The Standard Epistolary Business

You, sir, are a loser at life. That’s a fair-minded statement.

Mary

I would like your thoughts on the application of Genesis 12:3 in the current Israel discourse today. Currently, my fellow elder and I are going back-and-forth on its meaning/application, with me taking the view that Paul interprets that passage, in Gal. 3, as being Abram (not Israel) and his Seed (Jesus) . . . therefore, a New Testament application of Genesis 12:3 today would be more like “I will bless those who bless Christians, and curse those who curse Christians.” My fellow elder takes the common Dispensationalist application, that Genesis 12:3 is an imperative for us to bless the Jewish people, including the modern nation-state of Israel. (I have no problem with the former as a general ethic, but believe the latter causes many issues.)
Am I falling prey to any hermeneutic challenges with my view here? I know that “NT priority” hermeneutic can cause issues; my view is usually not that the NT reinterprets the OT, but rather makes application that was new, but equally valid–application that even the OT writers would have agreed with. What are your thoughts, and please direct me if you feel I could be missing something here.

Ben

What do you recommend for training toddlers to obey commands the first time? My wife and I read Michael Brock’s 8 Errors Parents Make and How to Avoid Them (her family was a mess and mine is not Christian so neither of us have great examples to draw from) who recommended to give them a swat on the rear if they don’t obey the first time. We tried implementing Brock’s strategy and both sets of grandparents accused us of being too harsh. One of our elders recommended against it too. My wife and I are not expecting perfection from our daughter (we expect this will take time) but we need to teach our children to obey us promptly without being sinfully harsh. Thank you.
Sincerely,

Brent

I’ve recently had a family member inquire about Christ and is counting the cost of what it means to follow Him. One of their sticking points is a concern that their partner will leave them if they become a Christian. Do you have any advice on how to counsel them through this?
Thanks.

Jason

There is a lot of crap on the internet pressuring Christians not to eat meat. I can think of no one better to address this scripturally. Please do a write-up that I can share with these people who are ignoring 1 Timothy 4

Stephen

I am beginning to serve on a pastoral search committee. What advice would you give for me? Also do you have any advice for finding out whether a pastor is capable of fending off the wolves?

Matthew

I have been familiar with you on YouTube. What a blessing yesterday when pastor mentioned you! I know your views are controversial in our culture today, but they are biblical. And I am thankful that you speak the truth.
We have a school at our church, and the school year begins today. The men, parents, and teachers are reading ‘Why Children Matter.’

Roxanne

Need some input on child discipline. Our middle daughter has always done very well academically (at a CCS). She is almost always kind, and thoughtful to others, and has a servant heart. As a 13-year-old she has mild challenges with attitude, but for the most part she has maintained a good attitude. All of this being said our major challenge is she’s is very forgetful, messy, and slow with things. As I said, somehow she has managed to maintain almost straight A’s since 3rd grade, and yet her desk is always a total mess. She will almost always leave coats, or other important things at school, and leaves a trail wherever she goes. I don’t want to break her spirit because it does seem somewhat unintentional and possibly a personality thing , but I wonder if you had any insight on how to approach discipline towards this.

Simmer

Is there sin in temporarily delaying infant baptism?
I’m in a situation where I am attending a faithful Baptist church plant in my area, we have deep relationships with all there and with the pastor most of all. I decided, despite this, that I, my wife, and baby boy will move this spring to an area with an ACCS school for my boy’s education. We’re also planing on attending a CREC church there. In the process of this year, God has convinced me of the biblical validity of infant baptism. I don’t quite know what advice I’d get from my pastor, but I don’t personally know any paedobaptists so I have to ask; Is there sin in me waiting for my boy’s baptism until we move? Is it best to move membership to a PCA church for four months, then move? I want to do the will of God, but am lacking discernment and counsel.
Thank you for reading and may God bless,

J

Regarding your open letter to Trump, I reckon with his attention span he would have fallen asleep after the second paragraph . . . far too verbose, what does the wise man say about a word fitly spoken.

Ian

I just listened to your Open Letter to President Trump About Heaven. Hopefully, not only will the President see/hear it but also all the knuckleheads out there like Russell Moore and all the anti-FVers, etc. that have over the years accused you of promoting something other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ with your views. Carry on.

Ken

I’m writing as part of an ongoing research project examining antebellum Christian moral reasoning regarding slavery, with particular attention to the theological treatment—or neglect—of sexual exploitation within the slave system, commonly referred to in period sources as the “fancy trade.”
My investigation so far suggests that while numerous nineteenth-century Southern theologians defended slavery as biblically sanctioned, none appear to have addressed the sale or sexual use of enslaved women as a distinct moral question. Their silence poses an important problem for understanding how theological frameworks of hierarchy, providence, and “domestic order” interacted with sexual ethics.
For example, in A Brief Examination of Scripture Testimony on the Institution of Slavery (1841), Thornton Stringfellow argued that
“The relation of master and slave is authorized by the Word of God . . . It is founded in the law of nature, and sanctioned by patriarchal usage, by the precepts of the Mosaic economy, and by the conduct of the apostles,” concluding that when practiced “upon the principles of humanity and justice which the Scriptures inculcate, [slavery] is not only lawful but benevolent” (p. 19) [1]
Likewise, James Henley Thornwell, in his 1850 sermon “The Rights and Duties of Masters,” insisted that
“The relation of master and slave stands on the same footing with those of husband and wife, parent and child . . . The Scriptures recognize it as an ordinance of God,” and maintained that “It is no evil in itself. The abuse of the relation is indeed a grievous sin; but the relation itself is lawful and right” (Collected Writings, IV: 384-386.) [2]
By contrast, the abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld assembled contemporary newspaper evidence showing how such theological frameworks indirectly legitimized sexual commerce. In American Slavery As It Is (1839), Weld recorded:
“Advertisements may be found in the New Orleans and Natchez papers, offering for sale ‘fancy girls’—a well-understood term, signifying young and handsome mulatto females, for purposes of prostitution” (p. 22) [3]
He concluded, “Let it be remembered that these atrocities exist under the sanction of law, and in a land calling itself Christian” (p. 25.)
Against that background, I would value your perspective on the following questions:
Are you aware of any theological treatises, sermons, or confessional statements—particularly within Reformed or Presbyterian traditions—that explicitly justified, condoned, or conversely condemned masters’ participation in the “fancy trade” or in the sexual commerce of enslaved persons?
Have any modern scholars or denominational bodies produced analyses or statements addressing this specific dimension of slavery and theology?
My aim is historical-theological clarification rather than polemic: understanding whether and how moral reasoning failed when confronted with the sexual economy of slavery may illuminate broader patterns of doctrinal silence in Christian ethics.
If you know of primary sources, secondary analyses, or current research addressing this topic, I would be most grateful for your recommendations.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
With sincere regards,
References
[1] Thornton Stringfellow, A Brief Examination of Scripture Testimony on the Institution of Slavery (Richmond: J. W. Randolph, 1841), 19.
[2] James Henley Thornwell, The Collected Writings of James Henley Thornwell, Vol. 4 (Richmond: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1873 [orig. 1850]), 384-386.
[3] Theodore Dwight Weld, American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses (New York: American Anti-Slavery Society, 1839), 22-25.

John