Kevin Swanson's Apostasy

https://generationswithvision.com/Store/2013/04/apostate-the-men-who-destroyed-the-christian-west/

If you can look at this link and immediately spot the problems with his argument then you've grasped one of my main goals in writing...the exposure of Constantinianism and what it does to the Church's understanding of the Bible, history and current events.

'Apostate' is a meaningless label because he's speaking of apostasy in terms of Western Christendom. This concept is extra-biblical and incompatible with New Testament theological categories.

While some go so far as to decry the whole notion of a 'visible/invisible' church distinction, often what they're most upset about is this particular abuse of the doctrine of the visible church. In this case the visible church is not the body of professing believers which happens to include a few hypocrites and people that will fall away.

No, the visible church now includes whole nations and even an entire civilization. While apostasy is a real category and a real danger, to speak of people departing from the Constantinian tradition as apostates is to muddy the waters and confuse Biblical categories with sociological ones. Constantinianism is a sociological model rooted in a misreading of Scripture.

Swanson speaks of:

'demonic possession, insanity, suicide, mass-murder, adultery, homosexuality, cultural and social revolutions, and unbridled, maniacal apostasy'

...and applies this to the post-Enlightenment period...the fruits of Secularism. While Secularism and all forms of idolatry breed such evils, this blind guide cannot see that every one of these 'fruits' is also abundantly present during the 'glorious' era of Christendom. This could also be the story of false Christianity under Constantine, Charlemagne, and the popes. The Christendom he venerates itself is a tale of apostasy and error and great evil.

The answer according to Swanson is for the Church to take over society and re-form a new Christendom. This utopia he believes will be the golden-age of the Kingdom of God.

I'm sorry but this is not what the Bible teaches. Death will still be present during their postmillennial golden age. Sin will still reign on the earth. That's not the Kingdom of God. I know they believe that most of the world will become Christianized and the culture and civilization will reflect this. But they won't get a Zion. Instead they will have a cheap imitation and if these people are ever granted power they will give us another totalitarian nightmare akin to the Papal and Byzantine reigns of terror. Rather than an era of hope it would be another Dark Age.

Secularism is to be lamented but I would rather live under pagan rulers than Christians who have whored themselves to the Beast and baptised it.

I won't be purchasing his book at his rather high price, but I'll wait until it's for sale in a discount bin. I was pleased to see Metaxas' Bonhoeffer book recently appearing at a discount/clearance store. In a few years Swanson's book will be available for a dollar or two, and then I'll purchase it. Many Christian leaders do very well for themselves and make a lot of money 'helping' God's people.

I know these circles very well and I already know what he's going to say and what solutions he offers. He's part of what I call the Theonomy Recast movement or really Shadow Theonomy. Their movement was discredited and received a lot of bad press in the 1990's and so they've all eschewed the label and yet continue to press the doctrine. If you doubt what they would do when they have acquired power you only need to turn back to the old writings of North, Bahnsen and Rushdoony. They deny the Theonomic label but still quote and promote these men.

They differ over how to implement their vision. Because he advocates homeschooling and in a schizophrenic way rejects college, Swanson is sometimes wrongly labeled a Separatist. Nothing could be further from the truth. He subscribes to the narrative that society will soon collapse and that Christians must have as many children as possible and train them so that when the collapse comes, they will be able to step in and fill the gap. Very few realize this is what the famous Duggar family is actually about.

They will build a new civilization from the ashes. So at present he believes Christians should keep fighting to buy time, but that the victory will only come later. He speaks of a Second Mayflower...planting the seeds for a new 'great' nation. Of course this dishonours the memory of the Mayflower Pilgrims who were true Separatists and fleeing people just like Kevin Swanson who believed the Church should be wedded to power. He has hijacked their heritage.

Many have confused the Pilgrims with the later Puritans who arrived in 1630 and formed the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This was the so called 'City on the Hill', this was the Massachusetts of the Mather's and the later witch trials.

Actually the Pilgrim vision of Plymouth was all but dead within a generation. Their descendants were absorbed into the larger Puritan vision. Though the Mayflower Pilgrims weren't Baptists, it was Roger Williams who really kept their vision alive for awhile. Pennsylvania was also formed along these lines but by the time of the French and Indian War that vision was also dead.

Swanson perverts the teaching of Scripture and manipulates history to serve his agenda. I've listened to his show many times. I can hardly stand it though. He's hard to listen to and comes across as deranged and unstable. He makes wild unqualified statements. I tremble for the congregation he pastors. And yet, if you visit SermonAudio it's evident he's has quite a following and is pretty popular. He's tugging at visceral emotions deeply imbedded in the American psyche. Wedding his false vision of Christianity to political power and the vindication and veneration of the American narrative tickles the ears of many. At one time I certainly would have bought into it and yet I praise God I can now easily see through his smoke and mirrors and his perversion of the Kingdom. His Christian Worldview that helps interpret the Bible and history is nothing more than baptised pagan power.

Unfortunately this book will probably sell rather well and will only sow confusion and further muddy the waters.

If anyone reads it, please let me know. One of these days when I hold my nose and purchase it I will write more about it. As I said, I already know what he's going to say.