Escaping a Jury Summons

I have been summoned to 'serve' on a jury. This isn't the first time and I must say that one of the disadvantages of living in a rural county with a small population is that you get called up quite often. In my case as the sole breadwinner I've been able to wholly avoid it - until now. Apparently they're having trouble filling the jury pool and are unwilling to excuse people over the phone as in the past. I was told that I needed to appear and go through the process.

The Less than Great Hal Lindsey

https://religionnews.com/2024/12/05/the-late-great-hal-lindsey/

As I've mentioned numerous times, I grew up with Hal Lindsey. Like so many other American households of the 1970's, our shelves contained his works. I grew up reading The Late Great Planet Earth and Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth. I later read his 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon and was convinced that the Rapture would likely happen by 1988.

What is Good Art? Dominionist Aesthetics versus the Detachment-Discernment Ethos of New Testament Pilgrim Christianity (II)

Rather than reduce art to the Hellenistic categories of the good, true, and beautiful our understanding needs to be both wide and nuanced.

What is Good Art? Dominionist Aesthetics versus the Detachment-Discernment Ethos of New Testament Pilgrim Christianity (I)

https://g3min.org/art-that-accords-with-sound-doctrine/

This G3 article represents yet another attempt to formulate a Christian theology of art. It's clear enough that since the Scriptures don't speak to this - and verses have to be grasped at, the exercise is not one of doctrinal elaboration but philosophy cast in theological terms.

Reflecting on Schlissel and his Place in the Reformed World

The recent death of Steve Schlissel (1952-2025) has rekindled some of the discussions regarding Federal Vision - something I also touched on in a recent piece.

How Should Christians View Their Children?

https://jacobrcrouch.wordpress.com/2024/11/01/train-your-kids-to-be-christians/

There is much that is positive in this article and I do not doubt Crouch's sincerity nor do I wish to simply cast his comments in a negative light. Rather I wish to utilize them and discuss some of the tensions and inconsistencies that exist within the Reformed and Evangelical communities.

Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (IV)

The visions in Daniel and repeated in Revelation seem to suggest the Roman Empire is the model for the Beast and indeed from the time of the New Testament to the present, the spectre of Rome haunts Christendom. From the Russian and British Empires, to the German, French, and American - all seek to emulate Rome. Whether Republican or Imperial Rome, the Western or Eastern iterations, all look to Rome as the paragon of government, the ideal they aspire to. All are inspired by its institutions and laws - and certainly its architecture. And all muse over its fall.

Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (III)

War abroad will always mean war waged against the population at home. Contrary to the rhetoric of someone like Biden or the pipe dreams of the Libertarians, we are headed toward a period of authoritarian rule and where it's absent - there will be chaos. Either option represents a form of dystopia. It's inescapable.

Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (II)

As Western or even Global society waxes in a more Bestial direction we have to expect heightened opposition and exclusion. If faithful, we should be feeling it even now – even in liberal countries that supposedly are tolerant and don't persecute Christians. They may not execute us in the public square but soft persecution exists and there's a lot of pressure. I'm not speaking of the sort of things one might hear Evangelicals talk about on FOX – struggles over cake baking, cross necklaces, or workers forced to work on Sunday. They're actually part of it in most cases as they support the corporate control of workplace culture, selective censorship, and the economic system that puts profits over people.

Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (I)

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64729442

Published in early 2023, this is a disturbing story on many levels. William Hague and Tony Blair are certainly evil men and their arguments and justifications for biometric identification are not to be trusted. The truth is after witnessing the events of the past decade or so, and given the growing instability within society, coupled with the sheer massiveness of modern populations, those sitting atop the state are nervous and fearing the spectre of chaos and the threat of pandemonium. They want mechanisms in place that allow them to exert and maintain control.

Hobbes and Calvinist Scholasticism

https://regensburgforum.com/2016/12/12/political-theology-modernity-and-late-scholasticism/

The context for this discussion is the epistemological crisis that emerged with the Magisterial Reformation. The Protestant Reformers looked to the state to legislate their religious reforms and counter the authority of the Roman Catholic Church - which in many parts of Europe had lost its standing with the state. The Magisterial Protestant rebellion had to be justified philosophically and ethically and as such there were various appeals to Scripture, lesser magistrates, conscience, and early forms of social contract theory.

The Latest Episode of Media Malpractice and What it Reveals about American Society and the State of the Church

The news is focused on Christmas-related human-interest stories, shopping deals, travel woes, actresses who market their bodies and then complain when they aren't treated with due respect, and the latest absurdities flowing from Trump's reprobate mouth.

The Right is playing up the gruesome murder on a New York City subway - apparently it would have been less of an atrocity if the perpetrator had been a legal resident or citizen. There also remains a fixation on the case of the murdered United Healthcare CEO, even while there are many brutal murders that take place every day and yet don't receive much if any attention or media and law enforcement resources. In other words this murder matters because the victim is part of the same millionaire class the media represents and there is a fear that such vigilantism might spread. Certainly the public outcry of support for the shooter has generated alarm.

