The Christian Right in Europe, Book Recommendations, and a Case of Confused Worldview

https://cne.news/article/4772-seven-books-to-sharpen-your-christian-worldview

The article's set-up leads me to believe that once again the evocation of 'worldview' is not in the sense of a comprehensive and coherent system of thought but rather the rubber-stamping of an agenda. As such, it is in keeping with its frequent use within American Evangelicalism.

Inbox: Christian Movie Reviews

I have been asked from time to time about recommendations for Christian movies, what review sites to trust and the like. The answer is very simple – none of them are to be trusted and I can't recommend any that I know of.

The Counsels of Mammon (II)

https://churchandfamilylife.com/podcasts/6390cc89fad8bafe3a9ec787

At about the twelve minute mark we come to:

5. Be on a Budget

Budgets are very helpful, but contrary to the narrative being provided, there are people who spend years trying to get that money set aside for tires or whatever and can never get there. Life keeps happening and because the margins are too tight, they can't meet those goals. Others have volatile incomes – shift workers whose hours change every week, or those who are self-employed. A sickness can throw everything off and then while you're trying to get it back on track – a car repair comes up that you can't pay for. Sometimes it can take months to get back on track, but by then something else has likely happened. These people are not necessarily doing anything wrong – they're simply struggling.

The False Church Baptising the World's Wisdom

Listening to American Family Radio (AFR) I was struck by something 'Bishop' EW Jackson said. When I'm down in a certain area I can pick up AFR and it seems like his show comes on while I'm in the car eating my lunch.

Democracy as a Worldview

https://breakpoint.org/no-mr-president-democracy-isnt-a-worldview-politics-cant-answer-our-deepest-questions/

I am fully aware that many consider John Stonestreet to be something of a lightweight and yet, when I find his commentaries appearing on Calvinistic websites like The Aquila Report, it indicates a growing appreciation for him. As such, I feel compelled to respond, since no one else seems willing to do so. There is much to be learned from his Evangelical-Kuyperian (or Colsonite) errors and the convoluted thinking his commentaries represent.

I'm not sure what that says about the likes of The Aquila Report.

BreakPoint on a Roll

It would probably be in my interest to avoid the BreakPoint website or listening to its radio commentaries. I'm afraid I could work full time simply refuting and deconstructing Stonestreet and company. Like his mentor Charles Colson he's almost always wrong, stunningly so – and even when he's right on something, it's for the wrong reasons and often the given justifications are confused and ultimately undermine his position.

Sometimes it's too much, day after day. That's how it was in late May when I encountered these three commentaries.

Idolatry and Spiritual Filth: The Christianity of Richard Land

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/is-the-spirit-of-1776-imperiled.html

In this editorial from The Christian Post, the reprobate militarist and Southern Baptist leader Richard Land continues to beat the drums of war. Land has produced many truly terrible and anti-Christian commentaries over the years. This ranks among the worst. I'm not sure what counterfeit Zion he inhabits but in his idolatrous pseudo-kingdom, the great Christian concern of the hour is whether or not enough young people are going to be willing to take up weapons and kill for the state.

Stonestreet and the Hermeneutics of Nationalism

https://www.breakpoint.org/is-it-biblical-to-honor-our-nation/

Evoking the memory of the apostate Richard John Neuhaus, BreakPoint commentator and Colson protégé John Stonestreet attempts to address the dangers of idolatry regarding nationalism, and yet in keeping with patterns often seen in his commentaries he misses the central point and falls into error.

Rather than seriously seek to limit or warn concerning the dangers of nationalism, he in fact encourages it and blurs the lines that already cloud contemporary Evangelical thought.

Upside Down Thinking

https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/11/22/the-whole-world-is-turning-toward-evil/

Was all well prior to November 2020? Was Paul mistaken when he characterised this period as a present evil age? Is that only a reality when certain political parties are in power? Are the Scriptures in error when they speak of Satan as the god of this world?

How Should We Then Live Part 7: The Age of Non-Reason (I)

I've often thought about the opening segment of this video, Schaeffer standing on the beach and drawing circles in the sand. Each represents a unified theory, comprehensive system or worldview. Because (Schaeffer argues) these circles or systems are rooted in man they fail and another philosopher comes along, crosses out the circle(s) of his predecessors and develops his own – and so on.

The Context of Mohler's Embrace of Trumpism

https://religionnews.com/2020/04/17/mohlers-turn-to-trump-is-the-crowning-flip-flop-of-his-career/

There aren't many voices today that are willing to acknowledge the profound shift that took place within the Christian Right over the past generation. The emphasis of their movement used to focus on character and integrity in political leadership. This was a major focus in their criticism of Bill Clinton. He was an immoral man and unfit for office. The draft-dodging, pot-smoking, ex-hippie philanderer with a feminist wife had marred the dignity of the office.

