30 December 2020

Postscript: An Aesthetic both Transient and Transcendent

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XXII/Final)

We ought to understand that technology and art are not easily separated and both are to some extent inseparable from questions of epistemology and morality. Additionally, if we grasp that socially conservative attitudes toward the arts and culture (while inconsistent) cannot be divorced from their larger cultural narratives surrounding epistemology and previous generational progress and values, it behooves us (lest we be swept away by these powerful cultural forces and heavily promoted arguments) to apply the otherworldly and non-conformist ethos of the First Reformation to the present day. Our culture is in crisis and thus to many, the arguments made by conservatives seem very persuasive and grounding but from a New Testament perspective they are flawed at almost every level.

An otherworldly and non-conformist ethos leads us to a cultural posture and interaction that embraces neither the Classic nor the Enlightened. In fact in many ways we are better able to resonate with the postmodern critique and even the cynical. We benefit from critiques that expose the world system's inherent flaws and contradictions, that reveal it to be an idolatrous fraud and resting on transient and degenerating foundations – as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 7.29-31 and Romans 8.19-23. This should not upset us but rather drives us all the more toward the inescapable choice between dependence upon revelation and the hope it grants or a collapse into nihilism.

29 December 2020

Postscript: Magisterial Protestantism's Cultural Legacy and Aesthetic Schizophrenia

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

This topic may seem off-base or represent a strange sidetrack and it must be admitted not all will be interested in this discussion or even be able to follow it. Nevertheless these are issues of practical importance, all the more given the way in which such questions (presented within the framework of a holistic system) permeate Evangelical discussions and dominate airwaves, pulpits, and an endless stream of books and cultural commentaries.

28 December 2020

Postscript: Last Days Dualities and The Cult of Monism

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

The dominant monism of today is a result of the Constantinian synthesis that birthed Christendom and the Scholastic impulse. Though a minority movement within the larger fold of Evangelicalism, Calvinism has also exercised considerable influence in terms of monistic thought and tendency.

27 December 2020

Postscript: Pending Crises and Doctrinal Corollaries Viewed Through a First Reformational Lens

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

There are several additional areas that are relevant to the larger discussion of reform, the application of Scriptural authority and especially the question of Scriptural Sufficiency. These are all issues that have been visited throughout this larger body of writings. Not all require a hard-line stand, not all are what we might call gospel issues but given the scope of today's problem and since the ideas surrounding the question of reform and its implications are on the table, they're worthy of consideration.

24 December 2020

The Covid Crisis in the Church at the End of 2020

What a catastrophe. What a shame and disgrace. Covid cases are increasing and even our small town newspaper is reflecting this – the obituary section keeps growing and inordinately so. But identity confusion reigns. Confusion over questions of 'Christian Citizenship' and the like have led to bifurcated ethics – a split between New Testament values and the Enlightenment rooted thought of the American system. Throw in the cultural mythology, decades of brainwashing, and conditioned consumerist individualism and we have a recipe for both heresy and disaster.

Inbox: Utilising the Decalogue

I have paraphrased the question(s) below:

If the Decalogue is technically defunct in the New Covenant era and yet still expresses the Eternal Law of God albeit in its specific Mosaic and Pre-Christ form - can it nevertheless be utilised by Christians to point out and expose sin?

20 December 2020

A Final Appeal: The First Reformation Applied to the Contemporary Context (Part 2)

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

While our Biblicist theology is necessarily high and has high regard for revealed mysteries and supernatural efficacious elements and means – our ecclesiology is about as low as it gets – but this in no way implies casualness or irreverence.

A Final Appeal: The First Reformation Applied to the Contemporary Context (Part 1)

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

The time is now.

These essays have attempted to survey Church history and re-cast it in a narrative frame at odds with the often tight, packaged, and frankly sometimes disingenuous renderings provided by denominational partisans and the advocates of Christendom – or the fiction that is often referred to as Judeo-Christian civilisation. This revisiting and questioning of common Protestant and Evangelical narratives of Church History is essential if one is to understand and navigate the present context.

16 December 2020

An Indictment of Evangelicalism in Light of the First Reformation Imperative

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

The time is now.

The revisiting and recasting of Church History along with the aforementioned crises drive us to step back for a final time and to consider and survey the state of Evangelicalism and the magnitude of its compromise and its moral and spiritual collapse.

06 December 2020

Asian Tensions and the Clash of Empires: Trump, Xi and the 19th Congress of the CCP

Has Xi extended his power or has he been rebuked and curtailed by elements within the Beijing bureaucracy? It depends on how you read the 19th Congress and interpret its events.

Clearly on a war trajectory with the United States with the flashpoints being Taiwan and Hong Kong, one could argue that Xi's plans have been limited or restrained. The generals are resistant to his plans which would result in inevitable confrontation. No one doubts that Beijing could wound the American military – perhaps even inflict some stunning losses but ultimately the Chinese military thinks the cost would be too great. And for Xi, that would mean the end of his rule. And thus one interpretation was that this Congress represents a rebuke of Xi's aspirations.

And yet on the other hand Xi's maneuvering suggests a consolidation of power within the bureaucracy. In other words he's bit by bit setting himself up for more autonomy, for more comprehensive control which will become manifest in the near future. As master of the Beijing bureaucracy he won't easily be stopped.