The name Satan means accuser. The word for devil is related to the word for slander. The devil is the accuser of the brethren; he accuses day and night. When the sons of God were gathering in the presence of God, God bragged on His servant Job, and Satan was the one who accused him …
Sins Are Like Grapes
Sins are like grapes; they come in bunches. Observant people see this, and have to deal with it, but it still has to be kept distinct from any judicial proceeding. Wise pastors see this also, and are able to make connections between apparently disparate sins in the life of someone they are counseling. But providing …
Trial By Internet
The Bible tells us that the man who is able to tame the tongue is able to deal with anything. The tongue is a restless evil, he says, full of poison. It sets the world on fire, and is set on fire by hell. As long as sin has been in the world, this has …
Jurisdictional Justice
After my last post on justice, a good question was raised about the jurisdiction issues raised by the multitude of churches, presbyteries, and so on. The principial answer to this is easy — but the devil, as they say, is in the details. Christ requires us to be striving for like-mindedness. This does not mean …
Unjust Men
We have looked at the basic principles of justice, and considered their necessary foundation in Scripture. Now when these principles are neglected, the result has to be injustice, although sometimes the injustice is the result of ignorance, which is less culpable. It of course remains culpable, but it is not high-handed. Many Christian people have …
Nothing But Pushing and Pulling
The Scripture takes a dim view of those who like to circulate juicy information. “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (Prov. 11:13). But we have to do two things here — we have to note the contrast between the talebearer and the man with a faithful …
Discipline and Persecution
“Mythology is the very best school in the training of silence. We never hesitate between the Bible and mythology. We are classicists first, romantics second, and primitives when necessary, modernists with a fury, neoprimitives when we are disgusted with modernism, gnostics always, but biblical never” (Rene Girard, The Scapegoat, pp. 104-105). Girard’s book is a …
Believing A Lie
In our earlier discussions of charges, perjury, etc. we showed that it is contrary to Scripture to allow slanderers and defamers a free hand. The Scriptures require us to sift and weigh evidence in order to avoid participating in the false accuser’s sin after the fact. A judiciary proceeding that does not require independent confirmation, …
The Letter That Was Not Sent
For those interested, Christ Church has reposted a statement on one aspect of the Terry Morin affair. That statement and supporting documentation can be found here. Those who have been following this sideshow know that one of the charges being leveled against me is that of trying to palm off an unsigned letter from the …
Scurrilous Is As Scurrilous Does
In ancient Israel, one of the purposes of the Mosaic code was to start putting restraints on the still more ancient practice of blood vengenace. It had been that when a man was killed, a relative of the victim would be “deputized” by his tribe or family to go and execute vengeance. Now clearly, this …