How Should We Then Live Part 6: The Scientific Age (I)

This was a complicated episode with fairly weighty ideas being thrown out at a fast clip. I struggled to take notes without pausing. As such this episode and probably the next will also require two parts in order for me to review and respond to the material. Additionally in this episode I wish to interact on a slightly more involved level with some of the arguments assumptions made by Schaeffer. These are really important issues, especially today and these touch on some very basic and fundamental questions about the nature of knowledge that I think are critical when considering the nature of Biblical authority. I think Schaeffer and his followers have missed the mark on this latter albeit critical point.

How Should We Then Live Part 3: The Renaissance

Continuing his themes regarding humanism as expressed through art and culture, Schaeffer is clearly torn. For him the 15^th-16^th century Renaissance was a veritable glory. Clearly he loves the period and yet is torn apart by it because in many respects its values are in opposition to the Reformation culture he champions.

How Should We Then Live Part 2: The Middle Ages

This episode struck me as in some respects the most confused of the series. Schaeffer vacillates between praise and condemnation of The Middle Ages and in several places entangles himself in a series of non sequitirs and incongruencies.

The Cruelty of Theonomy and its Counterfeit Zion

A response to a garden variety sermon called 'The Cruelty of Piety'

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=624181330317

https://huffduffer.com/jonesay/497939

or click here to play from my Google sites page

N.B. - The Sermonaudio link seems to be dead and so I've provided a substitute.

Though I am convinced the New Testament stands in diametrical opposition to Theonomy I cannot but help and have a certain affinity with some of its advocates. I share in their anti-Establishment attitude and frustrations with regard to the Reformed mainstream. I too have no love for the OPC or PCA and have been at times angered by their bureaucracies and frankly with the deceit of some of their officers. At one time I was on a course to be ordained in one of these denominations and yet today, I wouldn't even consider attending one of their congregations.

That said, apart from a conflict with bureaucracy and institutionalism I have no commonality with Theonomists and their wayward and even twisted interpretations of Scripture.

The Blind and Dangerous Hypocrisy of Sacralism

https://www.christianpost.com/news/arrogantly-invoking-god-foreign-policy-debates-blasphemous-christian-historian-walter-russell-mead-228370/

As a Christian, this article made me quite angry but I am thankful that Walter Russell Mead and Mary Habeck are clear in what they advocate. Though couched in deceitful terms and reliant upon a perversion of Christian doctrine, their transparent idealism accommodates an attempt to expose their error and indeed the evil they advocate. And it is just that. Their form and framing of it and their ideals that govern them are especially pernicious in that their agenda is promoted in the name of Christ.

A DTS Podcast on Theology and Technology

A recent Dallas Theological Seminary podcast on technology and theology provided a sobering instance of worldview teaching's syncretistic tendencies. It might be added the failure and unbiblical nature of worldview-Dominionism can have startling implications for both the Church and the culture. When it comes to technology the stakes are high and I found myself a bit taken aback by the guest's shortsightedness, even blindness when it comes to these questions.

Police Protection for the Church: Evangelicals, America and Guns

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/12/523603112/alabama-senate-says-church-can-start-its-own-police-force

A Church, a Church-affiliated campus, with a police force? Why the controversy?

This move by an Alabama PCA is hardly surprising and will even be praised by many. Not a few Evangelicals are confused as to why this would even be an issue. It's normal for colleges and universities to have police forces, so what's the big deal? Why are people so bothered by this?

Federalist Author's Lies about Santa Claus Facilitated by LPR's Issues Etc.

http://issuesetc.org/2016/12/06/3415-incorporating-the-real-santa-claus-into-the-celebration-of-christs-birth-holly-scheer-12616/

This 14 minute piece was completely misleading on multiple fronts. Contrary to Scheer, Santa Claus is not merely a secularised version of the Roman Catholic St. Nicholas and thus in today's context a bankrupt and hollow form of virtue-appeal minus the theological substance. It's a convenient narrative but one that is less than accurate.

The Bankruptcy of Grudem and Evangelicalism

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-thinkers-blast-theologian-wayne-grudem-defense-donald-trump-morally-good-choice-167393/

While some of the people who denounce Grudem hardly represent positions in line with Scripture, this endorsement comes as no surprise. Grudem's ignorance of Scripture, history, law and the totality of his thought have long exhibited a trajectory of error. His endorsement of Trump is little more than the consequence or outcome. Grudem is revered by many and yet epitomises the Evangelical trajectory toward compromise with the world in order to seek power and approbation.