My side did not start this fight – the other side did. But as long as they keep raining missiles down on me, my family, and my friends, I will fight this with every breath I have. I refer to the ongoing and relentless campaign of aggression against faith, family and freedom by the militant homosexual lobby.
For years now I have been documenting this constant war which is being waged against those who value marriage and family, those who value freedom, and those who are people of faith. All three have been mercilessly hammered by a group of belligerent and antagonistic activists who will not stop until we all submit to their agenda.
And increasingly we find secular left governments which have jumped into bed with the activists, forcing all naysayers to comply with the new world order, or else face the consequences. Mark Steyn has just penned a piece on this, and a few quotes are well worth sharing here. He certainly hits the nail on the head with this one:
“The bigger the Big Government, the smaller everything else: In Sweden, expressing a moral objection to homosexuality is illegal, even on religious grounds, even in church, and a pastor minded to cite the more robust verses of Leviticus would risk four years in jail. In Canada, the courts rule that Catholic schools must allow gay students to take their same-sex dates to the prom. The secular state’s Bureau of Compliance is merciless to apostates to a degree even your fire-breathing imams might marvel at.”
And again: “Liberals take the same view as the proprietors of the Dar al-Islam: Once they hold this land, they hold it forever.” Exactly right. Big governments which have become subservient to radical activist agendas are a danger to all who value freedom and democracy.
And we see both being whittled away time and time again. My new book chronicles many of these cases, but it is already out of date. Plenty of new examples of homosexual intimidation and bullying have occurred since then. It is a full time job just keeping up with all these cases.
Thus a second edition of my book will chronicle even more such examples, but let me here just offer you a few of them. They are only the tip of the iceberg, but they very nicely demonstrate the war we are in, and how the other side will not rest until it has every one of us bowing in obeisance to its demands.
With so many examples to choose from, and so little space here, let me just offer the headline, date, and perhaps the opening paragraph of each recent news item. I will go back just a few months and move up to more recent times:
“MPs vote to stop civil servants refusing to carry out gay weddings”
November 15, 2011
“Dutch MPs voted on Tuesday afternoon for a change in the law to prevent civil servants refusing to conduct gay marriages.”
“Lesbian couple mulls action against Christian wedding cake baker”
November 16, 2011
“An Iowa baker who politely declined to provide a wedding cake for two lesbians based on her Christian values may face legal action from the couple.”
“Gay rights activist calls for boycott of Salvation Army Christmas fundraiser”
November 28, 2011
“Gay rights activists who object to the Salvation Army’s biblical stance on homosexuality are launching their annual call to shut down the organization’s Christmas fundraiser.”
“Case of counseling student forced to undergo pro-homosexual ‘sensitivity training’ goes to court”
December 2, 2011
“After losing at a lower court, a counseling student at a public university in Georgia who was threatened with expulsion because she expressed discomfort with counseling homosexuals, is pleading her case before an Appeals Court this week.”
“Macy’s fires woman for refusing ‘transgender’ man access to women’s fitting room”
December 8, 2011
“A woman has been fired from a Macy’s department store for denying a man dressed as a woman access to the women’s fitting room. ‘I had to either comply with Macy’s or comply with God,’ said Natalie Johnson.”
“All Ontario teachers will be forced to undergo ‘diversity’ training by 2013: minister”
December 22, 2011
“By 2013 prospective teachers in Ontario will be required to undergo focused training in ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender diversity,’ says a cabinet minister in Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government.”
“A New Jersey judge ruled against a Christian retreat house that refused to allow a same-sex civil union ceremony to be conducted on its premises, ruling the Constitution allows ‘some intrusion into religious freedom to balance other important societal goals’.”
January 12, 2012
“Amsterdam chief rabbi suspended for gay stance”
January 18, 2012
“The Orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam suspended its US-born chief rabbi on Tuesday for cosigning a declaration which said homosexuality was a ‘treatable’ inclination.”
“Attorney Says School Threatened, Punished Boy Who Opposed Gay Adoption”
January 24, 2012
“A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy who wrote an op-ed opposing gay adoptions was censored, threatened with suspension and called ignorant by the superintendent of the Shawano School District, according to an attorney representing the child.”
These are just a few examples from overseas which have occurred in the past three months. Many more could be mentioned. And don’t get me started on the battleground here in Australia. We also find plenty of examples to choose from down under.
Many of these recent examples I have already written about, but who can forget as but one amazing case, the war declared on the greatest tennis player in the world, Margaret Court. The activists were foaming at the mouth over her, and demanded that the arena named after her be called something else.
So what was her horrific crime? She simply said what almost everyone but the militants knows: marriage is between a man and a woman. For simply uttering this now un-PC thought, the wrath of the activists was visited upon her big time.
And these are the guys who go on and on about tolerance and acceptance. Yeah right. I am still waiting to see even a skerrick of tolerance and acceptance coming from these gays. But that is not what they are really all about. Like Big Government, they are about power, domination and control.
They want everyone to be subservient to their militant agenda, and anyone who dares to differ will be fined, arrested, jailed, lose their employment, or face other heavy-handed sanctions. No wonder there is such a backlash against this totalitarian bunch.
People have had enough of what has rightly been called the gaystapo. And its Big Government allies are also generating plenty of opposition now. I encourage you to read the rest of Steyn’s article. It has to do with Obama’s heavy-handed war against all those who differ from his pro-death policies.
This seems to be rallying religious groups like nothing else before, and is waking up a sleeping giant. Millions of pro-faith, pro-family, and pro-freedom people are saying ‘enough is enough’. It sure is, and now is the time to stand up and act, before we lose it all.
Public funding for such events is a disgrace.
Can you imagine the public outrage if such funding was given for a Christian festival?
Annette Williams
In the not so distant future, people wanting rights to marry animals could accuse anyone opposed to their view as being intolerant and unaccepting – even any homosexuals who disagree with this form of ‘marriage’. Bestiality groups could fight for IVF rights too – of the chimera kind. After all, it is so unfair that their rights (that they never had) could be taken away by such intolerant homosexuals and other bullies!
Annette Nestor
Thanks Annettte and Annette!
Yes this is all getting worse by the day, and we usually are forced to subsidise it all. And given what I just wrote about bestiality recently, we are not far away from such a brave new world:
If the above examples are any indication, it won’t be long before a member of the clergy gets in trouble for declining to perform a same sex marriage ceremony, will it?
