The Aaron Renn Show

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"Structural" Forces Do Affect Individual and Group Outcomes Jun 19, 2023

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The left frequently argues that "structural racism" and other factors dominate our societies. While conservatives rightly recognize these as code words for left ideology, they often react in ways that fail to recognize the way structural forces really do affect individual and group outcomes.

Mark Driscoll's Gender Teachings (Newsletter #77) Jun 12, 2023

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The now disgraced Mark Driscoll was once one of America's hottest "bad boy" pastors. His church had 14,000 attendees, and he had a massive following on social media.
Although his empire imploded in a cascade of scandals a few years back, it's still worth looking at his teachings on gender because stripped of his provocative style, the content is actually pretty similar to what other complementarians (those who assert men are the head of the home and that only men can be pastors) teach even today.
Driscoll's complementarianism can be summed up as: The husband is the head of the home, but what that means is his primary life mission is sacrificing for and serving his wife and kids. He is probably doing a very bad job of this, deserves stern rebuke, and needs to repent. What authority he has should be used to give things to his wife. He is to defer to his wife’s wishes for anything that is not a major life issue. If there’s a conflict on a major issue, he is to try to avoid making the decision if he can, and only do so as a last resort. If his wife is unhappy about that decision, or anything else, she can appeal to the elders of the church to override her husband. She should make sure not to be too submissive to him.
Driscoll sermon Men and Marriage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jacWAsOK0w
Driscoll's "How Dare You!" Rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkaeAkJO0w8
Newsletter #28: The Anti-Marriage Message of American Pastors: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-28-the-anti-marriage-message
Newsletter #3: The History of the Church and Men: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-3-the-history-of-the-church

Culture Warring Is Also Obsolete Jun 05, 2023

Show notes

There's been a lot of discussion of the limits of the "winsome" model of cultural engagement in the evangelical world, and how it is no longer as effective as it once was and is even counter-productive in some ways. But the culture war model also has limits and is in many ways equally as obsolete. A new model for the negative world is needed that transcends the limits of the old.

Why Conservative Boycotts Don't Work - And Why the Bud Light One Did May 30, 2023

Show notes

Liberal pressure campaigns frequently work. Conservative ones are typically a failure. But the largely spontaneous Bud Light boycott was an exception. I look at why it was an exception - but one that most likely just proves the rule.

Mainline Reconquista? May 22, 2023

Show notes

A mainline presbyterian Gen-Z videocaster and Episcopal priest recently discussed whether mainline denominations can ever be retaken by the theologically orthodox. I share one example that shows at least some level of institutional recapture is possible, though the risks remain very high.
Interview with Jake Meador: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxP_sPcCIkY
My podcast on Tim Keller: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1330924/6548746-regarding-tim-keller
My podcast on mainline Protestantism: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1330924/8416331-the-cost-of-the-decline-of-mainline-protestantism

A Critical Shortfall of Courage (Newsletter #76) May 15, 2023

Show notes

Peter Thiel says that "brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius." We see that on display in the way the leadership of the Gospel Coalition threw pastor and TGC Keller Center fellow Josh Butler under the bus when the hate mob came for him. This is unfortunately standard operating procedure in much of American leadership today. We all need to find ways to become incrementally more courageous in order to deal with the serious challenges facing our society and the church today.

Conservatives Need to Learn How to Govern May 08, 2023

Show notes

Conservative insurgents have won elections in a number of places. But as we've seen in cases ranging from Ottawa County, Michigan to North Idaho College to the Hamilton East Library, they often lack detailed knowledge of the governments they are now in charge of, and are getting tripped up by process and other errors. Some to-dos for conservatives, with a focus on libraries.

Understanding How the American System Is Different May 01, 2023

Show notes

American's view of what an oppressive, authoritarian society looks like is shaped by models like Naziism, Communism, George Orwell's 1984, or perhaps the persecution of the early church. These systems are both formally repressive, relying on hard government power. And also almost entirely bad. But there are other models in which bad is mixed with good, and in which the system functions differently while still being at some level repressive. China is an example of this. The United States is another. The US model is very unique, based on a hybrid public-private-philanthropic system, and must be understood on its own terms.

Kathy Keller's Skin in the Game Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

Very few people have sacrificed as much personally or absorbed as much pain for the sake of defending and living their life in alignment with their gender theology as Kathy Keller has. She has demonstrated major skin in the game, which commands great respect.

The Toxic Dynamics of a Post-Familial Society (Newsletter #75) Apr 17, 2023

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This month's newsletter is a look at what post-familialism hath wrought in South Korea: toxic gender relations, roiled politics, and an emerging conflict between those with kids and without.

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