For the Uninitiated, Virtue in the Wasteland is a podcast about — in their words — culture, religion, and ethics. It is run by Dr. Jeff Mallinson and Dr. Daniel van Voorhis, both professors at Concordia University in Irvine (though Dr. van Voorhis has now moved out of academia to focus on his work with 1517, an organization that Dr. Mallinson also belongs to).
A year ago, my wife was invited to appear on the show. 1517 generously paid all expenses to bring my wife, myself, and our young son from the Midwest to California so that my wife could participate in the Virtue in the Wasteland (ViW) Christmas party as a guest. We had a great time, and Drs. Mallinson and van Voorhis were beyond gracious and kind.
And that is important to note: just as we are grateful recipients of their hospitality, the good Drs. have a well-deserved reputation for being extremely welcoming.
However, recent events have begged the question: when does “being welcoming” turn from Virtue, to Vice?
And, more to the point, is it truly “Virtue” in the Wasteland to harken to every Voice in the Wilderness?
Examining #churchtoo
You have likely heard of #churchtoo, the #metoo spinoff focusing on sexual abuse within the Church. While the movement is joined at the hip with radical feminism and the liberal #exvangelical movement, I fully understand that examining the #churchtoo movement is worthwhile if it can help Christians understand how to get our own house in order. From the Roman Catholic Church scandal that raged over this past summer, to the myriad pastors who have been accused of sexual impropriety (including, in an ironic twist, one employed by ViW’s own sponsoring organization, 1517, see here and here) across the denominational spectrum, one reasonably concludes that housekeeping is definitely in order.
So I don’t blame ViW for wanting to bring on a subject matter expert to share some thoughts on abuse within the Church’s walls. Not in the slightest. The best way to clean anything is to first expose it to the light, and listening to the victims of intra-Church abuse is the key to exposing dirty deeds done in the dark places.
But should we listen uncritically? Without discernment? Especially when the only way to “fix the problem” in a way that the victim feels is satisfactory is to gut the Christian faith altogether?
Because, according to ViW, that’s exactly what we should be doing.
Just Sit and “Listen” to Emily Joy?
As of yesterday, ViW published an interview with Emily Joy — a public figure within the #churchtoo movement. The copy that accompanies the episode reads thusly:
Since ViW themselves link to the works of Emily Joy without caveat or qualification, let us do as they say and “listen to Emily Joy.”
In her own words:
Calling the standards preached in Scripture “violences that ‘effect women?'” Can we make the obvious inference that, based on this outlook, the Word of God is “abusive to women”?
You decide, while I press on.
According to Emily, LGBTQ+ affirmation is an integral part of #churchtoo. In fact, as her Twitter profile discloses, she is openly “bisexual” herself.
Would the reforms to the Church advocated by such a person leave Christ’s Church intact? Or would it dismantle it and build something else in its place?
And this is who ViW puts forth as someone we should “listen” to without taking notes or challenging? Are we listening to the same person?
Sadly, we are.
Need I say more?
No, but I will offer one last, sad example.
Admittedly, I found my one visit to a local chapter of the Christian kid’s club known as “AWANA” in elementary school to be a bit, well, trite. So, when my wife (who was highly involved in AWANA in her youth) showed me this tweet, upset, I had no context for deciphering it.
As she explained to me, “Sparky” is the mascot for the K-2nd Grade AWANA level, known as the “Sparks.”
Thus, what you see here is a woman who claims to have been sexually abused in the Church as a teen, sexualizing the uniform of a church club for 5-7 year olds.
Understand, the above is just a sampling. There is more — so much more — for anyone who cares to look.
Again, is this the voice we should associate with Virtue in the Wasteland?
It’s an important question to ask. And I’m not the only one asking it.
Does the Truth Get a Say?
Last evening, my wife posted her concerns (as well as the screenshots displayed above) to ViW’s Facebook post promoting the episode in question. The post has now been taken down by an administrator who asked my wife to cease “mudslinging,” and promising to repost the episode to Facebook later.
Below are screenshots of every post from the thread; I ask the reader to judge for yourself if this was mudslinging, or simply a well-intentioned warning to those who would hold Emily Joy up as a voice worth listening to?
The obvious irony here is that, while encouraging us to simply sit back and take in the voice and words that Emily Joy has to offer, ViW has simultaneously forced a hand over the mouth of those who would warn about the perils of doing so. One wonders: what exactly are ViW’s criteria for being worth listening to? And what is the place of Truth in that equation?
Yes, ViW has listened to my wife — and given her a platform for others to hear her out! — in the past. Our appreciation for this is immense.
But that does not mean that every voice in the wasteland is worth hearing.
A Tale of Two Voices
Jesus himself did not think every voice was worth hearing out — he specifically silenced the demons as he cast them out.
But, surely we should “just listen” to them? Gain a little perspective?
Nope. Shut up, and out you go.
And no, I’m not calling Emily Joy a demon, clearly. I’m acknowledging that righteousness (or “virtue,” if you prefer) demands a dividing line between the voices worth listening to, and those worth removing altogether from your presence.
John the Baptist and Satan both preached in the same wilderness. But they preached radically different messages.
John preached Christ. He preached the need for John to diminish that Christ may increase. He preached heavy, heavy law, convicting peasant and king alike of sin. And he pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
Satan preached rebellion. He preached the lusts of the flesh. He preached the twisting the Scripture. He preached self as the ruler of all things.
Jesus listened to the preacher of the first message, and called him great. But for the preacher of the second message, he had nothing but rebuke.
Specifically, he rebuked him saying:
You shall worship the Lord your God
and Him only shall you serve.
Judge for yourselves on what has been publicly confessed… Sure, even listen to the ViW episode and judge based on the words shared over this past summer…
But judge. Judge whether Emily Joy would likely confess these words of Christ that sent Satan scurrying.
Or whether she would be revolted by them, and herself seek to flee to some other place, far away from the Gospel — and the presence — of Christ.
And, based on Emily’s public joining of hands with Chris Stroop and his #emptythepews movement – which seeks a mass exodus from the place where Christ’s presence is promised, and his Gospel proclaimed – I don’t think it’s a hard question to answer at all.
Look how cute @emilyjoypoetry and I are after the #Exvangelical event at @citylit_books in Chicago!#EmptyThePews #ChurchToo #FridayFeeling
CC: @JosiahMHesse @lizkineke @theholyapostate @greenworldblogs @brchastain pic.twitter.com/JadcDUMXF6
— Chris Stroop (@C_Stroop) October 13, 2018
Not all voices in the wilderness are worth listening to.
Practicing virtue in the wasteland requires knowing which is which.
A Final Plea
I simply want to end by urging Virtue in the Wasteland to, if not remove the episode altogether, at least make it abundantly, glaringly clear that they do not in any way endorse Emily Joy or her work. Currently, the copy associated with the episode indicates the opposite. This is not in the best interest of their audience, who ostensibly trusts these gentlemen to show discernment and good judgement in their pursuit of virtue.
I ask that they examine whether this content is in keeping with the trust that has been placed in them, and act accordingly.
With much love,
Tom
The post Voices in the Wilderness: a plea for discernment to Virtue in the Wasteland appeared first on The Chi Files.