Milky Ministry, Patriarchal Subordinationism, and the Trump Temptation
A meaty ministry, not a milky ministry, is a barrier to apostasy. It is a job of the preachers and teachers of the church to serve a consistently meat-rich diet.
Dear friends and supporters:
Sharon and I just returned from a long Southwestern trip, and I’m a little behind in my work. Therefore, CultureChange this week will be shorter, consisting of three brief divergent, though not unrelated, statements. I nonetheless hope you benefit from reading them.
I hope especially you take time to read my personal note at the end.
Milky Ministry
In my message delivered at Church of the King-McAllen, Texas (you can listen to it here) I drew attention to a little known implication from Hebrews 5–6. The immediate apostasy mentioned in chapter 6, verses 4 and following is one consequence of theological immaturity, a refusal to move beyond the milk of the Word mentioned in 5:11-14. One liability of the uninspired chapter and verse insertions in our Bible translations is that we tend to miss obvious connections in the flow of an argument or narrative. If we consider the specific, dire warning of apostasy to begin in chapter 6, we’ll miss a critical factor appearing in the final verses of chapter 5.
As John Calvin suggests in his commentary, the “elementary doctrine of Christ” mentioned in 6:1–2 almost certainly refers to the basic content of the early church’s catechetical instruction for pre-baptismal adult candidates and for baptized children within the church. These doctrines are, of course, essential, but the writer’s point is that this basic doctrine, though necessary, is not sufficient to protect against apostasy.
Today we hear constant bleating to “get back to the basics.” “Our faith is too complicated. Forget about all that deep theology and just get back to Jesus.” The writer is clearly implying that this simplicity paradigm it’s no barrier to apostasy. It is precisely the extensive, deeper knowledge of the Word of God, a theological and sermonic diet rich in protein, that gives one strength and sinew to battle apostasy. A meaty ministry, not a milky ministry, is a barrier to apostasy. It is a job of the preachers and teachers of the church to serve a consistently meat-rich diet.
Patriarchal Subordinationism
Nothing has done more than Karl Rahner’s (RON-ur) book The Trinity to revive interest in this most foundational Christian doctrine in the 20th century. This is one of the most dense, difficult theological books you’ll ever read, and it is nothing short of a masterpiece. Unfortunately, its most basic premise is fatally flawed: that the economic trinity is the ontological Trinity. Meaning? The Trinity as it is revealed in the history of redemption (the Father’s sending Christ in his incarnation and life and death and resurrection, all by the power of the Spirit) is identical to the Trinity as it is in itself eternally.
This understanding is fraught with hazard. I mentioned one of them recently: the idea being picked up over the last few decades by some Bible-believers during the rise of feminist egalitarianism that the wife’s biblical subordination to her husband is grounded in the Son’s subordination to the Father. This actually is a heretical semi-Arianism: that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father. I pointed out that nothing in creation corresponds to the eternal Trinity. This is not true, of course, of the economic Trinity, which the Bible is mostly, but not entirely, about. I’d like to refer to this deviation as Patriarchal Subordinationism. Its adherents want desperately to maintain orthodox trinitarianism, but their subordinationist views of Jesus Christ in his very being causes them to violate Christian orthodoxy.
In other words, Patriarchal Subordinationism stands outside the Christian Faith.
The Trump Temptation
My basic views on Donald Trump haven’t changed since 2016. During his administration I was neither NeverTrump nor AlwaysTrump but rather SometimesTrump. Frankly, that should be the Christian attitude toward any politician. Christian support is neither partisan nor personalistic but principled: we judge all political views and policies by the Bible. If a politician operates in line with basic creational and biblical truth, we should support him or or her. If the politician doesn’t, we shouldn’t.
I’m happy to acknowledge that Trump’s Supreme Court nominations and virtually all of his lower court nominations stand head and shoulders above that of most of his predecessors. In fact, he quite possibly nominated the best justices in U.S. history. But this seems not to have been a deeply held conviction. After the victorious overturning of Rove v. Wade that his nominated justices helped engineer, it was discovered much to the surprise of many conservatives that a number of states are inclined to support abortion rights through the first trimester of pregnancy (and beyond), and that we pro-lifers at this point are often on the losing side of this issue legislatively. Some Republicans have recognized this fact and have consequently muted their dogged pro-life position. Donald Trump was among the champions of this muting. He wants to “cut a [legislative] deal” with pro-abortion Democrats. He doesn’t care quite so much for pre-born children.
Moreover, it’s odd how many social conservatives fulsomely support Trump when he is the first president in history to have entered the office supporting same-sex “marriage.” Bill Clinton and Barack Obama changed their minds after they entered office. Bill Clinton signed the Defensive of Marriage Act. Barack Obama changed his mind while in office, partly under the influence of his teenage daughters. This factor and others lead me to believe that a great deal of conservative support for Trump isn’t due to his positions, but rather his disposition — he’s “a fighter,” an institution-disruptor, an enemy of the deep state who “owns the libs.” It’s the same disposition that impelled many conservatives to support the pro-abortion and pro-LGBT Robert F Kennedy, Jr. The important thing is a fighting, disruptive, insulting, callous disposition, the willingness to “bring down the establishment,” not to stand for principle.
