Welcome to Douglas Wilson's Blog and May Blog, presented by Canon Press.

The duty of natural affection. July 19, 2023. The idiot who praises with enthusiastic

tone, all centuries but this in every country but his own. W. S. Gilbert, the Mercado.

Introduction. As I have watched the Twitters over the months gone by, just going on as they do,

one of the things I have witnessed is Stephen Wolf being outrageous. He has said things like

birds of a feather flock together, and this is obviously not to be tolerated.

As we observe what sets people off these days, things like be it ever so humble, there's no place

like home, and if we combine that with what doesn't set people off, a good example being the

medical establishment throwing their support behind the grotescarries of child mutilation,

I thought it might be time for a refresher course on what scripture calls natural affection.

Two places in Paul. There are two places in Paul where the KJV translators render the word

Astorgos as without natural affection. They both occur in a cluster of names and specified sins,

and the context helps fill out the meaning. Astorgos simply means implacable, cruel, hardhearted,

unfeeling. That seems straightforward enough. Quote, backbiteers, haters of God,

despiteful, proud boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding,

covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. Romans 1 30 and 31. Quote,

for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,

disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,

truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent fears, despisers of those that are good. Second Timothy

2 and 3. Now these people are obviously bad all around, but I do find it interesting that things

like ingratitude, covenant breaking, and disobedience to parents live right in the same neighborhood,

without natural affection seems to me to sum everything up quite well. In recent years,

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