Piety and an Oversimplified Dichotomy

https://christoverall.com/article/concise/which-way-christian-a-contrast-of-david-platts-radical-and-michael-hortons-ordinary/

Chad Lawrence is keen to warn his audience against forms of Pietism and thinks he's found it hiding in the works of New Calvinist author David Platt.

Platt's 'Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream' was released in 2010 and made a splash in Evangelical circles. Platt's work has some problems to be sure - he rightly wants to counter American consumerist norms but equates the rejection with a model of piety which is expressed by means of the highly flawed and corrupt 'missions'-ministry approach common in modern Evangelicalism and a kind of missional approach which tends toward an agenda of social transformation. And for the record, a mega-church is hardly the venue for Pietism to sink roots.

Ghosts of Weimar: A Lament for Lutherans Struck Blind

I found myself frustrated listening to a couple of Missouri-Synod pastors discussing what they called The American Interim - an attempt to draw a parallel with the Augsburg and Leipzig Interims (1548-1555). German Lutherans were forced to make concessions in the wake of their 1547 defeat in the First Schmalkaldic War. Eventually the Protestant princes rose and in the Second war of that name they achieved victory marked by the 1555 Peace of Augsburg.

My Kingdom is Not of This World

There are few books out there that I would fully endorse, but Joshua Immanuel's 2024 work - My Kingdom is Not of This World is one of them. A friend of this website, Immanuel excels at laying out some of the basic ideas surrounding the nature of the Kingdom and the ethics that flow from it.

John Adams and Dominionism's Inescapable March Toward Authoritarianism

In an oft quoted 1798 letter to the Massachusetts Militia, John Adams stated:

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Adams was a Unitarian who thoroughly embraced the Enlightenment and would over the course of his life grow more and more hostile to institutional Christianity. Like so many at that time he attended church services but (it could be argued) this was more a sense of social duty and moral principal than any notion of actual worship, communion, or submitting to revelation.

As such, it could be said that Adams typified the very kind of civic religion that continues to bedevil American society and has functioned to confuse and water down genuine Biblical faith.

Regardless this quote is often cited by the Evangelical Right as a justification for political action and a means of assessing contemporary American society.

The Erastian End - Canterbury and Modern Feminist Britain

Much has been written and said about the selection of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Indeed her election makes the apostasy of that organisation all but indisputable. The Church of England left New Testament Christianity behind long ago - even at its inception in the 1500's. That said, many laboured within it attempting to apply the New Testament and turn it into something more sound. They failed, and the failure has been apparent for a very long time. The election of Sarah Mullally means they cannot pretend any more. I actually count it a positive. We can literally 'write off' the Church of England. The viable sections connected to 'Anglicanism' are now outside of and disassociated from communion with that See.

The Death of Evil Men

In April of 2025, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage died. Given that his was not a household name his death didn't receive a lot of coverage though most major outlets picked up the story. He had played an important role in the Bush administration serving as Colin Powell's #2. Previously he had held other second tier positions within Republican politics. He was probably best known for his connections to the Vietnam War. Armitage played a prominent role in the 2014 PBS film Last Days in Vietnam, as well as the 2025 Netflix Turning Point series on the war.

An Picture of an Underground Sect in the Open, but on the Back-street

Earlier this summer I was in a large city and honed in on an Uzbek restaurant. There were others in town but this one caught my eye because it was literally in a non-descript store-front, in a run-down neighbourhood - a section of ghetto. It was in a dilapidated strip mall alongside a dollar store and some other businesses - but it had no sign, nothing to indicate it was a restaurant.

Reflecting on John MacArthur's Legacy

John MacArthur died three months ago (July 2025) and the buzz concerning him and his ministry have waned. This is especially true in light of subsequent events such as the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

There were some voices of concern and criticism lodged regarding MacArthur, his ministry, and testimony, but overwhelmingly the assessments have been positive.

Christian Nationalism, the Wilson Ethos, and the Venture Capital Backing American Reformer

Christian Nationalism is nothing new but it has been re-cast and reinvigorated in recent years. Preferential Pluralism once dominated the Evangelical scene. The absolute nature and universal claims of Reconstructionism were considered fringe and even revolutionary and yet now are mainstream. Basically, Reconstructionism lives on in a slightly modified form. It lives on under the aegis of the more recently named Christian Nationalism.

