Quite a discussion broke out over the questions surrounding taxation, theft and redistribution, and so I thought it would be good to set down some basic principles on the subject. This is to prevent the “guiding principle” from becoming a charge of theft for any tax I might find distasteful. 1. The point is not …
The Federal Government As Abusive Live-In Boyfriend in a Wifebeater
In an abusive relationship, the only thing that matters to the abuser is the present. And by the “present,” I mean the pressure that is being applied in the present, toward whatever ends the abuser currently desires. Greed and self-centered demand are completely oriented to the present. Out of the picture are promises and obligations …
Back Rubs Don’t Work With Heart Disease
The first thing to do is go here, and read through the post, particularly the transcript of the Q&A at the bottom. Tim Keller is at Covenant, and is asked a very good question about homosexuality. In the course of his answer, Keller says that there is no question about where Redeemer stands on the …
Boom and Bust in the Public Sector
We are accustomed to the notion that investors are subject to bouts of “irrational exuberance,” and that this is one of the contributing factors to the boom and bust cycles. When the good times are rolling, it is easy for those on the crest of the wave to assume that this can continue indefinitely. Not …
Political Reform Closer to Home
My standing joke is that we ought not to allow chaplains to pray in Congress, because the Bible says that we are not supposed to turn a den of thieves into a house of prayer. And make no mistake — Congress is a den of thieves. Now Scripture gives the civil government the authority to …
The Pin Doesn’t Have to Be Big
A former student wrote me about my “ten-point theology of resistance” to Obamascare and, boiled down, the question had to do with how all this relates to what we have taught here in Moscow for years about the centrality of worship. There are some related questions, but they all revolve around that one. Since I …
Little Strips of Naugahyde
As I have been watching the brazen moves of Obama and those who are his codependents, I have realized something about his Christian cheerleaders, not to mention something about those who want to say “these power grabs are really nothing to get worked up about.” They want to be “above it all.” I refer here …
If the Pope Were an Atheist
The current set of sex scandals afflicting the Roman Catholic church are located in Germany, Ireland, and Wisconsin, and it at least appears that the current pope was related in some way to some of the disciplinary failure involved. As time passes, there will be other scandals in other places. But, with issues of this …
Obamacare: A Brief Ten-Point Theology of Resistance
1. Active resistance to tyranny, and to this tyranny in particular, is not just permissible for Christians. It is mandatory. 2. The question is therefore what form the resistance should take, and not whether there should be resistance. 3. The theological basis for this resistance is that Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not. Jesus …
All Jakesy Jukesy
The national debt apportions out to each citizen at about 40K apiece. This would not be counting any off-ledger shenanighans, whose name is no doubt Legion, and it is not counting the bender that the president yesterday signed into what passes for law these days. It was good that no Republican voted for the health …