Herman Bavinck's Monism and Redefinition of the Kingdom (II)

One can only sit back in wonder when reading a statement like this:

It is on this basis that Bavinck can say: “There is thus a rich revelation of God even among the heathen—not only in nature but also in their heart and conscience, in their life and history, among their statesmen and artists, their philosophers and reformers.”

Herman Bavinck's Monism and Redefinition of the Kingdom (I)

https://www.wyattgraham.com/p/what-does-herman-bavinck-mean-by

Reading this article about Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of thoughts. His influence is profound and growing and yet is this something to celebrate?

The Shattering of Syria

The fall of the Assad regime is by all accounts a monumental development in the history of the modern Middle East, and it came rapidly and unexpectedly. Though in some respects the war which began in 2011 has never fully ended, it was assumed that Assad had effectively won and as recently as last year there was talk of trying to bring Syria back into the international community. The war was by all accounts over. The resistance was reduced to a small and contained area. The country was far from healed or duly re-constituted, but the notion that the regime would fall seemed distant at best.

Realms of Enchantment and Mystery

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/living-wonder/

I rather enjoyed reading this review though I have not decided whether I will pick up Dreher's book. The work in question is Rod Dreher's 'Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age'. I found myself disagreeing with both Dreher and Darville the reviewer, but there's a great deal of food for thought.

Anglicanism and Prima Scriptura

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/11/the-new-divide-in-global-anglicanism

This article interested me because it's connected to some of the recent issues I've touched on respecting Anglicanism and how the High Church tradition approaches doctrine and the question of authority.

New Calvinism, Reformed Sacramentology, and the New Testament

https://www.str.org/w/will-god-be-in-pain-for-eternity-as-he-watches-people-suffer-in-hell-

I will desist from an extended critique of Greg Koukl and the advice he dispenses on his programme. There are quite a few things that could be said about the other segments of this episode that I found problematic. In fact, I rarely find myself ever agreeing with him about much of anything. But one particular aspect of this show struck me.

Alberta's Chronicle of Evangelical Demise

I heard Tim Alberta interviewed on Fresh Air back in November of 2023. His interview grabbed my attention as I remain eager to hear Evangelical voices critical of what's been happening to the Church in the Trump era.

And so out of curiosity I picked up his book - The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in An Age of Extremism and was immediately 'pulled in' as they say. It was really a very interesting read and his compilation of reporting narratives and interviews was compelling. During the early stages of the book I became convinced that I would want everyone I knew to read it. But then at some point the book shifted and began to lose its way, leaving me with very mixed feelings.

Athens, Jerusalem, and the Foundations of Ancient Thought

For more than twenty years I have been fascinated by various similarities between aspects of ancient Greek philosophy and that of ancient India. As one reads of Pythagoras, Plato, some of the pre-Socratics, and the Orphic tradition, one cannot help but notice the striking parallels within the philosophical strains flowing from the Subcontinent. The explanations for this are many but often lacking.

Revisiting Citizen Four

It's been ten years since its release and I finally got around to watching Citizen Four, the Snowden documentary by Laura Poitras. Why did it take me so long? I knew the story and had followed it closely at the time and the film didn't reveal anything new - but it was interesting to see the footage and relive the moment and re-catch the energy and zeitgeist of that time.

The Heretic King of Bohemia

I recently finished Frederick Heymann's George of Bohemia: King of Heretics (1965, Princeton University Press). It's a weighty and laborious read but necessary for anyone seeking to understand the history of Hussitism.

Appropriating the Waldenses (II)

Too often Protestants have fallen prey to 'successionist' thinking or rather tying the idea of succession to some kind of institutional or genealogical pedigree. The apostolic succession (if we want to call it that) is located not in a group, tribe, geographic location, or institutional/ecclesiastical continuity but in the doctrine of the apostles. Those who recognize and obey the Christ-granted oracular authority of the apostles or New Testament writers are the heirs of the apostles.

Appropriating the Waldenses (I)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/waldensianism-before-waldo-the-myth-of-apostolic-protoprotestantism-in-antebellum-american-anticatholicism/0A7BA2B1A7B2B890E8A2A2622E710EC3

For obvious reasons this article on Waldensian Historiography captured my attention and I was thinking of Philip Schaff long before his name emerged in the article.

Romanticism took on many hues during the 19th century and while American Protestants poured most of their energy into crafting the narrative about the Mayflower Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers, they were not alone. Hostility to Roman Catholicism generated other historical debates over Church History and Protestants from the US and the UK, to France and beyond wanted a piece of the Waldensians.

Rome vs. Geneva

I've been unable to find the source for the quote but there's a statement made by someone in the 18th or 19th century about how the civilisational clash is between Rome and Geneva. The point being, the Geneva in question is not the Geneva of Calvin but of Rousseau and Voltaire. In other words Geneva represents not the Reformation but the Enlightenment.

