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It's Saturday, December 23, 2023.

Today’s edition covers theologian James White’s reaction to the Pope allowing blessings for same-sex couples, the book of Judge’s exposure of syncretism, Anselm’s explanation of why Christ died, and more.

Enjoy!

Of Christian Concern

“STRAIGHT OUT OF THE LEFTIST PROTESTANT PLAYBOOK”: JAMES WHITE ON THE POPE’S DECISION TO ALLOW BLESSINGS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES

James White speaking in 2019. (Aaron Shafovaloff / CC BY 3.0)

Christian theologian, pastor, and apologist Dr. James White—“WhiteBeard” on X—commented on the Vatican’s recently released declaration allowing for certain types of blessings for same-sex couples. White argues, essentially, that the Vatican is speaking out of both sides of their mouth. 

Those who have paid attention to the collapse of orthodoxy among “mainline” Protestant denominations, White says, “already know how this works.”

“Always assure folks that no matter how it looks, you are not really making substantive change---until you do, then pretend that you were always honest about that.”

White suggests that those who engage in this brazen tactic get away with it by using “all the proper buzzwords and phrases” to distract from the fact that they contradict themselves “on the very same page, or even in the same paragraph…”

In the present example, he characterizes the  Roman Catholic Church as “plainly allowing the blessing of same-sex unions, but pretending that it should be done in a way that does not ‘confuse’ this union with true marriage.” That, he says, is trying to put “a square peg in a round hole.” He offers an analogy: “You might as well have blessings for thieves before they commit a robbery, just as long as it doesn't create ‘confusion.’” 

In sum, White says, “This is straight out of the leftist Protestant playbook, and it is succeeding.” He asks readers to pray for Roman Catholics who previously believed this could not happen. “Well, it is happening,” he concludes. “What next?”

You can read the Vatican’s full declaration here. 

Also Noteworthy

→ Hallmark has abandoned its formula of supporting traditional values, with the release of new films featuring LGBT relationships, “Christmas On Cherry Lane” and “Friends & Family Christmas.” Former CEO Bill Abbott left the company in 2020 over its progressive direction, and current executive Lisa Hamilton Daly promises 2024 will be even more “diverse.” 

→ Virginia’s Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch, a gay man, was sworn into his newly elected position as chair of the board on a stack of LGBT-themed books. Some of the books have been “frequently banned by other school systems” for “sexual content.” 

→ “Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors” according to 67% of registered voters aged 18-24, according to a new Harvard/Harris poll.  Writer Will Saletan suggests the number may be a little inflated but the high anti-Jewish sentiment among young people is consistent with other polls.

→ A four-month-old baby who was ripped from his family’s trailer home by one of the tornados that devastated parts of Tennessee two weekends ago was soon found “by the grace of God” in a nearby tree with only minor injuries. “We are told that he looked like he was placed on the tree gently,” the baby’s aunt writes on a GoFundMe campaign page set up to help the family rebuild their lives. “Like an angel guided him safely to that spot.” 

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content by Christian creators, or of Christian interest.*

(Photo: Mikhail Nilov)

→ This Old Chestnut: In an ongoing back-and-forth with an atheist on the social media platform X, Project 18:15 creator Anthony Langer (yours truly) argues that without God there is no objective basis to call anything immoral. (The latest post)

→ Atheism More Rational?: Liberal-turned-conservative-turned-Christian YouTuber Gothix responds to an X post from an atheist who claims atheism is more rational than theism. (Video)

→ Parenting Like God: Christian housewife and YouTuber Bindi Marc reviews a chapter from Paul Tripp’s book Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, and explores the legitimacy of modeling one’s parenting after God’s use of consequences and rewards for ancient Israel. (Video)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

A Carved Image to the LORD

Micah and the Danites, by Johann Cristoph Weigel, 1695 (Public Domain)

Judges 17 recounts an event in ancient Israel during the infamous time of the judges, when Israel kept vacillating between betraying God to worship idols and calling out to Him for deliverance from the consequences.

The chapter tells of how a man named Micah, who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother, confesses and returns the money after hearing her pronounce a curse on the thief. 

