When I was about 20, I used to read him on occasion. I was Reformed, and a Federal Vision sympathizer. Of course I was; I didn’t know it, but I was a writer. And if you’re a little bit artsy-fartsy like that, you’re a crypto-Catholic, even if you’re not ready to submit to Rome.
It’s legit a kind of Oxford Movement within Reformed theology; that’s what it was; that’s what it is. I was smart enough to know that Western civilization is Catholic civilization. America is a bit anomalous, but let’s be real: the Anglican Communion at the time of the death of St. Thomas More was just the SSPX of its day: Catholics separated from their visible Head on Earth.
Anyway, I laughed at a lot at the Wilson snark, because even a lot of liberal Christians at the time acted like President Bush was a Christian Ayatollah. C’mon, man. This dude from Old Money, whose relatives seemingly own a third of New England? Other than the Calvinist Congregationalists, the region is not known for its excess of religious enthusiasm. There’s a reason still most of the presidents are Episcopalian; that’s where orderly Old Money worships.
But the Trump Era is typified by a lack of decorum, and Wilson’s mask got thrown away ages ago. Sometimes decorum prevents things that should be said from being said. Most times, though, decorum reminds us that we can be better. Bushes are good people; I definitely believe that. And “W” is the kind of man who forces guys like Wilson to at least pretend respectability. Now, arguments about politics and culture are often a street fight.
The Lost Cause crap was always there; I might say I should have seen it, but I might have been 22 when I stopped paying attention to him. I believe he hates women outright; his kindness and affection for any group of them depends only upon how they serve him. All these accusations and facts of sexual abuse, rape, and coverups prove all of that. That’s one of the beauties of resting in Holy Mother Church: I don’t have to rush to the defense of some “Christian conservative,” because “the libs” are after him. HE is a sexist; I’m just a passionate guy with a low tolerance for BS.
(I don’t hate liberals, either. I wish to meet Bryan Stevenson [“Just Mercy”] and Sister Helen Prejean, [“Dead Man Walking”] before we lose her. Both those books are “weep on the pages” kind of books, for anyone with a soul. I have made donations to Equal Justice Initiative, because I happen to think poor people deserve vigorous legal defense, regardless. So, Dr. Mary McCampbell and anyone else: if you’re going to put me with the “deplorables,” you’d better bring receipts. My guess is, you might not have enough people who tell you you’re wrong.)
Anyway, Doug Wilson is bad news.
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