Auraria Youth Blog

October 31st: Protestantism & the West, Pt. 6

2009-10-31T09:53:00.002-06:00

October 31st is the historical catalyst of Western liberties.

It is time to re-consider the vitality and viability of Christianity once again. Pragmatism is the only native American philosophy. And Americans live it to the hilt. Yet if we follow what 'works' why not follow Christianity?

This series is directed at encouraging American Christians to reconsider their roots and modern detractors to reconsider the historical significance of Protestantism. America is one of the best socio-historical evidences for Christianity.

Our freedoms were forged in the fires of the Reformation. And expanded through her children. And yet too many Americans wish to divorce these freedoms from the framework in which they were erected. They want the fruits without the Christian roots. If there is any cause and effect in the world, then this spells disaster for future generations.

Freedom & the Reformation

How is that so? Let a liberal historian from Yale explain the logical and psychological connections in a three-fold manner:

"How is it, then, that Calvinism is acknowledged, even by foes, to have promoted powerfully the cause of civil liberty? The reason lies in the boundary line which it drew between church and State. Calvinism would not surrender the peculiar notions of the Church to the civil authority. Whether the church, or the Government, should regulate the administration the Sacrament, and admit or reject the communicants, was the question which Calvin fought out with the authorities at Geneva, in this feature, Calvinism differed from the relation of the civil leaders to the Church, as established under the auspices of Zwingli, well as of Luther, and from the Anglican system which originated under Henry VIII…"

Thus, separation of church and state (a legal term not clearly defined until last century) began budding during the Reformation.

"A second reason why Calvinism has been favorable to civil liberty is found in the republican character of its church organization. Laymen shared power with ministers… Men who were accustomed to rule themselves in the Church would claim the same privilege in the commonwealth…"

The Presbyterian model is three-fold: a layer of courts (local church, regional church (Presbytery) and a national church (General Assembly)), joint-rule by laymen (elders) and ministers, and a written constitution. The people vote for their leaders and local issues. The people's voice is exercised through their elders at the regional and national levels. This republican system pre-dated America's by over two-hundred years.

"Another source of the influence of Calvinism, in advancing the cause of civil liberty, has been derived from its theology. The sense of the exaltation of the Almighty Ruler, and of his intimate connection with the minutest incidents and obligations of human life, which is fostered by this theology, dwarfs all earthly potentates. An intense spirituality, a consciousness that this life is but an infinitesimal fraction of human existence, dissipates the feeling of personal homage for men, however high their station, and dulls the luster of all earthly grandeur. Calvinism and Romanism are the antipodes of each other." (George Park Fisher, The Reformation, revised, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920), 207ff.)

In fact, historian and founder of Annapolis, George Bancroft (son of a Unitarian minister and no friend of Calvinism) declared:

"The fanatic for Calvinism was a fanatic for liberty; and, in the moral warfare for freedom, his creed was his most faithful counselor and his never-failing support. The Puritans...planted...the undying principles of democratic liberty" (A History of the United States, vol. 1 (New York: Harper & Brothers), 464)

He even declared:

"Calvin infused enduring elements into the institutions of Geneva, and made it for the modern world, the impregnable fortress of popular liberty, the fertile seed-plot of democracy."

(Literary and Historical Miscellanies, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855), 405-406)

The Point of It All

The influence of the Reformation was not monolithic. And other factors were involved. And historians do debate on how and to what extent Calvinism influenced early modernity. Yet influence it did.

The theological influence of Luther and the Reformers is the most fundamental factor. As such I must mention again that the Gospel calls men to repent of their wayward actions and beliefs. Men, being bound in their sin, have guilty consciences they try to assuage, even to the point of creating entire new worldviews whole-cloth. But the Gospel of Christ, that He died for the sins of those who believe in Him and His work, can free such fettered consciences.

And a free conscience is a free man.

This entire series can be summed up by a modern encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics:

"In general it may be claimed for Calvinism that its influence has been an elevating and invigorating one. Abasing man before God, but exalting him again in the consciousness of a newborn liberty in Christ, teaching him his slavery through sin, yet restoring his freedom to him through grace, and leading him to regard all things in the light of eternity, it contributed to form a grave but very noble and elevated type of character, and reared a race not afraid to lift up the head before kings."

James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Part 5, (Kessinger Publishing, 2003), 153.)

Part 1, October Revolution
Part 2, Education
Part 3, Birth of America
Part 4, Early America
Part 5, Political Roots
Part 6, October 31st

For more info: For a scholarly assessment of Calvinism's influence read, The Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion & Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism, Witte; for evidence that resistance to tyrant was part of the middle colony Reformed thought read, Revolution and Religion, Griffin.

Political Roots: Protestantism & the West, Pt. 5

2009-10-29T13:12:00.005-06:00

“He that will not honor the memory, and respect the influence of Calvin, knows but little of the origin of American liberty.”

George Bancroft, historian, founder of Annapolis

October 31st was a revolutionary day, the birth of Protestantism. This series has explored in summary fashion the Christian influence upon Western civilization and America in particular.

Introduction

The freedoms we enjoy as Americans have their historical roots in Christianity.

This is not simply an assertion from a biased observer but the assertion of several respected historians. The Reformed doctrines are being explored once again as meaningful beliefs that shaped and formed the early modern period. From Gorski's The Disciplinary Revolution to the detailed legal and historical examination of Witte and Berman, the Christian worldview is being examined as a real historical source of society, policy and legal rationale. It is certainly the case that these historians do not necessarily agree with the major tenants of Reformed thought, only examining how they impacted the thoughts and laws of those time periods.

And yet if our society and legal code have any historical connection to the past (and any nation will claim continuity with its own past), it is certainly a deep connection with Christianity. Other influences were certainly there but Christianity overshadowed them all.

Political Freedom

John Adams bluntly acknowledged the wide-spread influences of both the French-Calvinist’s work Vindicus Contra Tyrannos and the English Calvinist work of Ponet (A Shorte Treatise of Politike Power), both which defended the right of the people to rise against tyrants (The Works of John Adams [1851] Vol. 6, p. 3-4.)

Certain elements in the Declaration of Independence echoed past religious thought such as “all men are created equal,” which was originally expressed in the Puritan work Lex, Rex in 1644. Even further back in time, a Dutch Calvinist, Johannes Althusius, wrote Politica (1603), a complete systematic presentation of a representative Republican government including political resistance theory. Pre-existing resistance theories existed, but were not as fully developed until the Reformation under the likes of Calvin, Bucer, Knox, and others.

