Crusade against Mexico

Fred Reed critiques the latest statements from Rick Perry, the Evangelical, John Hagee supporting, governor of Texas.

Perry in all sincerity, wants to invade Mexico.

Somehow we're to believe they're the pro-life party. And, I'm guessing Perry doesn't realize the Mexican government at least up until the most recent elections has basically been an American lapdog for the better part of a century. We all learn about the Monroe Doctrine in school, but no one seems to follow through on its core principles and realize this doctrine has been the story of the Western Hemisphere for more than a century now.

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Take it or leave it. Either way, we're free from the bondage of keeping days.....

Some thoughts on the fourth Thursday in November.....

Ignoring the Echo

Here's a link of interest. This is thoughtful article tying in the rise of the Right in both Europe and America to events in the not so distant past.

The Two Age Structure and Chiliasm

For those who like to listen to podcasts....

Below you will find a link to a recent and worthwhile episode over at Christ the Center. The topic is Amillennialism and the guest is Kim Riddlebarger. He's pretty well known as one of the most vocal proponents of that system in Reformed circles. He's also a co-host on the radio programme known as The Whitehorse Inn. Michael Horton is the other well-known figure often linked with Riddlebarger.

Answering Questions #7- The Criteria of Criticism

Since I've probably upset and irritated more than a few as of late, I thought it a good time to answer the following email......

Why are you so critical of the United States?

Shame not honour

This was posted by L. Vance at the LewRockwell Blog. Interesting quote. Sometimes that's what it takes to open someone's eyes. Thankfully I wasn't flying missions over Iraq, but during my time in the American Forces I certainly was not free of blood-guilt. I was part of the machine and just two steps aways from the guys pushing the buttons and dropping the bombs. It was an eye-opener and when I realized what we were doing and what it was really all about, just like this fellow...it made me sick.

I tossed my uniforms and medals long ago. I am not proud to be a veteran and am ashamed to have worn the uniform, but Christ forgives and in the end...I cannot tell you how many valuable lessons I learned during that time. They weren't the lessons the American Military was trying to teach me, quite the opposite, but I learned much.

And participating in the Church in that context, I experienced many eye-openers. I began to see many things as I watched not only America being merged with the Church, but in the context you find the American Military merged with the Church. Peter and Paul would have been amazed at some of the things I saw!

A few thoughts on Veteran's Day

I'm not setting out to deliberately offend people, but a few thoughts.

First, can you even imagine the early Church placing Roman standards in their places of meeting and having veterans of the Roman legions stand up and be recognized? Wear their uniforms to church? Can you imagine the early Church celebrating Trajan's conquest of Dacia? Why would Christians have celebrated Nero's war with Parthia over Armenia? What about Claudius' final subjugation of Britain? Would they viewed these things as necessary and praiseworthy?

It all seems rather silly when placed in that light does it not?

American Evangelicalism- Corrupted and Manipulated

SB 1070, the Arizona Immigration Law on NPR's Talk of the Nation...

This was an interesting radio programme that aired a couple of days ago on NPR. They covered this awhile back, but delved into a bit more extensively in this episode. 

Update and a couple of questions.....

Sorry there haven't been many posts as of late. Life has overtaken me. There's been some family issues, work, and other things that have kept me from making the progress that I would like.

I have several pieces in the works. I'm writing a multi-part series dealing with Wisdom. I have a half finished piece on Islam which I also want to wrap up. In addition to several smaller pieces, I'm planning a posting dealing with the Mark of the Beast and finally I hope to finish the year with a series of posts on re-thinking our concept of Church.

God willing in the next couple of days the Wisdom series will start to appear, followed by the rest.

I'm pleased overall with the ground that's been covered since June when I started this. I had intended to write more regarding Church History, but other things have come up. I hope to turn back to more of the Middle Ages in the new year.

I started the blog along those lines and spent quite a bit of time focusing on some philosophical and doctrinal issues I thought important. Those posts have not proved to be very popular. The Why and How series covers a wide range of territory, but those also have not proved too popular. Not as interesting I guess.

No surprise, it seems like the posts that everyone wants to read pertain to current events and some of the very powerful contemporary forces at work in the Church. That's fine. I'm happy to write about those things as well and it ties in with the overall picture I'm trying to paint and the ideas I'm trying to stir up.

I want to look at the past, tie some of it in with the present, and then also discuss some of the doctrinal issues floating about that I think are often hindered by historical issues.

I had hoped to generate a little more discussion, but I realize the topics and way I write about them doesn't always prove conducive to that. I have received a fair amount of email correspondence, which is also an encouragement. I understand not everyone wants to post on the blog itself. I've removed all the restrictions for posting comments, so anyone can have at it. If you do post anonymously, maybe make up a nickname or something just so the different anonymous commenters can be differentiated.

Many of you know this, but a little tip for those who don't. Since sometimes any of the websites can lock up when you try to post, before I click the submit button, I always 'right click' the text and choose 'select all' and then 'copy.'

That way if it gets stuck, I can either come back and re-paste it, or dump it in an email document to be retrieved later.

Also, if you want to print any of these pieces out, just highlight it by dragging the mouse, and hit Control-C or right click and select 'copy' and then Control-V or right click and 'paste' it into a word processing document. That way you can print it without all the other stuff on the screen and you can change the font size if you wish.

I know there are some spelling errors here and there. I edit before I post, but it's usually at high speed, so I do make some mistakes. I'm also planning in the 2011 to stop for awhile and go back and clean up some of the pieces I've written. Not re-write them, just try and fix some of the spelling mistakes and things.

I hope the format is agreeable. The narrow center column with spaces between paragraphs has been appreciated by some. It seems to make it a little easier to read. I would imagine all the 'stuff' in the side columns might confuse some people at first. Any suggestions? I was thinking of eliminating the side essay on the right as well as the text at the top and combining it all in a 'click here to get started' page or something like that.

Finally, if any international readers, (and I'm pleased that there are more than a few,) would like to chime in, I'm very curious.....in your opinion, how influential is American Evangelicalism within your local Evangelical congregations? Or to put it another way, how great is the influence of the American Church? Are Christians looking to it for guidance in terms of teachers and method, or are some disdainful of it, perhaps for some of the reasons I've written about here?

If you don't want to answer here, then please email me at protoprotestant@gmail.com

And for American readers....do you think a growing number of people within Evangelicalism (or on the fringes) are starting to question the whole Christian America concept/American Constantinianism?

It seems to me that it's worse than ever, but at the same time, there's a small but growing number of people who are starting to question it all and looking elsewhere for ideas. Perhaps that would include some who regularly read this site?

Thanks and God willing, in the near future there will be some new posts.

Pilgrims in Babylon

Yesterday I was listening to the local Constantinian radio station and I grew quickly bored with the repeated urges and then commands to go out and vote today. And of course what they mean is vote Republican, because it is the only party that will even remotely push the Christian America agenda.

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?