All Sacralist's Eve

A discussion regarding Halloween.

Answering Questions #6- Power

Answering Questions#6 -The nature of Power and how it presents itself to the world

In light of all the discussion regarding media and information, I thought it a good time to answer a question posed to me.
So why as a Christian do I turn to pagan journalists and commentators like Margolis, Paul Craig Roberts, and Al Jazeera? Shouldn't we look to FOX where so many of the reporters are Christian or at least have Christian sympathies?

NPR follow-up....

Just some follow-up on the NPR controversy.

Mars, Bringer of War and his children

Since we've been talking about power and its effects and the dangers it poses for the followers of Christ, I thought I would take second a comment on yet another news item.

The NPR Incident: Censorship or Journalistic Responsibility?

First I apologize to the international readers. Several of the recent posts, including this one, have concerned items almost exclusively within the American sphere.

By the way, with regard to the last post...for those who don't know, Kavkaz is the Russian name for the Caucasus.

I just wanted to comment briefly in regard to all the fuss concerning NPR's (National Public Radio) firing of Juan Williams. Williams for several years also appeared regularly on Rupert Murdoch's FOX news as a commentator.

However on NPR his job was that of an analyst, and that's where the rub is. NPR is pretty open and strict regarding their standards of journalism. NPR reporters are not allowed to be politically active, nor are they allowed to opine in a public forum.

Kavkaz Crisis

Since we find Chechnya once again in the news, I thought I would post this Margolis piece from April.

While Chechnya has nothing to do with Proto-protestantism, it ties into a larger discussion regarding history, media, truthfulness, and Sacralism.

Constantinian Power Ethics

or

Lies in the cause of Constantinianism


Sharron Angle has been running numerous political ads which can only be described as dishonest and dirty.

Besides her really bizarre and almost unintelligible statements, she continually makes comments that can only be described as racist. Though this heresy is openly rearing its head in Theonomic circles at present, it has long been a latent tendency among the white Evangelical community. It needs to be condemned. Evangelicals have recently revised history and suddenly made Martin Luther King into some kind of hero they identify with. It's very strange, because only twenty years ago he was denounced by white Evangelicals. I was taught to despise him, but now we have people like Colson who not only praise him, they try to 'claim' him as one of their own!?!

The scramble for Europe and other stories the media refuses to share

Once again Eric Margolis has produced an interesting commentary. This time it concerns the latest news out of the United Kingdom concerning the substantial cuts to the defense budget. They are significant enough that even the United States has raised a protest under the guise of NATO responsibilities and obligations.

Margolis exposes something of the well-known but oft ignored back story to this. That is, well-known in Europe but unreported and unexplored in the American media.

The Delusion Effect- The Fruit of Sacralism

or Truths so plain, only an apostate idolater could fail to see them.

Another excellent piece by Paul C. Roberts. Again I ask, why does this unbeliever see so much that Christians cannot see, let alone grasp? Almost every point he raises and critiques are issues cheered on by the Christian Right.

What does this say about the theology of the American Church? They openly embrace lies to promote their idol...the United States. They are deluded. I don't know what else to say. It just keeps getting worse. It is Divine Judgment and very much to their shame that people who know not Christ or His gospel can simply work through the available and very open sources and piece together what is happening.

Rather than seek the truth, American Evangelicals have embraced buffoonery, revelled in simplicity and ignorance and support demagogic fools who seem to know very little about how the world works. It's very poignant at this moment deep into the American election cycle. The Evangelical Party, for that's what it really is, a political organization... is the Know-Nothing party for the 21st century, glorying in childish thought and proud to be ignorant, deceitful, racist, and wholly repugnant to the Kingdom of Christ.

No wonder they support politicians who would fail High School civics and history, and certainly would fail any basic-level debate class. Reality is not important when you can create your own truth. They even have sham historians like Stark and D'Souza to help them in the task. My head spins. I only find comfort in the Wisdom of the Scriptures and can find a little sanity (through tears) when I read men like Roberts. Though Evangelicalism has been handed over, maybe when Christendom is finally finished, the True Kingdom will grow leaps and bounds. Maybe even people like Roberts will listen.

The gospel is always an offense to fallen man, but I fear at present the gospel so many find offensive is not the gospel at all.

Answering Questions #5- Sola Scriptura, Literacy, and the Middle Ages

Getting some great questions...keep them coming.


Isn't Sola Scriptura anachronistic when placed in a medieval context? The people were illiterate and thus out of necessity they would be dependent on a Magisterium, a clerical ruling class. Whether or not it is the Biblical ideal, is it not unrealistic and historically inaccurate to ascribe this to the pre-Reform bodies?

