[Vision2020] "No member of Chirst Church supports slavery." -- Doug Jones

[Douglas]

Visionaries,

Steve asks this:
>The two Dougs from Christ Church cannot have it both ways. Either slavery 
>is evil or it is not. Which Doug are we to believe?


Actually both of them, since we agree completely on this issue. Now I want 
you all (or at least anyone interested in something beyond sound byte ammo) 
to follow me closely here. Certain things are good because that is the way 
that God created them -- let us call them creational goods. Things like 
marriage, food, work, and fair sunshine. This is what is meant when God 
looked over the creation He had fashioned, and said that it was good.

When sin entered the world (sin being defined as a proud resistance to the 
will of God), the created order fell as Adam rebelled and fell. In this 
sinful and now ethically complicated world, we have a new category, which 
is that of comparative good. Marriage is a good in the first instance, and 
divorce *can* be a good in the second. Divorce is frequently an instrument 
for sinning, but sometimes it is a godly and appropriate response to 
sinning. God hates divorce, and so do I. But sometimes as a pastor I have 
counseled someone who is the victim of a hard-hearted spouse that they need 
to seek a divorce. For those fond of googling up Credenda articles, google 
up "Time to Walk." I say that I hate divorce, but sometimes have counseled 
it. Is this a contradiction? Only for those whose political agenda demands 
misunderstanding us, or for those who think that anyone who holds to 
ethical absolutes (as I do) must necessarily also maintain that those 
absolutes are built out of rough cut two by fours.

War is a similar institution. God promises that the future of our world 
will exclude war, the lion will lie down with the lamb, and the swords will 
be beaten into plowshares. God hates war, and so do I -- especially 
unnecessary ones like the one we are now in. And yet I believe someone who 
loves God can participate in warfare provided he carefully follows God's 
regulations and boundaries for those who find themselves in that kind of 
situation. I do believe there is such a thing as a just war, but this is a 
good in the second category, not the first. It is a comparative good, not a 
creational good. And it can only be a comparative good when the war is 
justified because the alternative is worse. God promises the end of war 
(through the gospel), and yet He equipped David for war (Ps. 144:1). And at 
the same time, David was prohibited from building the Temple because he was 
a man of blood.

Consequently, those who insist that we are praising slavery as a creational 
good (as though it were some kind of milk and honey institution) are 
grievously misrepresenting us. They do this, some of them, because they 
cannot help it -- they honestly cannot follow the argument. They do not 
understand that while God is perfect, He is not a perfectionist. They want 
all absolutists to affirm a simplistic ethic. Sorry, no can do. Others say 
that we are praising slavery because they see in this an issue that is 
highly flammable, and they want to run us out of town. And don't forget, 
they want to do this in the name of Diversity. (By the way, how many 
signatures do the diversity cops have to collect on their petition before 
we have to go into exile?)

So here is a simple summary for anyone who wants it: slavery is a result of 
sin, and the logic of the gospel, which sets men free, contains the promise 
that it will bring an end to all slavery (sinful in this sense) over time. 
But before slavery ended in our nation, it was possible for a Christian who 
was a slave owner to follow the instructions of the New Testament for those 
in such situations. 1 Tim. 6:1-5 says what it does. Slavery (general): 
sinful. Slavery (in this or that particular instance): it depends.

But there are those who cannot comprehend this, and who have a great deal 
of pent-up zeal that they simply *must* express against slavery. They must 
do this regardless of our explanations. So I have a proposal for the 
adherents of all such boring and ugly hypocrisies. Why don't you start 
weekly protests in Friendship Square directed against all the countries 
which are practicing slavery right now? Stop standing up for the rights of 
slaves who have been dead for a century. Stand up for those who are 
enslaved now in East Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 
This will enable us to see how deep your anti-slavery commitment actually is.

And because I am not going to hold my breath waiting for this to happen, 
let me also say this about my previous posts on the gospel of Christ. Jesus 
Christ died on the cross, and He rose again from the dead, and because He 
did this He is able to forgive any sin whatever. This authority to forgive 
includes the authority to forgive left wing posturing, hypocrisy, 
bitterness, lies, slanders, and malice. Jesus has the power to forgive it 
all. And I do not mind saying, though I am a very poor imitator of Christ, 
that we bear no ill will toward any of those who have lied about us over 
the course of this controversy. Of course, we would like it to end, but, 
until it does, it is good to remember that Jesus died to save people just 
like us.

Cordially,

Douglas Wilson