tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88765339873673529612024-02-22T02:07:34.675+13:00Hier sta ik, ik kan niet anders...Occasional ramblings on Christianity, computers and country living.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-61558096567392720722011-02-28T16:23:00.000+13:002015-03-29T00:21:17.811+13:00Kia kahaFor those that care to read - and those that don't too! (I can see you...)<br />
<br />
My thoughts go out to everyone impacted by the recent 'quake(s) in Christchurch. Family and friends escaped bodily harm - those who have family/friends who didn't... <br />
Ahakoa he uaua, kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui - <br />
Although there may be difficulties, be strong, be brave, be patient and take heart.<br />
<br />
That is all, for now.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-59532392810321214912010-05-02T08:11:00.000+12:002010-05-04T08:12:41.831+12:00Sunday Sermon: You Are Dearly Loved By God (A Message Real Christians Don't Hear Enough)A little belated... listen on <a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/62706235611/62706235611.mp3">SermonAudio</a>: You Are Dearly Loved By God (A Message Real Christians Don't Hear Enough)Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-75687929972432955582010-04-25T20:25:00.003+12:002010-05-04T08:10:51.309+12:00Sunday Sermon: Offering Your Bodies by Paul WasherListen on Sermon Audio: <a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=62607192213">Offering Your Bodies by Paul Washer</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-19103920824087006772010-04-11T08:29:00.000+12:002010-04-11T08:29:05.323+12:00Sunday Sermon: Law and The KingdomThe Law of God in Light of the Kingdom - Listen on <a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/53091753303/53091753303.mp3">SermonAudio.com</a><br />
<br />
The Sermon on the Mount · 1 of 6Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-58496182769819697492010-04-05T05:58:00.001+12:002010-04-05T05:58:00.271+12:00Monday Morning Musical Musings<strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_Band">Rez Band</a> - White Noise</strong><br />
<br />
Defective youth, the writing's on the wall<br />
<br />
<br />
Decline of the West, see the fallout fall<br />
<br />
Violence, banner of the tough<br />
<br />
Politicians playing blind man's bluff<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now what, whose deal?<br />
<br />
What's truth, what's real?<br />
<br />
Turn it down, turn it off<br />
<br />
It's all white noise to me<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
America's missiles, a superpower blessed<br />
<br />
A hungry child is crying, pretend it's just a test<br />
<br />
Russia's got the gulag, Pretoria the bomb<br />
<br />
Making sure the weak keep silent, move along<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Defective man, the writing's on your heart<br />
<br />
Reality of evil, tearing you apart<br />
<br />
Hanging in the balance, you hear the Savior call<br />
<br />
Make Him Lord of everything or see the nations fall<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now what, whose deal?<br />
<br />
He's truth, He's real<br />
<br />
Open up, start to feel<br />
<br />
No more white noise for me <br />
<br />
<br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IOmXWQ-w9nU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IOmXWQ-w9nU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-39306838001160544922010-04-04T21:57:00.000+12:002010-04-04T21:57:13.429+12:00Sunday Sermon: The Table of Nations: Are There Many Races, or One?Voddie Baucham - Destroying the myths of Darwinian race-based classification of people <a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=525091133123">listen on SermonAudio.com</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-38216618596019665302010-03-29T17:32:00.000+13:002010-03-29T17:32:00.294+13:00Monday Morning Musical Musings<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpwOcKrcmJE">REZ Band - Gameroom (1984)</a><br />
<br />
The lyrics below describe in very vivid detail a part of my time as a 'troubled teenager'.<br />
Push that button, squeeze that coin<br />
Finger sweating, see the numbers climb<br />
Graphic action, flashing screen<br />
But who is the pilot, and what does it mean<br />
<br />
My friends and my foes<br />
My thrills and my woes<br />
They live on<br />
In memory cells, in fantasy wells<br />
We press on and on and on<br />
I am king, king of the gameroom<br />
Here I'm lord, chairman of the board<br />
I am king, king of the gameroom<br />
<br />
I got nothing at home<br />
I'm no one at school<br />
The jocks and the rockers<br />
They think I'm a fool<br />
But this is my kingdom<br />
And here I'm the man<br />
No one can touch me<br />
And I can command<br />
<br />
So push that button, squeeze that coin<br />
Fingers sweating, see the numbers climb<br />
Graphic action, flashing screen<br />
But who is the pilot, what does it mean<br />
<br />
I am trapped<br />
Prisoner in the gameroom<br />
Deep inside I don't know what life's about<br />
I'm a prisoner<br />
A victim of the gameroom<br />
God where are you<br />
Shoe me how to get out<br />
God where are you<br />