Ross McPhee
Thanks Ross
Actually it already is happening. As but several examples, see a few more slightly earlier headlines which I could have included here:
“Canadian Court: Marriage officials must marry homosexuals”
January 10, 2011
“The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal declared this morning that proposed legislative amendments that would have allowed Saskatchewan’s marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex ‘marriages’ on religious grounds are unconstitutional.”
“Army: court-martial Chaplains for ‘religious, conscience’ objection to homosexuality”
March 24, 2011
“The U.S. Army has officially threatened military chaplains they must either embrace the new openly homosexual military, resign from service, or face court-martial for their ‘religious, conscience’ objections.”
“Tory MP calls for churches to be banned from holding marriages if they refuse gay couples”
PinkNews, September 2, 2011
“MPs vote to stop civil servants refusing to carry out gay weddings”
November 15, 2011
“Dutch MPs voted on Tuesday afternoon for a change in the law to prevent civil servants refusing to conduct gay marriages.”
Looks like I need to write another article on all this!
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Until a change of boundaries this month, I lived in the Federal Electorate of Port Adelaide represented by Mark Butler, recently admitted to the Federal Cabinet as Minister for Social Inclusion (!!?).
Even George Orwell could not have thought of a better title of a ministry to push social engineering on us. I remember ABC reports of Mark B at the last ALP conference openly lauding the change of ALP policy on Homosexual marriage as a wave for the future.
Stephen White
Thanks Bill. If the worst comes to the worst, this is what we can expect to happen in Australia very soon.
Ross McPhee
Bill, how do we prosecute this war? And do we wage it against the compromising “Christians” who are ‘ho-hum’ about the whole issue, or who have one foot in the leftist camp already? How do we prosecute the war against them? certainly we don’t want a shooting war; but how do we be firm without being uncharitable?
On an eschatological note, I know I bring this in repeatedly, but time and again I am ignored: do we not have the war which Revelation speaks about, viz. “It was given to him (the beast) to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” (Rev.13:7). It seems I cannot speak in this vein without being branded a prophecy loon, on a level with Dispensationalists, but for some reason it seems to be an off-limits observation.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Thanks Murray
As to fighting all this, with God’s grace we use every ounce of strength we have and fight this on every level necessary: political, cultural, social, economic, legal and spiritual.
And it most certainly is a spiritual battle – a war in the heavenlies. But just because we are told in Scripture that this will take place is of course no reason to take it as a council of despair and just sit back and do nothing.
And part of this battle, as you rightly note, is against the churchians and fellow travelers in the pews and pulpits who are aiding and abetting the enemy here.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Do you wonder if God is using Islam to “judge” western liberalism? Both camps are worlds apart in some ways, but very much the same in demanding politically correct speech. Neither can stand an opposing opinion, which seems to be an indication that they are in fact unsure and uncomfortable with their own beliefs. They put their fingers in their ears and scream loud and long, lest they hear some truth that demands an answer.
Lauren Butler, Louisiana, USA
Thanks Lauren
Yes and no would be my answer. God may well be using all sorts of things to judge us or at least get our attention. But we cannot always be certain, and we don’t have a clear prophetic word today on these matters as existed in the OT. But there is also a case to be made to stand up and fight these various threats to faith and freedom. Until we get some clear word from God today to back off, I say we take a stand for righteousness and resist those forces seeking to tear us apart.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Murray I couldn’t agree more. For the past 5 years I’ve tried and tried to get people to listen/wake up/action. Ive been shunned and frowned upon more times than I’ve had hot dinners. Is it arrogance that I think I know better? Am I a lunatic?, as I said to one pastor last year, after he said to me, oh everybody is making waves about this and that and it’s not helping. I said SURELY it would be easier for me to put my seat belt on and sit in the pew and sing and smile and have nice lunches.
God saved me from a certain death. He bought me and had a very specific goal in his mind when he did that and I’m %100 sure it wasn’t to make me extremely comfortable and not to offend anyone.
Daniel Kempton
Murray, we prosecute this war through evangelism of a type that looks not to escape through rapture-ous transport out of the mess this world is end, but in fulfilling our dominion mandate first enunciated in Genesis 1:26-27. We engage the world through faith and works, as James so clearly states. We re-establish the eternal relevance of God’s law to and in all aspects of life (government, economy, education, health, the arts, etc) as expressed in the Old Testament and fulfilled by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and thus setting the moral tone not just for the sanctification (through the Spirit) of Christians but providing the moral compass, life-blood and air that society breathes, not secular humanism being pumped out by the bucket-load and largely accepted as ‘just the way things are’ by much of the pietistic church. (How’s that for a good German-English sentence waiting expectantly for a full stop to appear!) For more specifics on how this is done practically, check out http://www.chalcedon.edu.
Steve Swartz
But Bill, in answering Murray’s question: how do we fight this war? You answer: politically, culturally, socially, economically, legally and spiritually. But what happens when the authorities come marching up to our front door and take away our children to give them to homosexuals and lesbians so as to bring them up in a diverse society – whilst we as parents or grandparents are forced into prison or hit with crippling fines?
What happens when Churches, Christian Schools, Christian doctors, judges, politicians, teachers, bed and breakfast owners, old people’s homes and great swathes of Christians charitable work are shut down – when no one is allowed to provide Christian goods and services? What happens when we like and our children, like Lot from Sodom, are forced to endure and conform to the wicked and depraved conduct all around us?
It seems to me that this war is infinitely worse than that prosecuted by Hitler. In history nations went to war over far less provocation than that which are being forced to endure – witness the Boston Tea Party.
Do we just pray and pacifly walk ourselves in the Gulag? Or do we act?
David Skinner, UK
Bill, do you mind if I make a plug for the sake of any of your Queensland readers to support the ‘Rally for Life’ this Saturday in Brisbane.
Queensland is under increasing pressure to adopt the same despicable abortion laws as Victoria did in 2008.
Thanks
Annette Williams
Like the apostles we should “rejoice that we’re counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name” (Acts 5:41).
And like them, we should continue to preach and teach the Good News as our primary aim. Let’s always remember that Christianity’s birthplace was in an empire perhaps even more “tolerant”—to use the mutilation of that word favored by today’s world—and not only sanctioned and endorsed sodomy and pre-natal murder, but even post-natal murder (infanticide) was a common and everyday practice. On top of that, its tolerance extended to demanding that its subjects not favor one religion or another, but honor this or that god from time to time.
But whenever we’re challenged, let’s be confident that the Creator of the world has not misled us about human nature and his intentions for us, and always remember that he was right when he told us that man needs woman and woman needs man.