Answering Questions #4- Protoprotestants and Sacralism

Who were the Protoprotestants?

Could you explain Sacralism a bit more?

Is there a difference between Sacralism and Constantinianism?

Answering Questions #3- Romanticism

I've detected a little bit of confusion regarding my use of the term Romanticism so I thought I would take a minute and try to clarify what I mean.

Under the enemy flag

How important was the issue of Sacralism to the Anabaptists?

The Church that had allowed itself to become identified with the State was to them a fallen Church, and all who made their peace with this fallenness were serving under the flag of the enemy.

Leonard Verduin, The Reformers and Their Stepchildren p.182

The Right Exercise of the Ecclesiastical Voice

or
Getting it right: Non-Sacralist Public Discourse

On more than one occasion I've spoken ill of Albert Mohler, not for the soteriology he espouses but because he negates Biblical truth by cavorting with the likes of Dobson and other Americanists. He praises 'our' troops and has grossly confused American values and politics with those taught in the Scriptures.

But today he got it right. He called to account those who have syncretized Yoga with Christianity.

Clash of Allegiances: The Sacralist Pledge

Comments and a link regarding the Sacralist judge in Mississippi...

An Unholy Alliance

The American Empire: An Unholy Alliance between Church and State by Lee Shelton

This is a brief but helpful piece touching on several points pertinent to this project. The author grasps the essential problem of Constantinianism. I make a few introductory comments and then include the full text below. You can also follow the link.

Replacement Theology- Part 3/3

or

A Replacement Concept to be rejected




Many who attack the notion of Replacement theology, that is the idea that the Church has inherited the mantle of Israel do so from a Dispensational premise. And I hope I've briefly shown why their concerns are misguided due to a misreading of the Bible.

But there is another type of Replacement Theology that ought to cause concern. It is directly related to the issues I've been talking about. By employing a hermeneutic of hyper-unity some bring the worship practices into the New Covenant and are guilty of Judaizing. But there are others who also bring the polity of the Old Covenant into the New Covenant era.

Replacement Theology- Part 2/3

This is important, so I wish to re-emphasize…

In John 6 we read they tried to come and make him King by force, but he rejected this and slipped away. They rejected the Messiah because they rejected his Person, Work, and His Kingdom. Once again as in the days of Saul, they wanted a Messiah that would fulfill their worldly dreams and desires. They had become corrupted by the wisdom of the world. This was not the type of Kingdom Christ had come to establish.

America in the Andes

Here's a link to some news reports regarding the troubles in Ecuador.

and another paragraph on Wikipedia with some additional links.

Russia Today is not the best news source. They have a definite anti-American bias, yet I have to say more often than not when it comes to issues regarding the United States....they're right. I've written elsewhere about Putin and how he is portrayed in our media. Russia Today is not very good when it comes to analysis of the actions coming out of Moscow, they're a little to cozy with the Kremlin. But as I've said, like it or not, the Putin/Medvedev Kremlin is acting logically and responding quite reasonably to the geo-political aggression on the part of the United States.

Replacement Theology- Part 1/3

or

Rights and wrongs in the relationship between the Old and New Covenants and how we define The People of God

In this 3-part series I'm treating two types of what is often called Replacement Theology. It's not the term I would choose, but it seems to be the one in use. In parts 1 & 2 I wish to lay out what I believe to be the Biblical view and in the final part I wish to critique what I view to be a terrible perversion of the Biblical teaching.

Discerning Babel- Addendum

A further comment concerning Colson.

I remember just recently listening to Jim Daly of Focus on the Family praise Colson as a modern day Paul. Colson assured him that many have said so, but it was all God of course.

Discerning Babel

Just astonishing.

After years of defending the Bush administration, its wars, its renditions and tortures, suddenly we have Evangelical leaders critiquing the War in Afghanistan?

Answering Questions #2- Mystery and Eastern v. Western Thought

Here's an exchange I had with a cyber-friend. Though brief, I thought we touched on some interesting topics and wanted to share the conversation with everyone else.

The Power of War

No surprise, but the United States is once again employing Death Squads to do its work. This time instead of Central America and Vietnam, it's Afghanistan. The consequences of this are terrible and if history is any precedent, the civilian costs are equally severe.

Answering Questions #1- Dominionism

Periodically, I receive questions via email and sometimes they are of a nature beneficial to the general audience. So I'm starting an ongoing series called...Answering Questions. I will keep them all anonymous.


Answering Questions #1


What do I mean by Dominionism?

Advancing the Kingdom- (Part 6) Winning by Losing

Part six of my four part series.....