Daniel Elazar, professor at Temple University, member of presidential committees and founding member of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, asserted:

“In all of the places where Reformed Protestantism was strong, there emerged a Protestant republicanism that opposed tyrants even as it demanded local religious conformity. Reformed Protestants in England became the Puritans, whose name indicated that they wanted to purify the Anglican Church as much as the Catholic, which they had rejected. In the seventeenth century they launched the first of the great modern revolutions, the English Civil War, against royal absolutism, opening the way for modern democracy.” (World History Curriculum, Article 2)

In fact, he edited a work of fourteen essays written by various scholars and professors exploring the religious connection between the political idea of federalism and the Reformed idea of covenant. The Covenant Connection is a must read for Christians and detractors alike. He further claimed:

“A majority of the delegates to the Convention were affiliated with covenant-based churches…The Presbyterians, however, were already moving toward full-scale federalism. As Arthur Schlesinger, Sr., noted: 'More than either [the Congregationalists or Anglicans] the Presbyterians in their reliance on federalist and representative institutions anticipated the political makeup of the future United States.' Indeed, as the first government came into office under the U.S. Constitution in 1789, the Presbyterians held their first nationwide General Assembly. In the Presbyterian system, congregations in a local area formed a presbytery; several presbyteries in a region formed a synod; and then came the General Assembly. As a result, the system of federal democracy established by the U.S. Constitution has often been referred to as Presbyterianism writ large for civil society..." (Covenant & the American Founding)

The War

The Revolutionary War was partially fueled by religious concerns. John Adams explained:

"Where is the man to be found at this day, when we see [various bishops]...who will believe that the apprehension of Episcopacy contributed fifty years ago, as much as any other cause, to arouse the attention, not only of the inquiring mind, but of the common people, and urge them to close thinking on the constitutional authority of parliament over the colonies? This, nevertheless, was a fact as certain as any in the history of North America." (Works of Adams, Letter to Morse, December 2, 1815)

If parliament could institute a spiritual lord (Bishop) then certainly they could institute political lords. One of the most well-known political cartoons of that time, "An Attempt to Land a Bishop in America," shows a crowd of colonists harrying a Bishop back to England, throwing books titled "Locke," "Sydney on Government" and "Calvin's Works," shouting "no lords spiritual or temporal" (1768, see picture).

In fact, on May 20, 1775, the Presbyterian Synod was the first religious body to send a public letter to their churches reminding them to respect the Crown even while they encouraged their readers to obey the Continental Congress and to prepare their lives and souls for war. Most of the Continental army were Presbyterian laymen even as most of the New England minutemen were Congregationalists. These ministers--defending the Revolution or even fighting in it--were dubbed the "Black Regiment". Horace Walpole told Parliament that "there is no use crying about it. Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson, and that is the end of it."

(to be continued)

Part 1, October Revolution
Part 2, Education
Part 3, Birth of America
Part 4, Early America

Birth of America: Protestantism & the West, Pt. 3

2009-10-27T22:00:00.012-06:00

The last two parts of this series included a general overview of Christian influence upon the West and especially its impact upon education.

This part will emphasize the less well-known religious social foundations of America.

Introduction

It is important to note the adjective 'social' as many today seem to only think in political terms. In the early modern period, before the rise of large, integrated, bureaucratic states, politics was only one of many aspects of a nation.

The social aspect, the institutional structures of family, school, church, government, etc., is the formal organization of the underlining cultural organism. The culture is the local, private and semi-private expectations and worldview outlooks that affect society. Naturally, there is a reciprocal relationship, but usually the larger institutions (such as the government) reflect the beliefs of the culture as a whole.

Jamestown, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay

In both aspects of early America, religion played a dominate role. The wide-spread localism of this period allowed for religious and social diversity within a Christian context. Naturally, the localism arose from the vast size of the Eastern coast. Even so, Protestantism tied these diverse settlements together.

In 1607, Jamestown, although starting as a business venture of the Virginia Company of London, included a minister. And worship services were required morning and evening every Sunday. Catechizing the young came a few years later after women showed up. The particular denomination was Anglicanism. And its 39 Articles were clearly Protestant with a strong strand of Reformed thinking (sovereignty of God and the depravity of man, here).

Presumably, many Americans know that both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were founded by Protestants: Separatists and Puritans respectively. Both groups were ardent Calvinists. And they came for religious freedom.

Culture & Christianity

Parents were to inculcate their children with Christian practice and doctrine. That included especially the Bible and the catechisms. Church leadership especially encouraged this in the families all the while they catechized the same families and their children. The schools simply reinforced this Protestant outlook with Bible readings and the Puritan New England Primer.

Although church membership was low (probably due to the high admittance standards), attendance was over 50% through the 1700s. Virtually all Americans were Christians of one stripe or another.

From Bibles, catechisms and sermons, most of the books were religious in nature. One of the most popular children books for over 100 years was a Puritan poem about judgment day, the Day of Doom. Newspapers, speeches and debates were couched in religious language, especially the Calvinist language of "providence." Even Paine's Common Sense used Christian language and imagery.

Politics & Christianity

Election day sermons were the mainstay in New England, while practiced occasionally elsewhere. This old tradition gathered the state leadership into one building to hear the chosen minister expound their duty to God. Several such sermons included a public defense of resistance to tyrants. Sermons were also preached during artillery drills, funerals and public holidays.

Political leaders, one and all, spoke the language of Christianity. Many were devout Protestants (John Jay, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman). A few may have been borderline Deists (Washington). And even fewer were outright Deists (Jefferson). And some were hard to figure out (Madison).

Yet the Deism of Jefferson was not publicly known. And the Christian climate of the time was such that the stigma of the title 'deist' was even avoided by Jefferson. During his run for president in 1800, he was accused as such (without any real evidence). He publicly denied the charge.

The Declaration of Independence (as the organic foundation of America) explicitly mentions God and providence, rooting American liberties in Christianity. The Continental Congress pronounced several days of prayer and thanksgiving in explicitly Christian language, enacted public prayer and implemented chaplains.

