Generally speaking I have appreciated Tom Hervey's commentaries that have appeared at The Aquila Report - I even bought his book of essays on Amazon. I'm sorry to say this was an exception. He excoriates those in the PCA that in 2020 condemned the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and these same Presbyterians even described them as heinous.
Hervey speaks of this moment as being disheartening for conservatives within the PCA and was a catalyst for some departures. He identifies the criticism of of the status quo in society as worldly compromise - but seems oblivious to the fact that so many Christians who simply embrace society's thinking about these issues might also be compromised. It never occurs to him that the self-satisfied and entrenched values of the American middle class might be something other than Christian. These are the values that support the system and its bedrock elements - nationalism, Wall Street, the military and police, as well as the courts and penal system.
The thing is, there are many who support the status quo and yet seem oblivious to how it all operates. To my mind these people are sold out to the world - I would even use a term like brainwashed. Those who examine these things are more likely than not to emerge from such studies as deeply troubled and often under moral conviction. While great strides have been made, there are still deeply embedded problems connected to race and corruption.
The 'tumultuous tide of the moment' was not fomented by the activists taking to the streets. Rather, the country was in turmoil due to Trumpism and its ethos which in turn affected the conduct and applied ethics within government - particularly institutions like the police and military. He has and continues to cultivate a culture of obscenity, violence, and the degradation of human beings.
Further the uncertainties surrounding Covid and the bumbling buffoonish response of the executive was also generating angst. And finally within the Church, there was great alarm to realize how many Christians were going along with the administration. The real alarm had been sounded for many in 2009 when Obama became president. It was eye opening to witness the ugly racially driven animosity directed toward him. A lot of this ugliness had been on display in the 1990's but it never connected in the same way.
The Obama era and the anger it spawned bled over into the first Trump administration. Hervey can choose to ignore these things - or more likely it's due to a kind of isolationist bubble. I frequently interact with people who exist in the FOX universe and only inhabit Right-wing social media spheres. It's often as if they live on another planet and unaware of many of the things taking place. I do not say this as some kind of Leftist as I don't vote and have never been a member of either major political party. This not because I'm simply apolitical or uninterested. On the contrary I wholeheartedly reject both parties and the assumptions of the American system. I consider CNN and outlets like ABC, CBS, and MSNBC to be largely worthless - while FOX is just plain evil. I turn elsewhere for news and take everything with a grain of salt. Christian leaders do need to speak out. They need to condemn the heresy of Christo-Trumpism and the FOX-driven epistemology which drives it.
The events in 2020 were not the French Revolution but it was a response to several years of a criminal administration. While I do not wish to see upheaval, as a Christian I can hardly blame lost people for reaching a breaking point - especially in a system as corrupt as America's Capitalist Empire.
As far as the tearing down of monuments and the like - it's nothing I support but the Right engages in much of the same and it's nothing new. Such things were happening in ancient Egypt. New Dynasties would erase previous history. It's not right or helpful, but at the same time I don't support Confederate monuments and the myths associated with them. I'd rather they stay as a reminder of the history - even if they're not always honest in what they convey - which is also a lesson for the historically attuned. That said, I can't think of any American monuments that are honest in what they convey. Washington DC is full of such lies. America is a lie.
Silence is violence is a slogan I reject and while I have no use for the police and do not respect them and think it's disgusting that pastors like John MacArthur honour them - they are a necessary evil. No Christian has any business being a police officer and in fact cannot be. Do the police need reforming? Most certainly they do. They are inherently corrupt, deceitful, and often treacherous. Many are sadists and murderers but to not have them would be even worse.
Will those who call for the abolition have to answer for it on the Day of Judgment? Maybe, but if so, then so will those like MacArthur who dared to commit sacrilege and honour them - confusing them and their mission and deeds with the holiness of Christian worship. Will Hervey denounce MacArthur and others like him? If not, then his statements are empty.
They (the PCA dissenters) went along with an evil movement he says. But what about all those within the PCA who went along with Trumpism, and Bushism, and Reaganism? Do they have nothing to answer for? It would take me from now until tomorrow morning to list all the crimes and evils associated with these men and how they deceived Christians - and how Christians were deceived by their own leaders into supporting these men, their lies, and their atrocities.
Hervey wants public repentance. So do I. I want to see the entire Christian Right dismantled and its leaders called to repentance.
Did these PCA dissenters err? Did they violate the teachings of Romans 13? Maybe they did but how many Christians over the past forty years (and many in the PCA) laboured to support the various Republican Caesars as they pursued evil policies and wars? And how many of these same people spoke aggressively and publicly in their denunciations of Democratic Caesars like Obama and Clinton? Does Hervey want to call them to account as well? It would be quite a day in the PCA were that to take place. Is this all because it was in a PCA magazine? Had it been in another forum would that have been okay?
Hervey has offered some helpful comments over the past few years but this article was off base and came across as ridiculous. It's one thing to say - the powers that be are ordained by God and to then stay silent, pray, and not be involved in the larger political struggle. We neither oppose the emperor or support him. We pay our taxes and obey the laws and that's it. But that's not what has been happening. Men like MacArthur actively support the system, reinforce it, are invested in it, and benefit from it. They are allies and activists in their acquiescence and support. They are just as guilty and 'worldly' as those who dissent from it.
Of course as Christians we do dissent from the system - whatever world system is in place. There is no Christian order. We're always in opposition but our dissent is not political. We live as second class citizens and pay a price for doing so. This is no less true when it comes to living in the American Empire. Millionaires like MacArthur are not living out the Spirituality of the Church. There's nothing 'spiritual' in how they live. They are compromised creatures of the sword and mammon system - in actuality its servants and slaves. They've made a bargain. They use their celebrity to support the system and ride first class as a reward.
Actually the PCA magazine is the sort of place dissent should be registered - as opposed to the pages of the New York Times. The audience is Christian. The message for the world is the gospel.
I will look forward to Hervey's future writings but in this case he was wrong.
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