A Quiet Simple Life | Sallie Borrink

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

A Quiet Simple Life

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Examining Biblical Theology

Identifying and Working Out My Theological Framework


I’ve been thinking a lot the past year about my theological framework. Some of you may have noticed that I don’t write many theological posts. I regularly share Scripture. I write about how I apply my faith to various situations and decisions. But I haven’t gotten into theology in any significant way. 

There’s been a reason for that and it’s fairly simple. Apart from a lack of time to write quality posts involving theology, David and I have never been fully settled into any one camp and so I was not going to write about things that felt unsettled.

We’ve been members of multiple churches during our marriage. We’ve never fully fit into any of them. Each time there was at least one major area where we had to compromise. We were always open about our differences with the doctrinal statement of each church where we became members so we never tried to hide anything. But it always felt like we were doing what we had to do to make the best of the most acceptable option available to us. 

So we always had to squish down something that was important to us. Before we had Caroline we struggled to find a church where I would fit in. After Caroline was born, we had to find a church where I would fit in and would also work for Caroline’s sensory needs. Needless to say, we’ve never fit in anywhere all that well. There were a number of long stretches when we didn’t go anywhere on Sunday. Our current church is probably the best fit of all of them and we’re thankful for that. I would describe it as a moderately conservative country Baptist church. However, we are not in total doctrinal agreement with our current church. But it’s overall the best fit of probably all the churches where we’ve been members. 

Because we’ve been in and out of so many different kinds of churches and denominations, I realized that I have residual junk lurking in my mind. Most of it is rooted in Calvinism and Reformed theology. My time on staff with InterVarsity had a lot of Reformed influence. Some of the pastors and teachers I’ve had were also Reformed leaning in various ways. David grew up Reformed. We’ve been members of two Christian Reformed (Calvinist) churches during our marriage. 

But when it comes right down to it, neither one of us is Calvinistic in our theology. (We’re not Arminians either.) Yet I think the Calvinism lurks in ways that are unhealthy for me (and us). For me, running in Calvinistic and Reformed circles was depressing. That could be an entire post by itself. Of all the churches of various types we visited over the years, the most depressing one by far was a Reformed Baptist church. It was literally oppressive to be in the service. We went a couple of times to be fair to the church and even went to lunch at the home of one of the elders. It was so depressing and controlling. As an introvert and one who already thinks a lot, the last thing I needed was something like that.  

We also knew that Calvinism wasn’t for us because we discerned it was not the best theological environment to raise Caroline. At one point we became members of a small CRC church near our home where we really liked the pastor. We even had Caroline baptized when she was a toddler so we could become members. That was a significant choice for me as a basically life-long Baptist. After we moved to Cute Little Town, we attended a different CRC church off and on as we tried to sort out what to do. She even went to GEMS there for a bit. In the end, the theology and service was just too much. We knew it would be a very bad fit for Caroline’s personality. So we ended up in the country Baptist church and it was definitely the right choice where she was concerned. I’m so thankful God led us away from Calvinistic theology. I shudder to think about what things might have been like if we had raised her in that theological framework. God graciously led us away from that. 

So I’ve spent a lot of time in recent months identifying and naming the Calvinist things that I don’t agree with and why. It was like I had to look at each one and ask myself what I actually believed about it in order to formally reject it and put it behind me. It’s been good and liberating.

No, I’m not deconstructing my faith. Not even close. Just the opposite. I’m solidifying it in ways I haven’t had time to think about in recent years. There were several parts to it including deep dives into:

  • the purpose and practice of the gathering of believers in the New Testament church 
  • how paganism influenced the church and the steps that led to it becoming an institution instead of a gathering of believers edifying each other 
  • the fact that the Reformers did not go nearly far enough in moving away from Rome and how that continues to be a problem today 
  • finding a theological structure for the book of Revelation that actually makes sense and is consistent with the whole of Scriptures 
  • observing what is going on with Reformed and Calvinist folks online and the impact this is having and will continue to have on women in the coming years (not good IMHO – another post coming on that) 

It’s been a very good time of personal growth. I’ve toyed with the idea of posting a Christian video I’ve appreciated each day to share with my readers. I’ve watched countless good ones on a variety of theological topics. I’m thinking about that. 

So that’s where I’ve been. Sometimes I haven’t blogged as much because I’ve been very busy and intentional with homeschooling the last couple of years. Sometimes it’s been due to reading and writing for my other website. And sometimes it’s because I’ve been working through my theology. 