All those State constitutions mention God and religion explicitly. The lack thereof in the Constitution makes sense in light of the state and local concerns of a nation-wide establishment of a single Christian denomination--what mother England had at the time.

Nevertheless, the new Congress still funded chaplains, asked for days of thanksgiving (via Washington), attended public facilities for worship services, and even condoned an American edition of the Bible (more here).

Several state constitutions still had a form of Christian establishment after the formation of the Constitution, with some including religious vows. In fact, the 1778 South Carolina constitution stated:

"The Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby constituted and declared to be, the established religion of this State." (Article 38)

(to be continued)

Part 1, October Revolution
Part 2, Education

More info: Religion and the American Experiment, John Witte, Jr.

The 9mm Gospel

2007-04-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

To understand the Virginia Tech massacre, one must understand sin and redemption.

In the midst of blame-throwing, soul-searching & question-begging on the national scene, such a statement appears unbelievable. But please bear with me.

Guilt is an inescapable condition of sinful man. Thus, in the Old Testament economy the main thrust of the ceremonial law was sin and redemption. The temple, the priesthood and the animal sacrifices portrayed these realities. To assuage a guilty conscience satisfaction had to be rendered. Justification before the tribunal had to be accomplished.

During the Day of Atonement, besides the offerings, a goat was sent free. The sins of the people were placed symbolically upon the creature and it was sent into the wilderness. It was the scapegoat.

Through the centuries peoples and nations have lived with guilt. Before the absolute perfection of God’s moral Law, all men are guilty. They have transgressed the Law in thought, word and deed (Rom. 1:20ff.). Accordingly, they have all sought freedom from such a guilty conscience.
They have sought self-atonement and self-justification. This attempted jail-break from the prison of culpability has taken many forms, but can be narrowed down into two types: masochism and sadism.

Masochism is not merely that narrowly defined sexual sin wherein the person demands self-punishment as a license to sin, it is also broadly conceived as self-punishment to satisfy a guilty conscience. (Rushdooney lists five variations of this in his book, Politics of Guilt and Pity (1978, p.2ff.)).

Sadism is sometimes described as inverted masochism. This approach tries to level the moral playing field by attacking an innocent party. It, too, is a form of self-justification, but through punishing others it justifies its own sin. For instance, “Some parents will both indulge flagrantly and then punish savagely their children as they alternate between a mood of longing for the triumph of self-indulgence and a resentment that anyone can escape the punishment when they cannot” (p.6).

The need for atonement, purity and justification is strong in the minds of sinners. The Christian church must understand this fact in its analysis of itself and the society around it. Man’s basic problem is sin and the accompanying guilt that consumes him. Thus, Christians out of all the world philosophies have the explanation for today’s troubled world.

The 9mm butchering of 32 students & faculty at Virginia Tech was not an unexplainable happenstance, as one popular conservative talk-show opined. Nor was this macabre act a result of a mind that was “ill,” “irrational,” or “confused,” as many other commentators claimed.

No.

The student was only acting out his atonement; his 9mm Gospel.

It is a gospel that would destroy everyone so as to save itself.

It is a gospel of frustration, trying to appease a guilty conscience
through a bloody atonement accomplished in a rain of gunfire.

It is a gospel hemmed in by the man-made strictures of godless men. It believed the lie that truth is relative, that social restrictions and responsibilities are merely the product of man’s ever-changing mind. It bought the lie that this world is a product of chance and whim.

Thus, he concluded that might makes right. Why should the ones with the biggest guns make the rules? Why should the majority be right? Why should other people be free from the sins gnawing at his soul?

In an ever-increasing de-Christianization of America through outright denials of God & the downplay of sin and grace, the fruit of generations of gospel-hatred are maturing. This is not simply a “blame society” observation, but a realization that sin is leavening society to a critical point. The seams are fraying; the buttons are bursting.

And this young man is but one manifestation of rebellion against God. Most likely brought up in a semi-pagan home and feed nihilism and evolutionary thought, he simply acted out the logic of such a system.

He could not live with his guilt and he would not seek justification in Christ alone. So, he sought self-atonement through the bloody sacrifices of others.

Then he realized his sadism was insufficient. To prove his self-autonomy, his control over himself, he murdered himself.

Thus, his 9mm gospel brought him peace in this world. The controlling voices of family, friends and state are shut out forever. But the controlling justice of God is not.

Proverbs 8:36 sets before the world the antithesis between the 9mm gospel & God’s Gospel, Wisdom & foolishness, Life & death:

“But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”

To the newscasters, students and professionals, this horrible event is a terrifying peek into the soul of man. It is a peek into their own black rebellious souls. Every man is guilty before God’s tribunal. And many will seek a scapegoat to avoid that tribunal.

Yet, if they renounce their own self-justification and claim Christ’s atonement, their consciences will be assuaged and freedom will ensue. No man is more docile than a guilty man. And no man is more empowered than a guilt-free man.

If they do not learn the lesson of this wake-up call, the 9mm gospel of will spread its bloody hands far and wide across this country. Guilty men will see the failed attempts of less bloody forms of atonement and heed the siren call of redemption through the barrel of a gun.

SDG

Dr. Seuss the Calvinist?

2006-12-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

After watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas for the umpteenth time, an idea spawned in my mind. At first it was subtle, but it grew full-blown during the catchy tune that maligned Mr. Grinch:

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul. Mr. Grinch.

It was staring me in the face: Dr. Seuss was a Calvinist. I mean the ol’ run-of-the-mill, down-in-the-mouth, pessimistic Cal-vin-ist. Who could write such black and bleak lyrics besides Calvin himself?

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots, Mr. Grinch.

Wow. Have any of the viewers noticed how depraved Dr. Seuss paints Mr. Grinch? Such words would easily drain the most populace meetings of Joel Osteen! What church listener could stomach such a description of mankind?

Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable
rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.

Any well-read Christian would certainly applaud such a description as in line with such well-known passages as Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Or more famously Romans 3:10ff.: “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.”

It appears that we have some good literature for clandestine evangelism.

But it is not to be.

Too many Christians take persons, book, & quotes out of context. This is such a case. Obviously, Dr. Seuss is not a Calvinist. In fact, this poem is illuminating. What is offensive about Mister Grinch is not any act done in rebellion to God; it is what he has done against mankind:

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel. Mr. Grinch.