Al-Sharaa, Petraeus, and the End of the War on Terror: A Most Revealing Episode at the UN General Assembly

Recently Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly al-Julani) met with David Petraeus at the UN General Assembly. It was a unique moment that quite a few news outlets found worthy of note. And while some saw it has symbolic, few reflected on its actual meaning.
They tended to focus on how far al-Sharaa had come, how he had once been a prisoner of the US, and a member of al Qaeda. And yet (supposedly) he has renounced his previous Salafism and is now being put forward as a leader that will turn Syria toward Western Liberalism, democracy, and the rule of law - or so they hope.

American Idealism and Chomsky's Swan Song

The Myth of American Idealism (published in October 2024) will undoubtedly be Noam Chomsky's final work - and it was accomplished with a collaborator, Nathan Robinson. Chomsky will be 97 in December 2025 and after a massive stroke, his public life has come to an end.

Charlie Kirk is not a Christian Martyr

It's hardly surprising to watch the Right turn Kirk into a martyr. It's also obvious the White House is hoping to gain traction from this death. It's turning the conversation away from the Epstein scandal and Trump's sordid connections to that evil. Hegseth is using Kirk's death to clamp down on dissent in the military. Federal workers that have been justifiably outraged over Trump's order to lower flags and said so in social media posts have led to their firings. The Right-wing media machine is in full swing - the legend is already being created and history is being re-written. The already violent political campaign and ongoing cultural purge is set to increase. A weaponized justice system is ready. In good Orwellian fashion, the destruction of Cancel Culture will be pursued by its own Right-wing version of the same.

The Dalai Lama and Mongolian Intrigues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y772jlpgzo

In early July 2025, the Dalai Lama finally announced that he would have a successor, that there would be a reincarnation and a continuation of the office, which in Tibetan Buddhism is a manifestation (or emanation) of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattvas are beings in the Mahayana tradition that have delayed their entrance to the state of Nirvana in order to help mankind. They are functionally a type of divine entity that some would compare to angels or gods, but such terms and concepts don't exactly fit. Nevertheless they are venerated and appealed to - and so from a Christian standpoint they are akin to gods are at least demi-gods.

On the Death of James Dobson (1936-2025)

A friend recently wrote to me asking if I had heard about the death of James Dobson. I told him I heard it break over the news while I was at work, and I trembled. I was reminded of the same thing happening to me back in 2007 when Jerry Falwell died. Once again, I thought of Matthew 7 and 2 Timothy 3 - and the theme of deceiving and being deceived.

Evangelical Materialism and the Functional Denial of Scriptural Authority

I have often talked about the Materialist assumption at work in our culture. It is just assumed that everything that exists has some kind of scientific or physiological explanation. I heard a BBC reporter talking about the Scopes Trial and the 'teaching' of evolution. He corrected himself with the 'science of evolution' - implying that science is factual and based on actual things that can be verified while teaching is just theoretical or philosophical and thus subjective in a way 'science' is not. The poor lost man doesn't understand that science - especially as it's being understood in a Materialist framework is just as philosophically rooted and dependent as any other religious system.

The CREC and the Pentagon

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/21/hegseth-starts-evangelical-prayer-services-pentagon-his-tennessee-church-pastor.html

The Confederation (now Communion) of Reformed Evangelical Churches was launched in 1998. At the time Doug Wilson was well known but only within Reformed circles. He was primarily associated with his books on marriage, education, and child rearing. A few years later (in the early 2000's) the Federal Vision controversy would explode making him somewhat notorious. But again, this was all largely limited to the Reformed spectrum.

Two Tales of Theological Confusion

There is a great deal of confusion out there. This hardly needs to be said but I was reminded again of it on a recent Sunday when talking to a very zealous and proud CREC member who launched into a criticism of Sacralism. He's really opposed to the idea of the Church being intertwined with the government.

Erdogan, the Kurds, and the Caucasus

https://www.politico.eu/article/abdullah-ocalan-pkk-recep-tayyip-erdogan-turkey-kurdistan/

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkey-celebrates-peace-with-the-PKK-but-tightens-its-grip-on-the-CHP-with-hundreds-of-arrests-63483.html

https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/07/17/syrian-kurdish-official-rejects-turkish-calls-to-lay-down-arms-says-sdf-seeks-integration-instead/

Erdogan has been in power for over twenty years and his tenure has been transformative - breaking with decades of Kemalism and Ataturk's secular vision for a modern Western-leaning state. Erdogan has shifted Türkiye to a presidential system, securing his power and while he is certainly a strong-man and authoritarian, his rule and word are not absolute.

The Usury Dilemma Revisited (III)

Should I dispense with bank accounts? I wouldn't mind doing so but it's increasingly becoming impossible. I tried at one point years ago - operating on a cash basis, paying all my bills with money orders and the like. It's very difficult and frankly pretty miserable. It's not really possible anymore in a lot of urban locations. I live in the boondocks, where there are miles of endless forest, no traffic lights, and more deer than cars.

