The Moral Law: Ezekiel 20, the Sabbath, and the Decalogue

Moreover I also gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.(Ezekiel 20.12)

The Sabbath was a covenantal sign that was to 'mark out' the people of God as distinct from the Gentile nations. The Sabbath therefore was not universal, it was not a law that was to be applied in all places and at all times. This is actually fairly clear when one reads the Old Testament and it is even explicit in places like Ezekiel 20.12. It was a covenantal sign and as such was only binding upon those in union with Jehovah.

But this presents a real dilemma for some Christian groups today.

The First Reformation and the Present Ecclesiastical Crisis

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XV)

The time is now. Dominionism and the reactionary re-casting of Sacralism in the wake of 19^th and 20^th century secularism is on the verge of swallowing up the remaining (if paltry) testimony of the First Reformation, its lifeline to the Early Church and New Testament Christianity.

Afghanistan and Iraq at the End of the Trump Era

The panicked reaction to Trump's planned troop withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan has been palpable. The media and the US Establishment in general are hostile to the move and trying to sound the alarm. And yet at the same time they struggle with providing solid reasons for remaining in these seemingly endless conflicts – both of which have gone sideways and evolved into something other than what they originally were purported to be.

Pluralism, Modernity, and the Third Constantinian Shift

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XIV)

Once again we are reminded of the strange relationship between separatist Christianity and the forces of secularisation and how the pluralism generated by the latter leads to a more congenial environment for the Church than the monistic sacralism of the Constantinian paradigm. Indeed in addition to the folk of the First Reformation, even the early beleaguered Magisterial Protestants understood that an environment of pagan or even secular opposition is preferable than persecution at the hands of a hostile Christendom. Better a Turk than a Habsburg is a lost sentiment but in light of today's Dominionism and its aspirations it's one we would do well to reconsider. While I don't think the Dominionists are going to 'win' today's struggle they are nevertheless scoring 'victories' and if they should win and attain the cultural supremacy they so badly want – the old phrase will once more have relevance even though the context is very different. They won't hesitate to use the power of the state to silence Christians who oppose them and use the Bible to expose their error.

The Blind Facilitators

https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/christian-worldview/where-we-stand-how-church-history-can-help-but-only-so-far/

Though he's a bit late to the discussion I'm glad to see some other Christian leaders come to the realisation that persecution and state oppression are going to look different in the 21^st century. The technological leaps are such that old methods of underground life are going to be quite different in this new age. I think the biggest struggle for White and all those who run in his circles will be the end of middle class life and affluence.

The Legacy of the Second Constantinian Shift and the Threat of Secularism

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XIII)

Not all among the Czech Brethren and Waldensians greeted the Magisterial Reformation with joy. Some were alarmed and not a little put off by some of the ideas which they believed were being forced upon them by the Reformers. There was (at least in the case of the Cottian valleys) a degree of resentment with regard to the patronising attitude which they encountered from Guillaume Farel and what would become the Calvinist wing of the Reformation.

First Reformation Primitivism and the Second Constantinian Shift

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XII)

The First Reformation it would seem embraced theological primitivism – unelaborated and limited doctrinal concepts. Like the Early Church they weren't terribly worried about seeming contradictions or doctrines that seemed to defy sense-experience or logical categories tied to it.

Transgressing the Celestial Order

Why The Church Must Reject Politics (Part II)

Peter knows that these teachers will be engaged in activity that will lead to the Church being associated with evil action. In his second epistle he also speaks of those who despise government and speak evil of dignities.

Providence, Power and Second-Class Citizenship

Why The Church Must Reject Politics (Part I)

These are questions that I have addressed many times but I'll address some specific points that have been raised and are worthy of consideration given the present moment.

Romans 13 makes it abundantly clear that the powers that be are ordained by God and to resist the power is to invite judgment and condemnation.