In the end, it’s all been very good. It boils down to the truth and reality that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord. That has never changed no matter which building I walked into on a given Sunday and what their doctrinal statement said. Jesus died for my sins. He rose from the dead and conquered death. He forgave my sins and changed me. He loves me and intercedes for me. The Holy Spirit guides me.

I am His and He is mine. 

I pray He is your Savior, too. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:16-17

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Is The Moscow Mood Dead?


I originally started writing this post a few days ago and had the tentative title The Moscow Mood Has Soured. After the weekend, I think it’s appropriate to ask if the Moscow Mood is dead.

By dead I don’t mean to say that all of the endeavors happening in Moscow, Idaho, will cease to exist shortly. Rather I am saying that the unique thing called the Moscow Mood is probably dead.

It’s not clear to me what will take its place and how things will develop. But November was not good to their endeavors. From my perspective, they lost a couple of important battles online that will slowly but steadily drip out into the rest of the Reformed world.

This post is a collection of my thoughts regarding what happened. It is not comprehensive and it may seem a little disjointed. I’m leaving out loads of content. But I don’t want to devote more than a few hours to writing this.

So here goes.

No Quarter November Preview

On October 19 in the post The Moscow Mood and No Quarter November I wrote:

Here’s what I’m interested in seeing this year during NQN.

This is the first NQN since Moscow received what I would assume is several magnitudes of greater notice due to the Kevin DeYoung controversy and Doug Wilson going on Tucker.

How do they handle working from a position of greater notoriety? Does it go to their heads? There was a recent dust-up over a vulgar Johnny Cash photo they used in a promotional video. I thought their response came off as arrogant. I hope it isn’t a sign of things to come.

In addition, there has been significant pushback against Wilson’s view of the Jews and Israel from even among those who would be considered part of his camp. I’ve read many comments on Wilson’s CensorTube videos that say something like, “Love everything you do in Moscow. Subscribe to Canon+. But you are just wrong about the Jews and Israel.”

So Wilson has been accused by more than a few people of having a blindspot when it comes to that particular issue. I’m curious to see how that plays out in the months ahead from several different perspectives.

I was over the target. Their doubling down on the Johnny Cash photo was a sign of things to come. And the issues related to the Jews? Most of the month ended up revolving around that topic. I think that happened in some ways they planned for and in other ways they didn’t.

No Quarter November Highlights (Lowlights?)

Here is my attempt at an impartial summary of the major points (in no particular order).

Doug Wilson & Co. are willing to go to very great lengths to avoid being connected to anything and anyone that could remotely be labeled with anti-semitism. This includes being willing to alienate a significant portion of their support base. They as much as said that the Pete Hegseth nomination to Secretary of Defense was part of why they did what they did because of his connections to the CREC and classical education. (See: Antioch Declaration) As I said before, I think those in Moscow have tasted access to power and they don’t want anything getting in the way. Although this might sound odd, I’m not paying them a compliment when writing about their commitment to avoid being labeled an anti-semite. I’ve covered this in many other posts so that’s all I’ll say here.

Doubling down again and again on poor choices, poor wording, and poorly executed plans loses you supporters. (See: Antioch Declaration).

Advocating for wives to basically turn in their husbands to church authorities for being too right-wing is now a thing Moscow promotes. They are still backpeddling and clarifying as I write this post, but that’s what blew up over the weekend. (Here’s a link to one discussion on Twitter/X with the video. I’m not endorsing any of it, but it gives a good overview of the debate in the comments as well.)

Related to the content in the previous paragraph is a 2021 clip that got brought up and was new to me. Go here to see the original tweet that shared the video in the comments. Go here to video and jump to 27:33 mark. This is Doug’s wife and daughters telling women that if their husband thinks they should get the vaccine, they should obey and do it – even if the wife is convinced it is dangerous. (I could write an entire post just about this one thing and the assumptions that go with this kind of thinking.)

Doug has lost the benefit of the doubt. Many people gave it to him for many years. He’s lost that. I would include myself in this. I have a few posts with videos featuring Doug on this website. I’ll be deleting them this week. It’s one thing to make a mistake here and there. We all do it. It’s another thing to repeatedly say things that incite turmoil, tell people that’s not what you meant, and then write massively long missives that no one has time to read to explain what you really meant. A lot of people are over it. That much is crystal clear.

Things develop far too quickly with too many people online for the public facing people in Moscow to stay informed and respond promptly. There were people doing their shows who admitted they didn’t know what was going on with some major stories but were discussing the stories on their shows.