Charm and cuddliness are not necessarily fruits of the Spirit. However, in the movie they reflect those essential elements of civil religion, a kinder, gentler secularism. Be nice to your neighbor; love everyone; demand nothing; be generous with other people’s tax money. These are the fruits of the Christmas Spirit.

Already in the 1950s Christmas was being neutered. Since the churches in America as a whole were theologically effeminate, proclaiming a Santa Claus god to their parishioners, it was inevitable that such a view of the birth of Christ would arise.

Too often Americans forget that those who shape ideas shape culture. Many attended church back then and many do so today. But what are they hearing? What are they tithing their hard earned money towards? It is certainly not to hear bleak pronouncements about mankind—unless it is in line with Dr. Seuss.

If one were to describe mankind in moral terms akin to the poem on, say, a radio talk show, the ratings would bottom out. Listening to the likes of Hannity, Hewitt and Medved impressing the mind with fuzzy good feelings of a commonality rooted in a vanilla Christianity offends no one except the Left (and only because its from the Right).

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas stole the hearts of millions of Americans. It taught them that Christ was irrelevant and humans can spontaneously regenerate themselves unto goodness.

There is no Gospel offense in Christmas anymore—unless it someone who is acting like a Grinch.

SDG

Reformation Impact 6: Civil Government, Again

2006-11-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Daniel Elazar, member of presidential commission and of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, wrote a World History Curriculum (Article 2). This internationally respected Jewish scholar has written some of the most detailed essays that reinforce my thesis:

“In all of the places where Reformed Protestantism was strong, there emerged a Protestant republicanism that opposed tyrants even as it demanded local religious conformity. Reformed Protestants in England became the Puritans, whose name indicated that they wanted to purify the Anglican Church as much as the Catholic, which they had rejected. In the seventeenth century they launched the first of the great modern revolutions, the English Civil War, against royal absolutism, opening the way for modern democracy.”

“Hence the constitutional democracy that we all know today has its roots in that Reformed Protestant revival of the biblical idea of covenant which was not only important in the fight against tyrants and hierarchies but could be made operational in political systems that would protect liberties.”

Elsewhere (amongst his plethora of socio & politico-economic international essays) Daniel further claims (in Covenant & the American Founding ):

“A majority of the delegates to the Convention were affiliated with covenant-based churches…The Presbyterians, however, were already moving toward full-scale federalism. As Arthur Schlesinger, Sr., noted: 'More than either [the Congregationalists or Anglicans] the Presbyterians in their reliance on federalist and representative institutions anticipated the political makeup of the future United States.' Indeed, as the first government came into office under the U.S. Constitution in 1789, the Presbyterians held their first nationwide General Assembly. In the Presbyterian system, congregations in a local area formed a presbytery; several presbyteries in a region formed a synod; and then came the General Assembly.

As a result, the system of federal democracy established by the U.S. Constitution has often been referred to as Presbyterianism writ large for civil society.

“Albeit, given that the federal system established by the framers bears a much greater similarity to the political systems proposed by the federal theologians and implemented in their church polities, than the political systems proposed by Hobbes and Locke, and given that Americans were already covenanting into civil societies well before the speculative philosophers adopted the idea, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that covenant ideas had, in the final analysis, a more decisive influence than those of the 'new political science.'"

---
Philip Schaff, famous 19th century German Reformed historian, gives the proper moral impetus for Calvinistic influence in the modern era:“…they [Calvinists] became the chief promoters of civil and religious liberty based upon respect for God’s law and authority…Calvinists fear God and nothing else. In their eyes, God alone is great, man is but a shadow. The fear of God makes them fearless of earthly despots. It humbles man before God, it exalts him before his fellow-men. The fear of God is the basis of moral self-government, and self-government is the basis of true freedom.” (p. 265)

This fearlessness brought them to preach against public evils, whether from the populace or the prince. Naturally, the princes did not like this. Calvin, himself, was eventually kicked out of Geneva for “meddling” in politics: he clashed with the local counsel over church discipline: he wanted it controlled by the church; they wanted controlled by the city. Already, Calvin began the ongoing power struggle between church and state.

---
John Adams bluntly acknowledges the influence of the French-Calvinist’s work Vindicus Contra Tyrannus, which defended the right of the people to rise against tyrants (Rushdoony 25). Arguably, besides the obvious references, there are certain elements in the Declaration of Independence which echo past religious thought such as “all men are created equal,” which was originally expressed in the Puritan work Lex, Rex in 1644. Even further back in time, a Dutch Calvinist, Johannes Althusius, wrote Politica (1603), a complete systematic presentation of a representative Republican government. Resistance theories were found in the pre-Reformation church as well, but were not as fully developed until the Reformation under the likes of Calvin, Bullinger and others.

The story of Reformed influence on political theory has yet to be fully written.

Reformation Impact 5: Civil Government

2006-11-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

While idly researching this topic at the city library last year, I providentially ran across this amazing article from Harper's Magazine…of 1862 !!

The article, "The New England Confederacy," stated in a matter-of-fact manner that the English Puritans of the Mayflower learned Republicanism on a layover in Calvinist Holland. Such was the 'germ of popular constitutional government in America" (627). Furthermore, 1644 witnessed the establishment "in New England the modern republican form of government" (President, Senate & Representatives) (629).

"With this chart as a guide [Mayflower compact], they marked out the lines of a colony; upon this rock, dug out of Hebrew and Netherlandish jurisprudence, more enduring than that of Plymouth, they laid the foundation [of America]."

Harper's Magazine[v.25 June-Nove. 1862 (N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Published at Franklin Square) (p.627) ]

Historian James G. Leyburn, of Washington & Lee University, wrote a book on the Scotch-Irish and summarized it in an essay in the American Heritage Magazine, "The Scotch-Irish. The Melting Pot: The ethnic group that blended", (December 1970, Volume 22, Issue 1 ):

"…Scottish Presbyterianism was unique in its intensity, even in those religious days....When the Revolutionary War came, Scotch-Irishmen were the most whole hearted supporters of the American cause in each of the thirteen colonies….At home and abroad they were credited with playing a vital part in the struggle for independence. A Hessian captain wrote in 1778, 'Call this war by whatever name you may, only call it not an American rebellion; it is nothing more or less than a Scotch Irish Presbyterian rebellion.' King George was reported to have characterized the Revolution as 'a Presbyterian war,' and Horace Walpole told Parliament that

'there is no use crying about it. Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson, and that is the end of it.'

