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.

Mythical Animals, Secular Analysis of Religion and the Anti-Sacral Uniqueness of New Testament Christianity

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/darmstrong/the-bible-and-mythical-animals

The King James translation erred in some of its translation choices, particularly with regard to animals and beasts that the translators were unfamiliar with. The cockatrice and unicorn are but a couple of well known examples, and their usage has generated some confusion among readers. In some cases the use of fantastical creature nomenclature has engendered mocking and ridicule from both within and without the Church.

Calvinist Narratives, 19th Century Princeton and Christmas (Part 2)

What would Paul say of those who would borrow from Hellenistic practice and try to bring it into the Church? Actually I think that very thing was happening in Colossae and in the letters to the Seven Churches and let's just say that neither Paul nor Christ (via John) have any time for it.

Calvinist Narratives, 19th Century Princeton and Christmas (Part 1)

https://calvinistinternational.com/2019/01/24/charles-hodge-and-a-19th-cent-presbyterian-christmas/

 It's a little disturbing to me but for some the idea seems to be that if Charles Hodge said Christmas was okay, then it's okay. I suppose some might feel they have some ammunition for their pro-Christmas/revisionist argument if they can pull out a 'big gun' like Hodge.

Europe's Ghosts, Essential Questions and the Ever-Problematic Balkans

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/europe-risks-losing-strategic-clout-in-western-balkans/

In some respects I was surprised by the candid language in this editorial. I was not surprised by the message but by its directness.

While democracy is evoked and prosperity mentioned, the key term is security. The EU project needs to consolidate all of Europe in order to meet its goals. To create a bloc, a fortress Europe it cannot have dissenting or even rebel provinces rooted in its underbelly.

At a time when everyone is reflecting on the thirty year anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the event which effectively shifted gears and set the European project in full motion... the anniversary is marked by angst and frustration. The project of consolidation under the auspices of the EU and NATO has experienced great success but its failures are glaring and represent existential dangers.

An Informal ECT Alliance and the Bolivian Coup

Fernando Camacho and Jeanine Añez both represent Right-wing Christian forces at work in Latin America. Both are Roman Catholic and yet in many ways embody the Evangelical style and appeal to its audience. With the flight of Morales in November 2019, both figures were connected to episodes in which Bibles were held up high accompanied by proclamations of the return of Christianity to Bolivia.

In North America Evangelicals and Roman Catholics began to work in concert back in the 1980's and 1990's and while the relationship in Latin America has proven rocky, there are hints that politics and culture war are bringing them together.

More Disease Ridden Cures: Attacking Lausanne on the Basis of Right-Wing Politics (Part 2)

It was appropriate that in the Old Testament order there was a certain earthly glory and indeed like Abraham we are 'wealthy' pilgrims. But wealth and riches have to be understood in spiritual terms which Proverbs (ironically) defines as spiritual wisdom, something the New Testament elaborates upon. Once again I say ironic because the proponents of Christo-capitalism heavily rely on Proverbs to make their fiscal case but never see the questions in light of the New Testament and actually ignore the foundational concepts regarding wealth that are laid out in the early chapters.

More Disease Ridden Cures: Attacking Lausanne on the Basis of Right-Wing Politics (Part 1)

I was eager to read ES Williams' Ecumenism: Another Gospel (Lausanne's Road to Rome) which was published in 2014. It was in certain respects a 'good read' and at times helpful, even insightful. But in the end I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone.

Alongside a rightly guided Biblical critique of the movement which has become the international platform of post-war Evangelicalism, there was an unfortunate Right-wing aspect or angle which seems to govern Williams' thought.

