Entryism is idolatry

Where are the idols of this age? Where to we bow to something that is not our God? Some would say that it is our besetting sins: our deepest desires. And there are those who do make their job, their fitness, or their ideology the prime thing in their life.

But I wonder if we need to think about syncretism. There are two types: one is the addition of pagan elements into worship. The Goddess is mentioned as if the invented triune of the Wiccans has reality. Or the Koran is put on the altar, as if that demon Allah is the LORD of hosts.

The Buddhist or Hindu guru is offered a place to preach, in the false idea that we will be able to share in our spirituality. And most of us guard against these things, even as our society accepts them.

What we need to check on is the ideologists, the entryists, who worship an ideology, and not God. From Dalrock.

But Kassian is the old guard of complementarian feminists. I don’t say this to minimize her work in bringing feminism to Christianity. She has worked tirelessly for decades in this regard, and she has had great success. I suspect we can even give her at least partial credit for convincing the CBMW to invent the feminist sin of servility in their founding document. But Kassian’s work has been mostly about consolidating the gains overt Christian feminists made in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and nurturing these ideas in complementarianism. She has also of course trained up the new guard of complementarian feminists in her role as a Women’s Studies professor.

But the old guard paves the way for the new guard, and the new guard of complementarian feminists are women like Jen Wilkin. While Kassian periodically contributes to TGC, Wilkin is a formal contributor at TGC and also publishes books under their banner. Wilkin is also a minister working for Pastor Matt Chandler, President of the Acts 29 network.

As a member of the old guard, Kasian is careful to distance herself from the label feminist and focuses on undermining headship and stoking feminist resentment. But because of the progress women like Kassian have made over the decades, a new guard of complementarian women like Wilkin can afford to be quite open in their feminism (even if they avoid outright calling themselves feminist) and focus on the same issues as secular feminists. As the old guard stomps out the last embers of complementarian headship and submission, the new guard can focus on agitating for affirmative action for women in leadership roles.

For example, in let not the men keep silent* Wilkin repurposes a viral feminist letter by a white knight complaining about supposed barriers to women in engineering.

The barrier to engineering is the math involved. It is challenging. It is far, far easier to do the arts: to study drama and dance and music. I am not saying these things do not have value: but many can do them. Fewer can handle calculus.

And even fewer can handle theology and pastor. It is a job for the most gifted: many who are good scholars lack wisdom and discretion and the ability to shepherd: and shepherding is not therapy: the toolkit is not Freud and Skinner, but Calvin, Thomas Aquinas and St. Benedict.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

(1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1 ESV)

The question, now is what to do. How do we deal with the entryists? The Protestants tend to accept that they will destroy churches and leave burned ground behind them. When the entryists turn what was a living congregation into a synagogue of idolatry, one leaves.

But when it happens to the hierarchical churches, particularly the Roman church, it is a disaster. This is why the Pope matters: for many of the faith, he is their prime shepherd, and there is no parallel person to confront him, as there is in Orthodoxy and among the reformed. Some popes have been antichrists, and led many to perdition.

So the first thing we should do is pray. That our leaders will discern the spirit of the age, and not join it.

The second thing is to speak out. In person, perhaps (though I find that the feminists will not listen to any human with a penis), or in the interwebs. The interwebs allow believers to support each other over a great distance.

And the third thing is to starve the beast. If the local nunnery has become a nest of wiccans, fund it not. If the women’s studies department is surviving at the local seminary, use another.

Finally, appease not the spirit of this age, We are in this world. We should not be of it.