The Parrhesians

The "Scary" CREC with Douglas Wilson

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2291414/fan_mail/new] Doug Wilson is kinda cool. He knows what it’s like to be the most conservative kid at camp and he’s okay with it. He also knows when it’s time to shout at culture, and when it’s time to whisper. Which is a nifty gift. Oh, and he doesn’t love paying taxes. Which means he’s definitely human, and most likely a Christian. He also has no qualms with R.C. Sproul. So, like we said: he's kinda cool.  As our congregation seeks to join the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), Pastor Nate, Pastor Peter, and Pastor Kyle chatted with Doug about all the “scaries” of CREC. Does vitriol have to drip from our lip and obscenity seethe from our teeth? Are women allowed own Bibles and cast votes? Should lesbians and liberals be teaching our kids? Listen, and get your answers.  Welcome to another episode of The Parrhesians Podcast! https://theparrhesians.com/ [https://theparrhesians.com/]

We Are Not the Same: Musings on "The Great Feminization" of Culture (Part 2 of 2)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2291414/fan_mail/new] What's the nature of a witch? To take that which she cannot have and prevent creatures from becoming who they were meant to be.   An indispensable moral lesson drawn from the fairy tale of Jorinda and Jorindel in The Brothers Grimm [https://canonplus.com/audiobooks/10485] that can be applied to our zeitgeist.   Helen Andrews believes culture's been feminized. Now what? What do we do about it? Should we seek to recapture institutions or just create new ones?  Speaking of institutions, isn't the Church inherently feminine? Would that mean we should attempt to make it more "masculine?" Is every man qualified to be a leader? Should women be leaders? What ever happened to the term "actress?"  In this second installment of "The Great Feminization," Pastor Nate, Pastor Peter, and Pastor Kyle dive deeper into Andrews' thesis. What theological, pastoral, and civil implications does Andrews' thesis have? Which should we accept, and which should we reject?  Welcome to another episode of The Parrhesians Podcast! --------- For background reading and viewing, Andrews’ article, “The Great Feminization," and her interview referenced in the podcast are linked below.  Helen Andrews, "The Great Feminization:" https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/ [https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/] Helen Andrews, "Overcoming the Feminization of Culture:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLbq7PlrIA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLbq7PlrIA] https://theparrhesians.com/ [https://theparrhesians.com/]

We Are Not the Same: Musings on "The Great Feminization" of Culture (Part 1 of 2)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2291414/fan_mail/new] Imagine a woman critiquing women who believe women can do everything men can do?  Now imagine a woman asserting that women shouldn’t be in every courtroom, graduate seminar, and boxing ring alongside men?  Now imagine a woman arguing that wokeness and cancel culture are the result of the feminization of institutions.  Now stop imagining. There is such a woman, and her name is Helen Andrews. And boy oh boy is she swinging the gauntlet. Boldly.  Connecting some dots between group dynamics, statistics, and institutional shift, Andrews has quite a few things to say that will make some uncomfortable.  Stop saying males and females are the same. Because they’re not.  Stop believing they can do everything the same. Because they can’t.  Men: stop abdicating.  Let meritocracy rule the day.  Stop allowing Human Resource policies to run our schools and inform our parenting practices.  In all things: stop tipping the scale.  This episode is the first installment of Pastor Nate, Pastor Peter, and Pastor Kyle’s engagement with Andrews’ thesis and its relevance for the Church.  Is it true that a “Great Feminization” of culture has occurred? From whence did it derive? How should we as Christians think about it? What should the Church do?  For background reading and viewing, Andrews’ article, “The Great Feminization," and her interview referenced in the podcast are linked below.  Welcome to another episode of The Parrhesians Podcast! -- Helen Andrews, "The Great Feminization:" https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/ [https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/] Helen Andrews, "Overcoming the Feminization of Culture:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLbq7PlrIA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLbq7PlrIA] https://theparrhesians.com/ [https://theparrhesians.com/]

Who's Afraid of Christian Nationalism?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2291414/fan_mail/new] Martin Bucer was a sixteenth century German Dominican monk who converted to Protestantism. He was a mentor to John Calvin and helped Calvin in his efforts to reform the city of Geneva. In his essay, Instruction in Christian Love, he had this to say:  Civil officials must govern according to the Word of God and, in the measure of their power, help the success of the divine Word.  For as there is no power which is not from God, and everywhere the present powers are established by Him (Romans 13:1), it certainly follows that this power must be exercised according to the order and will of God. Only so will this power at last procure the real welfare of its subjects and thus stimulate them to recognize, praise, and glorify God as the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings.  “Citizens are not governed for their good and for the true glory of the supreme King when the secular authorities do not rule according to the divine Law and are not set to observe it themselves. For where God is not recognized and obedience to Him is not required before all things, there peace is not peace, justice is not justice, and that which should be profitable brings injury instead. We call ourselves Christians and consider ourselves the people of God, and yet our officials who have the power have fallen into the error of believing that the divine Law does not concern them, that they must judge and make regulations more according to the pagan imperial law and other human sentences than according to the sentence of God. But we cannot pride ourselves on being communities of God and the people of God, if we respect, accept, and keep all sorts of laws, ordinances, and regulations other than God's. Only His Law can make us live.  Bucer raises a few uncomfortable, but necessary, questions. Is a Christian nation good for our neighbor? Is vying for a Christian nation a way of loving our neighbor? What does it mean to love our neighbor if it doesn’t mean tangibly taking them straight to the throne of Christ? Are we really Christians if we leave politics to the pagans?  In this episode of The Parrhesians, Pastor Nate, Peter, and Kyle tackle the thorny issue of Christian Nationalism. How separated are the Church and the State? How separated should they be? What does it mean to be a Christian nationalist? If no law or policy is neutral, who, or what, is the Christian giving the nation over to if they don’t advocate for Christian laws? Welcome to another episode of The Parrhesians Podcast! https://theparrhesians.com/ [https://theparrhesians.com/]

Dr. John Gerstner on John 3:16 | Part 3

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2291414/fan_mail/new] “This is a perishing world. Your neighbors are perishing. Maybe some of you I’m looking at right now are perishing. […] Everyone is either on their way to heaven or on their way to hell.”  This is the last installment of a three-part series Dr. John Gerstner gave at Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in 1984 on the riches of John 3:16. It focuses on God’s love of the “world,” the sovereign will of the Spirit, and those who believe.  In this episode, Dr. Gerstner discusses the world as a burning house, God’s obligation to keep the reprobate under eternal torment, His inflexible justice, and the infinite redemption of Jesus Christ.  Enjoy! And welcome to another episode of The Parrhesians Podcast! https://theparrhesians.com/ [https://theparrhesians.com/]