What is Social Justice after all? Can we have social justice without first having individual justice?

In a recent Christianity Today article, 

readers were treated to a most peculiar balancing act between that serial socialist Jim Wallis and Pastor Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

Titled “Personal but Never Private,” the two authors traded opinions about racism, the poor, etc.

Now here’s the crazy part: They never once mentioned abortion, never once cited God’s Law, and frankly never defined justice. Dever, for example did say that

We need to preach from the prophets. Don't adopt a theology that says the Old Testament and the Gospels are just for Israel and Paul's letters are all we need. We have to deal with all of Scripture carefully and bring it forward.

Not bad, but far from good enough: He mentions the gospels, Paul’s epistles, the prophets, and even the “Old Testament.” We’re almost there! Can Pastor Dever just say...? “The Law of God”?

Apparently not. But, as Christ points out in the passage above, justice is impossible apart from the Law of God. That’s right, Jesus Christ considered the Law to speak to justice, mercy, and faith. How these gentlemen think they can speak to the issue of justice in spite of Christ’s plain declaration is more than I can figure.

As far as abortion goes, do we even need to point out that those who have been murdered in the womb have been denied a standard of justice far more basic than any other category you can possibly name?

Wallis, for example, has a history of being rather soft on abortion. 

He has said that he is opposed to abortion, but opposes legal prohibitions against the murder of the unborn. And yet, somehow, he still qualifies as a promoter of Social Justice.

Without the Law-word of God, we have no standard for determining what justice is. For example, in this country, we basically enforce no criminal penalties for adultery. This is contrary to the clear teaching of the Law of God. As a result marriage is cheapened, children are under attack, women are abandoned, and men become ever more irresponsible.

This is justice?

Indeed it is, as man defines it.

But it gets worse, because if man can pervert the meaning of justice, he can also pervert the meaning of mercy and faith. And when that happens, were all postmodernists.

Even if we’re featured in Christianity Today.

~ Joel Saint

~ A Christian Facebook Friend

“In the cross of Christ I glory

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round it head sublime.

~ John Bowring

I will admit to not being up on the latest atheist publications, be they books, blogs, or magazine articles. Part of the reason, I’ll admit, is reactionary: I don’t think Christian books get a fair shake in the general marketplace.

One of my relatives worked at the Borders bookshop for a few years. I still remember when the atheist Sam Harris came out with his book titled Letter to a Christian Nation, and how prominently that book was displayed at the Borders bookshop where my relative worked. I did read that book, knowing that Christian responses would be forthcoming.

And come they did: Vox Day’s The Irrational Atheist, Joel McDurmon’s The Return of the Village Atheist, Doug Wilson’s Letter from a Christian Citizen, RC Metcalf’s Letter to a Christian Nation: Counterpoint, and Ravi Zacharias’ The End of Reason  to name a few that I know about.

Were any of these books displayed with even one tenth the prominence that the Harris’s book received? Not hardly. I had to do my own research to find these books. If I’d have had to depend on Borders, I wouldn’t have known they existed. That particular Borders location has now closed and good riddance.

I did happen to see a debate between Hitchens and Christian apologist William Lane Craig. It was informative and somewhat engaging, worth my time. What I didn’t hear was any new or compelling arguments for atheism.

In fact, if you watch the debate, you will notice quite a slip-up from Hitchens. At one point, he argues against design by pointing out that breakdowns that occur in nature demonstrate lack of design.

Of course, all Craig had to do was mention that cars, computers, and virtually anything designed will eventually break down. But no one argues that since your brass trumpet will eventually fail, we must therefore conclude it was never designed!

Not sure if Mr. Hitchens had a brain freeze when he brought up the argument; in any case, he didn’t return to it.

Christopher Hitchens is gone, but he will be replaced. As long as there is taxpayer funded education, we will not want for professing atheists. Many, including Christians, will praise this particular professing atheist now that he is gone. I will not be among them.

One of Mr. Hitchens most popular books was titled, God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The title of the book tells us a lot about the author: It tells us he is proud, foolish, arrogant, and narrow. It also tells us that he is anything but insightful and knowledgeable. If he had any knowledge and insight at all, he would have recognized that God is great, greater than anything he (Hitchens) could ever imagine. God is greater than Christopher Hitchens like the universe is greater than a speck of dust, and I have no doubt that, unless he repented, he is already sorry he said what he said and wrote what he wrote.

In fact, if Hitchens had any knowledge worthy of the name, he would have experienced the fear of the Lord, the very beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1: 7).

The rest of that verse states that “fools despise wisdom and instruction,” a description that fits Mr. Hitchens and all his atheistic tribe. “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14: 1 & 53: 1). That description, “fool,” might not be the nicest epitaph written for the departed Mr. Hitchens.