Show me how to get outHere I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-9915601920441019672010-03-28T08:25:00.004+13:002010-03-28T20:54:10.633+13:00Sunday Sermon: A Biblical Defense of the Resurrection of Christ by Voddie BauchamA Biblical Defense of the Resurrection of Christ - sermonaudio.com stream <a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=530909432">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a Cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith. According the Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15, those who deny the resurrection have denied Christianity. There is no Christianity without the resurrection. Paul offers three arguments; the argument from authority, the argument from evidence, and the argument from logic, to refute those who deny the resurrection while attempting to embrace Christianity.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-68985458960301191892010-03-22T09:03:00.004+13:002010-03-24T16:21:11.176+13:00Monday Morning Musical MusingsWhile not fond of <a href="http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2010/03/christian-music-sunday-2132010.html">Keeping Stock's Christian music</a>, we (me, myself and I) do enjoy music in its various forms. While digging through some old piano music stored in a box in a dark corner far away... I found this little gem called The Coloring Song - by Petra.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Red</span> is the color of the blood that flowed <br />
<br />
<br />
Down the face of Someone Who loved us so <br />
<br />
He's the perfect man, He's the Lord's own son, <br />
<br />
He's the Lamb of God, He's the only one <br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow, <br />
<br />
That can make the love between us flow. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Blue </span>is the color of a heart so cold <br />
<br />
It will not bend when the story's told <br />
<br />
Of the love of God for a sinful race <br />
<br />
Of the blood that flowed down Jesus face <br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow <br />
<br />
That can keep our hearts from growing cold. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;">Gold</span> is the color of the morning sun <br />
<br />
That shines so freely an every one <br />
<br />
It's the sun above that keeps us warm <br />
<br />
It's the Son of love that calms the storm <br />
<br />
That can give us life that can make us grow, <br />
<br />
That can turn our mornings into gold. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">Brown</span> is the color of the autumn leaves <br />
<br />
When the winter comes to the barren trees <br />
<br />
There is birth, there is death, there is a plan <br />
<br />
And there's just one God, and there's just one man <br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow <br />
<br />
That can make our sins as white as snow <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow <br />
<br />
That can turn our mornings into gold. <br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow <br />
<br />
That can keep our hearts from growing cold. <br />
<br />
That can give us life, that can make us grow <br />
<br />
That can make the love between us flow.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-8064635883948555772010-03-21T19:20:00.003+13:002010-03-28T20:54:51.603+13:00Sunday Sermon: The Supremacy of Christ in Truth in a Postmodern World - Voddie BauchamThe Supremacy of Christ in Truth in a Postmodern World - stream on <a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/52092118110/52092118110.mp3">SermonAudio.com</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-64566276672885851452010-03-21T07:15:00.002+13:002010-03-28T20:55:26.154+13:00Sunday Sermon: The Wide and The Narrow Gate - Voddie BauchamThe Wide and The Narrow Gate - Voddie Baucham <a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/112091523305/112091523305.mp3">stream via SermonAudio.com</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-25841994843441548712010-03-20T08:05:00.000+13:002010-03-20T08:05:56.655+13:00Preacher Profile: Paul Washer<a href="http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/about/staff/2">Found here.</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Paul Washer became a believer while attending the University of Texas studying to become an oil and gas lawyer. He completed his undergraduate studies and enrolled at Southwestern Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree. Paul left the states shortly after graduation as a North American missionary to Peru.<br />
<br />
Paul ministered as a missionary in Peru for 10 years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support Peruvian Church planters. HeartCry's work now supports over 80 indigenous missionaries in 15 different countries throughout Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.<br />
<br />
At the present, Paul serves as the Director of HeartCry Missionary Society. He and his wife Charo have two sons Ian and Evan, and one daughter Rowan.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-90129986081281522010-03-20T07:48:00.000+13:002010-03-20T07:48:31.351+13:00Preacher Profile: Voddie BauchamVoddie Baucham wears many hats. He is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker and church planter. He currently serves as Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX. He has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, TX, and Union University in Jackson, TN. He has also lectured at Southern Seminary.<br />