A representative of Lord Dartmouth wrote from New York in 1776 that 'Presbyterianism is really at the Bottom of this whole Conspiracy, has supplied it with Vigour, and will never rest, till something is decided upon it.' Such testimony to enthusiasm for the American cause was not given to any other group of immigrants."

"One group of patriotic settlers in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, drew up a set of resolutions on May 20, 1775, declaring the people of that county free and independent of the British Crown. This predominantly Scotch-Irish assemblage thus anticipated by more than a year the Declaration of Independence. The Revolutionary War might not have been won without Scotch-Irish fighting men."

"…the Presbyterian Church, like the Scotch-Irish people, was present in every colony…The organization of the church was controlled by presbyteries that ranged from New York to the South. The 'federal' structure of the church of the Scotch-Irish seemed congenial to American conditions and exerted a unifying influence in our early history."

Hamilton, a nationally recognized expert on constitutional and copyright law and former assistant to Supreme court judges, studied the history of America and discovered this:

"What Hamilton found was that a 'deep and abiding distrust of human motives that permeates Calvinist theology also permeates the Constitution.' Her investigation of that issue has led to another forthcoming book, tentatively titled The Reformed Constitution: What the Framers Meant by Representation."

"Hamilton found that some form of Calvinism played a role in the lives of at least 23 of the 55 constitutional framers, and that six were Presbyterian (the reform movement founded by John Calvin). Two of the most important framers, James Wilson and James Madison, were steeped in Presbyterian precepts."

"It is Calvinism, Hamilton argued, that 'more than any other Protestant theology, brings together the seeming paradox that man's will is corrupt by nature but also capable of doing good.' In other words, Calvinism holds that 'we can hope for the best but expect the worst from each other and from the social institutions humans devise.'

( Emory Report, November 29, 1999, Volume 52, No. 13 )

[For the entire series, go here]

Reformation Impact 4: Science

2006-11-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

Lewis. W. Spitz, (The Renaissance & Reformation Movements, Vol. II, Concordia Publishing House, 1971, revised 1986). This well-educated non-Calvinist scholar noted the obvious connection between Calvinism and science.

During the rise of science in the 1600s, there were six times as many Protestant scientists as Romish; and of those, they were mostly Calvinists, the Lutherans only having Johannes Kepler (d. 1630) as their last great scientist (581).The learned historian continues: “Reformation theology contributed to certain essential presuppositions important to natural science in its incipient stages.” The Creator-creation distinction and the God created all things out of nothing both contributed to the intellectual ascendancy of science. This meant that man and creation were not part of God and, thus, observable without taboos (583). Today, many Greenies (environmentalists) wish not to follow the creation mandate that man should subdue the earth. To them, earth, Gaia, is virtually divine; hence, there is a strict taboo on exploration and utility of this creation.

Furthermore, the development of the doctrine of the image of God in man contributed much to science. It meant that, although totally depraved in all the faculties of the soul, man still has those faculties in distinction from the animals and still uses them to discover the world and interact with it in an intelligent manner. Depravity simply means that he uses them for his own glory, in his own ways and for his own purposes. Everything sinful man does is morally unacceptable before God’s tribunal. However, through God’s common benevolence (the fact that man still lives and breaths when he deserves immediate death), unbelievers can still operate in science along side believers.
For the believer redeemed in Christ, being renewed in the image of Christ, it means that he must use the faculties of his renewed spiritual life in God’s kingdom, fulfilling the creation mandates.

This leads naturally into the next doctrine: the kingdom of God. Unlike the Roman Catholic church, the Reformers accepted the earthly mundane—such as marriage—as part of God’s kingdom instead of a necessary evil of sorts. The rise of monasticism and monkery mostly arose from their view of salvation, which involved separating oneself from the this world’s cares instead of redeeming them. If salvation is found only in the church, her priests and her sacraments, then all things come under the authority (directly or indirectly) of the church. Those serious about saving themselves will give themselves wholly to the church. For the Reformed man, on the other hand, salvation is immediately from God and all of creation is being redeemed insofar as the Christian brings his passions and abilities to bear for God’s glory. He is freed from sin to obey (however inconsistently) God’s law, to discipline himself and his environment, to learn and advance in the sciences with a heart of gratitude.

Another Reformed doctrine, that God predestined all things, necessarily means that science can operate. If all were chance—or even if some things were purely chance—would mean that they could not be rationally observed and understood. Chance, by definition, is non-rational. The fact that empiricism (the use of the senses and repeatability of experiments) can even function in the form of science arises from a Christian, specifically Reformed, metaphysic. The senses are reliable and consistent because of God. Cause and effect have meaning and consistency in a rational universe designed by an all-knowing God. In fact, for any datum to make sense in human experience, the ontological Trinity (God in-himself) must be presupposed.

Science was free.

[Next: finally...Religion & Politics!]
[For the entire series, go here]

Reformation Impact 3: Economics

2006-11-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

The famous German economist, Max Weber, proposed the connection between Calvinism and Free Market labor almost one-hundred years ago. His ideas are still taught in college along side competing theories (unlike creationism!). The drive toward hard work, frugality and free-market trades were traced historically right to Christianity and Calvinism in particular.

Echoing Weber’s thesis, book reviewer, CARL ROLLYSON, opines:"The Calvinist did not know if he was one of the elect or the damned [not necessarily true]. Good works might not save him, but good works were necessary as part of his own effort to convince himself that he deserved election. It was the extraordinary drama of not knowing one's ultimate fate that drove Calvinists to create just and equitable societies for themselves and for others. In other words, at every turn what the individual did was up to him. This is a hugely liberating psychology that did indeed lead (ironically) to a sense of selfhood that ultimately doomed Calvinism. And yet, without Calvin, it is difficult to see how the secular notion of individual liberty could have flourished."
[The New York Sun, The Calamity of Selfhood, By July 19, 2006 ]

Although her analysis is a simplification of the true doctrinal basis of good works in the Calvinist system (obedience out of gratitude), she, as others, admits to the overall positive effect of Calvinism.

Furthermore, in contrast with the Romish church, the Reformers allowed the use of interest for money and the accumulation of wealth for families and their children’s children. This further stimulated capitalism.