The theme of the 2024 NQN was burning bridges and they definitely accomplished that. The mood that they set with their video for this year was just off. It felt negative and combative. Clearly they had been thinking about breaking with a certain segment of the right for some time (anyone who questions the official WW2 narrative).

Joel Webbon was clearly wronged in the drama that had been simmering for months and blew up in November. I’m not a Joel Webbon fan and have even written in Are We Heading Toward Vision Forum 2.0 and Patriocentricity Again? that there are some red flags there. However, it seems pretty clear to me that Moscow decided Joel is a threat and it was time to separate from him and take him down. Like him or not, Joel isn’t afraid to discuss things that are considered off-limits in polite Christian society and the rapid growth of his CensorTube channel is proof of that. I’ve addressed some of this in other posts so I’ll leave it at that. I still have strong reservations about Joel, but he handled a vicious and ridiculous situation put upon him very well and the Moscow group came off poorly.

This barely scratches the surface of what happened. But, again, there are so many other things to do (homeschooling, Christmas, homemaking, etc.) and other blog posts to write that it’s not worth it for me to hash it all out in multiple posts.

NQN Tweets To Archive

So the next part of this post is simply a record for me. Below I’m including a couple of lengthy comments I made on Twitter so I have a record of them here on my website. If I don’t, they will be lost in my timeline. If anyone has questions or wants clarification about anything in this post, I’ll be happy to do that in the comments on this post. Just ask. But I’m only taking the time to write this summary otherwise.

Live text and screen shots for my archival and search purposes

Thoughts on events leading up to Antioch Declaration

Link

I’m the opposite.

I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. However, as some people inexplicably doubled-down it became more important.

But now bringing out what is basically a loyalty oath in the form of a declaration?

There’s a battle going on for the leadership of a certain part of American Christianity. That matters because it filters into other areas of Christianity.

What I find most interesting is how all of this has revealed glaring blind spots in some leaders. We’ve moved from secular “trust the science” to religious “trust the history.”

I don’t know what the complete truth is about history, but any Christian leaders who tell me I must fall in line and not ever question one group of people and one event in history is someone I won’t trust. I didn’t trust the leaders who told me to blindly trust the science and I’m not going to blindly follow the religious leaders who tell me to trust the history.

Same thread

When a Christian leader tells grown men and women to sit down and shut up, there’s something seriously wrong.

I was a teacher years ago. If I had said that to a classroom of students, I would have been in big trouble.

Something is very, very off about all of this. Seeing grown men with decades of ministry experience handling things like this defies logic.

Responses to the Antioch Declaration

Link

I watched your newest video and then listened to it again with my husband. I think in the end it boils down to this.

You and the men you named in the video are seen by the other side as expendable collateral damage.

There is really no other explanation.

There’s a reason you’re flabbergasted and trying to figure out something that makes sense. As a mostly impartial observer, I can say none of this has made sense for some time.

This is an undeclared war and the other side has determined they will not lose. They are willing to let former friends and associates be collateral damage.

Moscow, the associated brands, and personalities associated with it carry more value across the established Reformed world. They are calculating they can outlast you (and especially Joel) both in the short-term and long-term because you are backed primarily by nameless anons and named people with less cachet.

Until someone provides a better explanation, this is the only thing that makes sense.

Disconnect in Moscow

Link

There is a real disconnect in Moscow.

One of the problems is that some of these men admit they are not up on things that are happening. Knox admitted that on this CrossPolitic. Something similar came up with Jared Longshore (IIRC) on another show recently. He admitted he was not at all up-to-date on something else (elections maybe?).

There’s nothing wrong with being too busy with your responsibilities that you can’t keep up with what is happening. I don’t fault them at all for focusing on job and family. That should be their first focus.

But to have no idea what is going on with a situation and then come on a show to lead or participate in a discussion about that situation is not wise.

It feels like all of this has gotten way too big on multiple fronts for the public-facing leadership group trying to handle it.

Holodomor and Doug Wilson

If you haven’t read my previous posts, this one might not make sense. But it made perfect sense to those in the know.

Link

If our first commitment is to be to our Christian brothers and sisters around the world as opposed to our fellow countrymen/women, then why has @douglaswils apparently never written even once about the evils, tragedy, and lessons of the Holodomor?

Yesterday was Holodomor Remembrance Day.

Those tens of millions of primarily Christian lives that were wiped out by the Bolsheviks meant something. They should especially mean something to us as Christian believers.

