DeYoung, Wilson, and The Elephant In The Room

Young, Restless, and… Christian Nationalist?

OR

DeYoung, Wilson, and the Elephant in the Room.

OR

The Cultural Mandate and the Moscow Mood.

The wise woman builds her house,

But the woman of folly tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 14:1

As most know, Kevin DeYoung published an article on Doug Wilson and what Kevin dubbed, “the Moscow Mood,” back in late November. The article was widely circulated, and created a significant number of responses. Some were in strong agreement with DeYoung, others saw some concerning grains of truth but had less agreement, and others thought the article was precisely the type of thing that needs refuting.

I had some immediate thoughts about the article. I found it very revealing, not so much about Wilson (as there wasn’t much “new” there), but more about DeYoung. I likewise found some of the responses very helpful, for understanding better where people are at. I always appreciate it when brothers take the time to express how they view, and interact with the world. Few things are as profitable to those who love the Lord Jesus, and have a desire for serious “soul care.”

What I saw in all of this, was a significant and glaring omission that nobody was addressing, and I intended to write a blog on that very topic. But God has a way of setting before us matters other than what we intended to deal with. And as is often the case, we look back and give thanks for His wise providence. Now that a bit more time has passed, and after some additional discussions, I was able to add one more layer to what I think is really going on. And thus, it’s finally time to write.

I believe Kevin’s overall hypothesis is summarized in his 8th paragraph (and even if you’ve read it several times, read it again):

“I’m convinced the appeal of Moscow is visceral more than intellectual. That’s not meant to be a knock on the smart people in Moscow or attracted to Moscow. It is to say, however, that people are not mainly moving to Idaho because they now understand Revelation 20 in a different way, or because they did a deep word study on ta ethne in the Great Commission, or even because of a well-thought-out political philosophy of Christian Nationalism. Those things matter to Wilson and his followers, but I believe postmillennialism and Christian Nationalism are lagging indicators, not leading indicators. That is, people come to those particular intellectual convictions because they were first attracted to the cultural aesthetic and the political posture that Wilson so skillfully embodies. In short, people are moving to Moscow—whether literally or spiritually—because of a mood. It’s a mood that says, “We are not giving up, and we are not giving in. We can do better than negotiate the terms of our surrender. The infidels have taken over our Christian laws, our Christian heritage, and our Christian lands, and we are coming to take them back.”

I think that is a good summary of Kevin’s overall perspective on the “phenomenon.”

Note particularly the “mood” that Kevin describes, as being attractive to some:

“It’s a mood that says, ‘We are not giving up, and we are not giving in. We can do better than negotiate the terms of our surrender. The infidels have taken over our Christian laws, our Christian heritage, and our Christian lands, and we are coming to take them back.”

Finally, looking again at Kevin’s opening sentence in the paragraph is also helpful:

“I’m convinced the appeal of Moscow is visceral more than intellectual.”

So, is Kevin right? Is he rightly diagnosing the attraction?

I think he is.

And while that is, in general, a good thing, I also think here it is a very sad thing, because he sees it, but he (like many) really doesn’t get it.

By “it” I don’t just mean that “mood,” no I mean the bigger picture. I think Kevin, like many others, is the fish that despite being told he is wet, simply doesn’t fathom what that means, and has seemingly little interest in learning what it means, or why it is even important to understand… But I’ll come back to that.

So what of the attraction being visceral?

Sometimes folks just intuitively know when something isn’t right, even if they can’t clearly articulate the why. This is exactly what was happening during 2020, as churches remained shut down. There was a growing unrest, as people were told that Romans 13 means “just submit,” but they nevertheless knew something wasn’t right, even if they couldn’t articulate it. So visceral doesn't mean wrong, or even uninformed.

But there is also a bit of irony here for Kevin:

He is… concerned that people are rallying around something other than doctrinal distinctives. That DeYoung would seemingly have a problem with this is quite ironic considering his continued association with TGC, which despite having “Gospel” in the name, rallies around everything but the Gospel, from Taylor Swift to MLK Jr.

While I don’t want to overstate things, this is exactly where DeYoung should pause, and do some deep reflection. Why are Christians having a visceral attraction to Moscow?

Let me go back to some others things that Kevin said, where he makes clear that he gets it, even when he really doesn’t.

“Many Christians are witnessing the disintegration of our Western world, and the Christian consensus that used to hold sway, and they are thinking to themselves, ‘This is terrible. I can’t believe this is happening.’ To the Christians with these concerns—and I count myself among them—Doug Wilson says, ‘Yes, it is really bad, and let’s do something about it.’”

I agree - but it is precisely when Kevin says, “let’s do something about it,” that the problems in his argument really begin. It is precisely what Kevin, and those like-minded are doing, that is in large part behind the visceral attraction to Moscow!

