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.

Playing Chick-fil-a with the Sabbath

https://wng.org/opinions/playing-chicken-with-the-lords-day-1707873572

I read this article in frustration and then laughed when I reached the bottom and realized it was written by Timon Cline, another name that keeps popping up in connection with The American Reformer. This website which has not (to my knowledge) produced anything sound or of lasting value has (it would seem) taken the Dominionist world by storm - just today I listened to a rather disappointing interview with his compatriot Aaron Renn. This article on Chick-fil-a (in keeping with everything else I've read from this lot) completely misses the point and obfuscates the issues at hand.

Historical Cycles: The Post-Napoleonic Context of Adolphe Monod, Reveil, and Some Contemporary Analogies (II)

The American context at this time was completely different. The new Republic had been able to successfully fuse Enlightenment ideas with Christian ideology.

Barna and Marxism (Part 1)

https://familyliferadio.blubrry.net/2021/10/21/faith-under-fire-ep-74-marxism-in-america-part-1/

George Barna is best known for his fusion of ecclesiology with market analysis. He and those associated with him have pursued models of church growth rooted in surveying and in shaping practice on the basis of the results. His name is usually associated with the Seeker Sensitive Movement because its leaders (men like Bill Hybels and Rick Warren) have integrated the market strategy popularised by figures like Barna into their models for Church growth.

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 Legacy of First Reformation Separatism versus Magisterial Protestantism's Establishment Ethos (1517-1914)

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

There is value in a further elaboration of this contrast between the First and Magisterial Reformations and thus as an exercise it's worth briefly surveying the latter's historical and ethical legacy as it transitioned from the Renaissance era into modernity.

Historical Lessons not Learned: British Nonconformity, Classical Liberalism and a Cycle of Self-Destruction (Part 2)

For almost two centuries large factions of Protestants have championed Classical Liberalism and now like a Golem or Frankenstein monster turning on its creator, the system is effectively at war with social and religious nonconformity. By conflation, Classical Liberalism has eroded Christian thought and Liberalism's failures have driven society in a communitarian direction, even while retaining many liberal concepts and forms. As a consequence Christians, who often held to communitarian positions themselves are left imperiled and confused and their large-scale social projects in the post-Enlightenment period have turned into something of a nightmare.

Historical Lessons not Learned: British Nonconformity, Classical Liberalism and a Cycle of Self-Destruction (Part 1)

Scotland made international news with its Named Person programme in 2014. This programme would effectively assign a social worker to every child so that the state would be involved in that child's life from infancy. Parents, privacy advocates and others were horrified at this attempt of gross intrusion by the state as well as the potential for abuses and in principle the loss of parental power and autonomy.

There was resistance and the act was partially blocked in 2016, though Edinburgh is still trying to implement it. Recently there was a scandal as a video emerged of local authorities encouraging teachers to override parental consent regarding collected personal information about children and their families. In other words the state is keeping files on everyone and teachers are being effectively trained to disregard parental concerns and objections. They know best of course. For obvious reasons Christians and others are alarmed.

Financialisation and a Small Rust Belt City

It was recently announced that Erie Insurance is now the largest employer in the city of Erie Pennsylvania. If you've spent any time living in, reading about or visiting the Rust Belt, such an announcement is expected but still profound. Visiting Erie from time to time I often reflect on deindustrialisation and financialisation. My most recent trip had me musing on it more than usual and then I read the story in the news about Erie Insurance.

Homeschool Hit Pieces

In the wake of the California scandal of a 'homeschool' family that was starving and torturing its children there has been a wave of 'hit' pieces circulating throughout the media landscape. This is but one of them.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42701297

Personally in the case of these rather sick people from California I think a great deal of blame belongs with the extended family. They knew something was odd and yet did not pursue it. When people fail to act within their own spheres they will inevitably abdicate their authority to the state. And now, everyone is viewed with suspicion.

Urban Christianity: Chelcicky vs. Keller

Tim Keller is but one among many who argues that Christians ought to live in and focus on the city. It's the centre of culture and the focal point of ideas and activities. If we're to live out the Dominionist ethic (he seems to argue) then the city is the effective place to carry this out.

Tolkien, Liberalism and Modernity

It is not uncommon to hear it suggested that Tolkien's idealised depiction of The Shire reflects the type of society envisioned by Libertarians. They would point to the fact that despite having a mayor and a few officials The Shire is largely self-governing and self-regulated.

Tolkien mentions an unofficial system of patronage in which some of the wealthier hobbits provide for those in need so that no one is truly destitute.

Riddles of Fundamentalism Part 2: Epistemology, Social Context and the Charge of Anti-Modernism

Industrialisation proved traumatic for Western society. Traditions, what we might call social forms of coherence, accepted norms, standards and commonalities were modified and in many cases jettisoned. A new urban culture began to form that changed many economic, social and thus finally familial and traditional dynamics. While on the one hand this was the outcome of modern thinking and the science and technology it produced, in another sense its non-coherence and fragmentation led to a social crisis. The mechanistic view of the universe first moved God to the periphery and then abandoned Him altogether. Science and technology came into their own and created a new type of Foundationalism for the new era. The previous coherence of what we might call Enlightened Christianity, the form familiar to late colonial and early Republican America was no longer needed or viewed as valid.