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Doug Wilson Interview Reflections

Context​

Santiago Montoya sent me the Sam Harris interview with Doug Wilson on Nov 13, 2025. Santiago noted Doug has been reaching out to him from multiple angles (including through his father's book on guerrilla warfare for Christians) and founded the first "Christian Classical" school in the US.

Key Concepts from Wilson​

Theonomy and Post-millennialism​

  • Theonomic view: Biblical law should be the standard for civil law
  • Post-millennialist position: Christ won't return until Christians dominate society and transform it completely
  • Believes we're nowhere near the rapture - possibly thousands of years away
  • This creates urgency for Christians to actively engage in transforming government and society

Biblical Absolutism​

  • Takes biblical sanctions seriously (including capital punishment for adultery, homosexuality)
  • Won't apologize for any sanction clearly in the Bible
  • Advocates for "incrementalism" - gradual implementation rather than immediate theocracy
  • Household voting system where heads of households cast votes for families

Personal Wrestling Points​

Changed Perspectives Since Conversion​

  • Recognition of how far my views have shifted since becoming Christian
  • Tension between biblical truth claims and modern sensibilities
  • Struggle with how "backwards and archaic" Christian views on homosexuality and family structure appear to secular friends

The Homosexuality Question​

  • Acknowledgment that Bible leaves no room for homosexuality, transsexuality, adultery
  • Personal reticence about confronting gay friends with biblical truth
  • Question: Where does this reticence come from? Fear? Love? Compromise?

Adultery and Leadership​

  • Doug's insight: "If you're willing to lie and cheat on your wife, you're willing to deceive business partners and fellow citizens"
  • Trump's moral failures (potential homosexuality rumors, known adultery) undermine Christian witness
  • Paradox: Trump welcomes Christianity while embodying cultural fallenness

Critical Insights​

The Acceleration Effect​

Doug may be accelerating an inevitable confrontation where atheists and unbelievers gain deeper understanding of what the Bible actually says - much of which contradicts modern liberal values.

The Arena Question​

Wilson is filling a void by forcing real conversation about:

  • How Christians should engage politically
  • What Christians actually believe about civil law
  • The tension between biblical faithfulness and cultural accommodation

Strategic Implications​

  1. Honesty Crisis: Christians must become more honest about what the Bible actually teaches, even when uncomfortable

  2. Leadership Paradox: Supporting morally compromised leaders who advance Christian causes creates credibility problems

  3. Cultural Confrontation: The gap between biblical morality and secular values is widening, forcing choices

  4. Incremental vs Revolutionary: Wilson's gradualist approach offers one model for Christian cultural engagement

Personal Takeaway​

Grateful for Doug "getting out there and starting to fill a void about conversation - real conversation - about how Christians should be in the arena, and also forcing all of us to ask what we believe Christians should be in the arena."

The interview forced deep reflection on what I actually believe about Christianity's role in shaping society and law - uncomfortable but necessary questions.

Reply to Santiago​

Thanks for sharing this. It forced me to wrestle with some fundamental questions about what I actually believe regarding Christianity's role in society.

Doug's post-millennialist framework was useful to reflect on. The idea that we're nowhere near the end times and that Christians need to actively transform society over potentially thousands of years is so different from the typical "End Times" narrative (which I lean toward). His theonomic approach (biblical law as civil law) is honestly alarming at first glance, but he makes you confront what it means to take the Bible seriously as more of an absolutist.

What struck me most was how his interview exposed the massive gap between what the Bible actually says and modern liberal values. It made me reflect on my own reticence to discuss biblical truth with, say, gay friends. Is that wisdom or cowardice? Doug wouldn't apologize for any biblical sanction, which is intellectually consistent even if culturally divisive. The comments on YouTube reminded me just how far off a left-leaning unbeliever's views are compared to the views of someone like Doug.

I appreciatd his point about adultery: "a man who will betray his wife will betray anything and anyone." Makes the Trump paradox even more glaring: a leader who welcomes Christianity while embodying the worst of our cultural fallenness. The rumors about Trump's sexuality (Google "Trump and Bill Clinton") make this even more ironic if true.

I'm grateful Doug is filling this void, forcing real conversation about how Christians should engage politically rather than just playing nice/cowardly. Even if his conclusions seem extreme, he's saying a lot of things that many Christians believe, and accelerating the re-mainstreaming of Christian theology (which is not monolithic, of course).

The interview basically forced me to admit I haven't thought deeply enough about what Christian dominion over society would actually look like in practice. Uncomfortable but necessary, I think?

Isn't the most important thing to help harvest souls? And wouldn't that require more of us to boldly be in the arena? And more dominant?

Appreciate you sending this my way!