JB
asks how to go about restoring the worship of Jesus Christ to the nominally
Christian church where the Cult of Nice has taken root:
My
own church is not infested by SJWs, but it is solidly in the Church of Nice
camp. There have never been any horror story sermons such as those
described by Dalrock on his blog, but the big ministry push is to send as many
people to Mexico on "mission trips" as possible... and sometimes they
bring natives back with them. Also, the pastor expressly avoids
"politics" in his teachings but routinely uses examples such as
Jackie Robinson and Holocaustianity in his sermons. I've never heard
anything outrageous from the pulpit, but neither have I heard anything truly
inspiring. The best word I can think to describe my church and its
leadership is "lukewarm."
I used to think my congregation was fully Churchian, but in a weekly class on Christian Ethics I decided to stop being "Nice" myself. We talked about standard political issues like economics, abortion, environmentalism, etc. The leader was a well-meaning man but in his research prior to our discussion on immigration he apparently could find little Biblical support for immigration restrictionism. At the beginning of the immigration class, he explained to everyone that he was originally anti-immigration but his research forced him to conclude that the Bible mandated open borders. Fortunately, I reread Cuckservative the night before and (thanks in large part to you and John Red Eagle) systematically demolished his argument and built a Christian case in favor of immigration restrictionism. My case was not "Nice" by any stretch.
However, rather than being excommunicated from the class because I dared say that Christians can morally support borders (a heresy in the Churchian mindset), I was invited to explain my position in more depth the next class and many people congratulated me and wished to learn more after the class was over. Even the class leader seemed relieved to hear that a Christian case for immigration restrictionism was possible. If there had been an SJW in the class, I would have been ejected. Instead, I became a thought leader for the rest of the course and the class as a whole became less "Nice" and more "Christian" in the true sense.
This event led me to conclude that my congregation wants to be Christian but is Churchian out of ignorance and timidity. This ignorance is shared at the top of our leadership. No one appears to be fully SJW, but many do seem to believe that Churchianity is Christianity whether they like its repercussions or not.
I've been asked to help teach a discussion course next semester on why children raised in the church tend to leave it as they get older. Of course, I believe the "Christian alt-right" explanation that modern Churchianity is poison and that a true Christian church would draw everyone back into the pews. But I'm not sure using pure red meat such as Cuckservative immediately as a main text is as solid a strategy as using some softer stuff to build the students' tolerance for alt-right theology.
How would you bring an ignorant, but apparently receptive, congregation back into the Christian fold from a surface-level Churchianity?
I used to think my congregation was fully Churchian, but in a weekly class on Christian Ethics I decided to stop being "Nice" myself. We talked about standard political issues like economics, abortion, environmentalism, etc. The leader was a well-meaning man but in his research prior to our discussion on immigration he apparently could find little Biblical support for immigration restrictionism. At the beginning of the immigration class, he explained to everyone that he was originally anti-immigration but his research forced him to conclude that the Bible mandated open borders. Fortunately, I reread Cuckservative the night before and (thanks in large part to you and John Red Eagle) systematically demolished his argument and built a Christian case in favor of immigration restrictionism. My case was not "Nice" by any stretch.
However, rather than being excommunicated from the class because I dared say that Christians can morally support borders (a heresy in the Churchian mindset), I was invited to explain my position in more depth the next class and many people congratulated me and wished to learn more after the class was over. Even the class leader seemed relieved to hear that a Christian case for immigration restrictionism was possible. If there had been an SJW in the class, I would have been ejected. Instead, I became a thought leader for the rest of the course and the class as a whole became less "Nice" and more "Christian" in the true sense.
This event led me to conclude that my congregation wants to be Christian but is Churchian out of ignorance and timidity. This ignorance is shared at the top of our leadership. No one appears to be fully SJW, but many do seem to believe that Churchianity is Christianity whether they like its repercussions or not.