Sadly, I knew nothing about the Holodomor until a few years ago. I’ve asked myself why this is and came to my own conclusions.

But most people aren’t naturally inquisitive about history. And, truthfully, many people don’t have the time to be because they are too busy navigating life. But I think Christians would want to know about this part of the history of the church. I think they should know.

Perhaps @canonpress could create materials for Canon+ and the bookstore about this important topic by the next remembrance day. They could create some great material that parents could use with their children as well as materials more appropriate for adults.

Again, if our first commitment is to be to fellow Christians (as Doug has pointedly said), this seems like a glaring hole in Christian education in every way – home, school, and church.

Lastly, here is when someone shared this last Twitter/X post. It made me laugh. Remember that in these circles a lot of the men think women should not even be engaging in theological discussions online. I was pleasantly surprised a few of the things I wrote were widely shared and liked.

Watching all of this unfold while deep-diving on other related topics the past few weeks made me realize all over again why David and I have never fit into these circles.

But those are posts for another day.

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There Is No Such Thing as “Judeo-Christian” – Father Calvin Robinson


Father Calvin Robinson is an Anglican priest from the U.K. who recently moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has an interesting story about how he ended up here. Among other things, he’s on a literal top ten hit list in the U.K. for speaking the truth.

Anyway, Father Robinson gave a master class this week on how to deal with the “Judeo-Christian” term. You’ll have to be on Twitter/X to see it, but it was great. He came back today with a video about it which of course brought about more discussion. I’ll embed the relevant tweets below, but you’ll have to be on the platform to see it all.

What makes this even more ironic is the fact that he just went to Moscow, Idaho, and recorded a couple of shows with Doug Wilson and friends. Let’s just say the Moscow Mood has gone sour and the J Question was a big factor in the meltdown that has ensued over the past two weeks on Twitter/X and YouTube. (Father Robinson was not part of the meltdown, but the fact that he’s pointing out all kinds of stuff about the Jews and Israel is sure to get Doug Wilson worked up.)

Anyway.

In case you’ve never seen this, keep this in mind as you view his tweets.

First, the tweet that started it all and then some additional ones.

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No Quarter November, Attacking the Sacred Cows, & The Sons of Boomerdom


I’m so glad I put up my posts about White Boy Summer and The Moscow Mood & No Quarter November last week. So often I think about something in-depth, but don’t write about it so I don’t get to point out that I was correct about something. (Hey, when you live with an active mind and you figure things out, the little things like that matter!)

So the NQN 2024 video dropped on November 1. If you’ve read those posts, see what jumps out at you. 

I thought there were a couple of funny parts, but overall it didn’t wow me. I haven’t figured it out yet, but there is something about it that’s off. I’m still thinking about it. 

So Moscow is burning bridges, including apparently with the white boy summer folks. Or, more specifically, the men who have questions about the Jews, Israel, World War 2, the USA’s involvement with Israel, Israel’s influence on our country, etc. 

Someone shared this on Twitter in one of the threads I was reading. 

 

The Rational Redhead made this observation: 

The RR is alluding to the fact that there was another huge blow-up over the past two weeks involving all of these same people. That would be another post, but it had to do with antisemitism. 

Go figure.

(I told you all a couple of years ago to figure out what you believe about the Jews and Israel both theologically and politically because it was clear it would become a huge issue. It’s not over yet.)

I can summarize that particular situation with this image. 

If you want to read some comments I made on X about it, go here. I’ll eventually make that into a post because I have more to say, but there’s too much to already cover in this post. 

Next up are a couple of related posts from Twitter/X. I thought each offered a helpful viewpoint. I think the first one especially is insightful. 

I’ll offer one point of background so this first entry makes sense. Doug Wilson says one of the reasons that people don’t like the Jews is because they are envious of the Jews (their intelligence, drive, success, etc.). My personal opinion after spending a lot of time in these rabbit holes and discussions is that isn’t the case. The interest in these topics goes way beyond anything like that. Might it be true for some? Sure. But that’s not what is driving what is going on right now. Not at all. It is a theological and political issue. 

Attacking the Sacred Cows by Pvt Aureliano Buendia on X

I’m not big on the Christian fights, but on this first day of #NoQuarterNovember I’ll note that DW, whom I treasure, made his bones attacking the sacred cows of his prime: feminism, LGBTQ, etc.

