Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Mid Vermont Christian School and two families filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday [November, 21, 2023] against Vermont officials for denying the Christian school and its students from participating in the state’s tuition program and sports league because of . . . Continue reading →
Church and State
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 17)
“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36) One of . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 16)
God the Holy Spirit worked so powerfully among the apostles (Acts 5:12) that people came to think their ill would be healed if they were laid on cots so that the apostle Peter’s shadow fell on them (Acts 5:15). Through the apostles, . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 15)
Between 1513 and 1519, as he lectured through the Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and the Psalms again at the University in Wittenberg, Martin Luther (1483–1546) not only became an Augustinian anti-Pelagian in soteriology (sola gratia); in that same period he also recovered . . . Continue reading →
Why Christian Nationalists Can’t Read
The reality facing us today is that we live in a deeply complex moment, and in particular a moment where many people feel a deep sense of rootlessness, isolation, and alienation. The false certainties of the Christian nationalists offer a certain veneer . . . Continue reading →
Dirt
You stood far off, not aloof but above, And from the heavens looked down with pity At workers toiling in futility Made the fatal choice to descend, for love. And step by step you practiced kenosis,1 Removing the diadem from your head . . . Continue reading →
Lessons In Christian Nationalism From The Scottish Covenanters
Christian Nationalism has become something of a Rorschach test. What do you imagine when you hear this phrase? Is it a rallying cry to a glorious future in which God’s kingdom is manifested on earth? Or does it portend the hellish horrors . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 14)
Continuing on article XIV: More important, however, than the Statement’s confusion about general equity is what the authors want to do with it, and what assumptions they bring when applying the moral law to civil life in 2023. The Statement says the . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 13)
The theocratic impulse is truly ancient. All the pagan nations of the Ancient Near East had state religions. The Israelites, Egyptians, and Canaanites all had state religions, as did the Greeks and the Romans. The latter were particularly vicious in enforcing the . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 12)
In article XIII: On the Great Commission, the Statement says, Article XIII: The Great Commission WE AFFIRM that Christ’s commissioning of His Church to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that He has commanded includes . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 11)
In article XII: On the Vocation and Calling of Christian Officials and Legislators, the Statement says, WE AFFIRM that God extends the rule of Christ in the world by calling to and gifting Christians as His servants on vocation as civil authorities. . . . Continue reading →
Christian, You Live In Babylon, Not Jerusalem
The Apostle Peter, writing to the churches of Asia Minor (i.e., Western Turkey) in the AD mid-60s, writes in his closing salutation, “She, who is in Babylon, co-elect with you, greets you” (1 Pet 5:13). Most commentators understand Peter to be alluding . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 10)
In article XI: Big Picture Agenda, the Statement says, WE AFFIRM that the Christian Nationalist project entails national recognition of essential Christian Orthodoxy (Article II) as a Christian consensus under Jesus Christ, the supreme Lord and King of all creation, and the . . . Continue reading →
Video: Lessons For Exiles On Main Street—Huguenots As A Christian Minority
Dan Borvan traces a path for Christian life in a post-Christian culture by studying the French Reformed as a suffering church. Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 9)
In Article X, under the heading, “On Nationalism and Policy Priorities,” the Statement says: WE AFFIRM that nations possess an inviolable right to establish justice and safeguard the peace and prosperity of their own citizens. We affirm that implementing Christian Nationalism in . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 8)
In Article IX, under the heading, “Spheres of Authority,” the Statement (version 2) says: WE AFFIRM that God has established spheres of authority such as the home, the Church, and the civil government. We affirm that God has given unique responsibilities and . . . Continue reading →
Are Theocratic Politics Of The Essence Of The Reformed Confession?
When Theodosius I (AD 347–95) took the throne in AD 379, no one knew how profoundly the next 1,500 years of Christian history would be affected (and effected) by his promulgation of the decree (AD 380) to make Christianity the state religion . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 7)
In Article VIII the Statement (version 2) says: WE AFFIRM that God’s purpose for civil government is to establish justice for His glory and the good of all people. We affirm that unjust laws harm people and that just laws reflect the . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 6)
WE AFFIRM that civil officials are God’s deacons of justice. Therefore, they must obey His commands and rule under His authority. We affirm that all human authorities, including civil officials, possess authority only as it has been delegated to them by God . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 5)
One of the most important aspects in the debate over so-called Christian Nationalism is the nature of Christ’s Lordship and Kingdom. According to Augustine, there are two cities. According to Luther (and more than a few Reformed writers) there are two kingdoms. . . . Continue reading →