Thursday, September 10. 2020
My recent self-chosen goal has been to search a Period of American History
to find evidence of God at work. What
have I looked for? Justice! God is all about love and that love motivates
Him to seek Justice. There is far more
in the Bible about the latter than the former. Justice enacted is love fulfilled. Justice is two sided: God has compassion on all
those who suffer from oppression (stealing, exploiting, extorting, defrauding,
persecuting, violating, enslaving, etc.) He seeks their deliverance from that oppression, securing their
well-being and care. The other side of God's
Justice is restraining and bringing retribution to those who are guilty of that
oppression. Jesus spoke of the two-fold
Justice or Righteousness of God more than any other prophet and it is taught in
the New Testament far more than in the Old.
As Evangelicals, we believe that God works in our individual lives. Many are thankful and satisfied for just
that; but, it is also true that there is much more happening in the world. We need to see God active in the world around
us, past and present! God is involved in
Organizations, People Groups, Nations and various "Movements" around
the World. He is busy pursuing Justice
in all these places.
During the 50 year Period between the Civil War and WWI, all kinds of
social, political, economic events, good and bad (or more often, a mixture of
both) happened. Doing Providential History, the following is a list of some
places I see God, the King, at work during this Period-
· Reconstruction during the 10
years immediately after the Civil War ended (particularly the work of the
Freedmen Bureau and an organization called the American Missionary Association
among the millions of former slaves) The
passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments
· Both the Abolitionist and
Suffragette Movements, the latter focusing on the Rights of women
· Efforts to help Native
Americans
· Massive efforts to care for
the Urban Poor (mostly Immigrants)
· Labor Movements
· The Temperance Movement
· Conservation Movement
(National Parks)
The list could go on. The material
documenting these developments is very extensive- far more than I can cover in
these short postings.
One major takeaway from this Study is that inasmuch as God was working in
all these venues, than we can and should seek to work with Him in His work in
similar areas today.
!
Tuesday, September 1. 2020
Federal Judges are extremely important in determining policies for America. Federal Judges are appointed by the President, who, in turn, must be approved by Congress. Republicans normally vote for Judges who are conservative and seek to adhere to the original meaning or intent of the Constitution. Democrats normally favor activist or progressive Judges. The latter take great liberty when interpreting the Constitution, which they see as a "living document". They have been given to making new laws rather than interpreting laws made by Congress. This leads to policies. The Lesson here is that we must vote for a Presidential candidate who shall nominate conservative Judges.
Tuesday, September 1. 2020
The Republican Party normally has advocated
- smaller government
- lower taxes
- strong military defense
- traditional moral standards regarding abortion and Marriage
- promotion of free market economies
Continue reading "VOTING THE PARTY RATHER THAN THE CANDIDATE"
Thursday, July 6. 2017
"History" is linear, a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God's purposes for humanity" "History is not meaningless. Rather it is teleological, going somewhere, directed towards a known end.: "History is the record of the involvement and concern of God in human events. History is the divine purpose of God in concrete form."
Partial answer to Worldview Question 7 p.43; The Universe Next Door by James Sire, 5th Edition
Tuesday, June 20. 2017
My approach to interpreting the Scripture has been seriously challenged recently. I hold to an originalist approach, ie- what did the original writers intend by the words they chose to use. This is the same approach I also use to interpret the US Constitution. We see that approach to the Constitution challenged almost daily.
The Original Intent approach is also challenged by its use to justify Slavery from the Scripture by both the North and South before and during the Civil War. And again by its use to justify segregation and particularly Miscegenation as in the case of the Court case, Loving vs Virginia [I recommend the Movie called "Loving"]
The lesson is not to reject seeking the original intent of either the Bible or Constitution, but to be very careful in its use, especially paying careful attention to a study of original social and cultural context in the written document.
Thursday, June 8. 2017
The London Baptist Confession of Faith defines Providence this way: “God, the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, organizes and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest to the least, by his perfectly wise and holy providence, to the end for which they were created. He governs in accordance with his infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness and mercy."
To understand History (what is really going on in current events, past, present and future) we begin with this Doctrine.
Tuesday, May 2. 2017
Selected Biblical Labor Laws
1Tim 5:18 “The laborer deserves his wages.”