His spiritual sons learned well his tactics and set out to conquer their own: Zionism, cultural genocide, etc., but those fattened calves are still sacred to the old guard, outside their personal Overton Windows

Just as DW was falsely accused of hating women because they’re women, so his generation accuses the next of hating Jews for being Jews.

And, as he well knows, no amount of explanation will suffice when your enemy has it in his mind that you’re motivated by petty hatred and personal envy.

Do some so-called TheoBros just hate women? I’m sure. Do some just hate Jews? Also sure. But the mass condemnation of energetic Christian men who love God’s Word and hate His enemies by establishment figures is the very hurdle DW was forced to jump his whole career.

So yes, I see a real inability for the old guard to see younger versions of themselves in the vanguard, but I also see something like a nervous terror at Moscow surveying what it created.

They wanted dragon slayers and they got them. Young men bought all the books, read them, and came out fighting. Now the authors are busy trying to explain that the big winged thing with all the talons isn’t really a dragon, or that it’s a friendly one with a special pass.

As Uncle Douglas himself might put it, channeling Mather, “Radicalism begat revolution and the daughter devoured the mother.”

Before anyone makes whatever assumption, I’m for honoring fathers like Doug Wilson and James White.

I’m also a mix of nauseated and bored by all the actual Nazi stuff. I know it’s out there and Christians do well to maintain distance from it.

I just see a massive blockage around certain topics that are deemed entirely verboten, unapproachable from any direction.

That breeds distrust, needlessly sacrifices credibility, and alienates otherwise allies. Young men sniff it immediately, run, and often to bad places.

If the elder statesmen mean to maintain their offices they’ll need to be willing to discuss even the thorniest topics honestly and accurately.

If the young men are wrong they need to be instructed, not called names for doing what they were trained to do.

12:23 & 1:06 PM · Nov 1, 2024

The Sons of Boomerdom by Michael Foster on X

I’m not planning to do a ‘No Quarter November,’ but I think I’ll have a ‘call it like I see it on topics I usually avoid’ November here and there.

Let’s start with the much-discussed ‘young, Reformed man.’

I care about this group. I want to see these men become all God has made them to be for the good of others and the glory of God. I was once part of it myself. I’m not that old, but I’m no longer young either (very much a Gen-Xer).

Some of the anonymous accounts I know personally, who have decried the alienation of young Reformed men—including themselves—by older Reformed men, are actually in their mid-to-late 30s.

Is that really what we mean by “young”? Your late 30s is very much mid-life in the States. If this is what we mean by young, it seems we’re adopting the surrounding culture’s delayed maturation scale. Maybe we are. If so, I think I categorize these men as something more like late bloomers or something other than young.

One reason I bring this up is that I notice much less angst and anger in the truly younger men, especially those in their mid-20s or younger. This age group isn’t PC at all—they say “gay” and “retarded,” they work out, mock feminism, and love Trump. But they’re not disaffected. There is less father hunger and, correspondingly, father resentment. It’s a surprising development.

This brings me back to the other group of men. They may be younger in the grand scheme of things, but they differ in that I sense a lot of anger and resentment, particularly directed at Boomers. In many cases, these men are younger Millennials and, therefore, the sons of Boomers. That’s how I tend to think about and categorize them. All sons are men, and I don’t want to see any Christian men unnecessarily alienated. However, it’s clear we are dealing with two different groups of Reformed men: the young men and the sons of Boomerdom.

One feature of the Boomer generation that I’ve observed across multiple areas is a hesitancy to retire or hand off an institution to a successor. For various reasons (and I can think of a few), this phenomenon hasn’t impacted Gen Xers quite as much as it has Millennials. I think this is one of the major sources of deep generational resentment you see swirling in Sons of Boomerdom. They are stuck on the outside or at the very bottom of the pyramid of authority. It has led to a patricidal mindset: if you want the keys to the kingdom, you must kill your father. Never mind whether or not you even have the skills to rule the kingdom.

There are some Sons of Boomerdom who haven’t demanded, “Dad, hand over the keys.” These men are the outliers who, often waiting years for a promotion, have decided they need to build something on their own. It’s a good thing. However, you can understand why such men would be especially defensive of criticism coming from those who remind them of their generation of withholding fathers.

I don’t think we can afford to spare a generation of Christian men, whether they are young or middle-aged. We need as many as we can get. This will require adopting different tactics with men based on the challenges they are trying to overcome. The goal of every father is to see his son grow into a peer, while the goal of a son should be to be worthy of a good father’s mantle. May the Lord turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and vice versa.

2:55 PM · Nov 1, 2024 

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