But it is the most accurate.

~ Joel Saint

Folks, the news couldn’t be better.  Here it is: the Bible has ALL the answers to ALL the problems, and we, Christians, have a copy at hand at all times.  What more could you ask for, than to be in a crowd of people with a serious problem, and “just happen” to have a set of fool-proof instructions on how to fix it?  There’s a problem, though:  we’ve been trained, through several generations of fundamentalism, to loudly point out the problems but hide the instructions on how to fix them.

In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Christians awoke to the fact that their denominations had been corrupted by errant theology, much of which came from Germany.  One of the offshoots of this errant theology is what we know as the “social gospel”.  In addition to the German influence, the social gospel received impetus from a Baptist pastor, Walter Rauschenbusch, with his 1917 book “A Theology for the Social Gospel”.  This subject is a long study in itself, but for now let’s summarize by saying that the movement centered around errant theology that infused distorted biblical teachings with Marxism for the purpose of using civil government to implement social Marxist concepts of “justice”.  This was condensed under the heading of “Liberation Theology”.  Although much of the movement was driven by political manipulation and leftist ideology, there were vast numbers of people caught up in the errors, sincerely thinking that they were helping the poor and oppressed.

Many serious Christians in the denominations infected with Liberation Theology recognized it for the heresy that it is, left their church, and the “Fundamentalist Movement” was born.  Had it not been for the Fundamentalist Movement, it is difficult to say where we would have ended up.  The movement did preserve, as intended, a strong remnant of Biblical fundamentals which were almost entirely lost in the main line churches.  There was a seed of error, though, that has seriously hindered our churches’ effectiveness today.  That error was a well-intentioned reaction (overreaction, actually) to the social nature of the Social Gospel.  Rather than recognize the errant, unbiblical Marxist-oriented teachings as contrary to God’s Law, it was wrongly concluded that the problem with Liberation Theology was the practice of Christians and churches guiding governmental and societal practices at all.  Hence, “just preach the Gospel” was the rallying cry, and all the Biblical teachings that are necessary for a just and free society were “put on hold” by the very people who had rescued the integrity of Scripture from the corrupt steam-roller of the liberal theologians.  Jesus Christ is Lord of our souls, yes, but He is Lord of EVERYTHING!  He created civil government; all human relationships are subject to His authority and instruction.

And here we sit.  While our churches were intended to be salt and light to the world, passers-by pass by with, at most, a faint curiosity at what goes on inside.  They don’t wonder whether they will be saved from eternal damnation, because public education has dimmed the concept of sin and convinced them that the existence of God is up to them.  The DO wonder what will happen to their life-long retirement savings as the financial system crashes, while we hide from them the instructions for a just monetary system.  While they watch crime progress, we hide the instructions on how to deal with it.  While the local, state, and federal governments strangle the people with their regulations, taxes, and theft, we hide the instructions on how civil government should operate…or even worse, deny that the instructions even exist.  While public “education” demolishes any concept of sin and responsibility to God, we send our kids to public school and watch Christian schools die.

Why do we do this?  In many cases, we do it because it’s exactly what we have been trained to do!  It seems that we have twisted our theology neatly around our apathy, so that the comfort of the pew is sufficient for all of life, and the Bible irrelevant to the societal and governmental problems that surround us.  “If only people would get saved, everything would be fine”.  No, everything would not be fine.  Saved people without God’s Biblical instructions on society and government would run it into the ground just as surely as unbelievers…and in fact, in many cases are!

Why do we expect people to listen to us as we give them Biblical teaching about something as serious as their eternal destiny, which they can’t see, when we can’t even give them the Biblical answers to a just monetary system, or the proper role of civil government, which are staring them in the face?

The good news, though, is that we still have our Bibles.  All we have to do is search them for the answers that everyone needs, instead of twisting them to justify our comfortable apathy.  When you look at it this way, the future is very exciting.  What a privilege we have, and what an opportunity awaits us to bring God’s answers to man’s problems in darkening times when they are becoming more and more welcome!  Let’s go!

~ Jim Mogel

I was discussing the reliability of the bible with a friend of mine, who consistently challenges the Bible as history. "Can't be trusted," he had often said, "Everything happened so long ago."

But my question threw him off a little: He knew that if he said "no", that that response would sound
ridiculous, since we base our lives on accurate history, such as remembering how to read, where you live,
the names of your children, or where you left your keys.

However, if he said "yes," he knew that I had another question ready: "So, if accurate history is possible then why exactly do you doubt the resurrection accounts? Do you doubt because the history is inaccurate, or because you just don't wish to believe, because in that case, the actual historicity of the accounts is a non-issue."

