At its October 18, 2022 stated meeting, Tennessee Valley Presbytery (TVP) approved an overture from the Session of First Presbyterian Church in Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga., requesting that Missouri Presbytery investigate the Session of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, Mo. The overture based this request on BCO 40-5, where a higher court can be asked to investigate a lower court if a credible report has been made. TVP approved the overture by voice vote.
The overture alleges that “the St. Louis Magazine reported Memorial Presbyterian Church (PCA) hosted an event in ‘The Chapel (Sanctuary for the Arts)’ on September 2, 2022 entitled, ‘Celestial Bodies.’” It further claims that “the poster for this event featured scandalous depictions of people;” and that “one of the headliners for this event who calls himself eldraco, has performed as a transvestite, and boasts of headlining at the St. Charles Pride Festival.” The overture also highlighted that Missouri Presbytery had previously adopted certain actions to redress and remove previous scandal associated with The Chapel, which is on the Memorial PCA property.
TVP adopted the following to be sent to Missouri Presbytery:
Tennessee Valley Presbytery to request Missouri Presbytery, in accordance with BCO 40-5, to investigate the Session of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, Mo. to determine whether hosting the event reported to have taken place on September 2, 2022 violated the vows of the elders of MPC or otherwise reflects grossly unconstitutional or delinquent action by “promoting uncleanness,” failure to keep “chaste company,” failure to preserve “the chastity of others,” and the failure to “shun all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto.”
The Overture Considered by Tennessee Valley Presbytery
WHEREAS, the Lord Jesus Christ is the King and Head of the church and has entrusted the care of His flock, the Church He purchased with His own blood, to faithful overseers, and
WHEREAS, the Presbyterian Church in America requires overseers to swear vows and agree to the following (BCO 24-6, 21-4):
“Do you accept the office of ruling elder … in this church, and promise faithfully to perform all the duties thereof, and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your life, and to set a worthy example before the Church of which God has made you an officer?”
“Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the Catechisms of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures; and do you further promise that if at any time you find yourself out of accord with any of the fundamentals of this system of doctrine, you will on your own initiative, make known to your Presbytery the change which has taken place in your views since the assumption of this ordination vow?”
“Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all your duties as a Christian and a minister of the Gospel, whether personal or relational, private or public; and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your manner of life, and to walk with exemplary piety before the flock of which God shall make you overseer?” and
WHEREAS, the Westminster Standards of the PCA summarize the moral and ethical duty of Christians to include the following (WLC 138):
“chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior; and the preservation of it in ourselves and others…keeping of chaste company, modesty in apparel… shunning all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto.” and
WHEREAS, the St. Louis Magazine reported Memorial Presbyterian Church (PCA) hosted an event in “The Chapel (Sanctuary for the Arts)” on September 2, 2022 entitled, “Celestial Bodies,” and described it in the following way:
Celestial Bodies is a uniquely bombastic concert event presented by The Chapel (Sanctuary For the Arts) and hosted by Eldraco+FreeNation. Enjoy 2 complimentary beverages provided by the house whilst grooving and moving to jamming performances from four amazing music acts!
Dream-pop/Alt-Soul diva Elle Patterson and her eclectic band The Focus will bring thought-provoking vibes and undulating grooves that will set the atmosphere. Brother Francis will be testifying funktastically soulful noise with his ensemble The Soultones that will bring you to your knees. Eldraco+FreeNation will tear the roof of the building with their usual high-octane musical madness! The evening will culminate in a euphoric dance party led by the party monster D.J. Rico Steez!
Beloved come revel in sonic splendor with the sounds of some of STL’s finest artists! Come clad in celestial whites, silvers, and golds draped across your person so we may experience unity across the senses and party the night away!
Source: https://www.stlmag.com/events/celestial-bodies/?fbclid=IwAR08my26QU7j7UFJxuIY_v1AJUEfhz-7xKs7S3w-1QujkeInfkE1jLy0XD4; and
WHEREAS the poster for this event featured scandalous depictions of people, and
WHEREAS, one of the headliners for this event who calls himself eldraco, has performed as a transvestite, and boasts of headlining at the St. Charles Pride Festival, and
WHEREAS, The Chapel (Sanctuary for the Arts) is a ministry under the control of Memorial Presbyterian Church (PCA), which it describes in the following manner:
We host The Chapel, a volunteer-led not-for-profit arts venue. The Chapel provides all services including drinks free of charge to artists, theatre companies and their guests. This is a practical, real-life way that we can support local artists and manifest the Welcome of Jesus through our hospitality and through our service. Now seeking volunteers to serve people free drinks. (http://www.memorialpca.org/chapel.html) and
WHEREAS, media have previously reported on lewd and scandalous events taking place at the chapel including those featuring “eldraco,” and
WHEREAS, Missouri Presbytery has adopted the following actions to redress and remove previous scandal associated with The Chapel (Sanctuary for the Arts):

Establish greater accountability for the ministry of The Chapel;
Create clearer processes and policies in order to more intentionally curate the art platformed at The Chapel;
Strengthen the leadership of the ministry by developing a more robustadvisory board for The Chapel to report back to the session;
Rearticulate the vision and mission of The Chapel with greater clarity; and