The Usury Dilemma Revisited (II)

To me the issue is not about specifically paying usury or even enabling those who sin by taking it from me. I don't expect otherwise from the world - though I do admit I struggle with loving these people who right and left beat me down and steal the money right out of my pocket - money I literally earned by my own sweat. And unlike them I labour assiduously to be honest and fair in my dealings - to my own hurt if need be. I would rather have a clear conscience then shrug my shoulders and be like them.

My real issue is with those Christians who have jumped the fence and stand on the Babylonian side - exploiting not just society at large but fellow Christians. I expect the lost to engage in dog-eat-dog ethics - Darwin's survival of the fittest. This is as old as Cain and Lamech. But I do have a problem with the Christians who have entrenched themselves in the system and are right at home in these various industries and sectors of society - making money hand over fist on the basis of what is essentially legal extortion and Babylonian alchemy. I have a problem with Christians who have baptised this law of the jungle, this atheistic ethic that is completely opposed to New Testament religion.

The Usury Dilemma Revisited (I)

...Usura rusteth the chisel

It rusteth the craft and the craftsman

It gnaweth the thread in the loom

None learneth to weave gold in her pattern;

Azure hath a canker by usura; cramoisi is unbroidered

Emerald findeth no Memling

Usura slayeth the child in the womb

It stayeth the young man’s courting

It hath brought palsey to bed, lyeth

between the young bride and her bridegroom

CONTRA NATURAM

They have brought whores for Eleusis

Corpses are set to banquet

at behest of usura.

From Ezra Pound's Canto XLV (1937)

Wrestling with the matter of usury and in light of recent discussions, I have been forced to address the question differently and through the lens of different contexts. This is not a question of situation ethics but rather applying wisdom and some Biblically-driven discernment to a question that is both simple and straightforward but also inescapably complex - and perhaps without solution.

Soteriology and Sacraments: The Early Church and the Contemporary Ecclesiastical Spectrum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jTld1nmkq4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpVz4okhdRU

Several weeks ago I caught Jordan Cooper's videos dealing with the Ethiopian Orthodox man and the Knechtle's over questions regarding the Early Church. The videos of the exchange went viral and have been the source of considerable discussion. It's been something of a boon to Orthodox and Catholic apologists at the Knechtle's were demonstrably incapable of defending their position.

Kuyper and Schilder on Eschatology and Culture

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/beginning-at-the-end-of-all-things/

The theology and thought of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) is riddled with contradictions. On the one hand contemporary Dominionists wishing to posit a monistic view of society will quote Kuyper's famous dictum : 'There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!'

It's a pretty bold statement suggesting the boundaries of the Kingdom are all encompassing and there can be no room for dissent.

Memory and The Ister

From time to time I will watch (usually in segments) the 2004 film The Ister, which is a three-hour fascinating re-telling and interpretation of Heidegger's talks on the Hölderlin (1770-1843) poem which was written sometime in the early 19th century.

The Rich Young Ruler, Law, and New Covenant Supremacy (II)

So if the Rich Young Ruler had (in faith) obeyed the commands of God, his works would mean something. This does not suggest he could earn his salvation but rather it would be a testimony to the Holy Spirit working within him. Instead, he was an idolater and his understanding of the law was of the letter not the spirit. He had no real faith to speak of and when standing before Christ and receiving a face to face invitation from Him - he turned away. He wasn't interested.

The Rich Young Ruler, Law, and New Covenant Supremacy (I)

Not long ago I listened to a sermon on the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19 and I was struck by the difficulty the preacher seemed to have in dealing with the passage. I agree, there are some interpretive challenges but I think that often these difficulties are the result of theological baggage that's brought to the text.

Attending Church in America - the Day after Trump Bombed Iran

Attending church this Sunday, I was struck once again by the different approaches and understandings as to what we're doing there, who are we, and why do we gather?

The SBC Founders Find the Road to not just Loserdom but Functional Apostasy (II)

We are then subjected to ridiculous ad for 'Christian Coffee' whatever that is. To be frank, I'd rather give my money to Starbucks than false Christianity. Don't be fooled, despite their claims, these people have no problem giving their money to support evil. The list of examples is long and would fill an encyclopaedia. It was ridiculous to say the least. Later we are subjected to a sacrilegious soap commercial cast in Dominionist terms and a biography of John Knox is promoted - certainly a whitewash of his actual history and views.