An Example of Kuyperian Two Kingdom Theology Applied

https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/should-churches-have-christian-schools-a-test-case-regarding-church-and-society

This is another example of what I often refer to as Pseudo-Two Kingdom Theology. While it purports to avoid the direct theocratic models advocated by some, it nevertheless operates on a Dominionist basis. The form is different and while it ostensibly observes the necessary distinction between Church and culture, it nevertheless operates on the false assumption that the Kingdom includes, incorporates and redeems culture. As Doriani states:

...the kingdom is wider than the visible church. The visible, corporate church is the vanguard, the concentration point, the training ground, and the sending agency for kingdom work, but kingdom work is broader than church work. 

O'Rourke and the Tax-Exempt Evangelicals: (Part 2)

When I encounter people that point to the Family Life Network (FLN) as their news source I almost don't know what to say. The same is true when I encounter those who daily rely upon the commentaries of Albert Mohler and others like him.

O'Rourke and the Tax-Exempt Evangelicals: (Part 1)

Recently I was listening to the Family Life Network's 'experts' on all things political. In reality the two experts or regular guests on their Capitol Connection show, Michael Geer of the Pennsylvania Family Institute and Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms are bought and paid for lobbyists who have no interest in helping the Christian audience discover the truth or foster tools of discernment. They appear in order to promote a line but it's deceptively represented as some kind of informed and honest coverage.

Chinese Evangelicals and the NED

https://www.mintpressnews.com/hong-kong-protest-united-states-destabilize-china/261712/

The National Endowment for Democracy isn't just a US government backed NGO that promotes democratic institutions. In the case of Hong Kong it is actively involved in promoting the protests. That the NED often functions as an arm of US intelligence, interferes with democracy and promotes regime change is actually old news for those who have been watching for many years.

This is why (once again) it is tragic that Chinese and in this case Hong Kong based Evangelicals are getting involved with what amounts to a US intelligence operation. Are the protests wholly the creation of the United States? I doubt anyone would actually suggest that. There are plenty of social forces and tensions at work that are helping to fuel the protests and yet as they ebb and flow, the Americans are there to make sure people stay out on the street. Money can work wonders. It's much the same with striking workers. They can keep going, keep protesting as long as the money is there for them to feed their families and pay their bills.

This is where the NED (and sometimes USAID) and US intelligence (often operating through the embassy or consulate) is able to step in. This was the playbook in Iran in 1953 that led to the overthrow of Mosaddegh. It's been used many times.

These are the games empires play. We shouldn't be shocked or even surprised.

The Amazon Synod

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Amazon-Synod:-Hummes-notes-need-for-married-priests-and-ministry-for-women-48203.html

It was fairly clear from the preliminary literature leading up to this synod that elements within the Roman Catholic hierarchy would be pushing for both married priests and female deacons.

A New Phase in the Syria War: The Kurds Betrayed Again and the Turkish Invasion of Rojava

I've been writing about Syria and the Kurds for many years as I was fascinated by these topics long before they became part of the nightly news cycle.

With that perspective I can honestly say that I've been more or less dismissive with regard to the present commentary on the part of the Establishment media and certainly the statements being made by the Right and the Evangelical audience.

The Kurds have been betrayed by the US on multiple occasions and while there was some protest in the wake of the Gulf War, for the most part few have cared... except now the situation is in reference to Syria and the presidency of Donald Trump.

Investment and Insulated Exploitation

Few Christians I know would shake down or extort their fellow believers. They wouldn't threaten to cut their utilities or drive them from their homes if they didn't fork over money to them. Would they?

Trump +985: Ukraine and Impeachment

A CIA whistleblower in the White House has ignited the fires of impeachment, exposing an episode of blatant corruption and disregard for the law on the part of the president. Would that it were so simple. In truth, the whole thing smells rotten. It smells like the Deep State has decided to make its move. Trump is as dirty as they come and yet once again the case being made against him is self-serving to the interests of those who would have him removed, even while they ignore his myriad high crimes and misdemeanors.

