Why Resisting Tyrants is an Act of Love
Indeed, when a Christian’s best testimony to his neighbors is found in waiting patiently for governing officials to permit churches to gather again, thus denying Christ’s command to gather, we have a new instance of Corban—replacing the law of God with human traditions.
Addressing that subject and the new religion of universal autonomy and equality, Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore have released a new book called Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America’s New Religion. Falling in line with newer books like Glenn Sunshine’s Slaying Leviathan and Rod Dreher’s Live Not by Lies, as well as older books like Francis Schaeffer’s A Christian Manifesto, and even older books like Samuel Rutherford’s Lex Rex: The Law and the King and Junius Brutus’s Vindiciae Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, this new volume promises to bolster the church at a time when public silence and civil cowardice are spreading faster than COVID.
In other words, this book comes at a time when Christians and especially pastors need courage. And this will be a book I hand to many pastors, as it provides bold and biblical arguments that stand against the online pablum that undercuts biblical courage with Christian civility (read: niceness). Indeed, when a Christian’s best testimony to his neighbors is found in waiting patiently for governing officials to permit churches to gather again, thus denying Christ’s command to gather, we have a new instance of Corban—replacing the law of God with human traditions. But thankfully, some are seeing through this misguided application of Scripture and are providing solid food for God’s flock. And in Strong and Courageous, Ascol and Longshore do just that.
In particular, they observe how Christians have been lulled into a secular idea of love that says, “If you love me, you will affirm me, no questions asked.” Whether Christians recognize the connection or not, too many have been led to believe that loving neighbor means affirming and embracing the edicts of the government, no questions asked. Sure, many want to believe that their governors are doing what is in their best interest, but this gets to a fundamental question about what governors are for and how far governments can reach—do they really have the God-given authority to prescribe how your church worships? The answer is ‘No.’ Strong and Courageous gets into this subject and shows how governors have overreached—both with respect to America’s Constitution (as well as the constitutions of various states) and with respect to God’s appointed design for human rulers. For this reason, I highly commend the book.
Still, government overreach is not the point I want to highlight here. Instead, I want to stem the tide of defining Christian love in worldly ways (i.e., making moral commitments that are based on modern sentiments, rather than inspired Scripture). I fear that many Christians are attempting to bind the consciences of others in the name of Christian love with practices and priorities that do not come from Scripture itself. Rather, love has been (re)defined by a cultural catechesis delivered in public schools, by governing officials, and through an endless stream of social media influencers. Not to mention the fact that churches have done little to teach what Scripture says about church and state.
All told, Christians need to go back to Scripture and ask: What does it mean to love my neighbor? Romans 12 would be a good place to start. But outside of Scripture, Strong and Courageous provides a good counter-argument that the most loving thing we can do is to do all that our governors are saying. Actually, as they argue, the most loving thing we can do is call governors back from tyranny and fellow citizens to know the true love of God.
(N.B. If defying tyrants is an uncommon phrase, or if you are uncertain about what a tyrant looks like, go back to the list of books at the top, starting with Slaying Leviathan, and pick one up. Church history has much to offer in recognizing tyranny and understanding what Christians must do in response. American Christians have lived in relative freedom for so long, our “defying tyrants” muscles are flaccid. Some don’t know we even have them, or need them. But we do. For without that biblical duty, we cannot properly love God or our neighbor.)
Now, here is the quote in full.
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The Joy-Robbing False Hope of Side B Gay Christianity
It is hopeless and joy-robbing to tell someone this is who you are, just don’t do this. To a “gay person” telling them NOT to live out who they are at the core of what they believe their existence is, is to tell them not to be human. It’s irrational. It’s hopeless. It’s incoherent to them. That is soul crushing and joy robbing and amounts to legalism. As if Christ simply wants us to behave and doesn’t care about a heart change. And it’s unbiblical. The Scriptures know of no core category of personhood based on sexual desire.
Note: We as a Church need to readily admit that people who have identified as gay or admitted that they struggle with Same-Sex Attraction (SSA) have been mistreated in horrendous ways in and by the Church. As a Christian, that grieves me. My intent in writing this article is not to add to that hurt but to provide clarity. In that, I write this out of a heart of love for the many people I know and am friends with who experience this struggle. There is real hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for people with this struggle. However, Side B Gay Christianity is not the answer.
