There is a factor – a player, actually – omitted in the theorizing. Cogent as they may seem (and even be), these political theorizings can be overwhelmed by hostile physical and spiritual force. I refer to Lucifer, prince of sorcerers and demons, who has been granted, by the transcendent and real Supreme Being – the God of the Christians – to mount an attack on all Christians and churches GLOBALLY.
This is symbolically termed in Scripture – Revelation 16:16 – as ARMAGEDDON; it is depicted in numerous other passages (Daniel 7:19-22, 25-26; Daniel 12:1-2; Revelation 6:9-17; Revelation 11:7-12; Revelation 12:13-17; Revelation 13:4-8: Revelation 16:12-16; Revelation 19:11-21; Revelation 20:7-10. There are more, but these will suffice.
It is permitted by the transcendent God, the Almighty, as a furnace to try and purify His saints (for the Paradise new earth to come), and to expose the true hearts of those against His children, as murderers, and haters of the Truth, which is His Word, and His eternal Son, Jesus the Messiah-Christ.
For those with eyes, it can be seen in the dystopian movements across the globe, all designed to silence and enslave all peoples, and – notwithstanding the Trumpian attempt crush these movements, as he, effete against them, will be overcome – and the stage will be set for the end-time battles.
The weapon of the Christians will be but their witness – their testimony – of the Kingdom of God, the salvation to be had in His Son, the coming Resurrection of the dead, and the Day of Judgment. The weapons of the Antichrist (an agent of Satan) and his horde will be like those of Oct. 7 used against the Jews, but on a massive scale.
I mentioned sorcery above. This pertains to the new wave of entheogens (realizing divinity within) and psychedelics (grass included), which began in the 1960s in the "Woodstock generation", and has, since then, opened the inter-dimensional gateway to the demonic pit and allowed their presence and influence into the collective consciousness of humankind (only those protected by the "seal" of God by His Spirit and word (Rev 9:4) immune to their power).
The dragon (alias of Satan) will manifest in the collective heart of humankind, being given entrance through these sorcerous agents, and will be a winsome and lethal adversary against the saints, who will be derided for their "primitive" and "antihuman" views of sin, faith, and belief in the transcendent Almighty.
Resistance will be futile, physically, but spiritually the saints (all genuine believers) will overcome, as resurrection changes everything. To die is but to enter Christ's presence and care, until He returns to execute righteous fury against those who harmed His bride, the church.
Opposing views will not changes these truths given us in John's Apocalypse and elsewhere in the Bible. It is the patience of the saints, enduring all suffering, that shall prevail.
There's one major hole in the re-paganization thesis, and that is the vast gulf between the attitude and behaviors of the secular left and the actual pagans of the past.
The comparisons drawn between the classical pagan world of pre-Christianity and modern secularism tend to be very thin. Take, for example, the modern sacralization of abortion. An ancient pagan would be absolutely mystified by "shout your abortion" because the notion of abortion or infanticide was a thing of such trivial significance. Yes, they thought it was odd that Christians opposed infanticide but neither did the practice actually matter all that much to the pagan mind. Celebrating abortion is an entirely different perspective because it attaches the utmost significance to the act of transgressing against the Christian ethic of life. Abortion matters to the secularist. It doesn't to the pagan.
Modern secular post-Christianity is fundamentally dependent on Christianity because it holds no belief other than the inversion of Christian ethics. It runs on the anger and resentment of former Christians, the so-called "nonverts," because it is fundamentally hollow. The rich source of furious, emotional, driven secularists is not the fourth-generation non-practicing Mainline Protestant, who has little to no emotional engagement with religion at all. Those people are atomized hedonists. They really are circling the drain of nihilism.
The Romans and Greeks were the opposite of Christians. Post-Christians are an inversion of Christianity. They point to Christianity in their transgressive oppositionalism. I find it far more persuasive to say that the post-Christian world is not a return to paganism but a gnostic deformation. A return to paganism would mean a rejection of utopianism, of redemption stories, of the narrative of an oppressed chosen people, of the suffering servant. Pagans don't believe in stories of fallen nature, original sins, and ultimate overcoming of those conditions. Pagans don't believe in an elect who alone have access to the truth amidst a world of reprobates.
Rousseau believes in those things. Marx believes in those things. Bakunin believes in those things. Kendi and DeAngelo and Obama and AOC believe in those things. Those raving lunatics who riot and burn cities in the name of martyred social justice icons believe in those things. That's not pagan behavior, that is worse. It's gnosticism.
