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Online Books & Essays
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Idolatry as Government (C&S Editorial: Vol. 16, No. 1)
The American internet web site LewRockwell.com recently ran an essay by a British libertarian thinker on how the United Kingdom is governed. The thesis put forward in the essay was that the resignation of Charles Kennedy as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and the subsequent revelation of the immoral behaviour of a candidate for the leadership of the party, along with the election of David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party, the general rehabilitation of the Conservatives in the media, and the destruction of the UK Independence Party, is all part of a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the “ruling class” and put into effect by the secret police. The essay seeks to fit the deleterious liberal trends of recent British history into an overall conspiracy theory. In doing so it identifies some obvious and baneful developments in our society. But in seeking to explain these harmful trends in terms of a grand conspiracy theory the essay has missed the real point about how Britain is governed today.
The Wisdom of Men (C&S Vol. XV, No 2)
Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles. In the Graeco-Roman world into which Paul was sent as an apostle of Christ philosophy, rhetoric and oratory were very important. The Greeks were obsessed with these things and with the “wisdom of men.” When Paul went into this world he did not fit the expectations that the Greeks had of a philosopher and a teacher of wisdom. He also fell short of their expectations in terms of rhetoric and oratory skills. They were dissatisfied with him. In particular he did not have the charisma—what actors call “stage presence”—that they had come to expect of those to whom they looked for guidance in wisdom and understanding.
Redemption versus the Fall (From C&S Vol. 14, No 4)
The impact of Adam and Eve’s rebellion had universal consequences, bringing death, destruction and suffering to every aspect of life in this world—nothing was unaffected by the Fall. Every part of man’s being was polluted and corrupted, though this doesn’t mean that all people are as depraved as they could possibly become or that they will follow after and commit every possible sin—God in his Sovereign goodness prevents this from happening so that life can be sustained and his work in the world can go forward. Nevertheless, Scripture tells us that not just mankind, but the whole of the created realm was affected by the Fall and the effects of this are clearly visible both within us and around us. Rather than changing his purpose for creation or mankind’s role in it after the Fall, God continued right on with the same plan. It is obvious that God has always been concerned about the whole of his creation, for example, he didn’t just protect people from destruction in the world-wide flood in Noah’s time, but animals too and his commands show his consideration for the whole of creation, including animals and vegetation. God doesn’t deal with mankind in isolation from the rest of creation—ever!
Don't You Believe in the Inerrancy of the Original Autographs or Have You Stopped Beating Your Wife Yet?
Some questions are, by their very nature, what logicians call "loaded" questions. They are structured in such a way as it elicit pre-determined responses. Sometimes, they can also be petito principii, or what is called "begging the question," that is, assuming in the statement, or question, what really has yet to be proven. "Don’t you believe in the ‘inerrancy’ of the original autographs" is such a question. It is both a loaded question as well as a question-begging question. It can only be answered, really, yes or no; and it assumes the correctness of the language of the phrase prior to establishing whether the language, or the meaning of the phrase, is true.
From Jihad to Great Commission (C&S Editorial Vol. 14, No. 3, July, 2004)
In the past fifty years or so Britain, and indeed the West generally, has experienced significant immigration from Muslim countries. It is no longer uncommon for mosques to be found in Western cities. The tension that this immigration has caused in some cities and large towns in the UK is usually represented by the British media and politicians as a race relations problem and multiculturalism, one of the chief shibboleths of the new atheist religion of secular humanism, is endlessly championed as the answer to this problem. Unfortunately, the real nature and meaning of multiculturalism has been misunderstood by politicians and media alike and, along with the tension created by the presence of large Islamic and Hindu communities in Western cities, has been defined in terms of race. But this is a serious mistake. Culture does not have its origin in race, and the constant obsession with race by the media and politicians in Western societies only exacerbates the problem since it reinforces the prejudices of fanatics while offering no meaningful analysis of the problem—indeed it gets in the way of a better understanding of the problem.
Politics and Religion (C&S Editorial Vol. XIV, No. 2)
This issue of Christianity & Society presents two different ways of looking at the political sphere of life, both of which have had representative positions in the history of Christian thought and practice. Some explanation of the differing approaches of these essays will help to put them into context. Dr Estrada’s essay, "Calvinism versus Constantinianism," is a critique of the religious persecutions that have too often taken place in the name of Christ. I fully endorse his criticism of the many religious persecutions that have taken place in the history of the Church. I agree that Protestants have also persecuted people for "religious" crimes that have no basis in the Bible, that such persecutions have been a tragic mistake and that the justification for such persecutions has been unbiblical. It is important to remember, however, that Dr Estrada is not arguing for a secular State. Rather, he is arguing against the wrong use of the coercive power of the State to enforce and preserve doctrinal orthodoxy. This argument is important and I fully endorse it. Nevertheless, I disagree with certain aspects of the philosophy underpinning Dr Estrada’s essay, namely those relating to the relationship between Church and State, in that his essay argues not only for a separation of powers, but a complete separation of Church and State. The implication of this, if followed through consistently, would be, it seems to me, to make it impossible for the Christian faith to be established as the religion of State, since the establishment of the Christian faith would necessarily involve recognition of the Church as a public legal institution with its own sphere sovereignty forming part of the societal structure of the nation. The denial of or even failure to recognise the public legal character (sphere sovereignty) of the Church would be a denial of the lordship and sovereignty of Christ, and it was the denial of this sovereignty by Rome and the assertion of it by Christians that constituted the dispute between the early Church and Rome and led to the persecution of Christians for treason against Rome. In other words, the implication of a complete separation of Church and State would be that the Christian faith has no direct application to the political sphere.
Socialism Again! (C&S Editorial, Vol. XIV, No. 1, January 2004)
Recently I was sent a newspaper cutting from The Catholic Times for 9 November 2003. The article, by Robert Doyle, related how Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, Central America, who has apparently been tipped as a future Pope, has attacked capitalism as "savage" and called for a return to the principles of socialism. According to the report in The Catholic Times the Archbishop said "The historic achievements of the welfare state are being dismantled and, as a result, the differences between the rich and the poor are growing." The Archbishop said further that "whereas states won a protagonist role on the economic terrain in the twentieth century, today their power is decreasing more and more."
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