<br />
<br />
Voddie makes the Bible clear and demonstrates the relevance of God’s word to everyday life. However, he does so without compromising the centrality of Christ and the gospel. Those who hear him preach find themselves both challenged and encouraged. <br />
moreHere I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-86364294659540490592010-03-14T08:47:00.004+13:002010-03-14T08:47:00.044+13:00Sunday Sermon: Is Your Jesus an Accessory? Paul WasherIs Your Jesus an Accessory?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=830755819">MP3 Stream from SermonAudio</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-91698768642731796382010-03-07T06:38:00.005+13:002010-03-07T06:38:00.278+13:00Sunday Sermon - The Gospel of Christ & the Meaning of the Cross (Part 2) - with Dutch Translation - Paul WasherThe Gospel of Christ & the Meaning of the Cross (Part 2) - with Dutch Translation <br />
<br />
<a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/81508232104/81508232104.mp3">MP3 Stream from SermonAudio</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-76391114348140702962010-03-04T10:14:00.000+13:002010-03-04T10:14:58.749+13:00Thursday Theology 101 - A Sermon on Christ for Atheists - with Dutch TranslationA Sermon on Christ for Atheists - with Dutch Translation - <a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1015081219128">details</a><br />
<a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/1015081219128/1015081219128.mp3">MP3 Stream from SermonAudio</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-54362070669355246462010-02-28T09:33:00.005+13:002010-03-03T09:36:59.614+13:00Sunday Sermon - The Gospel of Christ & the Meaning of the Cross (Part 1) - with Dutch TranslationThe Gospel of Christ & the Meaning of the Cross (Part 1) - with Dutch Translation<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/814082313207/814082313207.mp3">MP3 Stream from Sermon Audio</a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-38334418250186829592010-02-21T11:51:00.000+13:002010-02-21T11:51:01.354+13:00Sunday Sermon: Regeneration and Self-denial - Paul Washer<a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=63006232159">http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=63006232159</a><br />
<br />
<object height="313" width="384"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TvAidynkKZw&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TvAidynkKZw&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="384" height="313" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-6959225159728486742010-01-08T12:43:00.000+13:002010-01-08T12:43:47.549+13:00Project Euler - for the Maths Geek<a href="http://projecteuler.net/index.php?section=about">Project Euler</a> - brain bending fun if you like maths and computer programming. No need for anything fancy - so far I have completed 14 solutions most using Excel 2003/2007. A few I have re-done using C++ just for getting the speed that Excel does not have!Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-58141250845580075282010-01-08T10:49:00.003+13:002010-01-08T10:53:22.789+13:00Separation of Church and State?<div class="Section1"><div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes the Church and State need to be separated – from each other. Ultimately they still come under God’s authority, </span><a href="http://hierstaik.blogspot.com/2010/01/box-theology.html"><span style="font-size: large;">take a moment to read an excerpt from "Box Theology"</span></a></span><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";">In the modern world, the humanistic state claims this sovereignty: it is the modern god walking upon earth.-The modern state claims sovereignty and catholicity; the United Nations is the attempt of humanistic statism to attain true and full universality and catholicity. </span><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";">Meanwhile, the Christian Church is busily departing from the doctrine of God's sovereignty and His necessary catholic jurisdiction. Christianity is increasingly limited to a "spiritual" realm (of which it now concedes vast areas to. psychology and psychiatry), and the rest of the world is granted to the state. </span><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";">The result is box theology. To understand what box theology is, let us compare the universe to the Empire State Building, a great, modern, skyscraper office building. In box theology, the church claims one small office among hundreds for Christianity. All the rest of the building is given over to the jurisdiction of the state and the sciences. One area after another is deemed non-religious and is surrendered. This is done despite the fact that God is the Creator and Lord of the whole universe and therefore has total and absolute jurisdiction over all things. God's law-word, jurisdiction, and authority must govern all things. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" John 1:3). </span><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";">The jurisdiction of the church is a limited one, but the jurisdiction of the triune God, of Christ our King, and of the Bible, God's law-word, cannot be limited. Every area of life and thought must be under the dominion of the Lord: He alone is truly sovereign. To limit the jurisdiction of Christ is to posit a limited god, one who cannot survive because a limited god is a contradiction and is no god at all. If God is God, if He truly is the Lord or Sovereign, everything must serve Him and be under His dominion, the state, schools, arts, sciences, the church, and all things else. To limit the jurisdiction of the God of Scripture to the soul of man and to the church is to deny Him. A limited god cannot save man, because he is not in control of all things; what he does today can be undone tomorrow, and his "salvation" is at best temporary.</span><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">However even if they are separated it does not prevent either institution (Church or State) from speaking out when the lines of jurisdictional authority are crossed. Why was there a profound silence from church leaders when the state crossed the line and stepped into the jurisdiction of parental authority? Why do churches apply for an exemption from tax when the state has no authority to tax what is given to God’s church for His work on this planet? These are questions that need to be answered and addressed – from the pulpit and from God’s Word.</span> </span><br />
</div><br />
</div>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-48732143730497554452010-01-04T07:14:00.000+13:002010-01-04T07:14:55.445+13:00Box Theology<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>BOX THEOLOGY</strong> </span><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Chalcedon Position Paper No. 39 <br />
</div><br />
CHALCEDON <br />
<br />
P.O. Box 158 Vallecito, California 95251, U.S.A. <br />
<br />
In the presidential address to the Economic History Asso¬ciation September 12, 1980, Richard A. Easterlin comment¬ed on the fact that the modern era began with the rejection of the medieval church (and, one can add, Christianity,) and "humanity ultimately took up a new 'religion of knowl¬edge,' whose churches are the schools and universities of the world, whose priests are its teachers, and whose creed is belief in science and the power of rational inquiry, and in the ultimate capacity of humanity to shape its own destiny" (The Journal of Economic History, vol. XLI, no. 1, March, 1981, p. 17). We can add that the great agency of this new religion is the modern humanistic state. <br />
<br />
If a religion is not catholic, universal in its faith, jurisdic¬tion, and scope, it will quickly fail. Religion by its very nature either speaks to all of life, or it in time speaks to none. Man by his nature has boundaries to his life and activities; they are inescapable for man. There are boundaries to my property, my abilities, and my authority. By definition, no god nor religion can have boundaries and limitations to its sway without self-destruction. A god is either sovereign and total in his jurisdiction, or else he is soon no god at all; something else bests him and replaces him. All the false gods of history until recently were false gods because the men who made them also placed limits upon them. This was especially clear with the gods of Rome; they were created by men, the Roman Senate specifically, and hence men always had priority over the gods. The gods in time became more and more obviously tools and a department of state for the Roman Empire, which claimed catholic or universal sway and sovereignty for itself. <br />
<br />
In the modern world, the humanistic state claims this sovereignty: it is the modern god walking upon earth.-The modern state claims sovereignty and catholicity; the United Nations is the attempt of humanistic statism to attain true and full universality and catholicity. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Christian Church is busily departing from the doctrine of God's sovereignty and His necessary catholic jurisdiction. Christianity is increasingly limited to a "spiritual" realm (of which it now concedes vast areas to. psychology and psychiatry), and the rest of the world is granted to the state. <br />
<br />
The result is box theology. To understand what box theology is, let us compare the universe to the Empire State Building, a great, modern, skyscraper office building. In box theology, the church claims one small office among hun-dreds for Christianity. All the rest of the building is given over to the jurisdiction of the state and the sciences. One area after another is deemed non-religious and is sur¬rendered. This is done despite the fact that God is the Creator and Lord of the whole universe and therefore has total and absolute jurisdiction over all things. God's law-word, jurisdiction, and authority must govern all things. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" John 1:3). <br />
<br />
The jurisdiction of the church is a limited one, but the jurisdiction of the triune God, of Christ our King, and of the Bible, God's law-word, cannot be limited. Every area of life and thought must be under the dominion of the Lord: He alone is truly sovereign. To limit the jurisdiction of Christ is to posit a limited god, one who cannot survive because a limited god is a contradiction and is no god at all. If God is God, if He truly is the Lord or Sovereign, everything must serve Him and be under His dominion, the state, schools, arts, sciences, the church, and all things else. To limit the jurisdiction of the God of Scripture to the soul of man and to the church is to deny Him. A limited god cannot save man, because he is not in control of all things; what he does today can be undone tomorrow, and his "salvation" is at best temporary. <br />