Yesterday I came across yet another little evidence of this: a detailed article by a Jewish public speaker about just some of the benefits and importance of the Judaeo-Christian view of sex and marriage: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0003.html
So learn the truth about cultures in the thrall of death, and add this to your arsenal, and always challenge those with love and charity, conforming to their needs as a person, but don’t hold back the truth, offering them as much as they can take.
Felix Alexander, Melbourne
All of this in modern times started with charles lyell and charles darwin. From them came karl marx, the school of frankfurt. Now the leftocommies have jumped on the band wagon and some of their many weapons are, equality in marriage, evolution (charles lyell wrote in a letter that it didn’t have to be the truth, just a viable alternative to the history of Moses), Islam (another tool which is distinctly anti Jewish and Christian), making everyone dependant on govts (occupy everything), the green movement, pro- prenatal murder.
If you will notice, everything is all directed at without actualy being brave enough to name it, anti Judao/Christian. ensuring that I do not dare claim to be a prophet (disclaimer for following observations), Look at islamic countries to see how Christians need to hold home prayer meetings, hide the scriptures etc lest they be arrested, tortured, murdered for their beliefs, This is the outcome that the leftocommies are steadily pushing towards having as federal laws world wide. All this and more was all foretold by prophets, Jesus, the apostles and others who have studied and written about for many centuries.
Guys, its going to get ugly, painful, (insert other nasties) for a while yet, the only thing we have to do is stand firm, speak the truth and not back down. Plus remember, the worst they can do to any of us is kill us, we have the reserection to look forward to and, no matter what happens, Jesus suffered far worse. Just a thought.
Neil Waldron.
Thanks David
We keep doing what I said we should do to hopefully avoid things getting that bad – and worse. But if and when they do get that bad, then there is a time and place for civil disobedience. But I discuss the specifics of that elsewhere:
Bill in your article you have just referred to above, concerning civil disobedience, you say,.”… Of course a brief overview such as this will only raise further questions in the minds of many: What about Christians and violence? What about Christians and revolution? Can there be a just revolution? Such important questions are certainly related to what we have considered here, but warrant their own careful exposition. More articles are needed to cover all the territory, so stay tuned.”
I think we are all staying tuned!!
David Skinner, UK
Thanks David
Hey, I’ve got nothing better to do! No need to eat, sleep, be with family – I will just pen another article!
Seriously though, it is an important issue, and hopefully I can get to it soonish.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
You raise a serious point Bill and that is that whilst we fight a virtual war of enormous proportions we must continue to do “normal” and not to become so gripped by the enemy that we neglect the everyday things of life – especially our families and wives!
I do appreciate all that you do and pray that you too find time to do “normal.”
God Bless
David Skinner, UK
A quick response to some of the posts above:
Steve: Here you go again! Who said anything about “a rapture-ous transport out of the mess of this world”? I didn’t bring this up; you did! For the umpteenth time I DON’T believe in “the Rapture” as Dispensationalists hold it. I believe in ONE glorious, triumphant, visible and public return of Christ as taught in the NT, for which we must ever be watchful and on the lookout.
But unlike you, I do not believe that Theonomy is a valid option. It smacks too much of the idea of a “Christian state”, and that idea has been a tale of one disaster after another through Church history. On the contrary, we are strangers and exiles in this world. We await an eternal City whose Builder and Maker is God. We have no mandate under the Gospel to “reconstruct” society according to some “Christian image”, however that is conceived to be. We can work for reform; we can be salt to stop the advance of corruption, and light in the present darkness; we can seek the welfare of the city wherein God has placed us. But God’s Kingdom will come at His behest, from heaven, not by man’s contrivance – not even Christian man.
Bill: Yes, we employ the “weapons of righteousness” (2 Cor.6:7; 10:4), but I firmly believe that state has limited jurisdiction, and when they overstep the mark – in the interests of wickedness, the state must be resisted, as David has pointed out. Hence this is one of the several fronts in this war. In all, to quote Revelation again, “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and because they did not love their lives, even when faced with death.” (Rev.12:11)
No, when I posed the question about eschatology I was NOT advocating any sort of withdrawal so as to “sit back and do nothing”. We bear testimony; we keep fighting the good fight; we seek to convince, rebuke, exhort; and having done all, to stand in the evil day, Eph.6:13. That is all we are called on to do. At the end of the day, the battle is the Lord’s, and He will bring His victory to pas in His way and in His time.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Bill. You are right to fight this, and indeed it is OUR fight also – that is the collective church world-wide, for the challenge from homosexuals is really about our freedom of religion, of speech, and of association – long held freedoms for which Christians and non Christians alike have fought and died for.
There is growinng opposition to the “gay” agenda from many quarters within the Christian community here in the UK, including this contribution from ‘Christian Concern’ as the C of E national Synod meets this week:
“Andrea Minichiello Williams spoke to the General Synod today (6 Feb), challenging the Church of England to take a stand for traditional marriage before it is too late. Urging the Presidents of the Synod (the two Archbishops) to authorise an Emergency Debate, Andrea Williams, member of the General Synod and CEO of Christian Concern, called on the church to resist David Cameron’s attempt to introduce same-sex marriage, noting that such a concept is contrary to both the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. She said: ‘In Matthew 19 Jesus tells us categorically that marriage was ordained by God from the beginning of our creation as the union of one man and one woman and this relationship is a direct reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church – the bridegroom and the bride. If the national Church were to stand for marriage as traditionally defined then our Prime Minister would be defeated even before he began. Is it (not) (mis-type here!) the job of the established Church to hold government to account and not to let her stray from biblical precepts which are good not just for individuals but for communities and nations?’”
Incidentally Bill, some months ago I recommended a couple of your articles for posting on the ‘Anglican Mainstream website, and since then (possibly unbeknown to you) several other of your articles have been posted up – so your principled opposition to the works of darkness are shared and circulated!
I would strongly recommend looking at the latest posting on their website – as they are fully committed to fighting the homosexual marriage issue and are getting similar expressions of opposition.
Graham Wood, UK
Many thanks Graham. Keep up your good work as well.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, have just come home from seeing “The Iron Lady.” The thing that resinates with me from that movie is the weakness of the men around Maggie. And today, this is a significant root cause of the mess that we are in. It is the failure to apply the Biblical criteria for the kind of men that should be leading our churches. And the criteria that we should be applying to the candidates that present themselves for election to public office.
