James Bond, Agent 007, had a “license to kill.” There are Reformed folk who also seem to have a license of some sort or other, based on what they call “the Christian world and life view” (hereafter, CWLV). This concept is interesting . . . Continue reading →
I work at a forklift dealership. No matter how meticulously I try to craft that sentence to sound cooler in small talk introductions, the reality remains: I am about as common man in the common realm as it gets. Though I spend . . . Continue reading →
The Reformation brought about a significant shift in theology, piety, and practice of parts of the Western church. One theological shift, which was evident in aspects of the practice of the Reformed church, was its insistence that the church was a distinct, . . . Continue reading →
The socially conservative evangelicals do not have a doctrine of a twofold kingdom; nor do they typically distinguish between nature and grace or between the sacred and the secular. Thus the only way they can cooperate with Roman Catholics on social questions is to get them converted and baptized. Continue reading →
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 →
The post-apostolic Christians understood what Jesus and Paul were teaching about the kingdom. They confessed universally, in the Rule of Faith, from the earliest decades of the second century, that God is “almighty” (omnipotens). They did battle with radical dualists, whether Gnostics . . . Continue reading →
It is repeatedly argued (especially on social media) that unless one affirms that Christ exercises his dominion over all of life in the same way then one has denied Christ’s lordship. Of course this way of arguing assumes what it has to . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Only someone in an isolation chamber could imagine that this world is not fallen. Even the most fact-resistant naturalist (who cannot begin to explain why there is something rather than nothing) concedes that the evolutionary process in which he places so much . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
One of our readers named K wrote me to ask, “If God’s Word forbids women from teaching and exercising authority, why shouldn’t the state follow the same principle?” This is a good and interesting question. It is made even more complicated by . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
In this episode Dr Clark and Chris Gordon discuss theonomy, Christian Nationalism, Postmillennialism and how Christians can actually change the culture in light of the Beatitudes. Continue reading →
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 →