There are quite a few reasons, actually. But none of them push me over the line. After eight years of Clinton, it has been comparatively pleasant to have a government staffed with grown-ups. Add to that the fact that Jean-Francois Kerry is, in countless ways, insufferable. N’est pas? Couple this with the fact that Bush …
Covenant Father
Morbid introspection can work with virtually any doctrinal material. In a traditional Reformed pietistic setting, it tries to pry into the decrees of election to find out the names of the chosen. In the view that a person in conversion does not undergo a change of nature, the guessing would have to involve the inscrutable …
Change of Heart
What are we to say to the view that the Bible does not teach that some people are individually ‘regenerated’? A view that locates perseverance in an ongoing and mysterious wrestling of the Spirit, rather than in a change of nature of those elected to heaven? If the Spirit wrestles with all baptized believers, but …
Somebody’s Karma Ran Over My Dogma
Dear visionaries, Thomas raises some interesting points. “Is there social harm from dogmatic fundamentalist views that will not admit . . .” But if there is demonstrable social harm that results from dogmatic fundamentalism, I wonder what the appropriate penalty might be? I don’t have to report to a reeducation center yet, do I? Seriously, …
Sticky for Weeks
“May I please come in?” the new wine said. The old wineskin looked at the new wine with eyes kind of squinty. “I am not sure that would be entirely wise.” “Nevertheless, that is my request.” “Would you promise to be good?” “I can promise to act according to my nature.” “That is what I …
Death Penalty II
Dear visionaries, Jamison asks if I support the death penalty for abortion clinic bombers, if the bombing were to result in the deaths of any inside. The answer yes, I do. At the same time, I do not support the death penalty being applied to children inside those same clinics. In short, I support the …
Death Penalty I
Dear visionaries, We have been asked about the contradictory positions taken, not only by absolutists, but by Christian absolutists. The example cited was that of the death penalty. But the example is poorly drawn. Everyone supports the death penalty. It is yet another example of “not whether, but which.” Do we execute the serial murderer, …
The Health Hobby
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 17 We do not often think of ourselves as rich, but we are. We tend to grade on a curve, and since most of the people around us do not live in third world conditions, we do not factor that …
The Warrior God/Psalm 18
This psalm is also found with some variations in 2 Samuel 22, and appears to have been written near the end of David’s life. In this form, it is likely a composite, and refers to different occasions of deliverance over the course of David’s life, but most notably to those times when God delivered David …
Symbolism Creates
The Word is prior to the world. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This means that everything about that Word was prior to everything in the world. The world does not constitute reality; rather, the world reflects reality. Unlike the materialistic scientist, we do …