Yesterday we were informed that if we continued to sin casually and deliberately we were not of Christ. But we sin deliberately. We are told that we are not without sin. And with sin we struggle. Daily.

It is the giving up on the struggle that is the error. We all have our temptations, and those acts which are habitual and we turn to for comfort. They fit into patterns.

And none of us are virtuous. We therefore need to stop being righteous snobs, and accept as allies those who are penitent. And yes, Here I am talking about Milo.

Yes, he’s flagrantly gay. Yes, he knows his habits are destructive. But he is honest that he struggles with these, and seeks truth, and backs those of Christ. Do not reject him. Instead encourage him to do better. A certain Dire Badger decided he did not fit, and this was the correction.

This whole line of discussion is depressing to read. It’s no wonder the right never gets anything done.

Exactly. The correct thing to do is ignore the virtue-signalers like Dire Badger. They’re the equivalent of the shills and tone-police in #GamerGate.

We just told them to shut up and ignored them. Do the same. They’ll bark and they’ll yap, but so what? They’ll eventually fall in line once they realize no one is listening to them.

And it is worth noting that Paul was accounted by all the Jews as righteous and advanced in the faith when he was killing those of Christ.

Paul changed. So should we.

And let us start by not letting the gospel go.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

(Galatians 1:1-17 ESV)

The besetting sin of the Churchian is not lust, nor gluttony, nor envy, nor greed. Those are the problems that us in the pews have. And they are sins, they are not addictions. Just because chocolate gives you a jolt of oxytocin and loud music increases dopamine — and you feel good with both — does not mean that these sins are anything more than taking a good thing too far.

It is better to read St Augustine’s confessions than the big 12 step book or a textbook of phenomenology if you want to understand sin.

The besetting sin of the churchian is that he wants to be liked. He wands social approval. This goes beyond simple politeness: wearing codes according to the dress of the day (and yes, that exists in civilian life as well: consider “smart casual”, “business attire” and “black tie”: I prefer none of the above).

We need to seek the approval of God. Not man. There are a pile of assumptions that this world makes about us that are wrong. We are not perfect. We are not called to solve all problems, but those in front of us. We are called to care for our families first, and then our brothers in the faith.

And we are to pray for those in sin. Ourselves included. That we will reform. Though the pleasures of this world tempt us, we are not to live for them.

And not for the praise of the elite. We should, instead, be hated by them. For we should not be like them.