“Patriarchy” is not a monolith. There is the patriarchy of fallen nature, whereby fallen men rule for the sake of ruling, and the patriarchy of Christianity, whereby men rule lovingly for the sake of peace. Christian patriarchy is feared or hated because of the abuses of natural patriarchy, and it’s admittedly difficult to distinguish the two because men sometimes use faith to legitimate their selfish desires. They are distinct, nonetheless, and in what follows, I’m going to expound on and defend this particular form. The Marital Polity The marital union could be described as the smallest…
If the centurion Cornelius, having fully become a Christian, remained a warrior … then it is clear that he became a Christian warrior. A collection of such warriors forms a Christian army…. Consequently, if there can be a Christian army, then by the same token and even all the more there can be a Christian state. ~ Vladimir Soloviev In the seventh Harry Potter book and the first part of its film adaptation, there is a scene where Harry, the young wizard protagonist, attends a wedding. In the previous book and film (spoiler alert!), his mentor…
Who does not love the rush of getting something new? I remember, with some shame, that this was in my youth the rush of Christmas. “What new gadget would I get? A video game? A computer? Oh, no….socks and underwear. The tragedy! My Christmas is over! So many friends of mine got cool expensive gadgets! And me? I got socks and a stupid old board game.” I needed that new video game or iPad or camera. The sense of loss was immense. While this is not my internal struggle with Christmas now, this still describes my…
