This isn’t the usual thing I would put on this blog, but it’s cool to see. There’s a couple of things to notice in this. It sounds like these guys are old earth creationists, whereas the Bible clearly teaches that the earth is approximately 6000 years old.
And here’s my criticism of intelligent design. They think that if they present enough evidence, they will convince someone that there is a Creator. They’re not even trying to convince anyone of the God of the Bible, but just general theism. But the Bible says that we all know the true God exists, and we reject Him, because we love our sin (Romans 1). We don’t need to try to convince anyone, because they already know Him. They just haven’t submitted to Him.
That being said, evidence is great for Christians and true science glorifies God and is only possible because God upholds the universe in an orderly, predictable fashion.
Theonomy is the doctrine that the civil law of Moses in the Old Testament (the civil laws given to Israel’s government) are applicable today. I wanted to look at the phrase “worthy of death” as it comes up a couple times in the New Testament.
Here is each instance of the phrase in the NASB:
Deuteronomy 21:22: If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree…
Deuteronomy 22:26: But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case.
Acts 25:11: If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die…
Acts 25:25: But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him…
Acts 26:31: “…and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.”
Romans 1:32: and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
In each instance up to Romans 1:32, it is clearly speaking of the death penalty for certain crimes. In Acts, Paul was essentially accused of blasphemy, which was a death penalty crime under the law of Israel. Paul denied it and appealed to Caesar and was shipped to Rome.
Here is the context of Romans 1:26-32:
“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is [r]unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing [s]indecent acts and receiving in [t]their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit [u]to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, [v]haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
It says those who do not see fit to acknowledge God are given over to homosexuality, leading to murder and a long list of other sins. Then, it says that those who practice such things are worthy of death. Homosexuality and some of the sins on the list, such as murder, are crimes that receive the death penalty in the Old Testament.
Clearly, Paul was saying that the civil law of Moses was applicable and just.
I’m glad these people are doing something to stand against the lies that have been told about them. But, the problem isn’t the New York Times. They only started the problem. Their real problem is the state. The auditors are coming. The auditors probably don’t carry guns, but men with guns, employed by the state are just a phone call away.
What is the biblical penalty for paying a worker less than minimum wage, assuming the worker agreed to work for that? There is no biblical penalty.
What is the biblical penalty for paying a worker with cash, and not keeping adequate records? There is no biblical penalty.
If a Christian government employee tries to impose a penalty for a “crime” that the Bible says is no crime, they should be placed under church discipline.
That is new tactic number 1. Churches need to place Christian government agents imposing unjust laws on people under church discipline.
New Tactic number 2: Refuse to purchase the bonds the state is requiring. We must obey God rather than men.
New Tactic number 3: These nail salon people have at least dozens of people willing to protest. The next step is for each nail salon to refuse to be audited, and to call on these protesters to block the doors if necessary. Hopefully other citizens who care about liberty will join them.
We no longer live in a capitalist or free country. The tactics we’ve employed thus far have not worked. Suing the government in government courts with tyrannical judges doesn’t work. We need new tactics. We need to sweat the small stuff. I care about the liberty of Chinese immigrants in New York who don’t speak a lick of English. I want liberty for them, and I will stand with them given the opportunity.
The phrase, “separation of church and state” isn’t in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson used the phrase in a letter to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut reassuring them that they would be free to exercise their religion in peace.
He didn’t say there would be separation of mosque and state; or temple and state. Protestants and Catholics are the only two religions that use the word “church” to describe their meeting place. Christianity was the religion of the American people. It was the worldview of the founding fathers and the presupposition of the people. I’m certainly not saying they were all true believers, but Christianity to them was like water to a fish. It is just the way things were.
The Bible says there should be separation of church and state. The church has its job. The state has its job. Neither ought to try to take over the job of the other. However, separation of Christianity and state is a recipe for disaster. Separation of religion and state is impossible. The only question is: Which religion is the state going to presuppose?
As an example, we can take the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision. The court pronounced that 2 dudes or 2 gals can marry each other. However, they limited marriage to two. The limited it to people. They limited it to people who aren’t blood relatives. They limited it to two consenting adults. They upheld all those limitations, because of the religious beliefs about marriage. Their religious beliefs dictate those limitations.
I realize some of those limitations weren’t up for debate, but they would probably uphold those limitations if they were considered.
You could say they maintained those limits for scientific reasons, saying that the offspring of cousins or siblings will probably have birth defects. But the desire to avoid birth defects is a religious belief.