Paper on the wall is no substitute for the character qualities mentioned in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1; Acts 20:17-32 and I Peter 5 and James 5:14, 15.
The nation follows the church. It was the church that led our society into the mess that we face. Judgement MUST begin at the house of God. There MUST be reformation amongst God’s people, before we can see lasting change in the cities in which God’s people live.
We prosecute the war wherever there is deviation from the sovereign will of God, as revealed in His Holy Law and exemplified in the life of His only begotten Son.
And this MUST begin with the kind of men that are chosen to lead the churches in our nation.
Lance A Box
Queensland looks to be in real trouble for the upcoming state election. The current Premier and Deputy have declined to attend an event organised by ACL to answer specific questions on issue that concern Christians in their state, and the opposition candidate, Mr Newman, has made it clear that he supports gay marriage and abortion.
Mrs Bligh can hardly contain her contempt for Christianity, she seems to have forgotten that Christian groups raised more money for flood victims than her government and all other fund raisers combined.
Queensland certainly needs our prayers so real leader with integrity and morality can be found.
(ACL webcast of event from 5.30pm tonight).
Annette Williams
Hi Murray,
Just a quick thought on your mention of being against the idea of a Christian state – do you have any reflections on Psalm 2? The Lord doesn’t seem to have any inhibitions about commanding obedience from kings and nations there.
I’d be just as against a militant Christianity as what I think you would be, where salvation and Christianity are enforced by means of the state – but I don’t believe that’s what Steve was arguing.
I would think that given all men everywhere should obey and honour God, that rulers should not be exempt – and should obey and honour Him as they govern as well.
It’s not about enforcing God’s rule by means of the state, but it is important that the state honour God within the context of its legitimate sphere of authority (just as families do in theirs) – not overstepping its bounds and enforcing its will and encroaching freedom.
I would think that the idea of a Christian state is one which upholds justice, executes civil punishment and allows freedom in life and faith to flourish in a society. Certainly some of the historical examples you have cited have, I would think, been guilty of twisting the ideal of the state into a means of conquest and ‘Christian’ domination that is not at all consistent with the Bible.
Just a few thoughts anyway brother.
God bless,
Isaac Overton
ACT
Insightful, biblical and to the point. What more can I say!!!!!
Warwick Marsh
Thanks Warwick
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
This is a very complex and stimulating subject. There are many biblical arguments that support the aim of a Christian state, maybe not so much advertently human, but more as part of god’s plan. If we can see history and the world as a knitted garment, maybe we can see God as the designer of the garment and us and our individual steps of obedience as the little stitches that make up the garment. If we all in our obedience follow the plan of the master in our own lives under direction of His word and the Holy Spirit, who is to say that a temporary Christian state in this temporary world may not be the result? I believe the time of King Alfred of Britain was such a time. There is no one strategy for all of God’s soldiers, as we are all under our own individual but no less biblical instructions. A mother who obeys her Lord in being a godly example to her children cares for them daily, instructs them in their daily meditation of god’s words and in repentance and obedience and prayer plays as much a role as the statesman who with godly advice and courage, integrity and responsibility leads and governs a whole nation.
Let us also not forget those who are already paying with their lives for the privilege of following our Lord and saviour. We in the west still seem to be asking the question “Is it safe”? before we engage in a full scale assault on evil. Bill, I was so encouraged by your quote by Mother Theresa in another article. “Love till it hurts.” Isn’t that the message of the gospel, or at least our active part of it? Jesus has already done what only he could do, give His life for the payment of our sin,. , we must now do ours and not count the cost. We often ask ourselves, when does a spiritual war become physical? Do we mean, physical in the sense that we begin to shoot people? or physical in the sense that we will put ourselves into harms way in order to protect others.
Hard questions no doubt, but questions we must ask if we want to run the race to the end. Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks, Isaac.
On the idea of a Christian state, we need to be clear on what the role of the state is under God’s ordinance. In short, its basic function is the restrain sin, be a terror to the evildoer, to protect its citizens, and to promote the common welfare of all under its jurisdiction (the “common weal”, hence “commonwealth”). All this is taught in Rom.13:1-7; 1 Pet.2:13-17. There is more to be said, of course, and more passages to consider.
However, what this means is a limited role, with limited powers, but by its very nature the state employs force and coercion to achieve its Divinely appointed ends. That is the nature of the beast, as the saying goes.
Christ’s kingdom, by contrast, operates on very different principles and by very different means, i.e. He rules by His Word and Spirit, establishing the kingdom of love in the heart.
As to Psalm 2, the psalm opens with the theme of rebellion against God and His Christ, throwing off His commands as so many unbearable constraints (what we see all over our world today). Yes, rulers of Gentile nations should enact laws in line with at least the Second table of the Decalogue (and once did), and as far as the First table in concerned there should at least be freedom and even encouragement of what is right and good, “so that we may have a peaceable life in the pursuit of godliness.” (1 Tim.2:2) When rulers defy their mandate to promote the common weal in this way, they will be judged. But this is a far cry from the state enforcing Christianity and punishing non-conformists, as Theodosius did at the end of the C4th, or the Stuart monarchy did in the latter half of the C17th (when Anglicanism was the only permissible brand of Christianity.). In short, enforce as far as possible the Second table, but allow liberty, and give encouragement to the godly as regards the First.
One caveat even there: since the 10th Commandment concerns our inward disposition it is properly out of reach of the state. The latter has no jurisdiction over a person’s inward moral dispositions and conscience (or lack thereof). Hence efforts in our “penal” system to modify behaviour are not only futile, but are no business of the state. Only a person’s outward acts are the purview of the state. Hence in regard to the 10th Comm the state may (and should) control gambling (the outward aspect of covetousness), but not his inward self.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Another prescient and excellent piece Bill.
I am beginning to see the makings of very difficult times for the world ahead, not just for believers. When the apple of God’s eye is touched (the church or Israel) then it seems to me that the Lord cannot be too pleased. Satan’s destruction is meant for all humanity and we are seeing that he has effectively used humanity against itself. Thanking Jesus that He has “overcome the world”.
Mihael McCoy
Another excellent, thought provoking article Bill, you raise some very frightening points, namely the role government will play in bringing about the decline of our current society. I think that all parents now need to be concerned with what their children will be taught and by whom.
We fortunately live in a country town and our one child who attends a local school, has, for now, ‘normal’ teachers with right social values. Our other children are being home schooled.