Again, since the kingdom of God was wherever the Christian’s vocation in life was, those lawful activities of work and recreation were sanctified unto God. It was not sinful per se to accumulate wealth nor seek after prosperity. Although, given no biblical guarantee of prosperity (see Job), the believer knew that the biblical ideals of hard work and thrift generally lead to plentitude. And in the spirit of true mercy, the office of the deacon flurished in the Reformed churches as well, helping those in economical need.

The believer was economically free.[Next: Science]

Reformation Impact 2: Religious

2006-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Calvinism has been given a bad name in the modern and postmodern eras. As some of the students at the college ministry observed, in the classes that mentioned Calvinism, they always explained it as an obscure glad-its-gone doctrine of a bygone age. It is purportedly a “rigid” system of doctrine; it breeds “dour” people; and it had that “horrible” belief of predestination. As Voltaire spoke of Calvin himself, so many think of his doctrines: “He was acquainted with Latin and Greek, and the bad philosophy of his time. He wrote better than Luther, and spoke worse; both were laborious and austere, but hard and violent…” (Schaff, Vol. 8, 277).

In the following posts, the tremendous impact of Reformation theology will be presented. It was not the only source of influence, but it was of great significance in the economics, sciences and politics of yesteryear and the roots of modern prosperity. Of course, history is not accomplished in a vacuum, the Reformers always insisted that they were only following doctrines already existing in the church but not fully understood or consistently carried out. What I hope to accomplish is a greater appreciation of the results of the Reformation; results, to be sure, that were not necessarily consciously pursued—a not uncommon activity among humans—but logically flowed from the biblical ideals of Luther, Calvin, Bullinger, and their fellow Reformers.

Church

In the first installment, I summarized the core doctrinal effect of Luther’s 95 Theses, justification by faith alone. Human mediation was removed. Thus, the hierarchy of Rome was rejected. This lead to the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer: each Christian had immediate access to God through Christ alone by faith alone. No human instruments (sacraments, saints, or priest) came between the believer and Christ. This liberated the individual.

Luther also translated the Bible into German instead of following the tradition of Rome which only used the Latin Vulgate and that only by trained experts. Since Rome believed that salvation was found in the church (through her accumulated merit) and church tradition was on par with the bible, it followed that the church would control the bible. Again, the priesthood of the believer gave immediate access to the bible since it was there that Christ was found. Literacy abounded.

The priesthood of the believers also affected the church directly. Since the ministers were not priests in the strict sense of the word, but ministers (servants) for the church and for that salvation immediately obtainable to the individual, then hierarchicalism was greatly hampered. In the Reformed churches of Calvin & Zwingli, this top-down structure was abolished. Congregational songs, voting and discipline was revived accordingly.

The priesthood of the believer also gave rise to liberty of conscience. A man with a clear conscience is a man with liberty. The freedom to believe and worship God according to the Bible was a strong impetus in France, Holland and Scotland, leading to societal changes in those countries. Although, as with most revivals, there was not a perfect implementation of this idea, it still shook nations.

The priesthood of the believer arose directly from Luther’s view of salvation. Since justification (our right standing before God’s law court) was only through faith and only on account of Christ’s righteousness alone, then no mediating person or institution was needed. Society’s structures (home, school, guilds, etc) were no longer playing second fiddle to the Romish church. Monkery was rejected and a full marriage life was embraced. Holy days were abolished and time was freed. In other words, the Kingdom of God was no longer limited to the pope and his church. It was a broader kingdom, embracing all of life sanctified to God.

Christians are priest, so they are to dedicate all endeavors to God. Christians are prophets, so they are to declare the truth in all endeavors of life. Christians are princes, so they are to dominate all endeavors for God’s glory. Justification by faith alone changed everything.

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Naturally, many reading this series of articles may think it rather prideful, arrogant and self-serving. So, to prove my point I have attempted to cite secular, non-Christian if not non-Calvinist sources to prove my point. The rest of the proof is in the logic presented.

[Next: Economics 101]

Happy Reformation Day

2006-10-27T22:09:00.000-06:00

What is the significance of Luther’s break with Rome? Many Christians would readily acknowledge that Luther brought back free Gospel grace and freedom from the tyranny of Rome. But what exactly does that mean? Did Luther’s rediscovery of the Gospel only affect individuals? How did it change the world?
Hopefully, this short series will open your eyes to the greatness of God’s work over 480 years ago.

On October 31, 1517, the eve of All Saints’ Day, an Augustinian monk, hammered 95 theses—short propositions—on the Wittenberg door in Germany. He was protesting the indulgences of Tetzel, who, purportedly announced: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” This system of indulgences was part of the larger system of baptism and penance and the Mass. Each a step in the works-salvation method of Rome. If a shrewd Christian could find the right confessor and some money, he could cover most sins while living like the Devil. In fact, even civil punishment could be avoided this way (Works of B. B. Warfield, Vol. IX, Studies in Theology, “The Nintey-Five Theses In Their Theological Significance”, p.497).

Hammering the thesis was a public declaration. An advertisement of sorts.

But it was more. It was a formal declaration against the Papal and Romish supremacy in matters of faith and life. The various theses fundamentally attacked the Romish church’s authority over the matter of salvation. It dismantled the churchly machine of Sacerdotalism—that mechanical view of redemption integrated into the church. It was claimed that salvation was found only in the Romish church through the Romish priests and the Romish sacraments. Good works were instrumentally necessary for salvation. Man was essentially saved through working in love. In short, it was a works-salvation system. And although Christ was formally part of the process, He was not part and parcel to the entire schema.

In contrast, Luther wrote: “Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.” (Thesis 36). That is, Christians can have full remission of sin without Romish interference (“letters of pardon”). The believer had direct access to God. He needed no other mediator than Christ. Warfield explain the antithesis thusly:

“The fundamental difference between the two doctrines [Luther & Tetzel] is the fundamental difference between evangelicalism and sacerdotalism. Evangelicalism casts man back on God and God only; the faith that it asks of him is faith in God’s saving grace in Christ alone. Sacerdotalism throws him into the hands of the Church and asks him to put his confidence in it—or, in the indulgences, very specifically the Pope.” (ibid, 499).

