You wrote in this article that “we need to face an uncomfortable truth: Christians who aid, abet, and even encourage the rejection of historic Christian teachings are also playing a key role in our disintegration. If more Christians—especially Christian leaders—had been faithful to biblical Christianity, we likely would not be in our current mess. And if we want things to improve, we need to look at ourselves and get our own house in order.”
I completely agree with that statement. At the same time, it greatly perplexes me, in light of what you have written in an article called, “Eric Metaxas, Francis Schaeffer, and The Great Evangelical Disaster.”
In that article, you wrote, “For me, Metaxas’s book is spot-on in its central message, which is that many American Christians have been secularized to the point of insipidity. If we want to stave off the complete collapse of our society in our own day, Christian churches need to reform themselves from within.”
Again, I fully agree with that central message. My concern is that Metaxas himself was compromising on that central message when he said to Jordan Peterson in an interview published by Peterson on YouTube in EP371 starting at 1:20:38, “that’s what I think people like you and I are hoping to do—is to tell people . . . God is with you in this.” Throughout the interview, he speaks as though Peterson is presenting the same God and the same biblical reality as he is (even praising his flawed exegesis more than once), when that could not be further from the truth.
In his video description, Jordan Peterson speaks clearly against “those who stay silent in the face of tyranny,” and about “the responsibility to act against falsehood.” I, in another vein, have found it necessary to not stay silent when those who are looked up to by a majority of those who call themselves Christians as being their most effective leaders are, in fact, leading the people to embrace one who is most adept at dispensing deceptive falsehood—the man, Jordan Peterson.
FYI, Jordan Peterson has been practicing Kundalini Yoga for at least twenty years, and, very deliberately in his latest book, “We Who Wrestle With God,” has replaced biblical exegesis with his Eastern mystical doctrines, which I detail in my written analysis of that work, and which I have begun to post on my Substack publication at https://steinarbremnes.substack.com/.
I had pre-ordered this book, so I’m already about fifty pages in and it’s very good so far.
Despite Megan Basham insisting that the mistakes, nearly all minor, in her volume Shepherds for Sale are to be corrected in subsequent editions, her critics have largely chosen to highlight these without really addressing her book’s central claims. Janet Mefferd and to a lesser extent Warren Cole Smith regrettably don’t seem to want to hear the genuinely bad news Basham brings, seeing her book as simply a vehicle to promote Trump and/or Christian Nationalism. This I think is a not a fair reading of Basham, but in any case with West’s book covering much of the same territory, her critics may now have to confront the crises in the church she speaks of without seizing upon distractions.
Straight is the gate and narrow is the road, few find it.
God decides which nations rise and fall and when.
So it’s ironic you speak of Stockholm Syndrome when you are clearly committed to progressivism and evolutionary theories, the idea we are here to improve the world, have a positive impact and what not, and serve humanity.
You think the survival of Christendom is a matter of our own efforts when the Bible says we will proliferate like yeast and flavour like salt. It’s not our job to acquire political or cultural power, even as we can and have. It’s not *required.*
Please read Chapter 12 of my book, and you will see that I do not think the survival of Christianity is due to our own efforts. In fact, I make the opposite point. That said, Christians ARE called to be salt and light in culture, and we ARE called to be faithful. Faithfulness has consequences, and so does unfaithfulness.
I don’t see a guy like West promoting “progressivism,” and his being at the Discovery Institute makes him that much less likely to promote evolutionary theory.
Question: are Christians not to speak up for those being led away to slaughter? Are we not to promote the common good with our votes in a democratic republic?
Were Christians wrong to work to end slavery, Jim Crow segregation, discrimination, wrong to try to protect our unborn sisters and brothers from violent assault, wrong to try to end sex trafficking?
How can it be wrong or misguided to serve humanity when we are commanded to love our neighbor?
I read your profound and excellent book Darwin Day in America, and thought it explained much of what we are seeing today. I just put Stockholm Syndrome in my Amazon shopping cart.
The causes for the decline of the nominally Bible-believing churches are many. In addition to doctrinal issues concerning the nature of faith, and repentance based on psychological human guilt rather than the working of the Holy Spirit, there is capitulation to the worldly doctrines of role reversal and unisex derived from feminism.
If we do not believe what the Bible says about masculinity and femininity in our own homes and churches, where we do have some control, how can we withstand any pressures of the world?
