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Tuesday, 17 February 2009

  • The Rise of the Divine State

    While the extremes of Adolf Hitler’s regime may seem like a radical comparison to present-day America, there is much about our own social and political condition that should worry us. Herbert Schlossberg’s masterful study of power in his book Idols for Destruction is both prophetic and frightening:

    Rulers have ever been tempted to play the role of father to their people. . . . The state that acts like a wise parent instead of a vindictive judge has been an attractive image to many people. They include ecclesiastical authorities who have completely missed the point of the gospel warning to “call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matt. 23:9). The father is the symbol not only of authority but also of provision. “Our Father who art in heaven. . . . Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:9, 11). Looking to the state for sustenance is a cultic act [an act of worship]; we rightly learn to expect food from parents, and when we regard the state as the source of physical provision we render to it the obeisance of idolatry. The crowds who had fed on the multiplied loaves and fishes were ready to receive Christ as their ruler, not because of who he was but because of the provision. John Howard Yoder[1] has rightly interpreted that scene: “The distribution of bread moved the crowd to acclaim Jesus as the new Moses, the provider, the Welfare King whom they had been waiting for.”[ Read the Rest ]

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

  • Passing The Torch of Liberty to a New Generation


    Passing The Torch of Liberty
    to a New Generation

    I was driving north on I-75 toward Knoxville when I received a call from my office. “Gary, a man just called. He said that he was dying and that he had to talk with you.” I knew it was Chris Hoops. I got his number and immediately called him. Chris was a godly man who understood the Christian heritage of our nation and how it had been forgotten. He told me that he had a 200-year-old book in his possession and that he wanted American Vision to reprint it. He entrusted me with the only copy of this remarkable book, and I assured Chris that we would reprint it. After some research, I learned that the book in my possession is the only copy in existence. You won't find it anywhere, not even in the Library of Congress. This 500-page book consists of 20 messages delivered to the nation from 1799 to 1802. While the individual chapters exist in pamphlet form in private collections and libraries, it would take you years to find copies and a small fortune to procure them.

    We’ve titled this book Passing the Torch of Liberty to a New Generation. Most ministers would be afraid to preach these messages today. The men who witnessed the birth of our nation understood that even civil magistrates—politicians—are obligated to place themselves under the sovereign hand of God. Can you imagine how atheists will respond if this book gets out to millions of Americans who begin reading and applying the principles found in these powerful messages? Not only will atheists be upset, but many ministers will object to these messages. Many ministers today have tried to remain neutral in the face of politics which has become increasingly godless. You’ve heard ministers tell their congregations to stay out of politics with some of the following half-truths:

    • "Politics is dirty.”
    • “Jesus didn’t get mixed up in politics.”
    • “There’s a separation between church and state.”
    • “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
    • “We’re not supposed to judge.”
    • “You can’t impose your morality on other people.”

    These excuses are foreign to the men who penned these pamphlets. They would recoil in disbelief if they heard these excuses coming from ministers of the gospel. Joseph Strong stated in 1802 that our fathers adhered to the principle “that none ought to be elevated to public office except those whose opinions and behavior were strictly Christian” and that “righteousness exalts a nation.” When is the last time you heard anything like that?

    How about this? “In the judicial department, a high regard to law and justice must never be subordinated to party interest or a fear of rejection from office.” Wow! This is just a taste of what you will find in this 500-page volume!

    These are principles that many Christians have forgotten. We’re not in a mess today because of unbelievers; we’re in a mess because we are a nation that has lost its memory of its Christian beginnings.

    Help honor a dying man’s prayer by getting a copy of Passing the Torch of Liberty to a New Generation.

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    A CD-ROM of the complete book with searchable/ printable text!

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Tuesday, 20 January 2009

  • They Never Said It

    American Vision: For years Christian writers have attributed the following quotation to James Madison (1751-1836), the fourth president of the United States, in hopes of supporting the often repeated claim that the Ten Commandments were the foundational law system of the early colonial constitutions, law codes, and Federal Constitution:

    We have staked the whole future of American Civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.[1]

    While this is a great statement that can be supported without Madison's endorsement,[2] no one has been able to locate the original source documentation that would unequivocally tie the statement to him. My investigation led only as far back as the January 1958 issue of Progressive Calvinism where the source of the quotation is a 1958 calendar published by Spiritual Mobilization. What was Spiritual Mobilization's source for the quotation? None was listed.

    There is another possible source for the quotation. Bishop James Madison (1749-1812), a cousin of President Madison, served as president of William and Mary College and was the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Virginia. It was this James Madison who said, "Good morals can spring only from the bosom of religion."[3] It would not be difficult to confuse the two Madisons. In fact, in naming what is now James Madison University, "The Daily Banner: Donate 04 UpdateNews-Record columnist wasn't even convinced that Madison College honored President James Madison. ‘It is claimed by some,' the columnist wrote, ‘that those who suggested Madison as the new name did not have the president in mind, but Bishop James Madison.'"[4] Even so, there is no tangible evidence that even this James Madison said it.

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    [6]
    http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/faqs/parqs.shtml#Aftytler2
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