Natural Theology, the Reformed Tradition, and Another Way

https://credomag.com/article/natural-theology-and-van-til/

Classical Theology in this case is in reference to Aristotelian-driven Scholastic Theology and Thomism. This group (Credo Magazine) represents the Thomist revival in Reformed theology. It's sort of ironic that all of this is starting to really take off after the 2017 death of RC Sproul who championed it - but didn't live to see it.

That said, the issues are complicated as there are also strong Scholastic tendencies and tensions within Van Tillian circles as the commitment to Confessionalism is retained. The advocates of 'Classical Theology' have a point in that the Scholastic ethos was dominant at the time the confessions were produced in the 17th century.

October 2024: The Multi-Faceted Crisis and the Spectre of Global War

The world is in turmoil and at such a degree and tempo that it's almost impossible to keep up with events. I could post multiple articles a day and it would not suffice. We are in a rather intense news cycle at present. Many of these issues qualify as mere 'news' and as such are somewhat beyond the purview of this project which among other things seeks to contextualize the Church in the world we live in today and explain how history, events, and ideas are impacting the Church for good and evil. Given the failures of Church leaders and in many cases their capitulation to the world, or in other cases their heresy and their corruption, I believe this task is important even if few will hear it.

Where to go to Church? - My Three Options

Where to go to church? What is one to do in these troubling times? There are many articles written about this topic. Some are helpful, others less so. We could talk about the Reformers criteria regarding the preaching of the Word, administration of sacraments, and (to varying degrees) Church discipline. But these discussions aren't always helpful because on a practical level there are numerous entangling ecclesiastical questions especially regarding worship and polity.

The Architect of Modern Evangelicalism (II)

In many cases his interpretation of culture, politics, and geo-politics will leave the American reader confused. Profoundly conservative, his views on economics are not at all in line with the American Right - and certainly not its waxing Libertarian wing. He condemns laissez-faire policies and the utilitarian arguments that capitalism so often resorts to. He understands that 'money creates power' and warns against it - but then still spends the whole of his life chasing after power and relying on alliances with those who possess wealth. I find it remarkable that he clearly understood and accepted the notion that a Christian political order without a regenerate populace would necessarily result in an oppressive system. It's something American Evangelicals largely do not grasp and of course they don't want to hear it as it flies in the face of the narratives about freedom and liberty. Americans can still dream and fantasize in a way never afforded to the claustrophobic ordering of nations in Europe.

The Architect of Modern Evangelicalism (I)

I recently finished reading James Bratt's 2013 work - Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat. I cannot recommend it enough. It was an excellent work, well done, and at times even something of a page turner. While some American readers might struggle at times with the dynamics of 19th century European politics, enough is explained that I think most will be able to persevere through it.

The Errors of Westminster Divine George Gillespie and his Progeny

https://americanreformer.org/2023/03/the-case-for-the-laws-first-table/

In this case the American Reformer's Timon Cline is appealing to the example and legacy of George Gillespie (1613-1648) who during the course of his short life and near its conclusion helped to draft the Westminster Confession of Faith - the standard upheld by historic Presbyterianism.

Poisoning the Minds of Children

Various news stories continue to emerge suggesting that kids lack self-control when it comes to social media and viewing videos, especially on platforms like TikTok. Experts speaks of an obsessive behaviour that needs to be curbed.

The Dangers of Viewing the Godhead Through a Scholastic Lens (II)

Dolezal's admission of mutabilist language being present in the text and his resort to nonliteral, accommodationist, and anthropomorphic arguments in order to fit the language of Scripture into his theological grid has the potential if not the tendency to generate more problems than it solves. Once again, one is driven to think of the patterns exhibited in historical theology and the role such 'rationalist' systems-driven thinking has played. The road from rationalist scholasticism to theological liberalism is in fact a short one. The dynamics of Scripture don't lend themselves to such rigid constructions and there's a tendency (even a drive) to refine and ultimately compress both Trinitarianism and the hypostatic union into ever monistic and more coherent frameworks. It begins innocently enough, pushing to the edge of orthodoxy. But in another generation it's redefined and in another lost altogether.

The Perils of Viewing the Godhead Through a Scholastic Lens (I)

https://frame-poythress.org/scholasticism-for-evangelicals-thoughts-on-all-that-is-in-god-by-james-dolezal/

After following the Dolezal-Divine Simplicity controversy for some years now, I found this review of his book 'All that is in God' to be helpful. I have been quite open over the years that I'm not a real fan of John Frame. I remember being rather put off by his Worship in Spirit and Truth back in 1996 and yet despite my differences I'm always curious to read his works and see what he has to say. His take is often a bit different and always challenging, even when I think he's wrong.

A British Evangelical's take on Faith, Work, and Culture War

https://evangelicalfocus.com/multimedia/video/24261/Dan_Strange:_Faith,_work_and_Culture_Wars

There's a lot packed into this 12-minute interview. If you have your eyes and ears open it's rather instructive. But first, consider the context.