Alexander Campbell misread Matthew 5, and misread it badly, in a debate. A close examination of this case yields helpful observations for Christians in their quest to understand the Bible, whether or not they are committed to any written creeds. Read More
Alexander Campbell on Matthew 5 – A Critique
Posted in uncategorized Tagged alexander campbell, anti-creedalism, biblical law, creeds, george orwell, law, matthew 5, sermon on the mount Leave a comment
Time Preference, A Primer
Unfortunately, the phrase “time preference” does not meet with wide recognition, even among people who have strong political views. But no one can have a well-rounded understanding of politics until they have done at least some hard thinking with regard to time preference (whether by that name or another). Below the fold, a short introduction to time preference. Read More
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Posted in uncategorized Tagged economics, future orientation, hans hermann hoppe, present orientation, time preference Leave a comment
Christian Theism and the Problem of Evil
The Christian tradition stands upon thousands of years of considering the problem of evil. The biblical God, his worshippers claim, is all-powerful. He can do whatever he like and has the exhaustive ability to step in in any situation. The Christian God also has the ability to step in at any moment and rectify any problem. This, in itself, would not be much of a problem if Christianity postulated an ethically random God, raining blessings and brimstone down whithersoever he willeth. But Christianity does not take this easy route: it holds that God is, in some very real sense, all-good. It takes no syllogisms to see the problem here. The world as we see it does not appear to be consistent with an all-good all-powerful being. Read More
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Posted in uncategorized Tagged christianity, god, jesus, job, omnibenevolence, omnipotence, psalm 22, psalms, the problem of evil, theism Leave a comment
Second Long Response to John Fensel
No Constructive Alternative
To end my last argument, I made a prediction. I said that John would not give us a constructive account of morality, but would simply engage in negative criticism. Unfortunately, I was right. John has not answered any of the big questions about morality: where it comes from, why it is binding upon us, what its content is, who is to administer it, or by what standard it is measured. “You can’t beat something with nothing.”
Bizarro God or Bizarro Humanity? Read More
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Posted in uncategorized Tagged christianity, credibility, debate, humanism, john fensel, morality 2 Comments
Rousas John Rushdoony’s “The Institutes of Biblical Law” — A Review
If the entire theonomic school is to be traced back to a single book, Rousas John Rushdoony’s Institutes of Biblical Law is that book. Originally three years of sermons written by an unusually well-read pastor, Institutes argues for the ongoing validity of biblical law, from the New Testament as well as the Old. But that is not its primary function. As John Frame notes, the brilliance of Institutes is not that it proves the validity of the theonomic perspective on biblical law, but rather that it makes one wish that the theonomic perspective were more widely accepted. Institutes spends relatively little time establishing its central thesis, and a great deal of time expounding the meaning of specific biblical laws. By way of contrast, Greg Bahnsen’s Theonomy in Christian Ethics spends most of its time discussing the central thesis, and relatively little time on the specifics. Read More
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Posted in uncategorized Tagged institutes of biblical law, rousas john rushdoony, theonomy Leave a comment
Greg Bahnsen’s “Theonomy in Christian Ethics” — A Review
Historical Background to The Book
1973 was a busy year. It was then, two years after Nixon announced that the secular state had the right to redefine money at will, the Supreme court decided that the secular state could redefine human life at will, ending once and for all the notion that a secular state could ever provide a lasting foundation for human rights. A unfairly little-known man, one of the last champions of an officially neutral but substantially Judeo-Christian ethic, died that year, and no man like him has ever existed since. Since 1973, it was been clear that religious neutrality within a system of law and order is a sham. For this reason, the legacy of Ludwig von Mises has passed on to anarchists and the proponents of explicitly Christian politics. Though his anarchist followers have produced some brilliant work (Murray Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression and Man, Economy, and State; Hans Hermann Hoppe’s Democracy: The God That Failed) it is his Christian heirs that I am more interested in. They are known as the theonomists, and their work hit the ground running in 1973, with the publication of R. J. Rushdoony’s Institutes of Biblical Law, Gary North’s Introduction to Christian Economics, and Greg Bahnsen’s The Theonomic Responsibility of the Civil Magistrate (Th.M. thesis, Westminster Theological Seminary). The argument of Bahnsen’s Th.M. thesis would be published in book form in 1977, and titled Theonomy in Christian Ethics. While Rushdoony’s work systematized the biblical laws under the rubric of the Ten Commandments, and North’s work transformed the supposedly religiously neutral “Austrian” economics into an explicitly biblical “Christian” economics, Bahnsen’s primary contribution had to do not with the specifics of biblical law or with the strategic aspects of implementing it, but rather with its theoretical underpinnings. In terms of exegesis, I have not seen Bahnsen’s work surpassed anywhere. In terms of underlying theoryy, his work has arguably been partially superseded by Ray Sutton’s That You May Prosper. But that is another story for another day. Without further ado, on to the book itself.
The Book’s Central Claim Read More
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Ten Questions for Conservatives
My debate opponent and ethical arch-nemesis (and I mean that in the most positive way possible) John Fensel has written up ten questions to conservatives. They are good questions. Every conservative must think through them and figure out where he stands. This will also help clarify what one means when one calls oneself a conservative. I am, or at least like to think I am, a particularly hard-core sort of conservative, in what I would like to think is the better sense of the word “conservative.” So below the fold, I will list the ten questions, followed by my hard-core conservative answer. Now, as John has noted, I am not the primary target of his criticism: soft-core conservatives are. His goal is to show that soft-core conservatism is senseless. Presumably, a soft-core conservative, upon reading the ten questions, should realize the folly of his ways and become a social democrat. And so I will also include a soft-core conservative answer, if the soft-core answer is different from the hard-core answer, to demonstrate that the soft-core conservative position is defensible, at least vis-a-vis the secularist social democrat position. Below the fold, the ten questions. Read More
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Churches in Columbus Blog — Your Chance to Build a Website that Matters in Four Simple Steps
Why Should I Do This Project?
I probably will not take on this project. Too many projects, too little time. But maybe you should. It could be an important and useful form of Christian service in Columbus, or somewhere else. Perhaps this project could take the place of some less productive use of time, like watching television. Here’s how to do it. I’ll also include instructions on how to modify this basic plan for other projects, including less time-consuming ones. If you choose to help with this site, I am here to personally advise you during the process if at any point you want advice. Read More
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How To Deal With Those Pesky Immigrants
Wherever you have immigrants, you have problems. First, there is an inevitable cultural gap. Second, people see themselves largely in tribal terms, whether they admit it or not, so group loyalties can pit immigrants against established populations. Third, immigrants often come from troubles areas (this is often part of why they left) and they may bring some of their troubles with them. This article is not about what our immigration policies should be. This article is about how you, as an individual or on a church-wide level, can dish out Old-Testament style justice to these resident aliens. Read below the fold first, dish out justice only afterwards. Read More
Hans Hermann Hoppe’s “Democracy: The God That Failed” — A Review
Hans Hermann Hoppe is the archetypal libertarian that liberals love to hate: cold, logical, and willing to slaughter sacred cows without the slightest compunction. His oft-cited book Democracy: The God That Failed explores the deficiencies of democracy, which Hans Hermann Hoppe compares unfavorably to monarchy, which he views as a lesser evil, and the “natural order,” which he believes is the best of all possible worlds. Though sure to offend, this tightly argued and relatively short book (304 pages) is an excellent primer of Hoppe, a priori economic theory, time preference, and libertarian historical revisionism. And there is something fascinating about following the thoughts of a brain so free from political correctness. Read More »
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