Which pastor do you refer to when you quoted, "“The trustworthiness of the Bible is… not defensible in culture where seconds count and emotions run high"?
I wonder, although it's a total guess... Might he mean that when emotions are running high that simply quoting a book someone doesn't believe isn't helpful? Maybe a parable or illustration would suit the occasion better, as Jesus often did, something to draw people to where eternity meets temporality.
Of course, once the autonomic nervous system settles and the rational mind can think things through, then one could suggest looking at the hope God offers in Scripture, for there we find life and truth.
You are definitely over the target, sir. This problem has been growing for decades. Too many Christians are more concerned about self-preservation than they are making disciples and obeying God. Jesus told His disciples they would be persecuted and hated. He said they would have trouble (tribulation) in this world, but that they didn't need to fear because He had overcome the world. Unfortunately, we live in a time when followers of Christ are barely following Christ. They are compromising God's Word, which means they are out of His will. Yes, you are over the target. Thank you.
Here's more on Collins' role in creating a climate for pushing the false covid narrative that has caused massive irreparable harm (from a simple Grok AI search):
Francis Collins, as the former director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), played a significant role in shaping the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in supporting lockdown measures. His actions, alongside Anthony Fauci, have been criticized for attempting to suppress dissenting scientific views, notably those expressed in the Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), which advocated for an alternative approach to managing the pandemic.
Collins' Role in Undermining the GBD [Great Barrington Declaration] and Its Sponsors
Emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, released in late 2021, revealed Collins' efforts to discredit the GBD and its authors. On October 8, 2020, Collins emailed Fauci and other NIH officials, describing the GBD as the work of "three fringe epidemiologists" and calling for a "quick and devastating published takedown of its premises." This language suggested a coordinated effort to suppress debate rather than engage with the declaration's arguments scientifically.
Collins followed through on this directive by speaking to media outlets, such as The Washington Post, where he dismissed the GBD as a "fringe component of epidemiology" and labeled its strategy "dangerous." He argued that the declaration's approach would lead to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths, despite evidence from countries like Sweden, which avoided strict lockdowns and focused on protecting vulnerable groups, achieving outcomes comparable to or better than some lockdown-heavy nations. [GROK AI]
Hi Jonathan... I'd encourage you to read Chapter 2 of my book where all of my statements about Collins and the NIH under his leadership are documented with citations. By the way, the paragraph about Collins in the excerpt you read doesn't reference embryonic stem cell research. It mentions the NIH under Collins funding the harvesting of actual body parts of babies from late term abortions, which is part of the public record (even though the NIH under Collins forced a group to file a lawsuit to get the documentation). But since you raised the issue of embryonic stem cell research, you should know that Collins was intimately involved in the re-opening of embryonic stem cell research using cell lines from aborted babies when he was appointed to the NIH by President Obama. See here for just one of the press releases from the NIH: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-opens-website-human-embryonic-stem-cell-lines-approval-announces-members-working-group
Regarding breast removal for girls, the paragraph you cite from me does NOT say that Collins was personally involved in doing the procedures, nor have I have ever claimed that he was. But the NIH under Collins did fund the research of a prominent researcher in California who was prescribing puberty blockers to children and referring young women for breast removals. See https://www.christianpost.com/news/testosterone-being-given-to-8-y-o-girls-age-lowered-from-13-doctors.html. More generally, the NIH under Collins also funded a different grant to increase access to “gender affirming care” for those as young as 13. Gender-affirming care interventions typically include puberty blockers as well as surgeries (and the hospital receiving this particular grant did do surgeries on minors at least as young as 15). See
Additionally, Collins publicly identified himself as an "ally and advocate" of the LGTBQIA
movement.
As for evolution, I'd again encourage people to read my book, which offers a pretty thorough analysis of Collins’ views as well as his misguided (and inaccurate) critiques of scientists who think there is discernible evidence of intelligent design in biology.
You wrote in this article that “we need to face an uncomfortable truth: Christians who aid, abet, and even encourage the rejection of historic Christian teachings are also playing a key role in our disintegration. If more Christians—especially Christian leaders—had been faithful to biblical Christianity, we likely would not be in our current mess. And if we want things to improve, we need to look at ourselves and get our own house in order.”
I completely agree with that statement. At the same time, it greatly perplexes me, in light of what you have written in an article called, “Eric Metaxas, Francis Schaeffer, and The Great Evangelical Disaster.”