We have a joke around our house. When I call home during the day and ask if we received any phone calls or mail, if the answer is no, I always respond, "Good, we don't need any excitement." And there's a sense I truly mean that. There's a peace and solace in just living a plain ordinary life, coming home to a wife happy to see me, kids that aren't out of control. We live in a pretty quiet place with not much to do as many would reckon it. Nevertheless we are pleased with our woods, hills, and river, and the wonder of the four seasons. We are attempting to raise a godly family and honour God by doing so. I am reminded of a paragraph from Schaff concerning the youth of Christ. I think of this not from the perspective of Christ, but from the viewpoint of Joseph and Mary, a couple of regular people trying to serve the Lord, and with a most extraordinary task before them. Certainly they were honouring God, and I think of the life they provided for our Lord when he was young. Speaking of this, Schaff comments:

The Salt of the Earth

I often disagree with him, but here's a worthwhile article from PC Roberts.

A sober and I'm sad to say, accurate assessment.

It's called, The Collapse of Western Morality

Perhaps the best line can be found in the concluding paragraph:

Americans will be the first people sent straight to Hell while thinking that they are the salt of the earth. The Americans have even devised a title for themselves to rival that of the Israelis’ self-designation as “God’s Chosen People.” The Americans call themselves “the indispensable people.”

Advancing the Kingdom- (Part 5) Building the Kingdom by Ordinary Means

or
Christian Life and the Kingdom


Part 5 of my 4 part series (?) on Advancing the Kingdom.

Thus far I've been critical of what I deem to be serious errors in defining the Kingdom and thus building of it. Now, I wish to turn to some of the positive aspects of Kingdom building....

ATK Part 4 Supplement- The Issue of Imminency

As a follow up to some of the comments I made in the last post….




I would also point out the problems Dispensationalism and Postmillennialism both have with the doctrine of the Imminency of the Second Coming. This is the teaching that Christ could have come at any moment in the past, including the present moment. Some may find it surprising that some systems deny this teaching.

Advancing the Kingdom- (Part 4) The Parsing of American Evangelicalism: Dispensationalism, Dominionism, Americanism, and Chiliasm

I ended the last piece with this question.


So why do I find it particularly strange this radio preacher was teaching about the Cultural Mandate, a doctrine which urges the Christian to try and conquer every facet of the Earth?

Advancing the Kingdom- (Part 3) The Sacralist Hybrid

 Now, these have been general outlines of the two extremes. There's actually another camp which represents probably a much larger number of professing Christians.

The only name I can come up with is Pietistic Transformationalism, a hybrid of the two. A Sacralist hybrid.

This seems to be where most American Evangelicals find themselves, though the present manifestation can be pinpointed to the late 1970's. These movements are always grounded in a specific historical context. In a later post I hope discuss an earlier historic parallel which generated a similar response from Sacralist Protestantism. Our present form has been shaped by the American context in general, but more specifically it represents a reactionary response to the cultural revolution originating in the 1960's.

The Kingdom War

A war worth fighting.

Within Reformed circles there's an intense debate between the Two Kingdom Theology position which I advocate here, (though in a more extreme fashion than many Reformed), and the Monistic One Kingdom position argued by Dominionists, Theonomists, and Postmillennialists, and all other expressions of Transformationalist theology.

Several items of interest concerning 11 September and beyond...

I had planned to have a post ready for today, but I've been a bit overwhelmed lately and didn't get it done. Yes, it's related to Islam, but it's not directly related to 9/11. God willing I'll wrap that up in the next couple of days.

In the meantime here are a few links I'll share. As one might expect, there happened to be several of interest that popped up today. As always I'll add that I don't agree 100% with everything written, but for that matter I don't think I've ever read anything that I can say I endorse absolutely and completely other than God's Word.

Advancing the Kingdom of Christ (Part 2 of 4) The Error of Transformationalism

Transformationalism seemingly stands at the opposite end of the Christ and Culture debate, and in some sense it is, but it's built on the same foundation as Pietism.


While rejecting Pietistic subjectivism and looking at the inward experience, this camp instead looks outward and gauges the Christian life in reference to one's impact on culture. They seek to build and conquer culture and tend to despise any hint of what they call retreatism.

Advancing the Kingdom of Christ (Part 1/4)- The Error of Pietism

What is Pietism? This term is a bit complicated and can mean a lot of different things. Of course those who self-identify as Pietists will not agree with my definitions or comments.

One, it can refer to a historical movement within Lutheranism which focused on inward piety and the Christian life.

or

Two, it can refer in a larger sense to a tendency toward inward focus on the subjective Christian experience. Rather than view the Christian life as primarily a focus on the Person and Work of Christ in all that we do, pietism tends to turn inward. It focuses on the Christian walk and inner feelings regarding that walk, and measures one's success and level of pleasing God based on personal conduct.