I can't help thinking about all the ways in which the West has been exporting new "religious" ideas over the past decade in the name of "gender rights."
I just finished reading a good book written by Roman Catholics entitled "Gender Ideology and Pastoral Practice: A Handbook for Catholic Clergy, Counselors, and Ministerial Leaders."
There are a few chapters written by clergy from the global South and how they view the West as "Queer Nations" who are essentially colonializing other countries with their dogma about "SoGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Inclusion). As much as Americans decry the idea of "legislating morality" that is exactly what has been happening for the past decade in the Western Nations and being exported abroad under the conditions of economic aid and development.
In other words, nobody is ever really the "quietest" when it comes to what they view as moral, but Christians are expected to become Anabaptists and only seek political or cultural change through "faithful presence." I like what Yuval Levin spoke about in an interview where he pointed out that sometimes, it is the structures that are put in place that encourage or discourage certain behaviors. Even the hamhanded work of the current administration in many other ways has successfully forced corporations and universities to back off their SOGI cultlike behavior.
Finally, I think Michael Horton's thesis on re-enchantment bears some real study in the years ahead. The return to paganism is a return to orphic theology that has been held back by Christianity for centuries.
I think there are a few important points to note here. Firstly, as the author points out, Christianity is not inherently "conservative" and so the conflation of Christianity and Conservatism is a mistake. Christianity aims toward the good and overturn any "tradition" which is evil. This is why Whittaker Chambers remarked, I am not a conservative but a man of the Right. The Right, in this instance, being the Christian Right.
Secondly, the author rightly points out the problem of Quietism and Sprituality. The Christian religion is both. Faith without works is dead. A focus on developing our spirituality can lead to our neglect of bringing Christianity to the world in Act. Still, there is real need to be "correct Christians" and the problem is to discern how to act in a way that God would want us to do. Not everyone who calls themselves Christian is, and many of the liberal denominations are indistinguishable from outright secularism.
"She argues that moral transformation requires spiritual renewal before political engagement, dismissing efforts to shape public morality through legal or institutional means."
This is a real problem, since acting badly is profoundly counterproductive, double down on bad religion frequently makes the problem worse, as Vichy Catholicsm and Liberal Protestantism have shown.
Thanks for letting Mr. Wood publish his essay here. Was an excellent read.
The future is open again. Exciting times.
There is a factor – a player, actually – omitted in the theorizing. Cogent as they may seem (and even be), these political theorizings can be overwhelmed by hostile physical and spiritual force. I refer to Lucifer, prince of sorcerers and demons, who has been granted, by the transcendent and real Supreme Being – the God of the Christians – to mount an attack on all Christians and churches GLOBALLY.
This is symbolically termed in Scripture – Revelation 16:16 – as ARMAGEDDON; it is depicted in numerous other passages (Daniel 7:19-22, 25-26; Daniel 12:1-2; Revelation 6:9-17; Revelation 11:7-12; Revelation 12:13-17; Revelation 13:4-8: Revelation 16:12-16; Revelation 19:11-21; Revelation 20:7-10. There are more, but these will suffice.
It is permitted by the transcendent God, the Almighty, as a furnace to try and purify His saints (for the Paradise new earth to come), and to expose the true hearts of those against His children, as murderers, and haters of the Truth, which is His Word, and His eternal Son, Jesus the Messiah-Christ.
For those with eyes, it can be seen in the dystopian movements across the globe, all designed to silence and enslave all peoples, and – notwithstanding the Trumpian attempt crush these movements, as he, effete against them, will be overcome – and the stage will be set for the end-time battles.
The weapon of the Christians will be but their witness – their testimony – of the Kingdom of God, the salvation to be had in His Son, the coming Resurrection of the dead, and the Day of Judgment. The weapons of the Antichrist (an agent of Satan) and his horde will be like those of Oct. 7 used against the Jews, but on a massive scale.
I mentioned sorcery above. This pertains to the new wave of entheogens (realizing divinity within) and psychedelics (grass included), which began in the 1960s in the "Woodstock generation", and has, since then, opened the inter-dimensional gateway to the demonic pit and allowed their presence and influence into the collective consciousness of humankind (only those protected by the "seal" of God by His Spirit and word (Rev 9:4) immune to their power).
The dragon (alias of Satan) will manifest in the collective heart of humankind, being given entrance through these sorcerous agents, and will be a winsome and lethal adversary against the saints, who will be derided for their "primitive" and "antihuman" views of sin, faith, and belief in the transcendent Almighty.