This view was summarized by Luther: justification through faith alone, by grace alone on account of Christ alone. It was a view that was earlier discovered by Luther’s study of the book of Romans (about 1515 AD). And it is the view underlining the 95 Theses:

“What he here attacks is just the sacerdotal principle in one of its most portentous embodiments—the teaching that men are to look to the Church as the institute of salvation for all their souls’ welfare, and to derive from the Church all their confidence in life and in death. What he sets over against this sacerdotalism is the evangelical principle that man is dependent for his salvation on God and on God alone—on God directly, apart from all human intermediation—and is to look to God for and to derive from God immediately all that makes for his soul’s welfare. In these Theses Luther brought out of the academic circle in which he had hitherto moved, and cast into the arena of the wide world’s conflicts, under circumstances which attracted and held the attention of men, his newly found evangelical principle, thrown out into sharp contrast with the established sacerdotalism. It is this that made the posting of the Theses the first act of the Reformation, and has rightly made October Thirty-first the birthday of the Reformation.” (ibid, 511).

[Next: The churchly and societal impact of the Reformation]

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“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Phil. 3:7-9

Biblical Literacy?

2006-10-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

At one time, while in friendly discussion about God's soveriegnty, I quoted Matthew 10:29 by memory:"...And not one of them [sparrows] falls to the ground apart from your Father's will."

She replied in disbelief--she had never heard of such. So, I looked the verse up and read it to her. (Naturally, knowing human nature, she was not immediately convinced of God's soveriegnty).

At another time, I pointed out (rather nicely, I hope) to a listener that all men know God but "suppress this truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18)--again, blantant disbelief was projected right at me!

Well, at times I've wondered whether or not I'm just an odd-ball or maybe I don't have a large enough sample size....? Provedentially, while reading over the Christian Examiner, I noticed this article:

"Every semester at Westmont College, a Christian liberal arts collegein Santa Barbara, Calif., Dr. Tremper Longman [a Reformed professor],an Old Testament professor, hands out a pre-test on Bible basics toassess where his students are.
" 'It's (the test) pretty empty when it comes back," the professor said. 'They are pretty illiterate about it, especially theOld Testament. The church is not doing a particularly good job of it,either.' "

This is sad! What more can I say? I will simply quote from memory that oft ignored portion of the bible--the Old Testament: "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...they have forgotton the law and they will be forgotten."

God punishes ignorance.

It is easy to blame all the problems in America on those bad old Pagans. I submit to you that the problem primarily began in the church. And began with ignorance.

Don't believe me...? Here I'll look it up for you:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." Hos. 4:6

Or better yet, please look it up yourself.

SDG

Work, work, work

2006-09-26T14:16:00.000-06:00

You know, you want to write something here. I know i wanted to write something that is why i came to the sight. Well, my job has a lot of drag time so i decided to make myself look busy by typing away at the comuter.

I love this job. It is great. All the people are great and i am having an altogether good experience. Well, it is also awsome because i am getting that required time that you must have if you want to get a job in the medical world.

So on friday i have my day off and that will be a much needed day off. It is exciting cause you get to do aide/secritarial work and i really enjoy secratary work. Speaking of that i am going to be doing the opening shift on Thursday and that means that I get to work at 6.30 in the am. It is good cause i used to love it when i worked from 6-2 at the parking job. Get up early and you get to leave early. However, that might be a little harder since i live in Aurora and i work in Laffeyette. Well, you know what that will be ok. There will probably not be any traffic which will be fantastic!! Oh ya! and since i am moving i will have to commute less!! HIP HIP HURRAY!! So that will make me avoid traffic even more. AWSOME!!!

Yep moving day is going to be the 30th of this month. SATURDAY!! So excited.
Well, ta ta.. for now!!!
Erin

Man is Evil—Lessons From Katrina Part 3

2006-09-25T22:15:00.000-06:00

Homosexuals throw a street party while thousands suffer.
Corrupt politicians ignored the levy problems for decades.
Now they promise to help those whom they destroyed.
Looting occurred almost instantly.
Rescuers were being attacked and harassed.

There are one million and one examples of the wickedness of man. The refuges are angry, bitter and irate. As they lash out at the local, state and federal governments, they rage not against man but against God. God is in control. And the government is not God.

No matter how prepared they could have been Gods will would have been accomplished.Seeing the awesome might of Almighty God brush the Gulf Coast away as a sun eradicates a moth, they acknowledge Him not but flee to man for refuge. Such an event is to show Gods wrath and mans sinfulness. It has done both. But the church also has a job to proclaim these truths. Instead, as the American churches are wont, they send monetary help without Gospel help. They shy from uttering dark pronouncements lest they appear negative. They shirk their prophetic responsibility being uncomfortable with the prophets of old:"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jer. 17:9).

According to the buoyant proclamations of the likes of Sean Hannity (a Roman Catholic), these devastations were to bring the best out of the American people. But if one examines a little closer with the eyeglasses of the Bible, one rather finds the manifestations of evil: men and women shaking their fists at God while helping their fellows rebuild their engines of destruction against the Kingdom of God.

If the churches in America would be true to their calling, then as servants of God they must, in humility [correct] those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Tim. 2:24ff.).

Unbelievers will not feel sorrow over their rebellion if they believe there is nothing wrong.
They will not cling to Christ if they believe themselves good.

There are one million and one reasons why men should repent.
The obvious and easiest reason is the first one: man is evil.

SDG

2006-09-25T13:14:00.000-06:00

So, here i am in front of a computer. Ha ha for the epic people teaching me how to use the computer at my new job. Wow! I love it sitting in class and writting a Blog!

Well, to tell you the truth that i have actually not been on blog spot and it is kinda confusing!!Anyway i should probably stop what i am doing and actually get to paying attention. Well, just wanted to stop by and say hey!!!!

Erin

The Government Is God?--Lessons From Katrina, Pt.2

2006-09-20T11:36:00.000-06:00

Sometimes how people react to problems shows who or what their God is. When trouble comes, where do people go for help? Help not only for psychological and spiritual issues but also physical help.

So, where did thousands turn when Katrina hit? Did they take their saving and fly out of the city? Did they hitch a ride with friends and family? Did they stock up on food and water to sustain themselves for days?

The answer is obvious: when trouble came, many people turned to the government for help. They turned to governmental monies as their savior.But the help did not come in time. That is why they are angry and frustrated: their god did not come through for them.

From another angle one can find out who or what god is followed by the amount of responsibility given. In God’s Word, He has separated the authorities of life into three main spheres: family, church and state. Whenever one institution usurps or expands its authority, it is claiming autonomy instead of submission to God. It’s just like Adam who desired to follow his own ways instead of God’s Law.