WHEREAS, Missouri Presbytery is responsible to ensure the actions of the Sessions under its care are “in accordance with the Constitution” and “wise, equitable and suited to promote the welfare of the church” (BCO 40-2), and
WHEREAS, the report from St Louis Magazine referenced above seem to suggest some “important delinquency” or “grossly unconstitutional” activity taking place in “The Chapel (Sanctuary for the Arts)” at Memorial Presbyterian Church (BCO 40-5), which warrant investigation.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Session of First Presbyterian Church overtures Tennessee Valley Presbytery to request Missouri Presbytery, in accordance with BCO 40-5, to investigate the Session of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, Mo. to determine whether hosting the event reported to have taken place on September 2, 2022 violated the vows of the elders of MPC or otherwise reflects grossly unconstitutional or delinquent action by “promoting uncleanness,” failure to keep “chaste company,” failure to preserve “the chastity of others,” and the failure to “shun all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto.”
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How should we respond to God’s decree, not just his decision to pass over some, but to ordain all things? Embrace it! Believe that God’s eternal decree has established the meaning of your choices. God’s working in you “to will and to work for his good pleasure” is why you can and must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12–13). As your will and works harmonize with God’s good intentions you will joyfully praise, revere, admire, and obey God. God’s sovereign decree can become your comfort. 

When studying God one quickly has to answer challenging questions. How far does God’s authority extend? How much of what happens in this world is God responsible for? For those who take Scripture seriously God’s eternal decree cannot be avoided. Paul sums up what the entire Bible reveals: God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). He wills and does all things. You must believe that. And in the abstract, for God to be sovereign is just what anyone might expect.
But the teaching gets hard when we apply it to specifics. How does God’s sovereignty relate to evil in this world? Does God’s decree undermine human responsibility? Is the eternal punishment of the wicked really God’s will? Clearly “this high mystery … must be handled with special prudence and care.” We must “deal with this teaching in a godly and reverent manner … with a view to the glory of God’s name, holiness of life, and the comfort of anxious souls.”[i]
God Sovereignly “ordain[s] whatsoever comes to pass” (3.1–4)
The biblical God is not local and limited. Either God predetermines everything that comes to pass or he is not God. If God is, then his decree is free, eternal and unchanging, holy, and comprehensive. God cannot be pressured to act. He never changes course. He never makes a mistake. And he decides all things down to common events, like sparrows falling to the ground (Matt. 10:29).
More personally, God’s decree extends to the predestination of some creatures for salvation and others for destruction. Like a potter, Paul explains, God has the right to make out of the same lump of clay “one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use” (Rom. 9:21). Just as the number of creatures God will make is unchangeably set, so is their character and eternal destiny.
Don’t misunderstand God’s decree.

God’s decree does not make him sinful. God is essentially holy; he cannot sin. But he can create humans who freely sin against his holy design while acting according to his “definite plan and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23).
God’s decree does not violate the will of his creatures. God’s hardening of Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21) was so in-line with Pharaoh’s will that Samuel can say Pharaoh hardened his own heart (1 Sam. 6:6).
God’s decree does not cancel the reality of secondary causes. “God has decided the end from the beginning, but the middle still matters.”[ii] In fact, our choices matter only because of the existence and actions of an eternally decreeing God.
God’s decree is not based on foresight or deduction. God knows what will happen because he has decreed it to happen, not merely because he has seen that it will happen.

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Watkin has written a fascinating tome. He has honored Keller’s request for a “Christian High Theory,” and it is a gift that Keller saw its fruition before departing into glory. Though I do not believe this book will see a legacy similar to that of The City of God, no work should be burdened with this pressure. It speaks in profound ways to our moment. It would be great for the types of classrooms mentioned above, and will be helpful on the shelves of many pastors, providing signals for further research. I am grateful Watkin pushed me to read my Bible more closely and appreciate its comprehensive relevance for late-modern life in fresh ways. That is success.