I've been asked to help teach a discussion course next semester on why children raised in the church tend to leave it as they get older. Of course, I believe the "Christian alt-right" explanation that modern Churchianity is poison and that a true Christian church would draw everyone back into the pews. But I'm not sure using pure red meat such as Cuckservative immediately as a main text is as solid a strategy as using some softer stuff to build the students' tolerance for alt-right theology.
How would you bring an ignorant, but apparently receptive, congregation back into the Christian fold from a surface-level Churchianity?
Alt-right
theology, now there is a simply terrifying term! Anyhow, I
would start with a private meeting with the pastor first, and if he is
supportive, with the elders next. It's important to determine if you have an
amenable authority or a hostile one before taking action, as that will
significantly effect the way in which your campaign proceeds.
The next step would be to develop a program called "Back to the Biblical Basics" which the pastor could draw upon for his sermons and the Sunday School teachers and Bible Study leaders could utilize for their weekly activities. These subjects should be selected for undermining the various Churchian and Cult of Nice concepts that have gradually crept in over the years. Each topic should be based around a single Bible verse that contradicts or otherwise destroys the Churchian narrative, such as the way Matthew 15:25-28 destroys both the equalitarian and the immigrationist aspects of that narrative.
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
I would welcome similar suggestions in the comments; I expect 10-12 would be the minimum to provide a foundation for the "Back to the Biblical Basics" program.
And JB's instincts are correct. Christians steeped in the Cult of Nice should not be encouraged to readSJWAL or Cuckservative, much less the relevant Alt-Right sites. They are not ready for it. Instead, they should be asked, relentlessly, if the narrative position they are upholding is one of which the world approves or not, and if worldly approval of its positions is the primary objective of a Christian Church. For every argument they make, from "we must be welcoming" to "everyone is equal", have a verse to hand that demonstrates it to be the extra-Biblical, non-Christian nonsense that it is.
The third step is to embrace the consequences. Some church members will acknowledge Scriptural authority. Help them grow in understanding, conviction, and courage. Other members will reject Scriptural authority, cling to the Cult of Nice, and will probably threaten to leave the church. Don't try to talk them out of it, but rather, help them go, as per the example of Gideon. If church members are more of the world than of the Church, then they belong in the former, and not the latter. The Church has no need of numbers; just 12 Apostles were all that was required to shake the world.
The next step would be to develop a program called "Back to the Biblical Basics" which the pastor could draw upon for his sermons and the Sunday School teachers and Bible Study leaders could utilize for their weekly activities. These subjects should be selected for undermining the various Churchian and Cult of Nice concepts that have gradually crept in over the years. Each topic should be based around a single Bible verse that contradicts or otherwise destroys the Churchian narrative, such as the way Matthew 15:25-28 destroys both the equalitarian and the immigrationist aspects of that narrative.
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
I would welcome similar suggestions in the comments; I expect 10-12 would be the minimum to provide a foundation for the "Back to the Biblical Basics" program.
And JB's instincts are correct. Christians steeped in the Cult of Nice should not be encouraged to readSJWAL or Cuckservative, much less the relevant Alt-Right sites. They are not ready for it. Instead, they should be asked, relentlessly, if the narrative position they are upholding is one of which the world approves or not, and if worldly approval of its positions is the primary objective of a Christian Church. For every argument they make, from "we must be welcoming" to "everyone is equal", have a verse to hand that demonstrates it to be the extra-Biblical, non-Christian nonsense that it is.
The third step is to embrace the consequences. Some church members will acknowledge Scriptural authority. Help them grow in understanding, conviction, and courage. Other members will reject Scriptural authority, cling to the Cult of Nice, and will probably threaten to leave the church. Don't try to talk them out of it, but rather, help them go, as per the example of Gideon. If church members are more of the world than of the Church, then they belong in the former, and not the latter. The Church has no need of numbers; just 12 Apostles were all that was required to shake the world.