For most people Side-B Gay Christianity (also Side-B Christianity) is a new term, and it is one that should be shocking and concerning. That a “brand” of Christianity would be categorized based on sexuality is antithetical to what Christianity is.[1] But to those of us familiar with these debates it comes as no surprise at all. Once a group creates another category of personhood and being, it is only natural to apply that grid to all of life and every other societal structure.
What is Side B Gay Christianity?
As succinctly as possible, I’ll briefly and loosely define two terms.
Side-A Gay Christianity, observing that there was very little success in people actually changing “orientation,” teaches that it is permissible and good for “gay people” to be in same-sex marriages and therefore sexual relationships because that is who they are. They view the Scripture’s prohibitions on homosexual behavior [2] not to apply to committed same-sex relationships.
Side-B Gay Christianity, recognizing that Side-A is not faithful to the Scriptures, says that while “being gay” or having a “gay orientation,” is a valid category of personhood and identity, Scripture clearly forbids the acting out of those desires. They advocate for a “gay but celibate” way of life.
So what is the Problem?
On the surface the Side-B option seems to be a good. They do after all uphold the Biblical Sexual ethic as sex being limited to 1 man and 1 woman within the bounds of marriage. That’s good, right? Well, in a legalistic way, yes. But that isn’t the whole story. The Side-B position has a false view of anthropology (man) and ontology (being) and this often leads to a false eschatology (end times view of our glorification). In that, this is a Theological issue.
While there are a range of troubling and sinful beliefs that fall under the Side-B umbrella [3], one thing is consistent. Sexuality becomes a category of personhood and being. It’s as if they have created a 3rd type of human. There are straight natural born males and straight natural born females and then LGBTQ humans. Or perhaps they have 2 categories of personhood straight people and LGBTQ people. Really that doesn’t adequately express it and indeed nothing can which is why there is no end to the gender-sexuality combinations in society and psychology.
Read More[1] Rev. Albert Mohler highlights the issues with Side-B Gay Christianity and Revoice Theology
[2] Bible Verses Prohibiting Homosexual Behavior: Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10
[3] Here is an article highlighting in a positive light the troubling beliefs of Side B Gay Christianity, including it being a gift, a God-given identity, aiding being able to see beauty, providing a beneficial outlook on aesthetics, culture, and worldview, its own community, and aiding in spiritual (romantic yet celibate) relationships among other things. -
A Theology of Friendship
Until the return of our Lord, wisdom is necessary to discern what genuine friendship with others truly means. Friendship is not based on riches, befriending one another for benefit in return (Prov 14:20; 19:4, 6, 7). Friendship falters from dishonesty and disloyalty (Prov 16:28; Ps 7:4; 15:3; 38:11; 41:9; 55:13), especially if the offense occurs again and again (Prov 17:9). One friend does not mock, scorn, forget, or forsake the other, especially in trial (Job 12:4; 16:20; 19:14, 19). Rather, friendship is marked by pure motives and gracious speech (Prov 22:11). True friendship sticks close in adversity (Prov 17:17; 18:24; 27:10), finds strength in mutual admonition (Prov 27:6, 9), and enjoys fellowship when worshiping God together (Ps 55:13–14).
Who does the Bible identify as a friend? What is friendship?
Words like friend, friendship, or friendly in our English Bible stem from multiple words in the Hebrew and Greek. Below is a survey of these words, leading to a definition of friendship. Though this survey does not include every angle from which to view friendship (e.g., the “one another” passages), this survey does provide a fairly good idea of the Bible’s theology of friendship.1
Old Testamentrēaʿ, used 185x, most often translated as “one another,” “each other,” or “neighbor” ; also translated as “comrade” (Judg 7:13, 14, 22), “companion” (Exod 2:13; 30:29; Ps 122:8), “opponent” (2 Sam 2:16), “fellow” (1 Kings 20:35; Isa 34:14), and “lover,” “husband,” “man” (Jer 3:1, 20; Hos 3:1); often translated “friend” (Gen 38:12, 20; Exod 33:11; Deut 13:6; 1 Sam 30:26; 2 Sam 13:3; 16:17; 1 Kings 16:11; 1 Chron 27:33; Job 2:11; 6:27; 12:4; 16:20; 17:5; 19:21; 32:3; 35:4; 42:7, 10; Ps 35:14; Prov 17:17; 19:4, 6; 22:11; 27:9, 10; SoS 5:1, 16; Jer 6:21; Lam 1:2; Zech 3:8).
mat, used 22x, with 1x as “intimate friend” (Job 19:19).
sôd, used 21x, sometimes as “intimate friend” (Job 19:19) or “friendship” (Job 29:4; Ps 25:14), but also “council,” “counsel,” “plans,” “gatherings,” and “company.”
nkr, used 53x, 1x as “friend” (Job 24:17).