9/11 Revisited

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/09/article/we-are-all-hostages-of-9-11/

Regardless of what you think of Pepe Escobar this article is interesting and raises many salient points. I found myself hooked at the beginning when he started talking about Ahmad Shah Massoud. I remember very well where I was on 9 September 2001 when the news came over the radio that he had been killed. We had just bought an old fixer-upper schoolhouse turned domicile and I was poking around on that Sunday afternoon thinking about the repairs that needed to be done. The radio was tuned to NPR and the story of Massoud's death broke leaving me startled. I had been following Afghanistan for some time and his death was a pretty big deal. You definitely felt like something was going to happen, something would change.

The RICO Dragnet and its Dangers

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-we-need-to-know-about-rico

RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was developed in the early 1970's and was used to take down large sections of the Mafia and other criminal organisations.

Bakker, Barton and the Americanist Baal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX72-RpShTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izd-qBxKfLI

It seems highly appropriate that career heretics and charlatans Jim Bakker and David Barton have decided to collaborate and promote their lies about the United States and its history.

Disease Ridden Cures: Anti-Social Justice Warriors and Deceit

https://enemieswithinthechurch.com/2019/08/24/prominent-conservative-pastor-calls-out-tim-keller-for-promoting-socialist-economic-platform/

There's plenty to criticise about Tim Keller, New Calvinism and the modern Social Justice/Woke movement. These are neither mutually exclusive nor are they synonymous. The landscape is complicated but it's further complicated by the spectrum of criticisms and the critics themselves... some of which deserve equal condemnation.

Far Right AfD Makes Electoral Gains in Germany... Eighty Years After the Start of WWII

The Alternative für Deutschland or AfD has made significant gains in German state elections and this comes after gains in the European Parliament made earlier this year. And people are talking about it. It's shocking to them that 80 years after the start of WWII, a Far-Right party (that by many estimations harbours a Neo-Nazi element) is becoming a significant player in German politics.

The Godly Usurers

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mortgage-company-loving-neighbors/

Is inflated quick selling or so-called 'flipping' real estate an application of Philippians 2.3-4? Is this loving your neighbour? The folks associated with Movement Mortgage certainly seem to think so. While their model is perhaps a little more principled than the get rich quick schemes of real estate hustlers, the philosophy which undergirds their finance model is rooted in the same system and built on the same worldly foundations.

Lausanne's Unequivocal Dominionism: The Legacy of Billy Graham (Part 2)

http://evangelicalfocus.com/lifetech/4575/GWF_in_Manila_called_to_unleash_the_gospel_in_the_workplace

“I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the Believers in the workplace”.

The quote from Graham demonstrates what the movement was always about. Those that think he was just a simple-message Gospel preacher have never taken the time to understand what either he or the larger Evangelical movement was (and is) all about. You can't be an ecumenicist and come down hard and firm on anything. Graham's simplicity wasn't rooted in a bare-bones Fundamentalist-type commitment to Scripture. Not at all. His simple message was part of his larger ecumenical strategy. He wanted people 'in' and once 'in' they could be schooled in accordance with the Lausanne programme. And overwhelmingly Lausanne's programmes were and are about transforming culture. In the end Graham didn't care what theological background you hailed from. He just wanted you in the fold and part of the larger project. Whether you were baptised or not, spoke in tongues or not or prayed to Mary or not, didn't really matter.

Lausanne's Unequivocal Dominionism: The Legacy of Billy Graham (Part 1)

Building on ideas and relationships that had been growing for more than a decade, the Lausanne Movement finds its official origin in the 1974 conference held on the shores of Lake Geneva. Dominated by John Stott and Billy Graham, the conference launched a movement bringing American style Evangelicalism to Europe. This was (at least in part) to compete with and overcome the separatist impulses and Fundamentalism that had more or less dominated Free Church Protestantism on the continent since the 19^th century.

Kromiadi, the 1944 Prague Manifesto and Contemporary Alliances

Constantine Kromiadi was a Greco-Russian nationalist who fought on the White side in the Russian Civil Wars. He eventually became a Nazi collaborator who wanted to see Stalin defeated and some form of traditionalist Russia restored.