James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Lev 19:13 "'Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker..
Deut 24:14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Deut 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. cf 1 Cor.9:9
Jer 22:13 "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.
Mal 3:5 "So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.
SUMMARY of all Biblical Labor Laws
- Workers must be treated well and fairly ...and must be paid fully and promptly [i.e.- as per contract]
- Workers must fulfill employers expectations
- No harsh or unsafe working condition; rest periods: one day a week and holidays
- Workers may decide to change employers
- All commands re personal morality apply
- Productivity is expected--profit-making is expected, BUT
- Not at expense of the workers- no exploitation
- No jeopardizing resources
- Private property rights/ownership must be honored
- No peonage or slavery
- No usury
- Profits and products must be made available to the destitute
- The Government and Courts are to enforce these Laws: Justice
- [Note: there is nothing here about Government Welfare or State Socialism]
Tuesday, May 2. 2017
God has spoken: "Six days you shall labor" [As He did] Exo.20:9
Paul commands us to work also: 1 Thess 4:11; 2 Thess 3:10-12
5 Standards for Work as God intends it to be
The Biblical mandate to rule & subdue (have dominion over) the earth and its creatures is consistently misused. All kinds of selfishness, greed, waste and exploitation are justified with it. A standard is needed to decide whether specific work is as God intends it to be. When is a specific work activity (or work environment) bad and to be rejected.? What is the Standard to judge?
That standard is the “image of God”. It enables us to answer these questions biblically. God did not say: “I have made human beings. They have my authority to rule the earth.” God said: “I have made humans to be like me, my image. Because they are my image, they are to rule the earth.” The Image is not itself the mandate to have dominion. The Image determines how we are to have dominion. Human beings are to obey the “cultural mandate” as bearers of the image of God. The image is meant to govern the entire enterprise. This has practical implications: to act according to the image of God is to act according to the characteristics of God, as follows:
1. The Personal- the “person”
All that we do must value and respect “persons” above all- not simply “people”, but all that is meant by “person”. A “person” has infinite value. A “person” is defined by the ways in which God is a “person”. It means a living being who is self conscious, knowable, who communicates meaningfully and can share in “personal” relationships; a person has a will and makes considered judgments. Like God, all Persons have the faculties of rationality, creativity, morality, communality and spirituality.
Work which demeans, exploits, neglects, injures or destroys persons is evil
2. The Rational- rationality
God thinks and makes decisions in a reasonable, logical, orderly way All of creation reflects these qualities of its creator.
Work of any kind which is essentially, characteristically, unreasonable, illogical or chaotic is not acceptable
3. The Creative- creativity
All work should seek, in appropriate ways, to be creative, artistic and beautiful, as is God and the natural world He has made.
Work which is uncreative, boring, deadening, repulsive or ugly should be rejected
4. The Moral- morality
All work must be moral, righteous and just, as God defines those terms in his Word.
Work which is immoral, sinful or corrupt, must be rejected
5. The Communal- community
The work of cultivating and of culture must be done in, of and by a community (“Community” could simply be one’s co-workers, a team or unit. It could be a Company. Community could be neighborhood or town. etc.) Work must seek to promote the welfare and good of all members of the (appropriate) community. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, accountable for the welfare of all. Work that is good will serve the good of the whole. Work which is done for
selfish purposes or for self aggrandizement is not good. Work that harms
the community or violates personal relationships in the community
sinful.
SUMMARY
Allowing the image of God concept to guide us, requires these 5 principles. All employment, every project and work environments should be evaluated on these terms. Work that respects and protects persons and is reasonable, beautiful, moral and good for the community is good work. Work that is dehumanizing, unreasonable, ugly, immoral or selfish is bad work
Christians are not to engage in “bad” work or support the work of others that will knowingly harm, ruin, destroy or otherwise exploit themselves, their community or the Creation. Taking this stand and explaining why, would be a strong witness for God, the Creator.
Tuesday, May 2. 2017
The State should have minimal but essential involvement in our marriages, families, education, churches and commerce and culture. The Biblical basis for this is "Sphere Sovereignty".