The SBC Founders Find the Road to not just Loserdom but Functional Apostasy (I)

https://www.theblaze.com/abide/meek-not-weak-the-era-of-christian-loserdom-is-over

https://founders.org/podcasts/tstt-must-christians-lose-down-here/

The Founders here refers not to the American Founders but a movement within the Southern Baptist Convention to recover its Calvinist roots from the time of the antebellum split in American Christianity. I remember hearing about this movement back in the 1990's and it was spoken of with great approval and hope. Today, Tom Ascol is the leader of the Founders. I'm not entirely sure if he's cut from the same cloth as earlier men like Ernest Reisinger who got the movement going. There's no doubt that the Founders have played a significant role in the genesis of New Calvinism.

One of Satan's Ministers in the Pulpit on Memorial Day

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/remember-to-remember-part-1/id1433823311?i=1000710247721

SermonAudio blocks anyone who is deemed 'woke' or who embraces too robust a view of works or sacraments. They are guardians of orthodoxy or so they deem - but then they allow this kind of heretical filth. Scudder's sermons receive no sanction or censorship.

Spinning Israel, Anti-Semitism, and the Los Angeles Riots

With a tone of moral vindication, the BBC reported on the Starmer government's condemnation and sanction of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, both far-right cabinet members in the Netanyahu government. Connected to the Settler movement, they have been charged with inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and the abuse of human rights. Further they have openly advocated policies of ethnic cleansing, though the official statements dance around this a bit as there are legal implications once such 'red lines' are crossed.

Another Example of Progressive Orthodoxy

https://churcheswithoutchests.net/2025/03/13/the-imitation-of-christ/

I am pleased to note de Bruyn also offers some praise for the Theologia Germanica, another worthy pre-Reformation work.

But as I've often argued there's a problem with this approach to orthodoxy - it's progressive. Men like de Bruyn are willing to say that à Kempis and the anonymous author (the Friend of God from the Oberland) of the Theologia were Christians.

Trueman has Seemingly Lost his Mind

https://firstthings.com/pope-francis-my-worst-protestant-nightmare/

https://wng.org/opinions/an-office-of-great-cultural-significance-1746424321

These articles left me baffled but they demonstrate how cultural and political motivations have taken over and now drive the thinking of most Christians. Trueman in particular surprises me as he once passionately argued for a kind of sober detachment but now is at the forefront of culture war battles even being promoted by and collaborating with the likes of Charles Colson protege John Stonestreet.

A Different Sort of Non-Aligned Movement

When trying to explain how a First Reformation and non-resistance view might operate in today's world and how we might bear witness with regard to events, culture, and geopolitics - and yet not be part of it, I was reminded of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War.

The Magdeburg Confession of 1550

While there is much to laud with regard to Lutheranism, the 1550 Magdeburg Confession is a remarkable exception. Written by Lutheran pastors, the document argues for the basis of lawful resistance - in other words the justification for Christians killing others to secure their own rights and privileges. Indeed, there are times when Christian must resist certain laws. But it must be asked if this perceived need or right allows the Christian to abandon New Testament ethics? Is this not a case of the end justifying the means?

Recent Discussion of the Salem Witch Trials

https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc907/

https://churchandfamilylife.com/podcasts/scripture-applied/681b88f593d37c3f67415b85

Regarding the Salem Witch Trials of 1692/93, it was evident early on that the host of the show was not familiar with the subject when he raised the question of whether Britain had its witch episodes as well. I guess he's never heard of Matthew Hopkins (d.1647).

The 17th century represented probably the height of the witch craze in the Western world. Many wrongly think of the Middle Ages when it comes to witches. Most of the episodes actually occur in the post-Renaissance context and the phenomenon seemed to equally afflict both Protestant and Roman Catholic circles.

Samuel Davies: A Colonial Era Hero, Presbyterian Patriot, and Christ-hater

https://americanreformer.org/2024/07/samuel-davies-colonial-presbyterian-patriot/

My eye was drawn to the locales mentioned in the opening paragraph. They are well known to me as my family has made a point of visiting these places for historical reference - and they're not too far away from where we live.

Samuel Davies (1723-1761) is also a name well known to me from my days spent in OP and PCA circles. He is a titan in American Presbyterianism but to be honest I hadn't give Samuel Davies a lot of thought in quite a few years. So by this point I was hooked and decided to read the article.

Evangelical Ecclesiology and the Question of Authority

https://religionnews.com/2025/03/04/why-are-southern-baptists-still-arguing-about-women-preachers-credentials-committee-newspring/

The reason the Southern Baptist Convention is still arguing about women preachers is because they won't address the fundamental issue. The vast majority of the conservatives have no problem with women teaching - which is to exercise authority. The arguments in the New Testament that forbid women office are tied to the question of authority and the role of women which is one of domesticity.