In that article, you wrote, “For me, Metaxas’s book is spot-on in its central message, which is that many American Christians have been secularized to the point of insipidity. If we want to stave off the complete collapse of our society in our own day, Christian churches need to reform themselves from within.”
Again, I fully agree with that central message. My concern is that Metaxas himself was compromising on that central message when he said to Jordan Peterson in an interview published by Peterson on YouTube in EP371 starting at 1:20:38, “that’s what I think people like you and I are hoping to do—is to tell people . . . God is with you in this.” Throughout the interview, he speaks as though Peterson is presenting the same God and the same biblical reality as he is (even praising his flawed exegesis more than once), when that could not be further from the truth.
In his video description, Jordan Peterson speaks clearly against “those who stay silent in the face of tyranny,” and about “the responsibility to act against falsehood.” I, in another vein, have found it necessary to not stay silent when those who are looked up to by a majority of those who call themselves Christians as being their most effective leaders are, in fact, leading the people to embrace one who is most adept at dispensing deceptive falsehood—the man, Jordan Peterson.
FYI, Jordan Peterson has been practicing Kundalini Yoga for at least twenty years, and, very deliberately in his latest book, “We Who Wrestle With God,” has replaced biblical exegesis with his Eastern mystical doctrines, which I detail in my written analysis of that work, and which I have begun to post on my Substack publication at https://steinarbremnes.substack.com/.
Thanks for these comments. I don't follow Jordan Peterson very much, but from what I have read and heard, I think you are wise to raise concerns.
Yes, it’s Andy Stanley, in his book Irresistible (2018), which I discuss and critique in detail in Chapter 1 of my book.
I had pre-ordered this book, so I’m already about fifty pages in and it’s very good so far.
Despite Megan Basham insisting that the mistakes, nearly all minor, in her volume Shepherds for Sale are to be corrected in subsequent editions, her critics have largely chosen to highlight these without really addressing her book’s central claims. Janet Mefferd and to a lesser extent Warren Cole Smith regrettably don’t seem to want to hear the genuinely bad news Basham brings, seeing her book as simply a vehicle to promote Trump and/or Christian Nationalism. This I think is a not a fair reading of Basham, but in any case with West’s book covering much of the same territory, her critics may now have to confront the crises in the church she speaks of without seizing upon distractions.
More in this vein from author West here:
https://www.discovery.org/a/eric-metaxas-francis-schaeffer-the-great-evangelical-disaster/
Several biblical ideas render your concerns moot:
Faith is a gift of God.
God is sovereign over all things.
Straight is the gate and narrow is the road, few find it.
God decides which nations rise and fall and when.
So it’s ironic you speak of Stockholm Syndrome when you are clearly committed to progressivism and evolutionary theories, the idea we are here to improve the world, have a positive impact and what not, and serve humanity.
You think the survival of Christendom is a matter of our own efforts when the Bible says we will proliferate like yeast and flavour like salt. It’s not our job to acquire political or cultural power, even as we can and have. It’s not *required.*
Please read Chapter 12 of my book, and you will see that I do not think the survival of Christianity is due to our own efforts. In fact, I make the opposite point. That said, Christians ARE called to be salt and light in culture, and we ARE called to be faithful. Faithfulness has consequences, and so does unfaithfulness.
I don’t see a guy like West promoting “progressivism,” and his being at the Discovery Institute makes him that much less likely to promote evolutionary theory.
Question: are Christians not to speak up for those being led away to slaughter? Are we not to promote the common good with our votes in a democratic republic?
Were Christians wrong to work to end slavery, Jim Crow segregation, discrimination, wrong to try to protect our unborn sisters and brothers from violent assault, wrong to try to end sex trafficking?
How can it be wrong or misguided to serve humanity when we are commanded to love our neighbor?
Thanks! I'm definitely not promoting progressivism or evolutionary theory in my book!
Wrote you a private message. Whatever email account you have linked to Substack should show a message request from me this morning. Blest wishes!
I read your profound and excellent book Darwin Day in America, and thought it explained much of what we are seeing today. I just put Stockholm Syndrome in my Amazon shopping cart.
The causes for the decline of the nominally Bible-believing churches are many. In addition to doctrinal issues concerning the nature of faith, and repentance based on psychological human guilt rather than the working of the Holy Spirit, there is capitulation to the worldly doctrines of role reversal and unisex derived from feminism.
If we do not believe what the Bible says about masculinity and femininity in our own homes and churches, where we do have some control, how can we withstand any pressures of the world?