The evangelism playing field has changed. A generation or two ago almost everyone (on any side of an
argument) assumed that an accurate history could be acquired. That's no longer the case. Nonbelievers
question everything.

Or at least they say they do. But they don't question everything.

What they rarely, if ever, question is their own ability to arrive at truth. No need for the Bible; they can
figure out truth on their own. Actually, truth is now defined as being whatever the sceptic believes.

Think about that. For the sceptic truth doesn’t exist independently, it exists only exists in his own mind.
Yes, unbelievers generally hold as infallible either their reason, their experience, or both. But both are
limited, especially when compared to the God of the universe.

So, as I say, the field has changed. The nonbeliever uncritically believes what he should question, i.e. his dependent limited and fallible reasoning capabilities. He uncritically questions what he should believe, i.e. the independent and infallible Word of God.

How do we change the field? How do we re-frame the debate? What is our responsibility as believers in
these situations?

Our job is to help the sceptics show some real scepticism – of themselves. We can help by arming
ourselves with questions and tactics like those described above. When they can answer them, or even
consider them, we can begin to take them seriously.

~ Joel Saint

Joel writes Water-Cooler Warriors, a monthly newsletter devoted to helping the believer contend for his faith.

But that would be a mistake!

“IndoctriNation” is a 90-minute documentary film that takes the audience on a panoramic exploration of one of the most important and controversial issues in the history of mankind, the issue of education. Join Scottish filmmaker Colin Gunn and his family as they travel across America, asking questions about the origins and social impact of America’s public education system.

Colin asks:

Who established the American school system?

Are my kids physically and morally safe in the school?

Are the public schools religiously neutral?

Should Christians try to be “salt and light” in public schools?

Can the public school system be fixed or redeemed?

Jumbo China Buffet

3252 N. 5th St. (Muhlenberg Shopping Plaza)

Reading, PA 19605

Nov. 15, 2011

6 PM -  Dinner ($11.55), 7 PM - Video Presentation

Sponsored by The Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society

www.THINKandREFORM.org

Inherent in this reasoning is the idea that electing Republicans will bring our nation back on the correct political course.  Sadly, this is the depth of thinking of much of the Evangelical community.  This reasoning ignores the plain, demonstrable fact that overall policy is the same regardless of which party is making decisions. 

Democrats make wild spending increases, while Republican do the same.  The difference is that the Democrats make it part of their campaign strategy, while Republicans eagerly spend away our future while citing “political reality”.  The only “political reality” here is that when Republicans have been in control over the past few decades they spent MORE than the Democrats.  If you doubt this, do a Google search for the numbers, and you’ll see for yourself.  And, a little checking will reveal the same pattern on any other issue of substance, including abortion.  The GOP is ALL TALK, and the action goes to the corporate/government cartel that is destroying our nation for profit…profit taken by theft, not free enterprise as they like you to think.  And, by the way, there is no exception here for the “darlings” of the Christian Right.  Bush, Santorum, Huckabee, etc. etc.

Government has expanded to the point of tyranny under BOTH parties.  But the “expanders” who run the GOP are still getting away with the votes of gullible Christians.  And until Christians are willing to say NO!, nothing will change.  “Lesser evil” candidates have gotten us to where we are, and neither the Devil nor the Democrats have enabled them…Christians have.

The Biblical standard for election of civil rulers is seen in Exodus 18:21:  Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens

Of course, all politicians claim these characteristics.  Seeing how they have robbed us to create the monster that we call “government”, and seeing the bumper stickers in our church parking lots every few years, I’d say that Christians haven’t done a good job discerning truth from error.  “At least I’m not a Democrat” isn’t cutting it…don’t you agree?

Comments welcome.

~ Jim Mogel

Sunday, November 6, 2011, 7:00 P.M.

In colonial days it was common practice for Christian preachers to preach an “election day sermon” on the occasion of public elections. 

These sermons were not partisan politics…they were Biblical sermons to boldly and unapologetically remind citizens of the duties of civil officials, and the duties of citizens to uphold Godly government at the polling place.  Now there is an opportunity to experience the kind of preaching that our forefathers heard on these occasions.

As Christians we highly value liberty and independence.  We invite you to hear Pastor Paul Michael Raymond expound these principles from a deeply Biblical perspective in his message: Tyranny, Independence, or Liberty under God?  Understanding these principles is crucial in the times we face.

In addition to the exciting Biblical sermon, there will be hymn singing and a time of fellowship.  A free will offering will be received.

Location: The Inn at Reading, 1040 North Park Road, Wyomissing, PA.

