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.

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.

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.

Libertarian Myths Exposed and Refuted

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2024/05/07/1249203297/neoliberal-economics-the-road-to-freedom-or-authoritarianism

The report of this little exchange between Beveridge and Hayek is still relevant. This is all the more the case to me when I consider how the thinking of Hayek, von Mises, Rand, and other godless economists of the Austrian economic and Libertarian school continue to capture the hearts of many Evangelicals.

Musing on The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (II)

All things considered, I don't disagree with Wyman's general narrative regarding the rise of the modern West and how it surpassed previous super-power states and cultures like that of the Ottoman Empire.

But rather than celebrate Capitalism and the way it has reshaped the world, I would offer some different narratives to consider.

The Unity of the Brethren before The Thirty Years War

Through the efforts of my son I was able to read Peter Brock's The Political and Social Doctrines of the Unity of Czech Brethren in the Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries (The Hague, Mouton & Co., 1957).

Copies can be found but it's a somewhat rare and expensive book. This is one of Brock's early works and probably not his best known. Recognized as an authority on pacifism, he specialised by focusing on many of the groups in Eastern Europe such as the Unity of the Brethren or Unitas Fratrum.

The False Dilemma of the 2022 Election

Albert Mohler and other Evangelicals are right, we as Christians cannot vote for Democrats. Amen. And they go further and suggest those that do so fall under condemnation. Amen to that as well.

Inflation as a Tool and the Spectre of Corporatism

When inflation rates rise, the Right often makes demagogic appeals to the Gold Standard accompanied by denunciations of fiat currency and central banking policies. Some go much further and speak of conspiracies. Others focus on the ethical side of things and how inflation is a form of theft in that it decreases the value of money that people have worked for, saved, and invested.

A Broken Back to the Glory of God (II)

The point in all this is to say – that at some point his employers may conclude that he has no future there (or no near future) and they may decide to drop him. That will mean a loss of medical coverage. Once again, it's tragic that in the flawed American system one's access to health care has all too often been tied to employment. This has made people vulnerable and in some cases it has effectively enslaved people to their employers as they live in fear of losing coverage. This is all the more true in the case of those that have chronic conditions and need regular care or rely on expensive medications. One can safely say the whole system is a mess and yet the primary driving factor of that mess – is the profit system. It's all the more egregious in the context of human health and suffering as it preys on fear and desperation.

Bad Analogies of Masculinity: The Warrior Ethos vs. New Testament Manliness (Part 2)

I live in an area that is renowned for hunting. People come from cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, from Eastern Ohio and from Southwestern Pennsylvania to come and hunt deer, bear, turkey, coyote, bobcat and other small game. I watch the men arrive on the big hunting weekends. They're often away from their wives and you can see that many of them are acting foolish as a result. 

Bad Analogies of Masculinity: The Warrior Ethos vs. New Testament Manliness (Part 1)

It is undoubtedly true that today's young men need encouragement and in many cases a bit of a 'push' toward adulthood. Lingering adolescence has led many to say (and not without reason) that 30 is the new 18. In other words, many young men are not ready to start adult life until an age that in past generations was already seasoned adulthood, usually including a family, house and probably something akin to journeyman status in a career.

Sabbath and Dominion: New Calvinism and the Question of the Mundane

I've mentioned this in passing before but I think it's a point worth revisiting. When I hear Confessionalists discussing New Calvinism they are often uneasy with regard to several points and rightly so.

I'm not a Confessionalist either (though I certainly used to be) and I don't share all their views or concerns but there is a marked difference between Reformed Confessionalism and the New Calvinism.

Aeons Contrasted: Kingdom Visions in Conflict (Part 2)

Christ took on the semblance of sinful flesh in order to redeem not this fallen temporal world but to save His people who are (and will be) transformed and reign over an eternal New Heavens and New Earth. This is essential to understand. The New Testament vision of a Kingdom that is not of this world, one that is something we are translated into (and thus in contrast with this world), one that we place our thoughts, affections and treasures in, is a Kingdom negated by the Dominionist paradigm.

Aeons Contrasted: Kingdom Visions in Conflict (Part 1)

When it Comes to the Question of Vocation, Rome is Closer to the Truth than the Dominionist ideology of the Gospel Coalition

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-sacred-secular-divide-is-pure-fiction/

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When we speak of Vocation, when we speak of the Kingdom and Culture, when we speak of the sacred-secular divide, what we're really talking about is a larger category of thought sometimes referred to as the question of Nature-Grace dualism.

Apocalypticism (Part 1)

Amillennialism has always been a problematic term. It's a position defined by what it is not. It posits the millennium in apophatic terms, rather than stating a positive, it is instead a theological concept cast in the negative. The difficulties are further expanded by the fact that it also generates confusion for some as it seems to suggest a rejection of the millennium entirely, a concept clearly taught in Revelation 20. Based on this, some have mistakenly accused Amillennialists of being theological liberals, people who don't take the Bible seriously.

Evangelicals, Finances and Social Norms

Listening to Christian Financial Programmes one usually hears something to the effect that you should drive your vehicles into the ground. Don't trade in a vehicle until you have to and avoid the car loan at all costs. Even among the often rather affluent Evangelical world few are able to buy cars outright. Most people end up having to finance.

Debt is certainly something we as Christians should try to avoid. With modern capitalism this is becoming increasingly difficult. Our society and its financial model are built around debt, credit and interest. These financial instruments have changed the very nature of 'demand' and it affects all of us whether we like it or not.

Feminism in High Gear: Pence's Rule and The Church in an Age of Scandal

Feminism could be described as being 'kicked into high gear' due to the rash of recent scandals.

On the one hand misogynist predatory behaviour is vile and always wrong. These people don't need defending.

On the other hand, society's war on men and boys and the feminisation of men is equally problematic. I say it again, it is equally problematic. That will offend some people.

Christian Nonviolence and Pacifism: Some Badly Needed Clarifications (Part 3)

Christ brings division, even among Christians (1 Cor 11)... the peace we seek, is found only in him. False worldly peace doesn't excuse the gun-toting, gun-enforced pseudo-peace of either the Right wing militarist or the Libertarian, nor does a lack of peace in a world of violence grant permission for Christians to take up the sword. Thousands of pages have been written attempting to defend the Christian war ethic, just war, 'self-defense' and a host of other lies and scriptural distortions.

Corporate vs. Individual Boycotts

From time to time the issue of Church boycotts comes to the fore. Usually what is meant by this is that certain denominations and para-church organisations will decide to collectively boycott a particular retailer or organisation due to moral objections regarding a product or sponsorship.

I do think we need to reject certain corporations and institutions. As Christians we understand that we live in a lost and sinful world full of idolatry and like the Early Church there are aspects of society that are all but closed to us. This is not the viewpoint of most who advocate this view. Frankly they're confused and their proclivity to call for a boycott is not rooted in antithesis but is instead a political tactic meant to 'break' an opponent. Their hope is that their numbers are sufficient that the company or institution will take such a financial hit, that they'll reconsider the policy.

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.