American Evangelicals and European Right-Wing Populism

https://issuesetc.org/2019/08/06/2183-lessons-from-the-demise-of-western-europe-dr-allan-carlson-8-6-19/

Italy is poised to turn even farther to the Right. After the Atlantic Establishment (via its media outlets) tried to stoke a Russia-gate type scandal, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini decided to make his move and by calling a snap election he is attempting to turn the tables on his enemies in both Rome and Brussels.

Leviticus and Redemptive History

Once again our pulpit was filled by a young man, zealous and sincere who delivered a good message. But due to truncated hermeneutics it wasn't as good as it could have been. So much was missed and this is once again due to a misguided understanding of what the Bible is and how Divine Revelation is focused on the Person and work of Christ.

This time it was a survey of Leviticus which is admittedly no easy task. It's a difficult book and it's hard to keep people focused as many find it to be not only dry reading but a dry topic.

But it doesn't have to be.

Refugees, Clashing Empires, Signs of the Times and the Christian Calling

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/05/c_138201998.htm

https://www.csis.org/analysis/can-united-states-prevent-uganda-reaching-breaking-point

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank is closely wed to the corridors of American power. If you listen to NPR or BBC, you're already familiar with the organisation and Anthony Cordesman is an old familiar voice.

A Heartfelt Offering of Thanks to Josh Harris

Josh Harris has kissed Christianity good-bye. While this is tragic I want to thank him. Thank you for publicly declaring your apostasy. Thank you for not pretending to still be a Christian and cashing in on your legacy of compromise with the world.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 3)

While I would love to recommend Heiser's works to family and friends, I cannot do so in good conscience. I know some would benefit from the conversation and an encounter with the topics he brings up and the Scriptural data he very effectively utilises. But buried in, around and in-between the lines are assumptions that can only be described as theologically liberal.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 2)

For me the tragedy is that Protestant Scholasticism created a theological paradigm that had little room for spiritual duality and tension. Because of historical abuses, the twisted absolute dualism of the Gnostics, Cathars and others there's been a strong monistic push since the 17^th century to resolve all tensions under the umbrella of Divine Sovereignty. This is pushed to an extreme in the theology embraced by many if not most contemporary Calvinists.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 1)

I first started thinking about the Divine Council many years ago when reading the works of Meredith Kline. In particular his 2001 commentary on Zechariah's night visions proved a thrilling read and stirred me on several investigative fronts. To this day it remains a favourite and I frequently re-visit it. Not only did it feed my already growing interest in Redemptive-Historical hermeneutics, it started me down a path of investigating typology and symbols and subsequently I discovered there were vast untapped riches to be found in the Scriptures, a treasure trove of revelation concerning the celestial realms and the mechanisms by which God has ordered the universe.

Habakkuk and Redemptive-History

A couple of weeks ago we were blessed to have a young man visiting our pulpit, apparently some sort of aspiring preacher. Clearly excited about the Scriptures it was truly an encouragement to see someone from the Millennial generation that appeared to be serious and sober. We've had other preachers of that generation visit and apart from a strange pulpit manner, an odd cadence and even some maturity issues, the messages were a bit disappointing. This young man was refreshing.

OBOR, Atlanticism and Trumpism: Setting the Stage for Proxy Conflicts and Battlegrounds in the New Cold War (Part 2)

China's economy must continue growing. Continued Western investment is risky, all the more as it's clear the West is gearing for war. A capitalist economy must grow. Without investment and returns, stagnate capital begins to depreciate.

This is the point where Capitalism turns the imperialist corner. If there aren't any more markets, then you must find them, create them and if necessary force them open. And you must angle and strategise in order to make sure your rivals don't beat you to it.

Xi does not want to fight a war with the United States but his solution to the problem was to re-cast and expand China's already growing global economic footprint. OBOR also known as the New Silk Road gives China something to invest in and creates a multitude of new markets and opportunities.