<br />
Box theology limits the church, moreover, and destroys it. If the church and its word is limited, to return to our image, to one room and none other in the Empire State Building, then its only legitimate area of concern is the church, and to a degree, the soul of man. There can then be no dealing with the problems of the age, because they lie outside the jurisdic¬tion of the church. <br />
<br />
The results are both deplorable and revolting. The "world" of the church is then no larger than the church; it is boxed into its narrow little room. All its battles then are waged within that "world," the church. This means that the world of the church in box theology becomes a realm of continual civil war, Protestants and Catholics against one another, Armenians and Calvinists in opposition to one another, and so on. This does not mean that the issues between these groups are inconsequential. It does mean that subordinate issues are made the only ones. The crown rights of Christ our King over the whole world are then neglected or forgotten. The necessity of-bringing politics, economics, the arts and sciences, education, the family, all peoples, tongues, tribes, and nations under the dominion of Christ the Lord is truncated or shortcircuited. <br />
<br />
Box theology believes it is strict because it is narrow in its scope, whereas a true strictness claims all things for Christ the King. This false strictness leads to phariseeism and to censoriousness. (One such pathetic little group of box theol¬ogy advocates rails at all other Christians in issue after issue. One recent publication actually declared that John White¬head "scorns the cross" because he disagrees with their view, and held that I believe in the Inquisition, arriving at this by a wild misreading of one of my books! These are the pathetic dead, revelling in their narrow coffin box.) <br />
<br />
Box theology men battle against their fellow Christians continually, while the world claims more and more of Christ's realm. Because box theology allows the state to be sovereign or lord, it offers no resistance to statist controls. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As a result, in state after state, where attempts to control the church are in process, many advocates of box theology insist on surrender to the state and sometimes go to court to witness for the state against the resisting churches. <br />
<br />
Box theology is implicit polytheism. It says in effect that there is one God over the church, but other gods over every other realm, or else, that all realms other than the church are neutral realms. These "neutral" realms are not under the mandate of Scripture but are free to follow the dictates of natural (fallen) reason wherever it leads them. <br />
<br />
This idea of neutrality is, of course, a myth. If the God of Scripture is the true and living God, there can be no realm of neutral facts and neutral jurisdiction. All things are under God's sovereignty and law, and nothing can exist apart from Him, nor can any law be valid other than His law. To claim neutrality for any realm is to deny that God created it, and to posit neutrality is to cease to be a Christian. <br />
<br />
Because God is God, His jurisdiction is total, and His sovereignty absolute and indivisible. No human institution, neither church nor state, can claim any jurisdiction beyond its limited sphere. Thus, while the church has a limited sphere of authority under God, the word it must proclaim is the word of the total God for the totality of life and thought. The word proclaimed by the church cannot be limited to the church, because, if it is Scripture, it is not the word of the church, but the word of God. The word judges all things, governs all things, and offers hope in Christ to all men and all areas of life. <br />
<br />
Box theology is dead theology, with a god too small to speak to anything more than the church. In its own way, box theology proclaims the death of God, because a limited God ceases to be God. The forces of humanistic statism have advanced only through default. Churchmen have retreated from and abandoned one area after another to the human-ists, and many continue to retreat. Sigmund Freud saw the inner world of man as the last domain of Biblical religion; all other spheres had been captured. <br />
<br />
By converting psychology (the word concerning the soul) from a theological to a scientific discipline, and guilt from a theological fact to a scientific concern, Freud hoped to make religion totally irrelevant (See R.J. Rushdoony: Freud). Even more than Freud, the pietists have been remarkable in their enforced limitations upon Biblical faith. <br />
<br />
Ironically, the bankruptcy of humanism has increased as its sway and power have been broadened. When the Enlight-enment triumphed over the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, it brought into sharp focus a development which had previously marked the Renaissance era, the rift between classes. There has previously been very serious problems between the rich and the poor, but the fact of a common faith and a common life in the church had pro¬vided a bond and a basis for community, a hope for the potential solution to problems. Christian faith had stressed a necessary harmony of interests. <br />
