Friday in the wild: December 1, 2023

Years, ago, I used to fill out space on the Crusty Curmudgeon with a series I titled "Friday in the Wild," for showcasing blog articles from the previous week or so that I found interesting or thought-provoking. Now that I'm blogging more enthusiastically again, I thought it was appropriate to reboot it. It gets me writing … but it also gets me reading. So I present Friday in the Wild for the first time since 2014.

At Clearly Reformed, Kevin DeYoung asks what we are to make of the "Moscow Mood": the culture surrounding Douglas Wilson, Christ Church, and related ministries in Moscow, Idaho. He writes:

I’m convinced the appeal of Moscow is visceral more than intellectual. That’s not meant to be a knock on the smart people in Moscow or attracted to Moscow.… [P]eople are moving to Moscow—whether literally or spiritually—because of a mood. It’s a mood that says, "We are not giving up, and we are not giving in. We can do better than negotiate the terms of our surrender. The infidels have taken over our Christian laws, our Christian heritage, and our Christian lands, and we are coming to take them back."

[Read On Culture War, Doug Wilson, and the Moscow Mood]

I'm generally of two minds concerning Wilson. I have a number of books from Canon Press, his and others, and I consider him an excellent cultural critic and moral theologian. I'm less enthusiastic about other aspects of his theology, such as his theonomy and his hermeneutic that I think of as "hyper-covenantalism." With respect to Wilson's use of vulgarity, I tend to agree with DeYoung. It's not part of my regular vocabulary, but I'm not generally offended by others using four-letter words around me. There's a place for a well-aimed vulgarity: when someone not generally known to be vulgar uses one, it gets people to sit up and pay attention to what he's saying. When Paul tells the Judaizers to emasculate themselves (Galatians 5:12), you take notice because that coarse kind of sarcasm isn't a regular feature of his letters. Use too much profanity, though, and it loses its rhetorical punch. In time, this may be what happens to Doug Wilson: instead of a prophetic voice against the folly of modern idolatry, he'll just devolve into that cranky old uncle who swears a lot.

Denny Burk reported on goings-on at this year's annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. I was most interested in his thoughts on the reaction to Amy Peeler's book Women and the Gender of God, as well as the election of Karen Jobes as president. Burk has more to say about the way the group that lobbied for her election was funded, than the fact that a woman was elected. Then again, the ETS isn't a church. [Read What Happened at ETS 2023?]

Earlier this month, human-rights activist, ex-Muslim, and now apparently ex-atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali announced that she is now a Christian. At the time the article was published, I noticed that she speaks neither of Jesus by name nor of his teachings, apart from one remark that "Christ’s teaching implied not only a circumscribed role for religion as something separate from politics." Ali's stated reason for conversion—secularism lacks the tools to challenge the forces presently threatening Western civilization—is a pragmatic one more than a spiritual one.

In First Things, Carl Trueman acknowledges the same concerns, but argues nonetheless that her conversion is "cause for great rejoicing," saying:

Hopefully [Ali's words] are also a courageous example that others who see the problems of Western culture as clearly as she does might follow. I write this merely to echo the emphases of the Apostle Paul, whose understanding of this world was rooted in his understanding of, and preoccupation with, the glories of the next.

[Read Why Ayaan Hirsi Ali Became a Christian]

We don't all come to Christ seeking an answer to the same questions. Ayaan Hirsi Ali sought a better alternative to secularism, and came to church. That is a step in the right direction and a cause for joy. But Ali's most fundamental need is for a Saviour from her sins, not for a political party capable of defending the West. Pray that she finds the better answer.

Finally for this week, despite yesterday's post insisting that I'm not a book blogger, I am trying to add some proper book blogs to my reading list. One problem, as I noted, is that I'm a generalist: I don't focus on new releases or a particular genre of literature. That makes me kind of a rare specimen, so it's hard to find like-minded bloggers. I think I've found something close with Matt at Runalong the Shelves. Perusing his archives, I notice that he and I seem to have a bit of overlap in his reading tastes. Of particular interest to me is his series "Nine Weeks in Middle Earth," a readthrough of The Lord of the Rings, currently at week 3.

I've been tempted to do something similar, but I read LOTR last year and won't be again until [checks] 2028. Perhaps I should practice on some other fantasy series that I've read once before, but long enough ago that I don't remember much of the basic plot anymore. The Chronicles of Amber, perhaps?