A summary of Doug Wilson’s argument in “Mere Christendom” insisting that the Magistrate should not enforce blasphemy laws.;

 As a theonomist Wilson believes in “the need to restore the Bible as the quarry from which to obtain the needed stone for our foundations of social order” (149), he strongly argues against state imposed punishment for blasphemy. He reminds us that “those who want the government to have the right to kill blasphemers are also asking for the government to have the right to kill those who rebuke their (the government’s) blasphemies” (157), and “When you give the state power to punish a blasphemer, you are giving the state the power to blaspheme with impunity” (171). Since rulers are sinners, a healthy recognition of the depravity of man ought to restrain us from giving them the kind of power that would be required to punish blasphemy. “Whenever you give the state plenipotentiary powers to crack down on x, y, and z, what you are actually doing—please remember this—is giving them plenipotentiary powers to commit x, y, and z” (173). Therefore, “It is better to allow a troubled individual to blaspheme than to give, for the sake of preventing such things, regulatory powers over the definition of blasphemy to the very people most likely to be tempted to get into real blasphemy” (175–76). Wilson calls this “restraining the worst blasphemer first” (the title of Chapter 11). It’s not that we Christians don’t want to eradicate blasphemy—we do. But “we are not waging war according to the flesh” (2 Cor 10:3); “the artillery of the new covenant is more powerful than what the people of God had in their possession in the old covenant” (169). We want to eliminate blasphemy, but “not through the law” (158); rather, we do so through gospel conversion. “The central way that Christians are called to transform the world is not to be found in politics,” Wilson insists (221). “Christ gave us our mission and He gave us our methods. The world is to be brought to Christ, with all the nations submitting to Him, agreeing to obey Him. That is the mission. The method consisted of Word and water, bread and wine” (160).  Wilson argues that inherent protection of free speech by limiting the state’s power “is the theo-political genius of Christianity” (171). He argues that “The founding of our nation really was exceptional, because the men who drafted our Constitution knew that American politicians, taking one thing with another, would be every bit as sleazy as the same class of men from any other clime” (201).

“The first thing we have to learn about fighting and winning a cultural war is that we are not fighting to “conserve” something; we are fighting to overthrow something. Obviously, we do want to conserve something—our culture, our way of life, the set of institutions and beliefs that distinguish us as Americans. But we must understand clearly and firmly that the dominant authorities in the United States—in the federal government and often in state and local government as well, in the two major political parties, the major foundations, the media, the schools, the universities, big business, and most of the system of organized culture, including the arts and entertainment—not only do nothing to conserve what most of us regard as our traditional way of life but actually seek its destruction or are indifferent to its survival. If our culture is going to be conserved, then, we need to dethrone the dominant authorities that threaten it.”

Samuel Francis
“Culture and Power: Winning the Culture War”

A few observations;

1.) Being in a culture war implies a war that is even much larger than that. Indeed, it might be more accurate to say that we are in a cultural battle being fought in the context of a Theological war. The combatants in this battle own different theologies, believe in different God(s), and practice religions that are in contradiction and because of that there is, what is commonly called, a culture war that continues.

2.) Because of #1 being true — because we are in a theological war — now more than ever we need to be epistemologically self-conscious about what we believe and why we believe it and what we don’t believe and why we don’t believe it. We must understand our theology. We must understand the God we serve. We must know our undoubted catholic Christian faith. If we do not know our theology we will be defeated in this cultural battle. What’s more we will see our children become enslaved by the victors of this theological war/cultural battle if we do not become epistemologically self conscious. There is no fighting against our opponents unless we understand what beliefs makes them, “them” and what contrary beliefs make us, “us.”

3.) If all this is true then we who are opposing Trashworld must begin to see ourselves as “counter-Revolutionaries.” It is not the case, as Francis rightly notes, that we are merely seeking to preserve and conserve. No, rather it is the case that we are seeking to overthrow principalities and powers in high places. We are seeking to overthrow Satan’s magistrates. We are seeking to overthrow wickedness. There will be no conserving without becoming fighting counter-Revolutionaries swearing oaths of allegiance to our great Liege-Lord, Jesus Christ.

This must be done wisely and without a foolish rashness, but the fight must be engaged in on a host of fronts. Many in the church could begin by getting their children out of government schools and getting themselves out of churches that aren’t interested in being counter-Revolutionary.

There are many places to go from there, but we will never win this cultural battle and theological war unless we abandon the churches and schools of the enemy.