I shudder to think what our society will be like in the not to distant future if the ‘activists’ get their way.
Praying you and your family receive Gods protection in all this.
Fred Merlo
Many thanks Bill on another great piece. It’s getting downright scary how quickly things are unraveling all around us.
As the heat continues to build, God bless and keep you and yours and indeed give us all strength for what lies ahead.
George Kokonis
Murray, I appreciate what you say and forgive me if I don’t quite understand but I don’t believe that Christendom was established solely by witnessing and evangelism. This had to be enforced by political involvement. Leaving aside the issue of both Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism which made the mistake of becoming temporal governments in their own right, the Church worked in co-operation with the heathen kings, teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in addition the arts of civilisation: government; administration; architecture; writing etc. King Alfred was a case in point. Europe became Christendom. And as one commentator recently said, Israel was not a theocracy either. The priesthood and kings were separate domains.
This would never have been possible had Europe been overrun by Islam. But now we are. As Gaddaffi said, Muslims do not have go in for suicide bombing or terror tactics; all they need do is pro-create. http://uk.search-results.com/videos?qsrc=167&o=100000051&l=dis&q=christendom%2C&dm=ctry&atb=sysid%3D406%3Auid%3D81edcdb23610e07b%3Auc%3D1327563739%3Asrc%3Dhmp%3Ao%3D100000051%3Aq%3Dchristendom%2
Our laws, that at one time were unashamedly based upon Biblical teaching, protected marriage, the family and the life of the unborn child, have been discarded; in their place we are now dominated by another theocracy that of Secularism, Darwinianism and Hegelianism. The consequence is that the whole of western civilisation is engaged in mass suicide and euthanasia. Put in a mix of homosexuality and we truly have a culture of death.
Winston Churchill got it wrong when he finished his description of the evils of Islam and that it was only by virtue of the West’s superior technology that we were saved from it: “were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.” [1]
What saved us was our own Christian presuppositions which gave us a high view of human life, marriage and the family and the martial vigour and moral courage to defend ourselves from the barbarism within our own societies, let alone that of those outside it, with laws and legislation drawn up by Parliament and ratified by a sovereign who promised to uphold the Christian faith. Our legislation protected us from ourselves from fallen nature. We no longer have that and all that Islam need do is wait for the walls to collapse.
Bill reminded us long ago of the words of the American–British poet and critic T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) who wrote:
“If Christianity goes, the whole of our culture goes. Then you must start painfully again, and you cannot put on a new culture ready made. You must wait for the grass to grow to feed the sheep to give the wool out of which your new coat will be made. You must pass through many centuries of barbarism. We should not live to see the new culture, nor would our great-great-great-grandchildren: and if we did, not one of us would be happy in it.”
Thanks to David Skinner for the Yuri Bezmenov links. If more people – especially those whom Bezmenov calls the “drop outs and half-baked intellectuals who are now in positions of power”, who have had the Demoralisation phase of psychological warfare, pumping Marxist Leninist ideology into their soft heads over decades, if more of these “useful idiots” could be made aware of Bezmenov’s message, and see how once they have fulfilled their usefulness they would be exterminated as a nuisance, it could be a game changer for at least some of leftist zealots who still have some room in their heads for independent thought. As Bezmenov says, when the realisation dawns that Equality is not the expected utopia, by then there will be nowhere to defect to (as he has done). I think his witness gives valuable perspective to the irreversible damage that is being wrought and it might get some people to snap out of their stupor.
You can tell there is an element of brainwashing in this with the robotic chant of “bigot”, “fascist”, “nazi” at anyone who deviates from the Champagne Socialist mantra.
Rachel Smith
David,
Thank you for your post. Clearly we have some areas of disagreement, but the quote from T.S. Eliot I can endorse. But the important thing to realise now is that the old days of Christendom have gone, and likely gone for good. Christendom gave many benefits, and ensured the stability of our civilization and culture; but there was also a down side. I believe we can see this in Rev.12:16, where we are told “the earth helped the woman, and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed from its mouth.” For many centuries the earth did help the woman, and we should be grateful for that; but those days have gone. The woman (the true church) is now on its own in a hostile world, just as in the early centuries. The order of the day now is not hand-wringing and nostalgia for the old days of “Christendom”, but how to live in this hostile world. First of all, it must be to give all possible assistance to the persecuted church.
Equally, it behoves us to look up for the redemption which draws near. More than ever, the present church should be in “second coming mode”, as was the apostolic church. Any theology which postpones this to the far-flung future, as I see coming from the Theonomy movement, I am dead against.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Dear Murray, I agree, especially with regard to the way the Western Chruch seems indifferent- apart from teeny, tiny groups of elderly Christians – to the plight of the persecuted Church. How many churches have prayer groups (let alone an awareness) linked to Open Doors, Barnabas or CWS?
But returning to the main point of your response, we are called to get involved in earthly government and culture, at both a national and local level, even to being a school councillor, or dare I say a parent, or surrogate parent. Though we cannot force those around us to become Christians- even our own family members (for this is the task of the Holy Spirit) we are mandated to protect ourselves and our family from fallen human nature, the world and devil. Our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, has the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’, not ‘Imposer’ or ‘Enforcer.’
But free societies and individuals only operate under the authority of a higher power. Human nature, being what it is, is quickly over- whelmed by destructive forces over which it has no control when it takes the day off from God’s ultimate authority, the authority to which all earthly authorities are ultimately accountable. Fallen human nature left to itself, in the mistaken belief that it is autonomous, independent, with a “my life is my own” attitude, finds that it has no choice but to conform and become enslaved to base instinct, the surrounding culture and Satan. Our present society has been taught to brook no authority. Instead our children are encouraged to see themselves as victims of it. This at root is what the Human Rights culture is all about: mutiny, subversion and a shaking of the fist at parents, teachers, police and any form of authority. They will have no one rule over them.
As Christians, we are not autonomous, but have been bought at a price to render service to God which is perfect freedom. Unlike the unsaved who have an illusion of freedom, we do have choice, either to remain grafted into the vine or go AWOL and consequently find ourselves rapidly under bondage to the ‘old man’, the world and Satan. Thank God that He the great Shepherd keeps dragging us back into the fold.
Genesis tells us that God instituted earthly authority and governments and that we should obey them. Mosaic law never made a child of God, but it was designed to protect a society from self-destruction and at least prepare a soil, a culture, where true conversion was possible and civilisation might flourish. Mosaic law used to underpin the laws of western civilisation, but now one finds these either removed or literally covered over by curtains in churches and law courts for fear that they will give offence.