Kevin also says:

“Wilson also deserves credit for being unafraid to take unpopular positions. True, he often seems to enjoy stating his unpopular positions in the most unpopular ways (more on that later), but no one is going to accuse Wilson of being a spineless Evangellyfish. He offers the world and the church an angular, muscular, forthright Christianity in an age of compromise and defection.”

Agreed!

Let’s pause here and consider some very important questions, under two headings.

1.    How did we get here?

 (I could change out “CRT and DEI” with a variety of other issues, such as the alphabet mafia, and the questions remain the same):

How did CRT and DEI successfully invade every facet of society - without Christians noticing, or saying anything, or doing anything, to stop the coup?

How did it take over the schools? From universities to elementary.

Banking?

Big tech?

Medicine?

Insurance?

Government?

The same question goes for many churches, from the denomination heads and seminaries, down to the local churches.

How?

Surely there are Christians in schools?

Banking?

Big tech?

Medicine?

Insurance?

Government?

And Churches?

Can we really look back and say that, as individual Christians, and as Christians organized into churches and denominations, that we did everything right, and despite our repeated, ongoing, well-planned and valiant efforts, we simply couldn’t stop the onslaught of all these ideologies?

We all know that such is not the case. Not at all.

So lets move to the second set of questions:

 2. What is the attraction, with Wilson?

Ok. Remove the crassness, and what, if anything, is the kernel under the chaff?

Is Wilson saying things that should be said?

Is he saying things that need to be said?  

Is he (rightly) connecting dots that others are missing?

Is he righty diagnosing and giving an explanatory framework that goes beyond the trite, “it’s because they’re unbelievers”?

I say from the outset that the answer is a resounding, “yes.”

Wilson is seeing what others apparantly aren’t seeing, and saying what needs to be said, and providing a biblical framework for understanding what we’re seeing. That is the attraction.

People are viscerally drawn by Wilson saying (In Kevin’s words): “We are not giving up, and we are not giving in. We can do better than negotiate the terms of our surrender. The infidels have taken over our Christian laws, our Christian heritage, and our Christian lands, and we are coming to take them back.”

Why is this so attractive? Go back to question 1 of “How.” How did this come to be?

What has recently become exposed over the last few years is that the Church, by and large, has been completely asleep at the wheel, to put it mildly. And nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to admit it. Nobody wants to take ownership. And nobody wants to actually to do anything about it, other than the exact same things they were doing when the iceberg was struck… Well, almost nobody (or we wouldn’t be having this little discussion…).

And now, we’ve reached the problem. The elephant in the room. What Kevin sees, but doesn’t see.

The vacuum. The void. The dearth.

There is a massive vacuum on dealing with these issues. I honestly don’t think that is debatable.  

And it is precisely the existence of, and the filling of, that massive vacuum, that I think so many are failing to recognize.  

Now there are generally two responses to my statement- they are similar, but very different.

Response 1. What vacuum?

Response 2. Which vacuum?

Response 1 seems to express a general unawareness of the vacuum at all. It’s a reflection of a general unawareness of the deficit of positive visions for today. It’s almost a, “same as it ever was,” attitude that is looking for no new answers, because it sees no new problems.

Response 2 expresses understanding that in our present day, there are a several vacuums, discovered when trying to answer some difficult questions about what to do these days.

Think of all the big name pastors and big platform ministries.

Who is addressing all these cultural issues?

Who is addressing all these political issues?

If I want to understand what is happening these days, which pastor, which ministry should I look to, knowing that there is a good chance that they are addressing current matters?

Who is providing insightful and penetrating biblical analysis?

Answer that, and you start to understand the attraction to Moscow…  

Lets go back to what DeYoung said:

“Wilson also deserves credit for being unafraid to take unpopular positions. True, he often seems to enjoy stating his unpopular positions in the most unpopular ways (more on that later), but no one is going to accuse Wilson of being a spineless Evangellyfish. He offers the world and the church an angular, muscular, forthright Christianity in an age of compromise and defection.”

 AND

“Many Christians are witnessing the disintegration of our Western world, and the Christian consensus that used to hold sway, and they are thinking to themselves, ‘This is terrible. I can’t believe this is happening.’ To the Christians with these concerns—and I count myself among them—Doug Wilson says, ‘Yes, it is really bad, and let’s do something about it.’”

Wilson is, in my opinion, almost single handedly filling this vacuum. And He didn’t just begin in 2020, though he’s definitely been ramping things up since then.

 I see Wilson contributing three things into this vacuum:

Cultural Commentary.

Political Commentary.

Christendom Commentary.

I again return to what Kevin said:

“By any measure, one has to marvel at the literary, digital, and institutional output that has come out of Moscow, Idaho in the past several decades. While some internet cranks are wannabees trying to make a name for themselves by trying to tear down what others have built up, Wilson is to be commended for establishing an ecosystem of schools, churches, media offerings, and publishing ventures.”

While the world is burning down, Wilson is offering cultural commentary.

