.) Clark says he’s “Opposed to all nationalist views?”

All Nationalist views?

Acts 17:26 From one man He (God) made all the nationS, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and HE marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

4.) Here is something that R. Scott Clark and Doug Wilson (mortal enemies) have in common. Perhaps they could start a Bromance based on this shared view?

R. Scott Clark’s analysis makes the analysis of Alfred E. Newman look like genius.

A Horse By Any Other Name is Still Marxism — Pt. I

Many are those who believe Karl Marx to be categorized as an economic theorist. This is false. Marx, like all ideologues was a theologian and Marxism is a theology that competes with Christian orthodoxy. If we realized that all sociology, ideology, macro economic theorists, philosophers, can only be what they are because of the theological a-priories they have accepted to make their theorizing go, we should not make the mistake of not understanding that these men are theologians before they are anything else. This is true of Marx as hope to tease out a little bit here.

Marx’s subset in theology was anthropology. Marx was seeking to answer the question “What does it mean to be human,” apart from presupposing the God of the Bible. Marx is answering, “What is Man,” without considering God. Marx then answered the question by saying that man is “homo economicus.” Marx believed that man was an inherently social being who wrongly understood himself only in terms of his labor. Marx believed if man was to find his true nature he had to release himself from the chains of property, as driven by capitalism with its theories of division of labor and the ownership of private property. Marx followed Rosseau’s theological claim that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” The chains that Marx sought to loosen men from were the chains of private property. In theological terms private property was man’s original sin and Marx was a sociological prophet seeking to release people from their chains of private property.

We see the theological component in Marx’s emphasis on Revolution. For Marx Revolution is to the proletariat what regeneration is to the Christian. Revolution is the means by which men die to themselves and are reborn as a “New Socialist Man,” finally stripped of all private property and the desire for private property. Revolution then becomes a religious rite for Marx and his followers. This notion of stripping people of private property via the sacrament of Revolution is central and is the key to understanding where we are right now in this cultural moment in the West.

As an aside, as we understand this, we will see why Dr. Gary North was absolutely nuts when he insisted, towards the end of his life, that Marxism had been defeated. Marxism has not been defeated, it has merely morphed into new channels as well shall see. The outer shell may look different but the essence remains.

This anthropology of the necessity for man to be rebirthed and experience renewal so as to become the “New Soviet Man,” or the “New Socialist Man,” or the “New Sustainable and Inclusive Man,” is all over the literature of the Marxist writers. It is another indication that we are dealing with theology here and not primarily economics or sociology. If we don’t realize that we will never be able to think right about our task at hand in championing the cause of our Lord Christ. Not thinking rightly about this explains why so many of our clergy corps has fallen into Marxist like clap trap when they support ideas like “race is a social construct,” or “race doesn’t really exist,” or “race is only about pigment levels and nothing else.” These are all statements that have as their foundation a Marxist anthropology as we shall see.

Marx believed that human beings were perfectly social entities who’s fall entailed being caught up in the snare of private property. Marx believed that the perfectibility of man could be achieved if only he could be delivered from the sin of private property via revolution. Marx believed that the proletariat were kept down by the bourgeoisie and could only return to the garden by Revolutionary activity that eliminated private property. Only then would the workers of the world unite so that they were no longer alienated from themselves. Only by Revolution could man be man again and so build his Utopia.

Here we see the core of the issue. Property is man’s primal sin and the elimination of property by way of Revolution that tears down the social order that countenances property is how man returns to paradise.

This, of course is clearly seen in classical Marxism where the oppressors are the Capitalists/bourgeoisie property owner who are guilty of oppressing the proletariat. Some of us know and understand this story and have seen it played out in history.

But what if the category of “property” is fungible? What if a nuanced Marxism arises that relocates and redefines property to be other than material extrinsic possessions? What if a Marxism arises that finds property as a defining characteristic of immaterial intrinsic qualities like race and gender? Well, then, consistent with Marxist theory a Revolution must occur that seeks to strip that intrinsic property from the oppressors so that they can not lord it over the oppressed who do not have those intrinsic property markers.

If the possession of extrinsic property leads to class warfare in order to loose the chains of men born free, then possession of intrinsic property like whiteness, or maleness, or heterosexuality likewise can, should, and must lead to race warfare to pull down the bourgeoisie oppressor white man who is oppressing the proletariat pigmented man, lead to the war of the sexes where revolution pulls down the bourgeoisie male oppressor oppressing the oppressed female gender, lead to the war of the proletariat pervert class who is being oppressed by the oppressor bourgeoisie heterosexual class.

You see the claims of property have changed but all the theory surrounding the varying Revolutions remains Marxist at its core. The oppressed vs. oppressor class category remains. The Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat conflict remains. The absolute necessity of revolution unto the destruction of social orders because of the sin of property remains. And though we have not spoken of it yet, the dialectical methodology that drives the Revolution remains. It’s all Marxism again all the way down.

Indeed, that the dialectical methodology is working is seen in the fact that the Revolution in classical Marxism has jumped the shark and is now operative for gender, race, sexuality. Marxist dialectics required that Revolution eventually find its way into other areas besides class.

All of this then demonstrates that the Marxist Revolution always leads to a leveling where any and all notions of property (both extrinsic and intrinsic) are destroyed. The old Saturday Night Live routine, “It’s Pat,” was prophetic in this regard.