You could say they limited marriage to consenting adults because children are unable to consent. Believing that a marriage ought only be entered into by consenting parties is based on nothing but blind faith and religious presuppositions.
I have no idea what possible reason they could give for limiting marriage to two people. I don’t think their humanism can offer any possible basis for the outlawing of polygamy. But rest assured, if they come up with a reason to limit marriage to two people, it will be a religious reason.
No one really wants marriage equality for all.
What I’m saying is that we need the state to openly hold a Christian worldview. It is the worldview that this country was founded on. It is the worldview that gave us our liberty. And as we leave it behind, we will suffer more and more tyranny.
I’m also saying we ought to be honest with ourselves. Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have fooled people into thinking that Christianity can’t be brought into matters of the state, but the religion of secular humanism is being brought in lock, stock and barrel. Can we be honest about that, and stop pretending that the government can reject religion, or make decisions without religion?
Pietism is what is wrong with the Christian church in America. Pietism and premillennialism go hand in hand and have led to the death spiral that our culture is in. I realize this is a 36 minute video, but it is well worth the time to watch.
In the 1890s, the Roman Catholic bishop of New York complained that the Roman church is losing a large number of its members among the coming immigrants. And that almost immediately after they leave Ellis Island.
The reason?
The Presbyterian churches of New York had an round-the-clock watch to wait for the groups of immigrants who came out of the immigration facility on Ellis Island, and offered them temporary shelter and English courses, as well as low-pay temporary employment in the city. (While politics was controlled by the Irish mafia of Tammany Hall, the business in the city was controlled by Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed. It wasn’t until John D. Rockefeller – a fundamentalist Baptist – moved his Standard Oil headquarters to NYC that a major non-Presbyterian player appeared on the market.) This changed the play field entirely.
Keep in mind that 65% of the Arabs in the US are Christians. At least half of them have converted AFTER they arrived. Of those who don’t convert, the vast majority either become secularized, or have already been secularized in their home countries. There is no reason why the [current crop of refugees from Syria] won’t have an even higher percentage of conversions.
I have a John MacArthur study Bible. In general, he’s one of the best big-name pastors around. I would agree with him on 90% of things he says. But, for some reason he’s way off on this topic.
In fact, if I understand correctly, Bob Vernon was the assistant chief of the LAPD, and is an elder at this church. When Operation Rescue was in LA, blocking the doors to abortion clinics with hundreds of people, Vernon sought counsel on how he should handle these peaceful Christian protesters, doing a good thing. Apparently, MacArthur told Vernon to arrest them, and they had a sadistic heyday doing so.
So I made the video below with an encouraging quote from Bojidar Marinov. You can watch the video here, or if you’d like to comment and like it, you can click on the little Youtube logo in the bottom right that comes up after you hit play.
This sign hangs on Washington Elementary School’s fence at a fairly busy intersection in Canon City. It shows the ubiquitous nature of socialism in our country.
Of course, what’s the obvious thing to say about free lunch? There is no such thing, even in the summer. The money the government spends giving people lunch is money taken by the IRS under the threat of imprisonment or confiscation of money.
It’s obvious that when the government takes money from some people and gives it to others, they are stealing, and it is evil. More interesting questions are: Are the people who receive a “free” lunch sinning as well? And, do those who benefit from the Stalinist lunch program have any room to speak out against Obamacare (or whatever socialist program)?
If I am given or buy goods that I know to be stolen, that is sin. Simple enough. Those who get free food can’t spite someone who gets a free health insurance policy. What’s the difference between free food and free healthcare?
I pay my taxes for the same reason I would pay a mugger with a gun to my head. It’s cheaper to pay the mugger than to pay the undertaker.
Jesus said, “Render unto Ceasar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt 22:21). I love the way Jesus answers questions. It is a very brief answer, and people have taken it to mean that we pay any and all taxes without uttering a peep of protest. What Jesus wasn’t saying is that the coins belong to Caesar, just because they have his image.
We already know that everything belongs to God. What He was saying is that wasn’t the time to protest taxes. If money buys something of value, like not being locked in prison, use it to buy your freedom. He wasn’t saying that the government can tax you however it wants, or that you should never speak out against unjust taxation.
What about the poor children who would starve over the summer without the nanny state to take care of them? It is the job of charities to take care of people-not the government. Besides that, this program is open to anyone. I know people who are well off that participate.
The truth is that we have to start rejecting government benefits ourselves. Participating in these programs is rejecting God’s law. How can God ever bless us when we reject His way of doing things?
Working for the Secession of Fremont County from the Union
