Gashmu Saith It Quotes

“Allow me to illustrate the principle with another observation. The Christians who are most concerned with adjusting the “faith once delivered” to suit the sensitivities of unbelievers are the liberal Christians. And those who are the least concerned about it are the traditional dogmatic Christians. But as C.S. Lewis once pointed out, when atheists are converted it is almost never to the “broad-minded” forms of the faith. If they are going to be a Christian, they want to be an actual one. In the same way, an ardent feminist is unlikely to “convert” to the soft feminism of the evangelical edges.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Because the word justice is so abused in our day, I need to say something brief about the civil magistrate’s duty to enforce justice. Injustice is not the violation of autonomous human rights, however those rights may be defined. Injustice is the violation of God-given rights. God gave us all the right to a fair trial if we are accused of some crime. And so, if we get an unfair trial, the kind that Jesus got, this is an injustice. But God did not give us the “right” to fifteen dollars an hour. For if He did, that means that somebody else has the obligation to pay you that amount. And when the state steps in to enforce that kind of obligation, the result is always tyrannical. So what is the relationship of these three governments? In God’s order, not one of the three is permitted to domineer over the others. Each has its assigned task, and each one needs to tend to its own knitting. The Church does not declare war, or collect the trash. The family does not administer the sacraments. The state does not review cases of church discipline. And not one of these spheres is dependent on any of the others for its existence.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Every epistle in the New Testament begins with a reference to grace and peace, and this grace and peace is “from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit is not mentioned directly, but I believe, following Jonathan Edwards, that this is because the Spirit is the grace and peace. The Church is therefore the place where the Holy Spirit is most in evidence, as He anoints the preaching, as He inhabits the praises of His people, and as He blesses the sacraments.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Reflecting Christ, the Church suffuses all of life, the way sunlight fills up the day. It does not displace ordinary life, the way one billiard ball displaces another. Rather, it informs and instructs ordinary life—wherever you are in the town, out in the kingdom, whatever you are doing, whether changing a tire or changing a diaper, you can turn around and look, and from that place you can always see the church spire. And whenever you do, whatever you are doing, you are reminded that you are part of the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“When men are forgiven and set upright again, they find themselves functioning within the framework of three basic governments. The first is the government of the family, following the order that God has established. The husband is the head, his wife is his body and the executive, and together they shepherd their little ones. The family is the ministry of health, education, and welfare. The second is the civil magistrate, which is the ministry of justice. Their task is to make it possible for you to walk across town safely at two in the morning. It is important to note that justice here is defined by the Bible, and not by the hurt feelings of somebody. The church is the ministry of grace and peace, who is the Holy Spirit Himself.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Education is one of the central instruments given to us by God for the establishment and perpetuation of a culture. And if we want the culture to be believing, then the education that feeds into it must be believing.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“True independence of mind exists where there can be disagreement without demonizing the one you differ with. And this cannot be done unless you let Scripture instruct you on how to distinguish things that are of first importance and things that are of much lesser importance.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“When it comes to life in our modern congregations, we think we have to guard against mindless conformity when what really threatens our spiritual health is our radical individualism. The Scriptures tell us what we should be laboring for, striving for, and praying for. We are not told to work at maintaining independence of thought, although real independence of thought is a good thing. We are not told to build some ecclesiastical variant of academic freedom. We are commanded to strive for likemindedness, to be of one mind. Our task is assigned, and that is what we should focus on.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“When David went out to face Goliath, he was not looking for a dialogue partner.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“The root of every rebellion (in every culture) must always be identified as pride, and the lust for autonomy.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“God shakes what can be shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain (Heb. 12:27).”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“A man who is charged with pulling down strongholds must be a student, therefore, of two things. He must be a student of the gear he is using, and he must be a student of the tower he is charged with toppling. He must know the gospel, and the Scripture that houses it, and he must also know the state of the current imaginations, whether those imaginations are healthy or diseased. He needs to know where to attach the ropes. This means that in order to have a true impact, a local church must understand some of the fundamental theological issues in play and how they intersect with the large cultural issues of our day.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Preachers of the gospel must also be students of the culture they are sent to. A minister must be a student of the Word, but he must also be a student of men. He must study them—not just men generally, but the men of his own era, the men to whom he is charged to bring the gospel. When the Lord speaks to each of the angels of the seven churches of Asia, the message for each church is different. Same gospel, different sins, and so a different message applying that gospel.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“It is easy for us to blame these governing entities for filling up the vacuum, but we really ought to find fault with ourselves because we (and our lack of self-control) are the ones who created the vacuum. When the people are slaves to sin, they cannot enjoy the balance of form and freedom that God has ordained for humanity. A family filled up with scheming manipulators will not be at peace with one another. A congregation of porn-users will not see the law of liberty unleashed in their midst. A nation of fornicating potheads will not enjoy civil liberty.