Resistance will be futile, physically, but spiritually the saints (all genuine believers) will overcome, as resurrection changes everything. To die is but to enter Christ's presence and care, until He returns to execute righteous fury against those who harmed His bride, the church.
Opposing views will not changes these truths given us in John's Apocalypse and elsewhere in the Bible. It is the patience of the saints, enduring all suffering, that shall prevail.
There's one major hole in the re-paganization thesis, and that is the vast gulf between the attitude and behaviors of the secular left and the actual pagans of the past.
The comparisons drawn between the classical pagan world of pre-Christianity and modern secularism tend to be very thin. Take, for example, the modern sacralization of abortion. An ancient pagan would be absolutely mystified by "shout your abortion" because the notion of abortion or infanticide was a thing of such trivial significance. Yes, they thought it was odd that Christians opposed infanticide but neither did the practice actually matter all that much to the pagan mind. Celebrating abortion is an entirely different perspective because it attaches the utmost significance to the act of transgressing against the Christian ethic of life. Abortion matters to the secularist. It doesn't to the pagan.
Modern secular post-Christianity is fundamentally dependent on Christianity because it holds no belief other than the inversion of Christian ethics. It runs on the anger and resentment of former Christians, the so-called "nonverts," because it is fundamentally hollow. The rich source of furious, emotional, driven secularists is not the fourth-generation non-practicing Mainline Protestant, who has little to no emotional engagement with religion at all. Those people are atomized hedonists. They really are circling the drain of nihilism.
The Romans and Greeks were the opposite of Christians. Post-Christians are an inversion of Christianity. They point to Christianity in their transgressive oppositionalism. I find it far more persuasive to say that the post-Christian world is not a return to paganism but a gnostic deformation. A return to paganism would mean a rejection of utopianism, of redemption stories, of the narrative of an oppressed chosen people, of the suffering servant. Pagans don't believe in stories of fallen nature, original sins, and ultimate overcoming of those conditions. Pagans don't believe in an elect who alone have access to the truth amidst a world of reprobates.
Rousseau believes in those things. Marx believes in those things. Bakunin believes in those things. Kendi and DeAngelo and Obama and AOC believe in those things. Those raving lunatics who riot and burn cities in the name of martyred social justice icons believe in those things. That's not pagan behavior, that is worse. It's gnosticism.
Christendom is dead... fortunately Christ is F()REVER
This was really good.
I can't help thinking about all the ways in which the West has been exporting new "religious" ideas over the past decade in the name of "gender rights."
I just finished reading a good book written by Roman Catholics entitled "Gender Ideology and Pastoral Practice: A Handbook for Catholic Clergy, Counselors, and Ministerial Leaders."
There are a few chapters written by clergy from the global South and how they view the West as "Queer Nations" who are essentially colonializing other countries with their dogma about "SoGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Inclusion). As much as Americans decry the idea of "legislating morality" that is exactly what has been happening for the past decade in the Western Nations and being exported abroad under the conditions of economic aid and development.
In other words, nobody is ever really the "quietest" when it comes to what they view as moral, but Christians are expected to become Anabaptists and only seek political or cultural change through "faithful presence." I like what Yuval Levin spoke about in an interview where he pointed out that sometimes, it is the structures that are put in place that encourage or discourage certain behaviors. Even the hamhanded work of the current administration in many other ways has successfully forced corporations and universities to back off their SOGI cultlike behavior.
Finally, I think Michael Horton's thesis on re-enchantment bears some real study in the years ahead. The return to paganism is a return to orphic theology that has been held back by Christianity for centuries.
It's a great post.
I think there are a few important points to note here. Firstly, as the author points out, Christianity is not inherently "conservative" and so the conflation of Christianity and Conservatism is a mistake. Christianity aims toward the good and overturn any "tradition" which is evil. This is why Whittaker Chambers remarked, I am not a conservative but a man of the Right. The Right, in this instance, being the Christian Right.
Secondly, the author rightly points out the problem of Quietism and Sprituality. The Christian religion is both. Faith without works is dead. A focus on developing our spirituality can lead to our neglect of bringing Christianity to the world in Act. Still, there is real need to be "correct Christians" and the problem is to discern how to act in a way that God would want us to do. Not everyone who calls themselves Christian is, and many of the liberal denominations are indistinguishable from outright secularism.
"She argues that moral transformation requires spiritual renewal before political engagement, dismissing efforts to shape public morality through legal or institutional means."
This is a real problem, since acting badly is profoundly counterproductive, double down on bad religion frequently makes the problem worse, as Vichy Catholicsm and Liberal Protestantism have shown.