What would Augustine write to the late-modern West? Christopher Watkin, in his widely lauded Biblical Critical Theory, seeks to answer that question by performing a similar type of social analysis for a very different context.
This is a unique work. I am not sure I have ever read a book that so thoroughly weaves biblical theology, systematic theology, and apologetics, all the while engaging prominent philosophers, whether Christian or non-Christian. But in some ways it is inspired by the author of the foreword. If you have listened to or read much of Tim Keller’s writings over the years, much of this will feel familiar in both style and content. Watkin invokes Keller’s own insights throughout the volume and engages many of the same figures who were commonly invoked in Keller’s writings and sermons, such as Charles Taylor, N.T. Wright, and of course J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. This is not a criticism of Watkin, who admits that he is not seeking to provide anything new. Rather, he wants to package many of these insights into a single compelling narrative. That he has accomplished.
Watkin’s is a quintessentially modern Reformed work, reflecting many of the emphases of second and third generation Neo-Calvinists. Other than Keller, Watkin refers to Francis Schaeffer, Herman Dooyeweerd, Cornelius Van Til, and Alvin Plantinga as key inspirations. The perspective here also bridges Neo-Calvinist and Radical Orthodox thought, as John Milbank is a regular figure who pops up, along with his friend David Bentley Hart, who is not technically part of Radical Orthodoxy, but travels alongside those figures. And, as such, James K.A. Smith makes frequent appearances. If you have trafficked in Neo-Calvinist circles for the past couple of decades, much of this material will feel familiar.
Something unique, however, is the textbook nature of this work. At the end of each of the twenty-eight chapters, Watkin provides a set of “Study Questions” to help the reader probe further. This lends a certain practicality to the work, making it accessible for small group discussions or even Bible college and MDiv classrooms.
The book is written as a “so what?” work. Watkin explains that the title of the book could have easily been The Bible: So What? and says that his aim is “to paint a picture of humanity and of our world through the lens of the Bible and to compare aspects of this image to alternative visions. It is a book about how the whole Bible sheds light on the whole of life, how we can read and understand our society, our culture, and ourselves through the lens of the Bible’s storyline.” Therefore, it is not fitting, as some might be prone to do, to criticize the book for its lack of scholastic rigor or systematic depth.
As mentioned above, across the twenty eight chapters, Watkin weaves biblical theology, systematic reflection, and apologetic considerations. The book is largely structured around the biblical story, but also around systematic loci with constant asides on modern and postmodern philosophers. Watkin explains that, though inspired by The City of God, the structure of his work is markedly different. Whereas Augustine spends the first half in that great text critiquing Roman religion and philosophy, and then traces the story of Scripture, Watkin constantly weaves examination of contemporary culture within the larger scriptural story. Yet it is worth considering which parts of the biblical story he attends to. After spending almost half of his book getting through Genesis 1-22, Watkin discusses the liberation narrative of Exodus, and then quickly jumps to the prophets. He explains that the people of God are freed to worship, but then spends almost no time talking about worship.
Very little is said about Leviticus and Numbers, and the cultic life of God’s people is severely under-examined. Similarly, there is insufficient attention to the law in general and its role in the story of God’s people. Thus, Deuteronomy is barely engaged, as are the more historical books such as 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, and 1-2 Chronicles, which display how the law is applied and often misapplied or ignored, and what the consequences of that can be. So, we have a fascinating discussion of liberation and the prophets (and also very insightful material on the Wisdom literature), but what about priests and the law? and how these relate to civil power?
There are two primary devices that frame the material in the work: figures and diagonalization. Figures are patterns and rhythms that shape our sense of ourselves and the world around us. He provides six broad categories of figures: 1) language, ideas, and stories; 2) time and space; 3) the structure of reality; 4) behavior; 5) relationships; 6) objects. The dominant ensemble of figures in a particular cultural moment form a “world” in which we live and move. The “world” of the late-modern West is deeply imprinted by the Christian heritage that it increasingly rejects. This means that the Christianity retained by our culture is profoundly fragmented and distorted, and the principles that are harmonized in the Bible are set in opposition.
To address this problem, Watkin turns to his second device of “diagonalization,” which refers to the way that the “figures” of the Bible cut across and rearrange the false dichotomies presented to us in our culture. Diagonalization shows how a cultural dichotomy splinters the rich biblical reality, resulting in fragmented options and unsatisfying compromises. It answers these with the biblical picture which reveals how the best aspirations of the options are fulfilled in a way none of the contemporary options could have envisioned. This is a type of “third-way” logic, something I have publicly critiqued, but Watkin’s use of this device is often satisfying for how it gives concrete content rather than just a default posture. It is tethered to the biblical figures, and through them, Watkin seeks to “out-narrate” the Bible’s cultural rivals, resolving late-modern tensions through diagonalized narration. At times, however, this diagonalization can appear forced, or a bit sloppy, and thus can fall into some of the standard pitfalls of third-wayism more generally.
The book has many profound strengths, starting first with the style and structure. This is a great sourcebook of quotations from some of the best Christian commentators on late-modern culture. One could simply pool these quotes for one’s own use, or follow these breadcrumbs to some of the most penetrating writings by Christian thinkers on Western culture over the past two centuries. Furthermore, the structure, in the ways it differs from The City of God, is, in some senses, rhetorically effective. For instance, today, very few actually read the first half of Augustine’s tome, which focuses on an immanent critique of his contemporary culture, but rather jump into the second half in which Augustine traces the history of the two cities through the biblical narrative. Watkin’s more integrated approach might serve to expose a greater amount of readers to the critiques of contemporary culture than a neat division would. And within this integrated approach, Watkin lets his “figures” wash over the reader. At times the reader can get overwhelmed with the sheer abundance of material, yet, the net effect at the end is that Watkin’s way of seeing the world becomes almost second-nature.
Besides the strengths of the style and structure, Watkin is actually quite impressive on particular issues. Some reviewers will draw attention to the confusing title of the book, which might make the reader assume that Watkin is either going to directly discuss “Critical Theory” and how Christians should view it through the Bible, or that Watkin will employ the tools of “Critical Theory” in some way. Watkin does neither, and this might frustrate some.
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