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Allow me to illustrate the principle with another observation. The Christians who are most concerned with adjusting the “faith once delivered” to suit the sensitivities of unbelievers are the liberal Christians. And those who are the least concerned about it are the traditional dogmatic Christians. But as C.S. Lewis once pointed out, when atheists are converted it is almost never to the “broad-minded” forms of the faith. If they are going to be a Christian, they want to be an actual one. In the same way, an ardent feminist is unlikely to “convert” to the soft feminism of the evangelical edges.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“likemindedness is a function of humility. It is not necessarily a function of high intellectual attainment. If that is accompanied by pride (as it often is—1 Cor. 8:1), then the opposite of likemindedness will occur. Never forget that the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace—which necessarily includes this likemindedness—is in fact a work of the Spirit.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“The need of the hour is for the Church to help establish a defined counterculture. This requires much more than defined denominational boundaries, or sectarian carve-outs. There needs to be a defined center (the Church), a defined staging area (the kingdom), and a defined mission field (the world).”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“The Disease Within The root of every rebellion (in every culture) must always be identified as pride, and the lust for autonomy. But this central sin manifests itself in different ways in different times, using different methods, concepts, and techniques.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Preachers of the gospel must also be students of the culture they are sent to. A minister must be a student of the Word, but he must also be a student of men. He must study them—not just men generally, but the men of his own era, the men to whom he is charged to bring the gospel.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Covenant vows, covenant oaths don’t move. They are to be the foundation. Your feelings and sentiments do move. What happens if you make them the foundation? When they go up and down, the whole house goes up and down—like living in a volatile earthquake zone.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“Husbands, the world is watching you. You are to model what the saving looks like. Wives, the world is watching you. You are to model what the salvation looks like.
Why is the world not streaming to the rod of Jesse? Why are the nations not turning away from their folly? Is it because the gospel the Church is presenting to them is a gospel that looks too much like our marriages?”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“One of the great accomplishments of the Reformation was the restoration of the idea
of calling or vocation in every lawful endeavor. This abolished the old sacred/secular hierarchy, where it was assumed that if you were really sold out for Jesus you would be in a nunnery, or some other place that was equally high-minded. Being a merchant was kind of a tragic necessity, but somebody had to bring in the tithes. Unfortunately, this medieval mistake is creeping back in, having made great inroads in the evangelical world. What do people who are "sold out for Jesus" do now? We now call it "full time Christian work." But what other kind is there?”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“So it is a grace and a gift from God to excel in your work. It is another gift from God to reap the benefits of excelling in your work. Though they usually go together (but not always), the two must not be confused, and the order of the two must never be reversed. Doing this will enable us to keep our priorities right where they are supposed to be: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold" (Prov. 22:1).”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“It turns out that, however you might wish otherwise, you eventually wind up wherever it was you were going. If you get on the plane to Chicago, and I would ask you to follow me closely here, you are going to land in Chicago. We are now arriving where a godless education must necessarily go. The public schools in America were not secular, they were godless. The public schools in America were not neutral, they were godless. The public schools in America were not even agnostic, they were godless.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“[W]e may infer that it is also not possible to gather pink grapefruit from your juniper bushes, or pine nuts from your tomato plants, or lemons trom youur box hedge. Pursuing the analogy relentlessly, we may also surmise that you cannot send your child to a culinary school and expect to get back a mechanical engineer. You cannot send them to art school, and wonder why your son never became a doctor like you wanted. You can't pay for law school, and then be surprised when an attorney eventually shows up. We often act astonished when we have no right whatsoever to be surprised in any way. We say, wide-eyed with Aaron, that all we did was put in a bunch of gold, and "out came this calf" (Exod. 32:24). That has to rank as one of the lamest excuses in the Bible, and here we are, still using it. All we did was put in hundreds of billions of dollars, and out came this misbegotten culture. How could this have happened? We are frankly at a loss.
And lest I be accused of being too oblique in the point I am seeking to make, you cannot send all the Christian kids off to be educated in a school system that is riddled with rank unbelief, shot through with relativism, and diseased with perverse sexual fantasies, and then wonder at the results you get.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“So take three instances at random. A young white college sophomore throws a Molotov cocktail that burns down a black-owned deli, and he does this because he wants to register his deep dissatisfaction with the police treatment of blacks in that city. Or another person, as timid as they come, is out for a walk on a bike path, two miles out of town, all by herself, and she is wearing a mask. Or someone else thinks that it can cost two dollars to get a gallon of milk to market, but also thinks that we can make the make the greedster grocer sell it for a buck fifty, and yet still have milk on the shelf. What do these, and countless other instances, have in common?

What they all have in common is that these people received a lousy education.

As we watch this great parade of duncical folly every night on the news, one thought should come back to haunt us with every fresh insult to right reason. And that thought should be, "Who educated these people?" And the follow-up question should be, "And why haven't they been sacked?”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World

“One of the things that modern Christians have a hard time doing right is loyalty.”
― Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World