The Culture War

I noticed recently that at the core there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.  They both seek political power in order to give the government control of areas which are rightly the realm of the Church and the home.  On the right, you have the “Moral Majority” trying to “christianize” America.  On the left you have those who have made education and caring for the poor the responsibility of the government.  But as David Van Drunen states in Biblical Theology and the Culture War,

People wage culture wars in Babylon, and to whatever extent they win or lose, Babylon continues to be just that—Babylon!  It will not be annihilated, and it will not be transformed into something else.

Boldness

At our men’s breakfast recently we discussed boldness in the life of the Christian.  We covered many examples in Scripture of bold actions on the part of the faithful.  What I began to notice in these examples was that the boldness of these men is rooted in eschatology.

One account of boldness is on the part of Abraham when he petitions God for Sodom if anyone can be found to be righteous (while bold, Abraham also showed tremendous meekness).  His boldness can be seen to be rooted in the future.  Abraham was looking forward to the last days, when God will bring final judgment upon the wicked yet preserve the righteous.  This truth is seen clearly in Revelation.

Modern Day Pharisees

I have often thought about how the Pharisees and Dispensationalists are very similar.  Both interpret Scripture in a literalistic manner in regard to the Kingdom (despite Christ’s clear teaching to the contrary), both see ethnic as opposed to spiritual Israel at the center of God’s redemptive plan, and both interpret prophecy in an extremely literal manner (ex. not seeing John the Baptist as the “Elijah who was to come,” Matthew 11:14).  I never really understood why this was, until I read something R.Scott Clark said in an essay on Israel.

It may well be that the end-times madness we have witnessed, first in the late 1970′s, again during the Gulf War and again in recent years, is really a search for certainty. Just as earlier generations turned away from the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments, in favor of revivals, our age seems bent on finding confirmation of the faith in the delusion that we are witnesses to the end of history.

They seek confirmation of the faith in everything but the simple fact that Christ died for His people.  To the Dispensationalist, Word and Sacrament are not enough to convey the Gospel.  They see a need to look to current events in order to interpret them in a manner that “proves” God is still working out his purposes in history.  This is what happens when you have a theological system that is centered on something other that Christ.

Covenant Sign and Seal

I have been thinking quite a bit about baptism lately.  The road to the Reformed (read Biblical) view has been challenging and very rewarding.  The following is just a very simple explanation of my understanding of the subject.  Having had the sign and seal of baptism applied to my son was a truly awesome experience.  Sharing in the promises made to Abraham  and witnessing in a physical act what God has promised His people and their children was amazing.  Looking back on this it saddens me to see so many Baptists miss out on this opportunity.  The objections to this doctrine, to me, do not hold water.  Also keep in mind that there was little opposition to this doctrine before the Anabaptists in the mid 16th century.  So hopefully the following will be a help or reinforcement for anyone studying the paedobaptist position.

First I will explain the position and the Biblical evidence for it.  To do this we need to see how Scripture views children and the successive generations of God’s people.  Not only that, but we need to see how they relate to the covenant.

Do Baptists Talk to Their Babies?

In my opinion, one of the most overlooked aspects in theology is covenant succession and how this correlates to infant baptism.  As Christian parents, we should be particularly mindful of this aspect of baptism.  After all, the baptism of our children, being the covenant sign and seal, is an amazing act that bears witness to the promises God has made to successive generations.  Robert Rayburn of Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) has an article here, that I am still working through in regard to covenant succession and baptism.

One of my favorite articles on the baptism of our children is by R.C. Sproul Jr.  It is a great pastoral treatment of the subject, simply asking, how can we legitimately pray with our children if we see them as outside of the covenant.  This is the question that no baptist can answer.  You can read the article here, and also another article along the same lines (which is where the title of the post is from) by Peter Leithart here.

The Power of the State vs. The Power of the Spirit

A few months ago I read a great article by T. David Gordon that was discussing the supposed decline of Christianity in the West.  There were several great historical insights, and although written two years ago, I think the commentary on the then present situation in the United States rings even more true today.

Indeed, if there is any real evidence of the decline of Christianity in the West, the evidence resides precisely in the eagerness of so many professing Christians to employ the state to advance the Christian religion. That is, if Ellul’s theory is right, the evidence of the decline of Christianity resides not in the presence of other religions (including secularism) in our culture, but in the Judge Moores, the hand-wringing over “under God” in the pledge of allegiance, and the whining about the “war on Christmas.” If professing Christians believe our religion is advanced by the power of the state rather than by the power of the Spirit, by coercion rather than by example and moral suasion, then perhaps Christianity is indeed in decline. If we can no longer say, with the apostle Paul, “the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly,” then perhaps Christianity is indeed in significant decline. If we believe we need Christian presidents, legislators, and judges in order for our faith to advance, then we ourselves no longer believe in Christianity, and it has declined. Christianity does not rise or fall on the basis of governmental activity; it rises or falls on the basis of true ecclesiastical activity. What Christianity needs is competent ministers, not Christian judges, legislators, or executive officers.

I often wonder what the Church would look like if we truly understood and lived Paul’s words.  If the past is any indication, I would expect a harsh reaction and possibly strong persecution from even Western culture.  I fully believe that Gordan is correct in seeing the decline of Christianity correlate with the “Christianization” of culture.

The Decline of Christianity in the West? A Contrarian View by  T. David Gordon.  Read the full article here.

Common Sense or Defective Memory?

Against the more prominent “rules of interpretation” found in evangelicalism today, stands the tried and true method of the analogia fidei.  Augustine has some great insight into this method of interpretation:

In all these books those who fear God and are of a meek and pious disposition seek the will of God. And in pursuing this search the first rule to be observed is, as I said, to know these books, if not yet with the understanding, still to read them so as to commit them to memory, or at least so as not to remain wholly ignorant of them. Next, those matters that are plainly laid down in them, whether rules of life or rules of faith, are to be searched into more carefully and more diligently; and the more of these a man discovers, the more capacious does his understanding become. For among the things that are plainly laid down in Scripture are to be found all matters that concern faith and the manner of life,—to wit, hope and love, of which I have spoken in the previous book. After this, when we have made ourselves to a certain extent familiar with the language of Scripture, we may proceed to open up and investigate the obscure passages, and in doing so draw examples from the plainer expressions to throw light upon the more obscure, and use the evidence of passages about which there is no doubt to remove all hesitation in regard to the doubtful passages. And in this matter memory counts for a great deal; but if the memory be defective, no rules can supply the want.

This flies in the face of the Dispensationalist’s “Golden Rule” of interpretation which states: “when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense…”  (according to David Cooper).  My question to this was always, ‘Whose common sense?’  It’s sad to see the historic rules of interpretation jettisoned by most of the evangelical world for what amounts to philosophical pragmatism.  But as Augustine so aptly stated, “if the memory be defective, no rules can supply the want.”