On the Death of James Dobson (1936-2025)

A friend recently wrote to me asking if I had heard about the death of James Dobson. I told him I heard it break over the news while I was at work, and I trembled. I was reminded of the same thing happening to me back in 2007 when Jerry Falwell died. Once again, I thought of Matthew 7 and 2 Timothy 3 - and the theme of deceiving and being deceived.

From Patriarchy to Apostasy

https://julieroys.com/rift-author-cait-west-talks-breaking-free-christian-patriarchy/

Once again this is a sad but increasingly common story. It's a case of not only abuses but wrongly framed and absolutized doctrines and ethics that are unable to function in light of the dynamics of Scripture and in the real world. The end result is frustration and overreaction.

Cheap Grace and Peace with the World

I happened to catch a news story the other day about Amy Grant and how she has completely caved to the Sodomite ethos that now dominates this culture. She is hosting her niece's lesbian wedding at her house. We've certainly come a long way from the early days of CCM. That now seems innocent, wholesome, and even steadfast.

Inbox: A Psychology Follow-up (II)

The psychology explosion took place (culturally speaking) in the 1970's and the Evangelical movement in its zeal to be culturally relevant trailed closely behind. We see this in Tim LaHaye's psychologically-rooted approach to spiritual gifts which gained popularity during the same decade. He revived and recast The Four Temperaments, a notion rooted in the long discounted physiology based on humors and the ideas of ancients and pagans like Galen. How this took root in ostensibly Bible-based circles is still a wonder.

Inbox: A Psychology Follow-up (I)

This piece is in response to the 16 August 2022 piece entitled Secular Psychology and the Denial of Scriptural Authority found here:

https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2022/08/secular-psychology-and-denial-of.html

I was asked to clarify and expand upon some of the ways Evangelicalism has been compromised by modern psychology and feminism. These questions could easily fill up a multi-volume series but I'll touch on just a few points.

An Account of Evangelicalism's Continued Decline

As our routine has been further derailed by my son's injury, I decided on a recent rainy Sunday to revisit an Alliance (CMA) congregation near us that we attended over twenty years ago. I have stopped in on occasion over the years and to be blunt the decline has been remarkable in terms of numbers, content, and overall quality. My recent visit was particularly disappointing.

Secular Psychology and the Denial of Scriptural Authority

https://www.christianpost.com/news/churches-address-mental-health-stigma-in-the-pews.html

In some respects it's surprising that this article is even appearing at this point. This debate over whether or not Christians should embrace psychology and its assumptions is effectively over. The ship has sailed as they say. I remember the contentions over this point in the 1990's and by the early 2000's it was clear there had been a fundamental shift. We moved from hearing psychology condemned from the pulpit to pastors on Christian radio telling the audience to leave their church if psychology is called into question – because at that time there will still churches challenging this paradigm.

Mammon and the Accommodationist Triad of Feminism, Psychology, and Divorce

We can speak of a Social Accommodationist Triad or SAT. There are many aspects of social life that could be plugged into this equation but in particular it could be argued that three powerful socially transformative forces have been at work in the post-WWII period – and these forces have worked symbiotically to shape and affect the culture.

Postscript: Pending Crises and Doctrinal Corollaries Viewed Through a First Reformational Lens

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XIX)

There are several additional areas that are relevant to the larger discussion of reform, the application of Scriptural authority and especially the question of Scriptural Sufficiency. These are all issues that have been visited throughout this larger body of writings. Not all require a hard-line stand, not all are what we might call gospel issues but given the scope of today's problem and since the ideas surrounding the question of reform and its implications are on the table, they're worthy of consideration.

LaHaye's Victory and the Next Phase: The Psychotropic Imperative

Evangelicalism has a long track record of compromise when it comes to psychology and psychotropic drugs. In these days of confusion even 'ministries' once oriented toward Biblical counseling have been compromised.

Recently I was listening to an Evangelical radio station and was struck by the interviewee's statement that not only can Christians take psychotropic medications, in some cases it would be sinful not to.

Historical Lessons not Learned: British Nonconformity, Classical Liberalism and a Cycle of Self-Destruction (Part 1)

Scotland made international news with its Named Person programme in 2014. This programme would effectively assign a social worker to every child so that the state would be involved in that child's life from infancy. Parents, privacy advocates and others were horrified at this attempt of gross intrusion by the state as well as the potential for abuses and in principle the loss of parental power and autonomy.

There was resistance and the act was partially blocked in 2016, though Edinburgh is still trying to implement it. Recently there was a scandal as a video emerged of local authorities encouraging teachers to override parental consent regarding collected personal information about children and their families. In other words the state is keeping files on everyone and teachers are being effectively trained to disregard parental concerns and objections. They know best of course. For obvious reasons Christians and others are alarmed.

The Rise of the New Religion

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/29/the-long-slow-death-of-religion/

It is not uncommon to encounter these types of articles and essays but as usual the author misses something. While he celebrates the demise of religion in the face of secular reason, it has completely escaped him that rather than religion being replaced by secularism, a religion is being replaced by... a new religion.

Psyops and State Idolatry

My wife and I are always struck by the security in places like Philadelphia and Washington DC. We remember these places in the 1990s and in many ways these cities have from our standpoint been all but ruined. Security now dominates every museum and historical monument. Streets are closed, buildings blocked and its all for naught.

The Reality of the Demonic

All Christians committed to the veracity of Scripture acknowledge the reality of the demonic and yet there's a wide spectrum in how this is understood and applied.

Evangelical Compromise and Wheaton College

While not a fan of Wheaton, this is one of those moments where the divide between Christians and the world becomes all too clear. The world is not going to understand the stance of an organisation like Wheaton in retaining 'statements of faith' as criteria for employment. Of course there are tensions present in the Christian College which attempts to maintain epistemological antithesis with the world and yet operate within it. Evangelical schools like Wheaton also seek to synthesize Christian beliefs with the world system in a way that Christians can be educated (as the world reckons the concept), but also maintain a distinct Christian identity.