Pastor Paul Michael Raymond began his pilgrimage in 1985 when Christ called him from the heretical teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to the orthodox faith of Biblical Christianity.  In mid 1998, Pastor Paul established the Reformed Bible Church in Central Virginia at Appomattox which continues the Scriptural "Sola" tradition of Reformation Theology and practice, with a strong emphasis upon the Christian Cultural Mandate of Genesis 1:28 to subdue and take dominion over the earth. He is a graduate of Whitefield Theological Seminary, holds a Masters degree from Whitefield, and a doctorate from Almeda Theological University.  Pastor Paul is also the founder of The Institute for Theonomic Reformation and the New Geneva Christian Leadership Academy.

The Mid Atlantic Reformation Society is dedicated to teaching and encouraging Christians to apply Biblical principles to ALL of life, emphasizing the necessity to think and act Biblically in the civil and cultural realms. 

We can get all huffy over the chutzpah of the parents to sue because they weren’t afforded the opportunity to kill the baby while it was still legal...

or the idiocy of the jury to find in their favor...

or the callousness of a judge who would hear such a case....

We can speculate that the real wrongful births were of parents selfish enough to say, “Boy, is this kid a pain in the neck; I sure wish he were dead.”

But where does the anger and frustration get us?  What good does it do to get all steamed up?

Just this. 

Doesn’t this story point out how far our society has drifted from a Biblical worldview?

Shouldn’t this cause us to work ever harder to establish the Bible as the motivating force in our society?

It’s this kind of thing that prods us to form and keep pushing at the Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society.

There’s so much more to say, but right now I’m just gritting my teeth.

~ John Bingaman

What a day that will be!

I’m reminded of this whenever I participate in or even hear a big choir -- lots of people working together in harmony, not necessarily unison.

I was reminded of this again by an internet article about how the seemingly intractable problem of uncovering the three-dimensional design of a particular protein was resolved by on-line collaboration instead of in a laboratory.

Lab researchers have been looking for over 10 years for a solution that was uncovered within three weeks of posing the problem as a game and posting it on-line.  The lead technician said, “The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force....”

Indeed, human ingenuity is remarkable.  If faced with a defined problem and a desire to overcome it, we usually find a way.  (When I want to rationalize a decision I can do remarkable mental gymnastics to come to the desired conclusion.) 

The remarkable aspect of this news story, I think, is how posing the problem as a game focused the mental energy of so many.  Games normally involve some sort of pleasure so perhaps it’s not surprising to gain immediate participation.

Now, we Christians should already find pleasure in doing the Father’s will.  But what if we posed the problem of how to win the world to Christ as a game? 

Hmm...

~ John Bingaman

How many Christian parents would send their kids to a two-week Jehovah’s Witness summer camp?  (Note…this is hypothetical, as I don’t even know whether the JW’s have a summer camp.)  Most would probably answer: “no, of course not, the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach misleading false doctrine, and I wouldn’t submit my kids to that”.  Good answer…but how many of the same folks, who would not consider this two-week camp (run by people, by the way, who believe in creation, not evolution, and hold up biblical Christian morality) send their kids to public school (run by people who have outlawed the teaching of creationism and biblical traditional morality) for 39 weeks?  Imagine their reasoning applied to the JW camp as they apply it to government schools…”my kids know the difference between sound doctrine and that taught by the JW’s, so I’ll send them to the camp”…or, “I’m sending them to the Watchtower camp to be a testimony”. 

During the last half of the 20^th century, Christians sacrificed time and treasure to build Christian schools.  They never were and still are not perfect, but they worked to the glory of God to give a Christian education to the next generation, and to stand as a testimony against the idolatrous public school system…glory to God, not the state.  Today we see the Christian school movement struggling to stay alive, while millions of Christians send their children to the public schools. 

For those who are considering public education, or who have already chosen it, consider a few things.  First, your kids have less chance of changing the public school system than they would have changing the Jehovah’s Witness summer camp.  Second, the 14 days of indoctrination that you would avoid like the plague in a JW camp is nothing compared to the subtle, humanistic undermining of Christianity in every subject for 180 days in a public school.  Third, while you support a public school with your kids attendance, the decreasing level of support for Christian schools is leading to the death of the Christian school movement.  It is astounding to see parents send their kids to the government schools, and then expect a church “youth group” to unwind 30 hours of weekly indoctrination with a two hour program…and then blame the church or the Pastor when things go wrong.

The heavy lifting of the Christian school movement was done years ago…all we need to do now is support and improvement.  If we are to impact our culture and our nation for Christ, it MUST begin with Christian education.  Without it, we fail, period.  Don’t let it die!

~ Jim Mogel