The Ten Commandments, all ten of them, were a gift from God to protect us from ourselves. Since Sunday observance and blasphemy laws have been repealed what do find has happened? People work harder, longer and more stressfully, with family life blown to the wind. As for blasphemy, these have been replaced by far more savage laws criminalising those who make the slightest criticism of homosexuality and Islam. As for culture: we stand amidst its ruins, picking over what we can salvage from it.
At its height, Western civilisation never imposed “religion” but we are now under submission and slavery to the tyranny of New Marxism and soon that of Islam.
I shall stop blathering now.
David Skinner, UK
Thanks Murray (and David!).
I would agree with your outline of the role of the state under God’s ordinance, I don’t think we’re actually a really long way apart. I particularly agree with your comment on its limited role, limited power, and focus on civil justice/punishment against civil sins.
I’d also agree that it is a separate entity to Christ’s Kingdom. However, I would think that if the state is operating in terms of the Biblical ‘blueprint’ we’ve discussed, then it is submitting itself under Christ’s Kingdom, and is thus properly a Christian state. It’s leaders ideally should have a personal sense of honouring God, should agree in that, and should then seek to execute the duties of the state in light of that commitment to honouring God. In this sense I think it is right for the state to submit to the Lordship of Christ within its own limited sphere. As I see it, this is the classical reconstructionist position on the state, although I prefer to think of it as Biblical as opposed to tagging it with a term that brings all sorts of different meanings and connotations to different people.
I find it interesting when you say that the rulers of Gentile nations should enact laws in line with the Second table of the Decalogue, I agree. However, I would think that it is plain that in the books that follow, much of the Decalogue is expounded – and so the application of those civil laws is demonstrated and should be followed. Where the books of the pentateuch offer extended instruction on given civil penalties, I would think that given their consistency with the Decalogue, it is perfectly reasonable to say that these laws should be applied in the civil sphere by the state where it is clear that they are civil in nature.
I think you make an excellent and very important point when you use the example of the 10th command being out of reach of the state – and I would extend that principle to cover much of the pentateuch as well. There is much in those laws which is not given a civil sanction, addresses inward disposition, addresses ceremonial sacrifices and cleansing (which has been fulfilled in Christ now and no longer is practiced in terms of OT law), addresses specific situations unique to the time in which they were given – and in that sense much of the OT law is not in the reach of the state today. Much of the first half of the Decalogue is similarly not in the jurisdiction of the civil arena – which is why I wouldn’t necessarily give the state a role in it.
All in all I think the Westminster Confession of Faith says it well when it discusses ongoing validity of these laws in terms of their general equity.
“Enforcing Christianity” is a goal which is a warped version of preaching the gospel, which is the task of the Church and not the state – although the state should provide circumstances that allow the gospel to flourish. In upholding these laws I believe the state also provides the circumstances which allow godly culture to develop (which I think David has been touching upon in some of his comments). In particular, as David said, Western civilisation at its height never ‘imposed’ religion, but the Church in her strength preaching the gospel, and men working in all spheres of life to God’s glory naturally produced a more godly culture and left a godly legacy for us – all within the context of a society more rightly protected by the state. I don’t believe these cultural benefits are the result of some sort of cooperation between the Church and Christendom as you seem to suggest. Prosperity and life are found only on God’s terms and in Christ, and so the cultural strength that history bears witness too should be solely attributed to the life of faith in civilisation. No system based upon disobedience to God can ultimately prosper, it is a system of death and only benefits inasmuch as it aligns with God’s models for how things should work. The weaknesses we witness in the historical examples should be attributed to the fact that sin remains in the lives of saints and the wicked alike.
To my knowledge, these positions are those of theonomy – and yet I would fully agree with your sentiment against enforcing Christianity via the state.
I will refrain from commenting on matters of eschatology just now if I might!
Thanks Bill- alarming stuff, lets hope this wakes the sleeping giant….unfortunately, he seems to be a very heavy sleeper.
These two articles are indicative what is happening in Australia (this week):
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/no-taunts-of-abnormal-at-safe-samesex-formal-20120205-1qzti.html
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/about-town/mardi-gras-applies-to-screen-gay-sex-movies-20120204-1qyle.html
Public funding for such events is a disgrace.
Can you imagine the public outrage if such funding was given for a Christian festival?
Annette Williams
In the not so distant future, people wanting rights to marry animals could accuse anyone opposed to their view as being intolerant and unaccepting – even any homosexuals who disagree with this form of ‘marriage’. Bestiality groups could fight for IVF rights too – of the chimera kind. After all, it is so unfair that their rights (that they never had) could be taken away by such intolerant homosexuals and other bullies!
Annette Nestor
Thanks Annettte and Annette!
Yes this is all getting worse by the day, and we usually are forced to subsidise it all. And given what I just wrote about bestiality recently, we are not far away from such a brave new world:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/02/06/sexual-insanity/
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
If the above examples are any indication, it won’t be long before a member of the clergy gets in trouble for declining to perform a same sex marriage ceremony, will it?
Ross McPhee
Thanks Ross
Actually it already is happening. As but several examples, see a few more slightly earlier headlines which I could have included here:
“Canadian Court: Marriage officials must marry homosexuals”
January 10, 2011
“The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal declared this morning that proposed legislative amendments that would have allowed Saskatchewan’s marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex ‘marriages’ on religious grounds are unconstitutional.”
“Army: court-martial Chaplains for ‘religious, conscience’ objection to homosexuality”
March 24, 2011
“The U.S. Army has officially threatened military chaplains they must either embrace the new openly homosexual military, resign from service, or face court-martial for their ‘religious, conscience’ objections.”
“Tory MP calls for churches to be banned from holding marriages if they refuse gay couples”
PinkNews, September 2, 2011
“MPs vote to stop civil servants refusing to carry out gay weddings”
November 15, 2011
“Dutch MPs voted on Tuesday afternoon for a change in the law to prevent civil servants refusing to conduct gay marriages.”
Looks like I need to write another article on all this!
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Until a change of boundaries this month, I lived in the Federal Electorate of Port Adelaide represented by Mark Butler, recently admitted to the Federal Cabinet as Minister for Social Inclusion (!!?).
Even George Orwell could not have thought of a better title of a ministry to push social engineering on us. I remember ABC reports of Mark B at the last ALP conference openly lauding the change of ALP policy on Homosexual marriage as a wave for the future.