<br />
With the Enlightenment, the common faith gave way to a widening gulf and to hostilities. Leon Garfield, in The House of Hanover (1976), called attention to the fact that, with the first Hanover ruler in England, the first Riot Act was passed. The foreign king, George I, was a fitting symbol of the fact that rulers and the people were now foreigners one to another. The people, said Garfield, were prone to rioting. Silk-weavers, coal-heavers, sailors, powdered foot¬men, gaol-birds, and ex-soldiers, all were rioting. Ex-soldiers from Marlborough's foreign wars turned highway¬men, and the modern age became with the affirmation of Reason, and with riots. <br />
<br />
The number of offenses which received the death penalty grew steadily, but so too did crime. Today too we have many who believe that stricter laws and penalties will solve the problem of crime, but they did not then, nor will they now. All such men have their own version of box theology or box philosophy. Hanging children for stealing a loaf of bread did not stop crime or juvenile delinquency in 18th century England; the evangelical awakening, a partial re¬turn of Puritanism, did much to alter the situation. <br />
<br />
Moreover, law and order have various meanings in the Soviet Union, Red China, Sweden, and the United States, but they are all variations of humanism. Only Biblical law and order, coupled with the regenerating power of Jesus Christ, can alter a society. <br />
<br />
Ultimately, any faith which does not have the triune God of Scripture and Jesus Christ as its alpha and omega is a box philosophy or theology, and this is clearly true of our new imitation catholicism, the modern humanistic state. However totalitarian its claims, its faith fails to be universal or true, because it boxes itself in to insulate itself from God and His law-word. It is thus dead to life and to truth, and it is doomed to collapse and the grave. <br />
<br />
The law of the modern state is the law of death. In both the United States and Canada, for example, pornography trials have as their premise "community standards". Whether it be adult or child pornography, the legal test of its legality is the community standard. This is the legal enact¬ment of Genesis 3:5, every man as his own god, knowing, or determining for himself, what is good and evil. Such a "community standard" as law means that, if the community favors abortion, theft, murder, rape, or incest, these things can become legal. <br />
<br />
A box theology or philosophy is finally no bigger than man, whether man's pietism or man's sin, but, in any case, it is no bigger than man. God's sentence upon it is the sentence already pronounced on all the sons of Adam, and upon all their institutions, philosophies, and theologies, -death. There is no escaping this sentence apart from Jesus Christ, who is the Lord or Sovereign over all men and all creation. <br />
<br />
To acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord is to bring our¬selves, our every thought, every action and word, all spheres of life, and all institutions, under His jurisdiction and lawword. Box theologies and philosophies are finally allotted a narrow box by God; its name is Hell. The glorious liberty of the sons of God is to be a new creation in and through Jesus Christ, to work for the fullness of that new creation, and to dwell therein eternally in the great consummation by Him who makes all things new. <br />
<br />
Rev. Rousas John Rushdoony<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
© Copyright by Chalcedon, P.O. Box 158, Vallecito, CA 95251 U.S.A. Permission to reprint granted where Chalcedon's name and address are cited and credit given.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-24707432639844780272010-01-01T21:13:00.002+13:002010-01-01T21:59:13.697+13:00Day: 1A new year has started - sun appears to be the same as yesterday... hot!<br />What this year will hold... only He who created all things and has ordered all things according to His good pleasure knows.<br /><br />Today saw me spending a lot of time outside in and around the garden:<br /><ul><li>Re-fenced the vegetable patch, let's hope my tomatoes survive.</li><li>Mowed the duck paddock and low-lying paddock not sure how i would have coped without the ride-on.</li><li>Got sunburnt.</li><li>Mulched some of the mulching pile.</li><li>Removed a broken chook house door and designed a replacement - now all I need is the hardware, here I come Mitre 10.... tomorrow.</li></ul>Blogging bits:<br /><a href="http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/">Keeping Stock</a> have come out of retirement - woohoo! Wangavegas bloggers drinks are in order I say.<br /><a href="http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/">Herrick Kimball</a> has posted his monthly update - always well worth waiting for!<br /><a href="http://www.mandm.org.nz/2010/01/new-years-eve-antics-mandm-one-news-anchors.html">MandM</a> reading the news... at least it wouldn't be rubbish!