And it will be, like people, like priest... (Hosea 4:9b)
"A feminized Christianity may work to attract a certain type of man, but
he’s probably not the man you want around when the local Imam starts
practicing taqiyya on your congregation."
(Tim, w/thanks to Tim R.) Here's an article about the effeminacy of the Christian church, today. The piece approaches the crisis by noting the attractiveness of Islam to real men, making the point that a re-masculinized Christianity is necessary to hold off the forces of Islamic jihad. But if faith in Jesus is for this life only, we are of all men most foolish. We love, worship, and trust Jesus, not because it's useful, but because we fear the Holy God and know our sin, we dread Hell's worms and fire, and we ache for Heaven's joy and peace in the presence of the Lord. And yet...
Reformed men and women need to understand how focused the PCA is on gussying herself up for this effeminate age. As a denomination, we are all about perfect pitch rather than men making music to our God Who is a consuming fire. No Delta blues for us; it's all Julliard, violins, pianos, and maybe the occasional acoustic guitar or mandolin just to keep the audience off-balance. As with music, so with preaching: we allow no danger and take no risk. After all, women don't like danger. It could hurt their child.
But men? Real men don't wake up until they see why they're needed. And that need usually has something to do with danger--bullets, grenades, bombs, sexual predators, heresy, the wrath of God, death, and Hell.
But what have we done to Hell? We've turned it into the Narcissists' heaven. It's man getting himself forever, and what's not to like about that? No scared children. No women having hissy-fits over spiders hanging over the crackling fire. No worms eating a carcass. Just me, myself, and I forever...
Our doctrinal work does retain a modicum of danger, it must be admitted. But only at the points where those real men known as the Reformers plowed the ground for us. So we're good at laying the garlands at their tombs, and sometimes we foray out to protect the hills they died on. But the battles of today? The hills yet remaining to be taken?
Zeal in opposing the dangers of our day is strictly proscribed. We might wake up the babies and Momma wouldn't be pleased. And if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
In fact, that could well be the motto of the PCA: "If WIC ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."
The only way to understand my brother, David's, work exposing the attenuated doctrine of Hell preached to postmodern narcissists today is to see that evisceration of the Biblical doctrine of Hell as perfectly tuned to our effeminate age. It's Hell lite. Hell wimpified. Hell masticated and ruminated and spit back up to be eaten by the little calf without giving him indigestion.
Until pastors begin to preach and shepherd their flocks man to man; until we begin to wake the babies and set them crying; until the mothers and sissified fathers sometimes struggle to understand what the preacher is saying, and why he's saying it in THAT way; until we begin to have noses that are capable of sniffing out woman-pleasers and avoiding them and their ministries like the plague they are; until we stop sending the sons of our churches off to the Academy to be prepared for their ordination exams, allowing academics to force-feed them their curriculum of scrupulous exegesis and risk aversion masquerading as leadership; until we begin to grow up and take a few steps out from behind Mamma's pants; until we understand why Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force" (Matthew 11:12); until then, and only then, we'll have 365 Memorial Days per year, dressing up the graves of the dead while absolutely refusing to take up our crosses, ourselves.
But if we live by faith, the cross will become our glory and, like the Apostles, we'll give ourselves to the work of the ministry, filling up the cup of Christ's sufferings as good shepherds lovingly tending their flocks always have.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have
rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since
you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your
children. The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I
will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity. And it will be, like
people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds. They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase, Because they have stopped
giving heed to the LORD. Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the
understanding. (Hosea 4:6-11)
