Reflections on God … Man … Life
Commentary, from a Biblical perspective, on current events that are primarily cultural. There may be some overlap with politics and government, but the emphasis is on broader societal developments apart from politics, which also includes analysis of specific individuals.
I believe God is interested in how we govern. Since He is the Creator of all things, perhaps we ought to pay attention to what He has said about it. We must start with a defintion. What do we mean by a “form” of government? A form is a manner or system, a stated method or practice, or an appropriate arrangement of parts. What then is a Biblical form? Substitute those words for “form” and we have: A Biblical manner of system… Read more »
Building on the concept that unions must be voluntary and that there must be internal unity before an external union can be successful, we can look at examples in certain nations. Remember the old Soviet Union? The official name was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics—one of the most dishonest names imaginable. First, it wasn’t a true republic—that would have required representation and the protection of inalienable rights, ideas foreign to its government. Neither was it a true union as understood by this… Read more »
In politics, we are always hearing appeals for “bipartisanship.” That’s great in theory, but overlooks a basic reality. A Biblical prinicple that I call “unity and union” helps explain. Those two words—unity and union—are not the same. Unity is an internal voluntary agreement; union is the external joining of two or more things into one. External unions should be built on internal unity. They really need to be voluntary unions for them to succeed. Forced unions that lack unity will ultimately… Read more »
I recently watched a video in which the Bible teacher (who is really great, by the way) basically said that whoever is in authority in a government is the one God either wants in that position or allowed to take that position. His conclusion: it is an act of rebellion on a Christian’s part to criticize that authority. Well, I must respectfully take exception to that viewpoint. Romans 13 does tell us that all authority comes from God, and that… Read more »
When the Founders declared independence, they debated the document that Jefferson drafted. All the debate centered around the specific charges against the king. No one raised any objections or questions about the opening paragraphs. The second paragraph, in particular, spoke of self-evident truths—beliefs that everyone in the room held to without needing some type of external evidence to bolster those beliefs. Self-evident truths are obvious; they are implanted by God Himself in each person. The Founders identified at least three… Read more »
The Obama administration continues its war against pro-lifers on two fronts. According to the Los Angeles Times: Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration today [Monday, March 2] will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows healthcare workers to deny abortion counseling or other family planning services if doing so would violate their moral beliefs, according to administration officials. So if Obama gets his way, no pro-life doctor or nurse will be able to opt out… Read more »
One of my students asked me this week if the Obama administration would do so much damage to the country that there would be no hope of repairing it after he leaves office. I was of two minds as I tried to answer. First, I think the potential damage is so staggering that America might not ever recover. The massive debt, the inevitable leftist court appointments, the unrestricted access to abortion [which has begun already], and the stamp of approval… Read more »