Of course political tools are needed to eliminate private property. In order to eliminate extrinsic private property we see the rise of socialism and then communism. In order to eliminate intrinsic private property such as whiteness we see the rise of “Critical Race Theory.” In order to eliminate the intrinsic private property of heterosexuality we see the rise of “Queer theory.” In order to eliminate the intrinsic private property of assigned roles in femaleness and maleness we see the rise of feminism. From all of this we are reminded again that “the issue is never the issue, the issue is always the Revolution,” and the Marxist Revolution is about setting man free from all his social givens. If man was a text, Marxism’s goal is to release man from all context that defines the text.

Perhaps it is helpful here to employ the Roman Numeral system. Were we to outline this we would have;

I.) Marxism

A.) Classical — Communism
B.) Gender  — Queer Theory
C.) Sexual – Feminism
D.) Racial – Critical Race theory
E.) Able studies
F.) Fat studies

Or if we were Scientist we would talk about;

Genus — Marxism
Species — Classical, Gender, Sexual, Racial, Ableism, Morphism

The point to see here is that the chief opposition to Biblical Christianity remains Marxism, and one titanic application here is that when clergy like Doug Wilson, Voddie Baucham, J. Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, and countless others inveigh against Kinism or Christian ethno-nationalism they are that moment wearing the colors of team Marxism, and frankly are being anti-Christs. What other conclusion can be settled upon?

The ultimate goal is to abnormalize the normal and to normalize the abnormal so that man is free from his chains, free from any social givens, free from the defining hand of God.

Of course this isn’t going to relent. The dialectic continues. There are those out there now, continuing to press the boundaries of post-modernism, who are insisting that meaning and knowing are intrinsic properties that the intellectual bourgeoisie have and are using to oppress those clueless and dumb proletariat. This means that even meaning and knowledge must be deconstructed via the Marxist model of social order Revolution.

As near as I can tell, it is the Kinists alone who get the above in a consistent fashion and who alone are doing the grunt work of opposing the Marxists.

Christian Churches, Universities/Colleges, Clergy Should Not be Entrusted with Your Children

“One study by Samuel Abrams found an astonishing 12:1 ratio of liberals to conservatives among administrators on University Campuses (71 percent identified as “liberal” or “very liberal”; only 6 percent identified as conservative)….

For faculty in the humanities, the ratio was 32 Democrats for every one Republican.”

Jonathan Barth

It’s Time To Upend the Modern University

Real Clear Politics

“The fundamentalist parents of our fundamentalist students think that the entire ‘American liberal establishment’ is engaged in a conspiracy. The parents have a point. We do our best to convince these students of the benefits of secularization. So we are going to go right on trying to discredit you in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable.”

Prof. Richard Rorty

Philosophers and Their Critics – pp.21-22

As Biblical Christians (as opposed to those who masquerade as Christians) we must realize that the Universities/Colleges (hereafter U/C) are utterly lost to us. This is especially true to those U/C that adopt the adjective of “Christian.” Christian U/C are merely 10 or 15 years behind the “secular” U/C in worldview treason and moral turpitude. At best Christian U/C will give a Christian coating to this or that subject, or maybe they will open class with a prayer or maybe even still have chapel three times a week, but the substance of what they teach and what they model smells of sulfur.

I am reminded of a Mother who contacted me a few years ago, asking for advice about her son who had attended both of our Alma Mater (Indiana Wesleyan University). She was weeping that her son had lost his faith while there and that the reason for that was the teaching he had received from the IWU (formerly Marion College) professoriate.

A couple of years following that I had a student contact me who had been bounced from his honors track at Indiana Wesleyan University for simply wearing a Halloween costume that was not accepted as politically correct. I don’t remember if he was wearing an Indian (Feather, not Dot) costume or exactly what it was, but I do remember the young man was turned into an example for future students who wouldn’t kowtow to the DEI agenda of the University.

Similarly, Calvin University (formerly Calvin College) strives to be left of Chairman Mao. Grove City college, as another example, finds Dr. Karl Falseman, who supports socialized health-care, teaching students, while misrepresenting the Reformed faith to his students. There may be one or two exceptions out there but on the whole it really doesn’t matter which Christian U/C you name, as the general lot of them have been infected with one form or another of humanism.

But why should the Christian U/C be any different though, given the state of the Christian church? Most Christian Churches, along with the clergy, don’t object to their Christian U/C because they are themselves bollixed up in the same manner. The PCA couldn’t discipline Greg Johnson. The OPC lost some fine ministers over the whole Aimee Byrd/feminism fiasco where the clergy of the OPC decided to turn on the young clergy as opposed to turning on Byrd’s feminism. The OPC also had the ghost racism General Assembly where they were flailing and flinging about denouncing “racists” in their midst before they realized they really didn’t have racists in their midst, and it all was a case of clergy going in circles chasing their Geneva gowns.

All this to say to Biblical Christian parents… “You can’t entrust your children to the clergy. You can’t entrust your children to the Churches. You can’t entrust your children to the Christian U/C. You have to do all that work yourself.” Parents could get away with trusting these Christian Institutions and men once upon a time but in this climate if parents turn their children over to these Institutions their children are not likely to hit 18 or 22 and remain Biblical Christians.

Caveat Emptor