Stephen White
Thanks Bill. If the worst comes to the worst, this is what we can expect to happen in Australia very soon.
Ross McPhee
Bill, how do we prosecute this war? And do we wage it against the compromising “Christians” who are ‘ho-hum’ about the whole issue, or who have one foot in the leftist camp already? How do we prosecute the war against them? certainly we don’t want a shooting war; but how do we be firm without being uncharitable?
On an eschatological note, I know I bring this in repeatedly, but time and again I am ignored: do we not have the war which Revelation speaks about, viz. “It was given to him (the beast) to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” (Rev.13:7). It seems I cannot speak in this vein without being branded a prophecy loon, on a level with Dispensationalists, but for some reason it seems to be an off-limits observation.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Thanks Murray
As to fighting all this, with God’s grace we use every ounce of strength we have and fight this on every level necessary: political, cultural, social, economic, legal and spiritual.
And it most certainly is a spiritual battle – a war in the heavenlies. But just because we are told in Scripture that this will take place is of course no reason to take it as a council of despair and just sit back and do nothing.
And part of this battle, as you rightly note, is against the churchians and fellow travelers in the pews and pulpits who are aiding and abetting the enemy here.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Do you wonder if God is using Islam to “judge” western liberalism? Both camps are worlds apart in some ways, but very much the same in demanding politically correct speech. Neither can stand an opposing opinion, which seems to be an indication that they are in fact unsure and uncomfortable with their own beliefs. They put their fingers in their ears and scream loud and long, lest they hear some truth that demands an answer.
Lauren Butler, Louisiana, USA
Thanks Lauren
Yes and no would be my answer. God may well be using all sorts of things to judge us or at least get our attention. But we cannot always be certain, and we don’t have a clear prophetic word today on these matters as existed in the OT. But there is also a case to be made to stand up and fight these various threats to faith and freedom. Until we get some clear word from God today to back off, I say we take a stand for righteousness and resist those forces seeking to tear us apart.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Murray I couldn’t agree more. For the past 5 years I’ve tried and tried to get people to listen/wake up/action. Ive been shunned and frowned upon more times than I’ve had hot dinners. Is it arrogance that I think I know better? Am I a lunatic?, as I said to one pastor last year, after he said to me, oh everybody is making waves about this and that and it’s not helping. I said SURELY it would be easier for me to put my seat belt on and sit in the pew and sing and smile and have nice lunches.
God saved me from a certain death. He bought me and had a very specific goal in his mind when he did that and I’m %100 sure it wasn’t to make me extremely comfortable and not to offend anyone.
Daniel Kempton
It is much later than we think
Yuri Bezmenov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpODYhnPEo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iz3VjoHXLA&feature=related
http://wn.com/Marxist_subversion_of_western_society_Part_3_of_7
“We were fools to think the fall of the Berlin Wall had killed off the far Left. They’re back – and attacking us from within” – Melanie Phillips
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1226211/MELANIE-PHILLIPS-We-fools-think-fall-Berlin-Wall-killed-far-Left-Theyre–attacking-within.html
David Skinner, UK
Murray, we prosecute this war through evangelism of a type that looks not to escape through rapture-ous transport out of the mess this world is end, but in fulfilling our dominion mandate first enunciated in Genesis 1:26-27. We engage the world through faith and works, as James so clearly states. We re-establish the eternal relevance of God’s law to and in all aspects of life (government, economy, education, health, the arts, etc) as expressed in the Old Testament and fulfilled by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and thus setting the moral tone not just for the sanctification (through the Spirit) of Christians but providing the moral compass, life-blood and air that society breathes, not secular humanism being pumped out by the bucket-load and largely accepted as ‘just the way things are’ by much of the pietistic church. (How’s that for a good German-English sentence waiting expectantly for a full stop to appear!) For more specifics on how this is done practically, check out http://www.chalcedon.edu.
Steve Swartz
But Bill, in answering Murray’s question: how do we fight this war? You answer: politically, culturally, socially, economically, legally and spiritually. But what happens when the authorities come marching up to our front door and take away our children to give them to homosexuals and lesbians so as to bring them up in a diverse society – whilst we as parents or grandparents are forced into prison or hit with crippling fines?
What happens when Churches, Christian Schools, Christian doctors, judges, politicians, teachers, bed and breakfast owners, old people’s homes and great swathes of Christians charitable work are shut down – when no one is allowed to provide Christian goods and services? What happens when we like and our children, like Lot from Sodom, are forced to endure and conform to the wicked and depraved conduct all around us?
It seems to me that this war is infinitely worse than that prosecuted by Hitler. In history nations went to war over far less provocation than that which are being forced to endure – witness the Boston Tea Party.
Do we just pray and pacifly walk ourselves in the Gulag? Or do we act?
David Skinner, UK
Bill, do you mind if I make a plug for the sake of any of your Queensland readers to support the ‘Rally for Life’ this Saturday in Brisbane.
details: http://www.rallyforlife.com.au/
Queensland is under increasing pressure to adopt the same despicable abortion laws as Victoria did in 2008.
Thanks
Annette Williams
Like the apostles we should “rejoice that we’re counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name” (Acts 5:41).
And like them, we should continue to preach and teach the Good News as our primary aim. Let’s always remember that Christianity’s birthplace was in an empire perhaps even more “tolerant”—to use the mutilation of that word favored by today’s world—and not only sanctioned and endorsed sodomy and pre-natal murder, but even post-natal murder (infanticide) was a common and everyday practice. On top of that, its tolerance extended to demanding that its subjects not favor one religion or another, but honor this or that god from time to time.
But whenever we’re challenged, let’s be confident that the Creator of the world has not misled us about human nature and his intentions for us, and always remember that he was right when he told us that man needs woman and woman needs man.
Yesterday I came across yet another little evidence of this: a detailed article by a Jewish public speaker about just some of the benefits and importance of the Judaeo-Christian view of sex and marriage: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0003.html
So learn the truth about cultures in the thrall of death, and add this to your arsenal, and always challenge those with love and charity, conforming to their needs as a person, but don’t hold back the truth, offering them as much as they can take.
Felix Alexander, Melbourne
All of this in modern times started with charles lyell and charles darwin. From them came karl marx, the school of frankfurt. Now the leftocommies have jumped on the band wagon and some of their many weapons are, equality in marriage, evolution (charles lyell wrote in a letter that it didn’t have to be the truth, just a viable alternative to the history of Moses), Islam (another tool which is distinctly anti Jewish and Christian), making everyone dependant on govts (occupy everything), the green movement, pro- prenatal murder.
