Primacy of the State?

"Most history textbooks presuppose the primacy of the State over the Church, and in fact, they presuppose the State over al other institutions. Most history texts are products subsidized by the State apparatus. Forms of government, names of rulers, and laws enacted form the bulk of the text. In cases where the Christian Church became a bit too pushy-as was all too often the cases in the middle ages-the books lean toward the side of civil government over the Church. The rise of nation states and absolute monarchs rescued mankind from the Church. In some cases, voting rights are exalted over theological truths. It does not matter that Puritan women were taught the truth about Christ; they could not vote in colonial Massachusetts." Ben House, Punic Wars and Culture Wars, p. 19

Leithart: All Theology is Political

Peter Leithart is a man I greatly respect, even when I disagree with him, which is not often. Here is a wonderful interview where he lays out how he thinks the Church should intersect the world, particularly politics. What I liked about this interview is the practical suggestions Leithart gives. He can be long on theory, short on practice. But here he gives many excellent ideas as to how a local pastor can see the church as a political body. The interview is well worth your time. Note especially the strong stance he takes against abortion and sodomy and the fact that he believes all men, including rulers, should be called upon to submit to Jesus as Lord.

Smoking Jack's Pipe: A Horrid Racket

There are some men who are quotable. Two men whose last names begin with "L" come to mind; C.S. Lewis and Martin Luther. Their words were at the same time wonderful and terrible. I do not have a book of Luther quotes, but I do have book of Lewis quotes. I thought I would post a quote or two from time to time. Here are two quotes about Christmas. It makes one wonder what he would say now when it is barely mid-November and Christmas catalogs are out, the Salvation Army is already ringing their bells, and there 47 aisles devoted to Christmas at Wal-Mart.

"I feel exactly as you do about the horrid commercial racket they have made out of Christmas. I send no cards and give no presents except to children." (Letter, 1953)

"Just a hurried line...to tell a story which puts the contrast between our feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly "Xmas" racket at its lowest. My brother heard a woman on a bus say as the bus passed a church with a crib [manger] outside it 'O Lord! They bring religion into everything. Look-they're dragging it even into Christmas now!'" (Letter, 1957)

The NIV 2011: A Castrated Bible?

One of the primary places that men and Satan assault God, Christ and His Church is by undermining the Scriptures. This has been the case throughout the centuries, but has been done with a vengeance since the 1800's. This assault on God's Word continues unabated in the newer verson of the NIV. I believe this version of the NIV will come out in 2011. I have linked to an excellent chart that shows the changes from the 1984 version of the NIV to this newer version of the NIV. I would especially encourage you to look at the overall change from 1984 version to the 2011 version. Here are some counts worth noting: Fathers is used 259 times less in 2011 version than in the 1984 version. The use of the term forefathers drops from 98 times in 1984 version to 3 times in 2011 version. The word man is used 782 less times in the 2011 version than in 1984 version. And of course, generic words such as ancestor, human, people, and person increase in 2011 version.

Why does this matter? God gave us certain words in the Scripture. Those words were chosen by the Spirit. Those words are not be adjusted or changed. When the Bible says,"Fathers" we are not at liberty to change it to "Ancestors." Given the spirit of our age we should be very wary of any attempt to expunge masculine words from the Bible. As Tim Bayly says, "This is a systematic attack on the words and Word of God."

HT: Tim Bayly

Sharpening My Axe: Books I am Reading

A Walk Through Town

Here are some items of note I found interesting on this Wednesday morning.

For the more scholarly minded among you here are a couple of short essays Peter Leithart did on imputation, election, and bombs.

An updated version of Dr. R.C. Sproul's book on abortion has just come out. Dr. Sproul is lucid, chartiable, and above all biblical. This is a good book to put on your to read/purchase list.

If you are interested in the translation of the Scriptures, then visit the Bayly brothers' blog as they continue to examine the new NIV translation, which I believe is set to come in 2011. Not to put too fine a point upon it, but they are not happy with changes being made.

There is a book containing fifty of Martin Luther's sermons on sale at CBD.

Finally, if you are looking for some early Christmas presents, Nathan Clark George's cds are a good choice.

Nose Piercings

Here is a link to a blog post by Toby Sumpter about nose piercings. He does a good job of balancing the freedom the Scriptures give with the recognition that the human heart often does good things for wicked reasons. One quote struck me as particularly helpful. "Fighting for the symbol, means embodying the symbol."

As Christians we must be careful not to simply outlaw something because people misuse it. Here is where many conservative Christians and older believers fall. But on the other hand, too many younger Christians flaunt their Christian freedom in such a way as to undo the greater command to love others. If the symbol is one of love then to use it in an unlovely manner contradicts the symbol. Too many Christians contradict the symbol with their life.