<br /><a href="http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/"></a>Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-8171968441425685062009-11-12T09:05:00.007+13:002009-11-12T09:22:16.592+13:00Ideas Have ConsequencesFor a precise overview of how we got to where we are and what we can do about it. These four messages are worth listening to and then acting on. "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." James 1:22<br /><br /><a class="sermonlink" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4160899570">The Conquering of the New World:The Competion of Two Ideas IHC01</a><br />Joe Morecraft III <a class="navleftblack3b" title="Show Series" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=chalcedonpresbyterian&keyword=Ideas+Have+Consequences&keyworddesc=Ideas+Have+Consequences">Ideas Have Consequences</a> Chalcedon Presbyterian Church <a class="addtocartlink" href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/4160899570/4160899570.mp3">Play!</a> 71 min<br /><br /><a class="sermonlink" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92706164816">The Occupation of the New World: Triumph of a Good Idea IHC02</a><br />Joe Morecraft III <a class="navleftblack3b" title="Show Series" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=chalcedonpresbyterian&keyword=Ideas+Have+Consequences&keyworddesc=Ideas+Have+Consequences">Ideas Have Consequences</a> Chalcedon Presbyterian Church <a class="addtocartlink" href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/92706164816/92706164816.mp3">Play!</a> 83 min<br /><br /><a class="sermonlink" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=10706145053">The Death of the New World - Dominance of a Bad Idea IHC03</a><br />Joe Morecraft III <a class="navleftblack3b" title="Show Series" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=chalcedonpresbyterian&keyword=Ideas+Have+Consequences&keyworddesc=Ideas+Have+Consequences">Ideas Have Consequences</a> Chalcedon Presbyterian Church <a class="addtocartlink" href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/10706145053/10706145053.mp3">Play!</a> 77 min<br /><br /><a class="sermonlink" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=41608915142">The Reconquest of the New World: The Recovery of a Good Idea IHC04</a><br />Joe Morecraft III <a class="navleftblack3b" title="Show Series" href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=chalcedonpresbyterian&keyword=Ideas+Have+Consequences&keyworddesc=Ideas+Have+Consequences">Ideas Have Consequences</a> Chalcedon Presbyterian Church <a class="addtocartlink" href="http://playmp3.sa-media.com/media/41608915142/41608915142.mp3">Play!</a> 64 minHere I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-92215827968349908582009-08-04T16:10:00.000+12:002009-08-04T16:10:00.132+12:00ConclusionChristian Reconstruction is neither new nor dangerous. It is simply consistent Reformed theology handed down to us by John Calvin and the Puritans. It is the theology that made our nation the most prosperous in the world. It is no coincidence that America's wealth and power have diminished as the Church has drifted away from these five points. This should come as no surprise to Christians since God promises prosperity for the nation who obeys and curses for the nation who disobeys Him (Deut. 28).<br />It is my hope and prayer that I have demonstrated that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught the very same doctrinal complex that has come to be known as "Christian Reconstructionism". If the testimony of Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostolic epistles are added to the words of Jesus, one finds these principles taught in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. This should not be surprising since Jesus is the eternal Word of God, "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 1:1, 14:6). May His bride, the Church, be faithful to believe and obey the words that come from the lips of her glorious Lord.Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876533987367352961.post-79665139313219973222009-08-04T16:09:00.000+12:002009-08-04T16:09:00.779+12:005. Theonomic EthicsThe fifth point of theology which characterizes the movement known as Christian Reconstruction is theonomy. In our day, theonomy is ridiculed, caricatured, and despised. Incredibly, some of the most vicious attacks of theonomy come from within what is broadly known as the Reformed camp.<br />"Theonomy" simply means God's law. Logically the only alternative to God's law is humanism. One will either follow the law of God as a blueprint for the three main human institutions, (church, family, and state), or he will follow a humanistic set of values. It is no coincidence that the 20th century has witnessed the breakdown of these three institutions as dispensational ideas have driven the Church (and therefore civilization) further and further away from Biblical law.<br />The question before us is this: Did Jesus in His establishment of the New Covenant abrogate Old Covenant law? Did He dispense with God's law in favor of some sort of natural law as espoused by modem dispensationalist theologian Norman Geisler?<br /><br />In the Lord's prayer, Jesus Christ taught His disciples principles of prayer. Practically every Christian knows and prays the Lord's prayer. I often wonder how many really pay attention to what they are praying. One of the petitions that a Christian brings to God's throne of grace is that God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). What is God's will? God's will is not some mystical natural law fallen man is supposed to attempt to deduce from creation. God's will is His law revealed in Scripture! Check this out by studying the 119th psalm. God wants His people to work for His perfect will to be done on earth. This will benefit everyone since God is perfect grace, love, and justice. God's law is a reflection of His perfect attributes.