Our God Reigns

"The church – being the community of those who have been reconciled to God – are given the vocation of bringing the message of reconciliation to the rest of the world, as Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:18-19 and 10:5. Like the Psalmist, we are to “say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns’” (Ps. 96:10). Naturally, this includes all the institutions, organisations and cultures that make up those nations. We are to proclaim the salvation and kingship of Jesus over all the arts, the sciences, the economies, the music, the philosophy, the educational systems, and of course the political systems of this world. In the church, this should already be reality." From my Open Letter to a Christian Universalist. To read the entire post, click here.

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Application of the Old Testament in Today's World and Why Theonomy is BAD

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Feminism and Male Domination: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Interestingly, feminism and male domination are just two sides of the same coin.

Here's why.
 

Both feminism and male domination assume that there is a necessary relation between a woman's personal role and her personal worth. Both insist that personal role and personal worth must go together, so that any limitation to the former reduces or threatens the latter. The only difference is that while feminism thinks this is a bad thing, and hence attempts to increase a woman’s worth through nullifying any limitation of role, male domination thinks it is a good thing, and hence attempts to decrease a woman’s worth by maintaining her role.

 
Feminism thus shares the very premise upon which male domination is founded, namely, that my personal significance is measured according to my rung on the ladder, and my opportunity for personal fulfilment enlarges or contracts according to my role. Both are wrong. As Ortlund as pointed out,

“Ironically, feminism shares the very premise upon which male domination is founded, namely, that my personal significance is measured according to my rung on the ladder, and my opportunity for personal fulfilment enlarges or contracts according to my role. By this line of reasoning, the goal of life degenerates into competition for power, and no one hungers and thirsts for true fulfilment in righteousness. No wonder both male domination and feminism are tearing people apart.”

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Cameron and Clegg's Europe U-Turn

The motion to give the people of Britain a referendum on the EU was defeated in a vote of 483 to 111 after David Cameron ordered his MPs to vote against the proposal.

In an article I wrote today for Christian Voice, I pointed out that David Cameron has continually promised to change Britain’s relationship with Europe and even gave a ‘cast iron guarantee’ that his government would support a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

UK Riots: the Totalitarian Aftermath

When the London riots broke out last August, I was particularly interested. You see, three days prior to the violence I had been staying in Hackney, one of the areas of London affected by the social unrest. So severe had the violence become in that area the subway station I had been using to travel to and from graduate school had to be shut down until the police got control of the situation.

The Role of Beauty in Christian Apologetics

In an article I wrote for the Charles Colson Center, I pointed out that Christian apologetics must not be merely intellectual – concerned with the Big Questions of the universe and its origins. We must also engage in what a friend of mine has called “cultural apologetics”, working to transform the rhythms and practices of our culture – including the culture of our Christian communities - to reflect the beauty and desirability of Christ.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once noted, “In vain does one repeat what the heart does not find sweet.” It is not good enough simply to prove to someone that Christianity is true; if we are to have an impact for Christ we must also show that the faith is sweet. One of the ways we can do this is through cultural expressions that embody that sweetness, which show that Christianity is not only true, but lovely and desirable.

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EU Referendum Vote

I've just written an article for Christian Voice about an historic opportunity that the people of Britain have to hold a referendum on EU-membership. I would encourage all my British readers to check out the article and to sign the petitions given at the end of it. To do so, click on the following link:

MPs to Vote on EU Referendum

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Catholicity and Ecumenism

One of the reasons I was eager to accept the position as Co-Director of the Reformed Liturgical Institute (besides being able to work closely with my friend Greg Soderberg) is because of the Institute’s emphasis on catholicity. As an evangelical who was rescued six years ago from the sectarian home-church mentality, I have found that catholicity and ecumenism are very important concepts to me. By ‘catholic’  I do not mean Roman and by ‘ecumenism’ I do not mean syncretism. Rather, both terms should be understood in the twofold sense that my friend Brad Littlejohn defined catholicity in his book The Mercersburg Theology and the Quest for Reformed Catholicity. Speaking of the catholicity of Nevin and Schaff, he wrote that

“first, catholicity in the sense (or similar to the sense) of ecumenism – a passionate desire that all believers may be truly one, one in spirit and one in visible union; second, catholicity in the sense of an embrace of what I am calling the ‘catholic heritage,’ that is, the sense of motherhood of the Church, the mysterious power of the sacraments and the liturgy, the divine authority of the ministry, and the rest of the spiritual worldview that characterized the first five or even the first fifteen centuries of the Church.”

In trying to identify with the first fifteen centuries of the church, this ecumenical emphasis is enthusiastic about emphasizing and celebrating areas of continuity between Protestants and Roman Catholics or between Protestants and Eastern Orthodox.

 

Sadly, however, I have found that not all of my reformed Protestant friends share this agenda, and one of the primary reasons for this is because of the doctrine of Sola Fide. Indeed, if there is any doctrine that divides Protestant evangelicals from their brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox traditions, the doctrine that we are justified by faith alone (Sola Fide) has to be it.

 

At least, that has been my experience. When having conversations with lay people, Christian educators and those in leadership positions in Protestant churches, I am frequently told that while individual Roman Catholics can be saved, this can only happen if they “trust in Christ alone for salvation.” When pressed to explain what it means to “trust in Christ alone for salvation,” the response I am usually given is that it means the Roman Catholic has to (more or less) believe in Sola Fide. To reject Sola Fide is to reject Christ, which is to reject any hope of salvation.

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Bank of England 'injects' £75 billion into the economy - oh joy!

Echoing points made in earlier posts about hidden taxation and the G20 conference, Daniel Hannan (the "Ron Paul of Britain") has recently written an article titled 'More money printing? My masters are you mad?' exposing the foolishness behind the Bank of England's decision to inject a further £75 billion into the economy. He observes:

I can't believe I'm having to write this, but nothing new will be manufactured, invented or developed  as the result of this monetary splurge, no services offered, no businesses founded. Rather, the money already in circulation – the money in your bank account, in your purse, under your mattress – will be worth less. The government, in other words, is helping itself to your savings – and, in doing so, is damaging productivity, disincentivising work and weakening the competitiveness of the British economy.

The principle is a simple one: when the government or its bankers inject more money into the economy, this decreases the value of everyone's savings. To read more how this work, click on some of the above links or read Mr. Hannan's other post, 'Printing money is the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed.'

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Obama's Budget Cuts - Reality Check

Why Nouthetic Counseling is Unbiblical

This post has moved to my new blog and can be read at the following link:

http://www.salvomag.com/unpragmatic-thoughts/?p=305

Daniel Hannan on Euro-Debt Crisis

New Position and Controversial Paper

I am honored to assume the position of co-director for the Reformed Liturgical Institute and I look forward to working with the exceptional team of intellectuals affiliated with the Institute, especially Director Gregory Soderberg.

For those who are unfamiliar with the work of RLI, we aim to promote worship which is biblical, God-Centered, historically informed, and which strives for serious and vigorous participation from the people of God. Some of the ways we seek to do this is through 

• Strengthening local churches and help churchmen to mature in their understanding of Reformed liturgical principles.
• Making reformed liturgical resources available online.
• Encouraging the use of the Christian Year or church calendar as an aspect of the dominion of Christ over time.
• Promoting and hosting conferences related to worship

To launch my time as co-director, I have written a controversial paper for the Institute on the ecumenical implications of Sola Fide. No doubt the paper will generate much controversy and debate in the days to come, so keep checking the Institute and this blog for updates. To read my paper, click here.

 

Are All People Created Equal?

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