A PCA Take on Paedocommunion

https://gospelreformation.net/dear-pastor-may-my-child-take-the-lords-supper/

Spinnenweber is to be commended as he covers all the bases and his treatment of the subject is fair. Unfortunately his conclusions are completely wrong.

A Popular but Contrived Celtic Heritage

A Calvinist blogger (from the South) posted about wanting to understand his Celtic roots and then listed some books being read to that end.

Bircher Evangelicals Praise Trump and Worship America - Even While They Spurn Zion and Spit on Christ

 An email newsletter arrived in my inbox from VCY-Crosstalk, which should rightly be called Bircher Radio. They are mouthpieces for that organisation (JBS) and its disinformation campaigns. They echo its views and frequently give a platform to its spokesmen. Some of the statements in the newsletter are eye opening and I thought it warranted some commentary and response. The text of the email newsletter is in italics while my comments are in standard font.

Fundamentalism's Baconian Epistemology

I encountered this on a website - an argument against transubstantiation by means of empirical deduction. It reminded me of what some have called the Baconian epistemology of Fundamentalism which is closely related to the Common Sense Realism so dominant in the early days of America. The pastor in question appeals to a perceived problem with the bread....

A Dutch Reformed Reading of the Cultural Mandate and Psalm 8

Recently I was re-reading a book of essays on Klaas Schilder and on the question of Christ and Culture, NH Gootjes asks if the cultural mandate changed radically after the Fall? Psalm 8 show the opposite, he asserts. 'Man has been given dominion over the works of God's hands (v.6). Man can rule over God's creation as Joseph ruled over Egypt (Gen. 45:8, 26). The psalm reminds us of Genesis 1. Man still has the position in creation as he had in the beginning, sin notwithstanding.'*

A Parody of Socialism and Whitewash of Capitalism

https://juicyecumenism.com/2024/11/07/answering-socialism/

One need not be an advocate for Socialism to realize that Bernard Mauser is attacking a straw man. If Evangelicals want to offer a critique of socialism, that's fine but if their goal is simply to promote capitalism and to caricature the rival system - then we have a problem not only in the realms of fact and truth, but also with integrity.

Malachi Martin and Rich Church, Poor Church

Back in the 1990's I used to pick up some Malachi Martin works on occasion. He provides insider information about the Jesuits and the Vatican and while I've never agreed with him, I've always found him to be interesting.

I stumbled on his 1984 work 'Rich Church, Poor Church' in a pile of discount books and since it was only $1.50, I decided to pick it up. It was a work I had never encountered before.

Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Leaders of Other Evil Empires

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/reagan-evil-empire/

During the Cold War there were three years that stand out - periods in which tension was high and the world stood on the brink of nuclear conflagration. 1962 easily ranks first with the Cuban Missile Crisis. 1973 usually ranks second in connection to the Yom Kippur War and the US raising of the DefCon alert to an elevated '3' - signalling preparations for potential war. The DefCon was not raised by the Americans in 1983, but Moscow was on high alert and many consider it to be one of the most tense periods of the Cold War.

A Wesleyan Triad of Errors - A Formula for Evangelical Disaster

 Wesleyan Methodists (and the related body known as God's Missionary Church) teach:

"That second, definite, instantaneous work of grace, subsequent to regeneration, wrought in the heart of the justified person through faith, by the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, whereby the heart of the believer is cleansed from the original sin, and purified by the filling of the Holy Ghost."

A Chronicle of Lies

https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2025-01-30/gaza-middle-east-lies/

This is a helpful summary and reminder of the scope and magnitude of deceit when it comes to mainstream Western narratives regarding the Middle East, its wars, and America's part in them. And this is true when it comes to the Establishment (or Legacy as some would have it) media outlets - with everything turned up a notch or two when it comes to the growing array of Right-wing platforms.

Spiritual Symbolism is Still Symbolism

https://www.crossway.org/articles/is-the-lords-supper-jesuss-actual-body-and-blood-1-corinthians/

On one level this article had moments in which it was a blessing to read. And yet another part of me wanted to crumple up the paper and throw it across the room.

We can agree that the Lord's Supper is not a repeated sacrifice as understood in the Roman Catholic Mass and while some of the Lutheran hair-splitting and insistence on ubiquity is not always helpful, Naselli's rendering of the Supper as merely symbolic does not account for the Scriptural data.

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.