When he confesses, she says, “Blessed be my son by the LORD,” perhaps in an effort (a superstitious effort?) to counteract the curse. When he returns the silver, she says, “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image” (Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬).

Don’t read that too quickly. She dedicates the silver “to the LORD” to do what? “To make a carved image…”

You don’t have to know much about the LORD to know He’s not keen on carved images. It’s literally one of the first things He spoke to the Israelites at Mount Sinai after freeing them from Egypt. You know, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭4‬).

This is not an accident. The author of the book of Judges highlights this story to show just how far Israel had fallen from the law they had vowed to obey. They had utterly mixed the worship of the true God with the worship of false gods, so much so that they apparently didn’t have an inkling of the absurdity of it. And this was only the beginning of Micah’s descent—and that of everyone around him—into ignorant syncretistic wickedness, as detailed in the rest of the chapter and the next.

God’s people had lost the plot regarding how to worship Him. Now ask: have God’s people today lost the plot regarding how to worship Him? Have we incorporated things into our worship that He has not required of us—or that He has expressly forbidden? May He open our eyes and give us courage to confront our own “carved images.”

Church History Tidbit

Anselm’s Explanation of Why Jesus Died

An engraving of Anselm, author unknown, late 16th century (Public Domain)

Anselm: Tell me, then, what payment do you make God for your sin?

Boso: Repentance, a broken and contrite heart, self-denial, various bodily sufferings, charity and forgiveness to others, and obedience.

Anselm: What do you give to God in all this?

Boso: Surely I honor God .

Anselm: But you are giving God what you would owe him anyway, whether you had ever sinned or not, so this does not pay the debt of sin.

Boso: Truly, I dare not say that all this pays any part of my debt to God.

Anselm: How then do you repay God for your sin?

Boso: If I already owed God myself and all my powers, even before I sinned, I have nothing left to give to him for my sin.

Anselm: What will become of you then? How will you be saved?

Boso: Looking at your arguments, I see no way of escape.

_______________

This excerpt is from Anselm of Canterbury’s Cur Deus Homo?, or Why Did God Become Man?

According to the Christian History Institute, Anselm (c. 1033-1109) was the “premier theologian” during the “rebirth of learning” that took place in Christian Europe “from the start of the second millennium.” (Prior to that, for “the first half of the Middle Ages,” the European church was “besieged on all sides by pagan tribes and the might of Islam, and it is a miracle that it survived.”)

Cur Deus Homo? was Anselm’s “most radical, and perhaps most influential, contribution to Christian thought,” which explored the question of how and why Christ’s death saved us from sin.

Prior to Anselm, the common theory was that the Devil owned humanity, and Jesus’ death paid the ransom. Anselm, on the other hand, “argued that neither we nor God owed anything to the Devil — our only debt was to God.” It was that debt that Christ’s death satisfied.

As seen in the excerpt, Anselm’s emphasis was on the use of human reason. He believed we can rationally arrive at the same conclusions that the Bible reveals, such that “revelation and reason give us a double proof that it was right and necessary for God to become man and to die.”

For this approach, Anselm is considered the father of scholasticism, a movement that “accepts all biblical teaching, but attempts to work out philosophical problems through reason alone.”

P.S. For anyone interested, here’s another fascinating (and convicting) little excerpt from Cur Deus Homo?: 

Anselm: Imagine you found yourself in the sight of God, and someone said to you, “Look over there,” but God said, “I do not want you to look.” Ask your own heart what there is in all the universe which would make it right for you to look against God’s will.

Boso: I can’t think of any motive that would make it right.

Anselm: What if the whole universe, except God himself, was going to perish and fall back into nothing if you didn’t do this small thing against God’s will?

Boso: When I think of the action itself, it seems very slight; but when I view it as contrary to the will of God, I realize there is nothing so grievous, and no loss that would compare with it. I must confess that I ought not to oppose the will of God even to preserve the whole of creation.

Anselm: What if there were more worlds, just as full of beings as this world?

Boso: If there was an infinite number, my reply would be the same.

Anselm: You could not be more right.

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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