Variants of the common root šlm, “close friends” (Jer 20:10); “trusted friends” (Jer 38:22), “friend” (Ps 7:4); “friendly” (Gen 34:21); and “friendship” (1 Chron 12:17).
ʾallûp, used 9x, sometimes “companion” (Ps 55:13; Prov 2:17) or “friend” (Prov 16:28; 17:9; Jer 3:4; 13:21; Mic 7:5).New Testament
philos, 29x, always “friend.”
idios, 114x, only 2x referring to “friend”; a reflexive pronoun, literally, “one’s own,” referring to people (Acts 4:23; 24:23).
sos, 25x, 1x as “friend”; a second-person pronoun, literally, “yours,” referring to people (Mark 5:19).
eirēnē, “friendly” (Heb 11:31).
hetairos, “friend” (Matt 20:13; 22:12; 26:50); “a person who has someth. in common with others and enjoys association, but not necessarily at the level of a φίλος [philos] or φίλη [philē], comrade, companion.”2.After his own word survey, Lee notes that the chief Old Testament characteristics of friendship are loyalty (e.g., David and Jonathan) and sharing, sometimes both expressed in a covenant (e.g., Ps 25:14; 55:20; Prov 2:17; Mal 2:14). Keener likewise identifies loyalty and sharing characteristics in the New Testament era. He explains sharing in terms of confidence and all resources, that is, sharing information and secrets with trusted friends and freely giving of one’s resources, even one’s life, for one’s friends.3 Christ is the best of friends who discloses (or promises to disclose) all things to his disciples, sharing with them all things, including himself and his very life (John 15:13–15; 16:12–15).
Gathering this data together, our initial survey of friendship includes notions of…Loyalty to one another
Sharing with one another, even one’s own life for the sake of the other
Confidence in mutual commitment (covenant)
Love for one another
Peace with one anotherSo, here’s a rough definition for friendship: a loving relationship between two people in which they selflessly share with one another, remaining loyal to one another in the midst of conflict or suffering, striving for peace in all circumstances.
With this definition in hand, let’s consider friendship within the framework of the redemptive story.
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The Texas Heartbeat Act is Saving 100 Babies’ Lives Every Single Day
The pro-life movement is tired of district attorneys refusing to enforce pro-life laws and activist federal judges holding pro-life policies up in court for years on end. A new approach is working. No wonder those who promote abortion are so up in arms over its ingenuity.
Right now, more than 100 babies are being saved from abortion every day in Texas. The Texas Heartbeat Act is currently enforceable, even as the abortion industry and Biden administration attempt to thwart it. There has been much legal back-and-forth and misrepresentation of this life-saving law, particularly on the unique way in which it is enforced. Let’s cut through that confusion.
The Texas Heartbeat Act prohibits elective abortion after the preborn child’s heartbeat is detected. Those who commit an abortion after this biological marker in the child’s development, as well as those who knowingly aid and abet in that illegal abortion, can be sued. The lynchpin that has allowed the law to take effect is that the state is not allowed to enforce the law; rather, it is the responsibility of private individuals to hold the abortion industry accountable for following the law.
So far in Texas, we are seeing the abortion industry comply with the new law. Eighty-five percent of abortions that previously would have been occurring in our state are now illegal. More than 100 babies per day are being given a chance at life. There have not been any credible assertions of violation. This means that the unique threat of private lawsuits under this law is successfully saving babies.
Civil penalties are the most effective in pro-life laws because the abortion industry is profit-driven. The industry profits off killing preborn children and does not want to lose money. So it complies with pro-life laws (even as it fights them in the courts). That is why the Texas Heartbeat Act uses civil remedies — because it incentivizes compliance from the abortion industry.
Not Vigilantism
Despite the assertion by pro-abortion advocates and media, this is not vigilantism, and the civil remedies are not a bounty. The threat of a lawsuit and paying out at least $10,000 for a violation is the consequence set up under this law for engaging in an illegal activity, namely, performing an abortion after the baby has a heartbeat.
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