It is interesting to note that an ABC news report with Dan Harris (reporting, 9-6-05) stated that the city had a plan, but implemented it too late (it specified offering free transportation out of the area, but people were sent to the Dome instead); at the state level the governor is supposed to specifically ask for help from the Feds—but she did not. And of course, FEMA had its problems. The mayor blames, the State and Feds; the governor blames the Feds and the Feds will gladly take more responsibility from these institutions! The president did take responsibility; the mayor and the governor have not. And of course many people took little to no responsibility about their welfare.

(As of this date, more fraud in FEMA has been discovered as well: "through February 2006, FEMA made about $1 billion in improper and potentially fraudulent payments." Well, every god has his tithe...)

Now, billions will be poured into an area where insurance companies do not cover floods and hurricanes (why would they—they’d go broke!) and people will become more dependent upon the government.

In America, for many people the Government is god. So, the next time a large-scale devastation occurs, the Feds will sure to be there, comforting their flock.And taking more responsibility.

The churches must be faithful & warn people about this danger. Let's pray that many will learn, repent and turn to Christ. The Lord He is God and not the government.SDG

Blame It On God—Lessons From Katrina, Pt. 1

2006-08-29T20:45:00.001-06:00

In the one year anniverary of Katrina, the great gurus and thinkers of America rattle off many and sundry lessons learned from that terrible time. Movies and documentaries (I use the word loosely) are being shown as well,. blaming the government, the infrastructure or that long-standing incipient evil in the hearts of everyone else but the accuser: racism. I suppose, knowing Americans, that some church somewhere is also preaching on this topic. I republisih this three part-series (polymathis.blogspot.com) in the hope that others will find the real reason for this disaster.

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Thousands are presumed dead in the Gulf Coast area.
Hundreds of thousands are stranded in New Orleans.
Millions, if not billions, of damage wrought in one storm.

And people are asking, “Where is God?”Anger bubbles from deep within the souls of thousands of angry people: “What kind of God allows this!” They are blaming God for the disaster.

And they should. He did it. He controls all things in creation.

But why?

Some talk show hosts try to calm people down by reversing the question: “Why has God blessed America all these years?” Or they wish not to speculate at all, glibly replying, “We need to help one another and bring the best out of the American people.”

However, Christians know that all things work for their good and for God’s glory (Rom. 8:32; Rom. 11:36). Furthermore, we know that since there are no longer prophets today, we must be careful in our evaluations.

But this is not all: Christ informs us of at least one reason why bad things happen:“Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:4, 5). When such disaster strikes—contrary to some misguided caller to the Medved show—its not because New Orleans was more wicked than San Francisco; one reason for disasters is to bring a wake up call to mankind: the world is full of sin and sinners; we no longer live in paradise.

Americans like to think that God is far away and irrelevant in life. Any prosperity gained is credited to ourselves; any advancements in life is honored to lady luck. Yet when things go bad and calamity knocks on our door—suddenly, it’s God’s fault.

In reality, as Jesus points out, everyone sins—all rebel and hate God, seeking their own desires and following their own lusts (Roms. 1:24ff.). The tower did not fall on some because they were more sinful—it fell because they were sinful. Period.

This is a wake up call. Americans better repent or they will perish.And they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

Antithesis: What Is It?

2006-08-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

Why another college ministry? Frankly, this ministry is unique from others. Besides the obvious open-discussion format of the study (and the availability of different study times), this group is committed to the Biblical antithesis. What exactly does that mean?

Antithesis: n. the opposition or contrast of ideas.

The word antithesis summarizes the Christian position in this present age. It echoes the words of Jesus, when he said, “He that is not with me is against me (Matt. 12:30). It is the principled stand of all the children of God who are against the world, the flesh and the devil.

But what does it exactly entail? Does it mean outright antagonism against anything non-Christian? As the definition shows, the concept is more adapted to the realm of ideas and concepts—it is not a covert way of encouraging physical violence, nor a subtle way of promoting verbal assaults. Rather, the biblical idea of the antithesis is to differentiate between the Christian approach to living and thinking in this world and the unbelieving approach to living and thinking. And it refers to all of life: theology, morals, politics, art, science and any other field of human endeavor.

This antithesis is rooted in the Word of God, the infallible, inerrant, God-breathed Bible. It is here that men, Christians in particular, learn about wickedness, evil and sin; it is here that the Gospel of free sovereign grace is found. It is here that Christians learn to think aright, to develop principles of living and to transform their minds (Roms. 12:1-3). Recognizing the depth of sinful depravity (Eph. 2:1-3), Christians know that unregenerate mankind does not wish to know God and flees from Him in their thoughts, actions and desires (Roms. 1: 18ff.). Recognizing the depth of God’s grace in Christ (Col. 2:3-8), Christians know that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ as he renews our minds, reforms our wills and repairs our emotions.

Since Christ is the source of all truth (Col. 2:3; John 14:16, etc.), and since man attempts to live in his own truth, it is clear that redemption in Christ involves more than merely attending Sunday School. Corrupt man twists everything in the world: atheism in theology, relativism in morals, pragmatism in politics, lewdness in art, and evolution in science. Obviously, every endeavor of man is inundated with sin. It is in opposition to Christ.

And Christ came to redeem man and his world (John 3:16).

That is why biblical antithesis is important: without it these fields of knowledge (science, art, etc.) will be ignored by Christians and conquered by the world, the flesh and the devil. Christians will be regulated to Sunday only while living and thinking like unbelievers the remainder of the week. That ought not be. How Christians think and live is in direct opposition to the world:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
(Rom. 12:2).

Youth Group Get Together

2006-08-16T07:49:00.000-06:00

As you all know a group of us have been trying to set up a Bible Study down at the Auraria Campus for a while. We have had a lot of success in the past semesters, and we are looking for more people to participate.
At first glance you might have your doubts about coming to a bible study where you can get another lecture from a professor type person. On the contrary, we are trying to have more of a discussion type setting where you can come and ask any sort of question you are having a problem with.

Starting this fall we will be meeting in the:: Auraria Library; Room 206; Mondays 1:30pm - 3:00pm

Meeting times can be added if you are interested and complications arise from your class schedule.

written by Alex Greene