<br />It astounds me that some professing Christians would rather be under the bloody, oppressive hand of man rather than under the loving hand of our God whose mercy is great. Norman Geisler, professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, has actually stated it this way, "'Lets get back to our Christian Heritage. God Forbid!' In a taped lecture entitled, 'Christian Reconstructionism: A Biblical Critique,' Geisler said not only that he would not want to go back to America's Christian heritage, but that he would not have biblical law over him as the standard of society."<br />Another interesting aspect about this debate is the observation that very few Christians (excluding radical dispensationalists) deny the validity of the Ten Commandments. Yet the Ten Commandments comprise the summary of God's law. The case laws of the Pentateuch are simply the practical applications of the summary. Logically, if the Ten Commandments are still binding then the explanatory case laws of the Ten Commandments must still be binding. An examination of the gospels of Matthew and John show that our Lord Jesus Christ taught the continued application of the Old Testament law. God loves His people too much to force them to wander in ethical darkness and uncertainty. He has given His children the light of His law by which to walk.<br />When tempted by the devil during his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, Matthew 4:4 records that Jesus quoted Deut. 8:3 to rebuke Satan. Jesus said: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." If Jesus was about to institute a dispensational change from God's law to some sort of natural law, these are very peculiar words for Him to speak.<br /><br />In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus left no doubt about the relationship between His ministry and the law of God. He tells His people not to even think that He came to do away with the law (Matt. 5:17). In verse 18, our Lord teaches that the smallest detail of the law will remain in effect until heaven and earth pass away. Jesus warns in vs. 19 that anyone who annuls the least of the commandments and teaches others to do so will be least in the Kingdom. His words read, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."<br />In John 14:15,21 and 23 Jesus defines love in terms of obedience to God's law. According to our Lord, the mark of a true disciple is obedience to His law. There is absolutely no evidence that Jesus is referring to anything but the Mosaic law. The New Testament had not yet been written! There is nothing to suggest that Jesus measures man's love for Him according to some subjective natural law. "If ye love me, keep my commandments."<br />Jesus taught the continuing validity of not only the Ten Commandments in general, but He also taught the penal sanctions of the case laws to be valid as well. Antinomians pretend to be horrified at the theonomic position which calls for the death penalty for incorrigible delinquents. The theonomic position is often caricatured as calling for the execution of young children. Deut. 21:18-21 adds much needed light to this perfectly just law. The child in question is old enough to be a drunken profligate. He is taken by his own parents to the political elders of the city where he is tried. If found guilty by the civil magistrates he is put to death by the civil magistrates. Theonomic opponents believe this to be the "soft underbelly" of the Biblical law view yet Jesus upholds this law in Matthew 15:4, saying," For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." In context, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for transgressing God's law for the sake of their traditions. Jesus Christ, by His own words, upholds the very point on which many criticize the theonomic ethic!<br /><br />This is the same Jesus who taught that His yoke is easy and His burden light. God's law is meant to be a blessing not a burden. What the antinomian must recognize is that when he condemns theonomists for being unjust, he is actually accusing God of being unjust. Biblical law advocates did not dream up these penal sanctions, they come from the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe, the God of perfect justice!<br />Certainly there is much work to be done to determine exactly how to apply Biblical law to a modem world. There is some disagreement even among those of us who identify with the Reconstuctionist position. The principle which binds us, however, is that we all believe the whole Bible, Old and New Testament, must be the source of ethics for the human institutions which God has ordained for man's good. This is the system of ethics which is derived from the lips of our Lord.<br />As the three major human institutions continue to decay under the oppression of natural law, the wisdom of reinstituting Biblical law in every area of life becomes more and more apparent (and necessary). God is completely just and holy. His law is therefore just. To believe that God's law is somehow too harsh for our "enlightened" age is to deny the teachings of Christ as well as to question the justice of an Almighty and immutable God!Here I Standhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358227603982368755noreply@blogger.com2