He is offering political commentary.

He is giving commentary on Christendom.

And he is doing all this commenting, while also for years having put his hand to the plow creating, “an ecosystem of schools, churches, media offerings, and publishing ventures” such that, “one has to marvel at the literary, digital, and institutional output that has come out of Moscow, Idaho in the past several decades.”

It is everything that DeYoung has recognized, that is the appeal. THAT is the visceral attraction.  This is precisely where the rubber meets the road, and DeYoung like many others simply doesn’t get it.

Christians are sick of the stuff TGC is putting out, like

That was just months ago!

Rather than trying to locate golden gospel nuggets unintentionally veiled in parabolic form, which are buried in the skubalon of the world’s blasphemous productions (the very thing TGC is known for), Wilson and crew have created their own “ecosystem.” They are re-creating a Christian culture, not exegeting Taylor Swift. They are actively, intentionally, volitionally, and successfully, carrying out the cultural mandate in a distinctively Christian way. And people are seeing that.

And they want to be a part of it.

MANY Christians are tired of this, and they are tired of men like DeYoung continuing to partner with these perpetual dumpster fires.

As Kevin has clearly pointed out - Wilson is, and has been, for decades, doing something about it, while men like Kevin keep propping up the manure inspectors.

Far too many think the best course of action as Christians is to separate from the TGC-ish ways, and then we are to simply just “preach and pray.” But the futility and error of such thinking is becoming more and more evident by the day.

Far too many have taken the “don’t you dare try to out-month the culture” posture, and far too many are still pushing such a position today.

Far too many are simply ignoring the cultural mandate. Far too many are simply watching things go down the drain, because they think their only mission is to preach and pray.

Its not without a bit of reason that some Christians have come to label and decry some popular Christian movements, “Loser Theology.”

More and more people are realizing the folly of ignoring the cultural mandate, and then they are discovering other Christians who are taking it seriously.

More and more are realizing that while many Christians have been ignoring the political world, in which Christians have the greatest opportunity to advocate for our neighbors being treated justly and righteously, the wicked have been working tirelessly, carrying out the cultural mandate, almost totally replacing western Christian culture, and gaining power over virtually every single sphere of society and lever of power, while far too many Christians have either been totally oblivious, or too indifferent to make any waves.

As more and more Christians are coming out of the ether, they are finally understanding the Cultural Mandate, as further specified through the Great Commission. They are seeing people doing it under the banner of Christ, and want to be involved. They look on and notice:

Here is a group of people that see what is happening. Here is a group of people that is willing to very clearly expose the darkness. Here is a group of people that not only exposes, in the most explicit of terms, but here is a group of people that is carrying out the cultural mandate with serious intentionality. They are actually doing something. They are active on multiple fronts, recognizing that Christ is Lord of EVERY sphere, and as such, are injecting Christ into every sphere, if not trying to re-create Christ-honoring spheres where one does not exist. And they aren’t doing this in a monastic way. The monks left, and departed for the wilderness. They went out from the world. On the contrary, this is the Mocow mood. It’s right there, in Moscow.

“We are not giving up, and we are not giving in. We can do better than negotiate the terms of our surrender. The infidels have taken over our Christian laws, our Christian heritage, and our Christian lands, and we are coming to take them back.”

Maybe an illustration will be helpful.  

Imagine a group of Christians with differing eschatologies on a plane that has been hi-jacked.

They have several options:

1.         Put your head between your knees and pray til you die.

2.         Accept your demise (as framed by the hijackers), and try to befriend your captors by expressing your obedience to them, to secure the best treatment you can from them, and enter into their service, while you discreetly share the Gospel to the those who are about to perish, as you have opportunity.

3.         Accept your demise (as framed by the hijackers), refuse to be complicit in the hijacking in any way, and stand up and loudly and explicitly preach the Gospel to the those who about about to perish.

4.         Refuse to accept that demise, and attempt to breach the cockpit and retake the controls.

5.         Refuse to accept that demise, and act as team team, some of whom will attempt to breach the cockpit and retake the controls, while others will take over the PA system to preach the Gospel, while others will single out the hi-jackers one by one, to exploit their weaknesses and attempt to rally the courage of other passengers to join in.

Which one is defines the ministry of Wilson and Moscow?

Which one defines the ministry of the DeYoungs and TGC?

Which one do you want to be a part of?

Which one have you been a part of?

When you start asking the right questions, genuinely wanting the right answers, and without getting defensive, the answers start to come. But as is often the case, the truth is not hard to understand, it’s just hard to swallow..

In the next post I’ll give some thoughts as to why I think there is such a vacuum on the current cultural and political matters. This is a BIG deal.

I’ll be using Aaron Renn’s Positive World/Negative World paradigm, which you can read about here if you haven’t already.

Here is a little hint… We’re dealing with a massive number of those birthed out of positive world, and that is precisely the problem…