The following material outlines the basic God-given structures, or systems of influence, of Society. They are grounded in the creational ordinances found in the Book of Genesis. This is an important theoretical and idealistic concept basic to Neo-Calvinism. Each of these Spheres has specific functions and norms or boundaries. They are permanent forms even though the actual members of them at any specific time and place may vary.
Marriage and Family
Individual men and women are meant to live together as husband and wife, as “one flesh”, i.e.- in a committed, covenant relationship. Ideally, they are to be "fruitful", i.e.- have children (if possible) and live together as an inter-generational family, i.e.- as the basic “Covenant Community”. It is absolutely integral to God's Plan for Society. When a son marries, he and his wife begin another family, but these new family units together are intended to be an extended part of the original family, always responsible for each other. That includes the responsibilities of worship, work and providing an education for the children and practical welfare for members of the Family going through tough times.
In practice, the family that most closely follows this Biblical Model is the rural farm family. The challenge now, of course, is how to follow this Model in our modern urban, non-agricultural Society. It can be done, as demonstrated in cities with ethnic enclaves where "the old ways" are still practiced.
Church
Ideally, Christian Families in a local area are to assemble, worship and share their lives with other Families (and minister to even others) as a wider Community of Faith (aka "a church").
Civic Associations
The primary function of the basic Sphere of Marriage and Family is to act as God’s agent in His world, obeying God’s command to our original Parents to reproduce and go forth to care for the Natural Environment (Creation) and continue God’s work of cultivating it for the common good of all. This is called the Cultural Mandate, another important neo-Calvinist concept. To this end, other Spheres will naturally arise. To cultivate is to develop culture. As culture and the necessary organization and technology that it requires develops, the result is a Civilization. There will be voluntary Associations for research & development, work, production and distribution of goods and services (Business and Commerce). Associations will also arise for Education, Communication, the Arts and Recreation. These are all extensions of the Creational Ordinances. None of these Spheres are the responsibility of Civil Government nor are they autonomous. They must cooperate with each other and function according to the laws of God, accountable to Him.
The essential preface to this entire discussion is knowledge of the Torah. The Law of God is the absolute Foundation upon which to build social policy and the benchmark or yard stick by which to measure all the options that necessarily arise on these Topics.
Civil Government is also a Creational ordinance.
Each Creational social system has its own authority known as "Sphere Sovereignty", but none of them are absolute or autonomous. Marriage-Family (including Education), Church and Community Civic Associations (including Commerce) are meant to cooperate but must not interfere with each other’s responsibilities.
Because all the individuals involved in the Spheres are sinners, there will be injustice. As systems, the Spheres will malfunction or fail in their respective responsibilities. The main function of Civil Government is to respect the Sphere Sovereignty, but control or stop transgressions within or between Spheres, wherever they may occur under established Law and Constitutional Order. In this regard Civil Government is good and to be supported. However, Civil Government is not to usurp or curtail the responsibilities of the other Spheres. It has a tendency to do exactly that and so it too must be restrained. The concern is not with the size of Government, but with Civil Government becoming abusive with its authority or becoming intrusive in the affairs of the Spheres.
An additional related concept applies here: "Subsidiarity". Government should not do for people what they can or ought to do for themselves. And larger organizations must not replace or override what can be done by smaller or subsidiary organizations. Local is best. Less is more.
Sunday, April 30. 2017
Abraham Kuyper said, “One desire has been the ruling passion of my life. One high motive has acted like a spur upon my mind and soul. And sooner than that I should seek escape from the sacred necessity that this is laid upon me, let the breath of life fail me. It is this: That in spite of all worldly opposition, God’s holy ordinances shall be established again in the home, in the school and in the State for the good of the people; to carve as it were into the conscience of the nation the ordinances of the Lord, to which the Bible and Creation bear witness, until the nation pays homage again to God."
I share Kuyper's vision and desire. However, I would amend it to read, “One desire is the ruling passion of my life. One high motive has acted like a spur upon my mind and soul. God’s holy ordinances must be established again in the home, in the school and in the public and civic lives of Believers for the good of the Nation; to carve as it were into the conscience of all Christians the ordinances of the Lord, to which the Bible and Creation bear witness, until the Church thus pays homage again to God in our Nation.”
|
