But for these folks they're motivated by Dominion and a
desire to produce Dominion warriors. This is the real motivation behind
Quiverfull. It's about demographic strategy and the conquest of culture.
I think the Bible teaches specific roles for men and
women and that plays out in how we raise our children or think about family
structure and roles.
We view the Kingdom in spiritual terms. We just want to
be obedient to God and live as exiles in a way that is antithetical to our
culture... not with a view to take it over.
We are martyr-witnesses not conquerors.
As I said their movement's ideas are rooted in
historical narratives regarding the America and/or the West, and specifically
trying to counter certain cultural currents such as Feminism etc...
It's a theology with a political mindset. Everything,
every theological position down to hairstyles and even diet are political chess
moves.
I'm against Feminism too, but at the same time I'm not
threatened by it in the same way. I see some of the counter-cultural movements
as having both positive and negative aspects. They may have harmed the
Establishment and worked to erode the Social Consensus...
But I don't care. I'm not for the Establishment and I
think the notion of a Christian Social Consensus is actually harmful to the
health and flourishing of the Church. It leads to Sacralism, the sanctifying of
culture and incorporation of it in to the Kingdom. It destroys the antithesis
which should and must cling to.
That which they hold dear I consider to be a model for
the Harlot Church of Christendom. The very imagery we see in Revelation 17 is
what they unwittingly are aspiring to emulate. It's the same cultural model
(albeit in a different context) that we find in Medieval Christendom.
Building a Sacral/Holy culture is something many of
these folks are deliberately trying to do. Just the other day I heard John
Stonestreet on Breakpoint attacking the views I hold as Dualism. Love not the
world has become heresy.
They've redefined worldliness and made it into an act
of piety. If you follow the Scriptures and seek to lead a quiet life and not
entangle yourself in the affairs of this world, and view the world as something
that is 'without'...then you're a Dualist, a Gnostic.
They've taken the mandate of Genesis 1 and (ignoring
the Fall and its implications throughout the rest of the Genesis narrative)
wedded it to the Great Commission of Matthew 28. Making Disciples isn't about
the Gospel message and transformed lives. It's not about Christ's Person and
work and the command to repent and believe.
The Gospel is now about conquering and transforming the
culture. The Gospel is politics, sociology, art, music, architecture, education,
the military etc...
Sacralism views the world and Kingdom in terms of a
Monism. They are one and the same. All of culture must either be sanctified or
eradicated.
That's not what the New Testament teaches. There's not
a single verse that supports their idea and in fact many to counter it. Their
argument is cultural, rooted in historical and philosophical narratives (pagan
I would argue) and in the end a system that is imposed on the text of
Scripture.
These groups possess a specific grid or paradigm which
won't tolerate a lot of leeway. If they have too many people among them that
aren't following 'the plan' then the authority of the leadership starts to
break down. Hence, the system is basically made into the Gospel itself and
necessitates a strict regimen of control.
This ends up being abusive and in many cases leads to a
culture of intimidation and silence even when there's some pretty outrageous
sin taking place.
As the Church we shouldn't be running off to the
world's authorities to deal with the Church's problems. Yet, the tyrannical
usurpation exercised by some of these leaders has once again led to a pendulum
swing. Christians have become keen to call the police and bring in the
authorities. This is deplorable, but likewise the conduct of many of these
leaders and their 'cover-ups' is a shame and disgrace.
Among their detractors we not only find a very
culture-friendly posture... specifically countering the vision of the clergy
they've rejected, but there's a real streak of anti-authoritarianism.
The pendulum swing leads to an attitude that ends up
being just as hostile to Scripture as the false gospel being proffered by these
'ministries'.
In the end the damage is done. The ministries go down
and yet the survivors are often 'not' in a better place or position to discern
what the Scriptures actually teach.
If I even speak of my wife being subject to me (which
is what the Bible actually says) then I'm immediately an abusive monster.
There's not a lot of wisdom in the pendulum swing approach. My wife can
certainly be submissive to me without being subjugated and of course we men
often forget our obligation which is actually weightier...to love her as Christ
loved the Church. And though we head the family and have authority there is a
sense (in terms of sacrifice) which we too show a certain submission even to
our wives. That will also make some people uncomfortable but both 'pendulum'
extremes have got it wrong.
The Established Social Consensus of the early 20th
century wasn't all that Christian either. Double standards in moral expectation
are not something I find in Scripture. The fact that the culture reacted is no
great surprise.
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