Thank you!
Which pastor do you refer to when you quoted, "“The trustworthiness of the Bible is… not defensible in culture where seconds count and emotions run high"?
I tried googling it, but only your quote came up.
Yes, it’s Andy Stanley, in his book Irresistible (2018), which I discuss and critique in detail in Chapter 1 of my book.
I wonder, although it's a total guess... Might he mean that when emotions are running high that simply quoting a book someone doesn't believe isn't helpful? Maybe a parable or illustration would suit the occasion better, as Jesus often did, something to draw people to where eternity meets temporality.
Of course, once the autonomic nervous system settles and the rational mind can think things through, then one could suggest looking at the hope God offers in Scripture, for there we find life and truth.
Thanks!
I believe, but I’m likely mistaken, that was Andy Stanley.
Thanks
Thanks, I'll add his name and see if it comes up
You are definitely over the target, sir. This problem has been growing for decades. Too many Christians are more concerned about self-preservation than they are making disciples and obeying God. Jesus told His disciples they would be persecuted and hated. He said they would have trouble (tribulation) in this world, but that they didn't need to fear because He had overcome the world. Unfortunately, we live in a time when followers of Christ are barely following Christ. They are compromising God's Word, which means they are out of His will. Yes, you are over the target. Thank you.
Here's more on Collins' role in creating a climate for pushing the false covid narrative that has caused massive irreparable harm (from a simple Grok AI search):
Francis Collins, as the former director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), played a significant role in shaping the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in supporting lockdown measures. His actions, alongside Anthony Fauci, have been criticized for attempting to suppress dissenting scientific views, notably those expressed in the Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), which advocated for an alternative approach to managing the pandemic.
Collins' Role in Undermining the GBD [Great Barrington Declaration] and Its Sponsors
Emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, released in late 2021, revealed Collins' efforts to discredit the GBD and its authors. On October 8, 2020, Collins emailed Fauci and other NIH officials, describing the GBD as the work of "three fringe epidemiologists" and calling for a "quick and devastating published takedown of its premises." This language suggested a coordinated effort to suppress debate rather than engage with the declaration's arguments scientifically.
Collins followed through on this directive by speaking to media outlets, such as The Washington Post, where he dismissed the GBD as a "fringe component of epidemiology" and labeled its strategy "dangerous." He argued that the declaration's approach would lead to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths, despite evidence from countries like Sweden, which avoided strict lockdowns and focused on protecting vulnerable groups, achieving outcomes comparable to or better than some lockdown-heavy nations. [GROK AI]
Francis Collins also did a lot of harm via his covid response. Here 's a source for some info regarding that fiasco: https://x.com/megbasham/status/1740433531384324426
Hi Jonathan... I'd encourage you to read Chapter 2 of my book where all of my statements about Collins and the NIH under his leadership are documented with citations. By the way, the paragraph about Collins in the excerpt you read doesn't reference embryonic stem cell research. It mentions the NIH under Collins funding the harvesting of actual body parts of babies from late term abortions, which is part of the public record (even though the NIH under Collins forced a group to file a lawsuit to get the documentation). But since you raised the issue of embryonic stem cell research, you should know that Collins was intimately involved in the re-opening of embryonic stem cell research using cell lines from aborted babies when he was appointed to the NIH by President Obama. See here for just one of the press releases from the NIH: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-opens-website-human-embryonic-stem-cell-lines-approval-announces-members-working-group
Regarding breast removal for girls, the paragraph you cite from me does NOT say that Collins was personally involved in doing the procedures, nor have I have ever claimed that he was. But the NIH under Collins did fund the research of a prominent researcher in California who was prescribing puberty blockers to children and referring young women for breast removals. See https://www.christianpost.com/news/testosterone-being-given-to-8-y-o-girls-age-lowered-from-13-doctors.html. More generally, the NIH under Collins also funded a different grant to increase access to “gender affirming care” for those as young as 13. Gender-affirming care interventions typically include puberty blockers as well as surgeries (and the hospital receiving this particular grant did do surgeries on minors at least as young as 15). See
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_U01OD033248_7529.
Additionally, Collins publicly identified himself as an "ally and advocate" of the LGTBQIA
movement.
As for evolution, I'd again encourage people to read my book, which offers a pretty thorough analysis of Collins’ views as well as his misguided (and inaccurate) critiques of scientists who think there is discernible evidence of intelligent design in biology.