In other words, I am asserting that many of today’s alleged conservatives are simply not principled people.
The Trump Temptation as it relates to Christians, however, is even more pernicious. Because the American presidential election is a binary affair, we are always voting for the lesser of two evils. There is no perfect candidate, and Trump’s policies were certainly far less evil than Biden’s have been. But in Trump’s case, we encounter a unique temptation. In order to expel Biden from office, Christians are willing to overlook Trump’s manifold, personal sins and failings. But not merely overlook. For many of them, Trump is a paragon, a champion, their champion. He is a religious hero. He is, in fact, a celebrity messianic figure. Over time, this means not that they recognize his errors and but simply see the need to vote for him because he is the better of the two choices (all of us do that). Rather, many of his views become their views. They slowly begin to alter their own deportment to conform to their hero’s. Or, more tragically, relish their hero becuase his sins are theirs.
This is the great temptation of Trump to Christians. They do not merely support Trump.
They become like Trump.
Conclusion
I hope I won’t be charged with argumentative contortion to suggest these three topics might just be related. Because the church by and large (even the conservative church) has been suckled on a low-fat milk diet, her members have been vulnerable to heresies like Patriarchal Subordinationism. And because Patriarchal Subordinationism appeals to undue lust for centralized power in the family and church, its advocates are attracted to a political guru who has little regard for checks on power like divided government and the courts. There are cultural consequences for pulpit impoverishment. Church errors never stay in the church.
Personal
CCL is entering its 24th year. I realize my days (like yours) are numbered, but this realization impresses itself on me with increasingly relentless force. When I was a young man an older wise friend gave me counsel I’ll never forget: when you’re young, many life options are open to you. As you age, those options decrease. However, while the options are fewer, you tend to be more effective at the few you’ve chosen. My own gifts are (and always have been) in godly communication: writing, preaching, and lecturing. I am committed to even greater zeal in these gifts in my remaining years.
Our culture is apostate, and the church isn’t far behind. We are the victors, but many battles must precede the final victory. I am more committed than ever for CCL to stand biblically, honorably, intelligently, patiently, and uncompromisingly in our age. Youth on the Left are imbued with Cultural Marxism, a victim mentality, and the revolutionary spirit. Youth on the Right are surrendering to messianic politics, social nihilism, and raw statism. CCL is trying by God’s grace to chart a course different from both — and encouraging both to abandon their respective highways to hell and return to Christian orthodoxy and its culture of law, liberty, and the kingdom of God. This has been our ministry philosophy for 24 years. The culture has changed much over that time. CCL has not changed. By God’s grace, it will never change in this basic, distinctly Christian, culture-reclaiming, idea-communicating philosophy.
God has brought Dr. Brian Mattson, Senior Scholar or Public Theology, to my side. His platform grows monthly. He is one of the most theologically gifted, rhetorically deft, and morally courageous thinkers of our time. It’s a privilege to me that he calls CCL his ministry home. I’m equally grateful for all our Senior Fellows.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support. Donate to CCL or subscribe on this page today.
Yours for the King,
Founder & President, Center for Cultural Leadership
The Christian Society Is the Free Society
The free society our U. S. Founders secured by God’s blessing with their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” is under withering assault today from the Left and Right. Some critics believe the Founding basis (including its indisputably Protestant distinctive) has outlived its usefulness. Others argue the nation was a botched experiment from the start. Still others simply hate and wish to destroy our common heritage, which ironically provides these ingrates the freedom to criticize it in the first place.
Globalist Marxisms have captured huge swaths of the U. S. Left and the Democratic Party. Usually this is Cultural Marxism, which sees the Founding as inherently oppressive: white supremacy, heteronormativity, self-centered individualism, enslaving patriarchy, greedy capitalism, Western imperialism, and the last residue of Christian culture are entrenched, retrograde oppressions that must be overthrown to pave the way for the revolutionary, just (egalitarian) society ruled by a bureaucratic Leftist elite. The goal, as in all other Culturally Marxist societies, is to harness the state to marginalize and emasculate the family, church, and business. This is how Globalist Marxism destroys the glorious and God-glorifying American Dream. This destruction is unfolding before our eyes.
Tribalist nationalisms, on the other side, have transformed generous sectors of the American Right into a European-style, blood-and-soul conservatism the U. S. Founders were intent to abandon. Their war on economic liberty, their identity-politics collectivism, their centralizing nanny statism, their institution-destroying nihilism, their lust for a Great Leader to enforce their will (all often sprinkled with racism) poison the American Right and the Republican Party. I denote specifically some National Conservatives, the Integralists, the New Right, “Christian” Nationalists, and the Bronze Age Mindset new masculinity (the “Lost Boys of Conservatism”) — all ideas not merely “post-liberal” but also post-Christian in practice.
Two factors unite both globalist Marxisms and tribalist nationalisms, despite fierce, unbridgeable disagreements: (1) a numbing, base ingratitude for the United States of America; and (2) an eagerness to employ the sledgehammer of the state to enforce their “common good” will on society.
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