If you will notice, everything is all directed at without actualy being brave enough to name it, anti Judao/Christian. ensuring that I do not dare claim to be a prophet (disclaimer for following observations), Look at islamic countries to see how Christians need to hold home prayer meetings, hide the scriptures etc lest they be arrested, tortured, murdered for their beliefs, This is the outcome that the leftocommies are steadily pushing towards having as federal laws world wide. All this and more was all foretold by prophets, Jesus, the apostles and others who have studied and written about for many centuries.
Guys, its going to get ugly, painful, (insert other nasties) for a while yet, the only thing we have to do is stand firm, speak the truth and not back down. Plus remember, the worst they can do to any of us is kill us, we have the reserection to look forward to and, no matter what happens, Jesus suffered far worse. Just a thought.
Neil Waldron.
Thanks David
We keep doing what I said we should do to hopefully avoid things getting that bad – and worse. But if and when they do get that bad, then there is a time and place for civil disobedience. But I discuss the specifics of that elsewhere:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/02/christians-and-civil-disobedience/
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill in your article you have just referred to above, concerning civil disobedience, you say,.”… Of course a brief overview such as this will only raise further questions in the minds of many: What about Christians and violence? What about Christians and revolution? Can there be a just revolution? Such important questions are certainly related to what we have considered here, but warrant their own careful exposition. More articles are needed to cover all the territory, so stay tuned.”
I think we are all staying tuned!!
David Skinner, UK
Thanks David
Hey, I’ve got nothing better to do! No need to eat, sleep, be with family – I will just pen another article!
Seriously though, it is an important issue, and hopefully I can get to it soonish.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
You raise a serious point Bill and that is that whilst we fight a virtual war of enormous proportions we must continue to do “normal” and not to become so gripped by the enemy that we neglect the everyday things of life – especially our families and wives!
I do appreciate all that you do and pray that you too find time to do “normal.”
God Bless
David Skinner, UK
A quick response to some of the posts above:
Steve: Here you go again! Who said anything about “a rapture-ous transport out of the mess of this world”? I didn’t bring this up; you did! For the umpteenth time I DON’T believe in “the Rapture” as Dispensationalists hold it. I believe in ONE glorious, triumphant, visible and public return of Christ as taught in the NT, for which we must ever be watchful and on the lookout.
But unlike you, I do not believe that Theonomy is a valid option. It smacks too much of the idea of a “Christian state”, and that idea has been a tale of one disaster after another through Church history. On the contrary, we are strangers and exiles in this world. We await an eternal City whose Builder and Maker is God. We have no mandate under the Gospel to “reconstruct” society according to some “Christian image”, however that is conceived to be. We can work for reform; we can be salt to stop the advance of corruption, and light in the present darkness; we can seek the welfare of the city wherein God has placed us. But God’s Kingdom will come at His behest, from heaven, not by man’s contrivance – not even Christian man.
Bill: Yes, we employ the “weapons of righteousness” (2 Cor.6:7; 10:4), but I firmly believe that state has limited jurisdiction, and when they overstep the mark – in the interests of wickedness, the state must be resisted, as David has pointed out. Hence this is one of the several fronts in this war. In all, to quote Revelation again, “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and because they did not love their lives, even when faced with death.” (Rev.12:11)
No, when I posed the question about eschatology I was NOT advocating any sort of withdrawal so as to “sit back and do nothing”. We bear testimony; we keep fighting the good fight; we seek to convince, rebuke, exhort; and having done all, to stand in the evil day, Eph.6:13. That is all we are called on to do. At the end of the day, the battle is the Lord’s, and He will bring His victory to pas in His way and in His time.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Bill. You are right to fight this, and indeed it is OUR fight also – that is the collective church world-wide, for the challenge from homosexuals is really about our freedom of religion, of speech, and of association – long held freedoms for which Christians and non Christians alike have fought and died for.
There is growinng opposition to the “gay” agenda from many quarters within the Christian community here in the UK, including this contribution from ‘Christian Concern’ as the C of E national Synod meets this week:
“Andrea Minichiello Williams spoke to the General Synod today (6 Feb), challenging the Church of England to take a stand for traditional marriage before it is too late. Urging the Presidents of the Synod (the two Archbishops) to authorise an Emergency Debate, Andrea Williams, member of the General Synod and CEO of Christian Concern, called on the church to resist David Cameron’s attempt to introduce same-sex marriage, noting that such a concept is contrary to both the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. She said: ‘In Matthew 19 Jesus tells us categorically that marriage was ordained by God from the beginning of our creation as the union of one man and one woman and this relationship is a direct reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church – the bridegroom and the bride. If the national Church were to stand for marriage as traditionally defined then our Prime Minister would be defeated even before he began. Is it (not) (mis-type here!) the job of the established Church to hold government to account and not to let her stray from biblical precepts which are good not just for individuals but for communities and nations?’”
Incidentally Bill, some months ago I recommended a couple of your articles for posting on the ‘Anglican Mainstream website, and since then (possibly unbeknown to you) several other of your articles have been posted up – so your principled opposition to the works of darkness are shared and circulated!
I would strongly recommend looking at the latest posting on their website – as they are fully committed to fighting the homosexual marriage issue and are getting similar expressions of opposition.
Graham Wood, UK
Many thanks Graham. Keep up your good work as well.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, have just come home from seeing “The Iron Lady.” The thing that resinates with me from that movie is the weakness of the men around Maggie. And today, this is a significant root cause of the mess that we are in. It is the failure to apply the Biblical criteria for the kind of men that should be leading our churches. And the criteria that we should be applying to the candidates that present themselves for election to public office.
Paper on the wall is no substitute for the character qualities mentioned in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1; Acts 20:17-32 and I Peter 5 and James 5:14, 15.
The nation follows the church. It was the church that led our society into the mess that we face. Judgement MUST begin at the house of God. There MUST be reformation amongst God’s people, before we can see lasting change in the cities in which God’s people live.
We prosecute the war wherever there is deviation from the sovereign will of God, as revealed in His Holy Law and exemplified in the life of His only begotten Son.
And this MUST begin with the kind of men that are chosen to lead the churches in our nation.
Lance A Box
Queensland looks to be in real trouble for the upcoming state election. The current Premier and Deputy have declined to attend an event organised by ACL to answer specific questions on issue that concern Christians in their state, and the opposition candidate, Mr Newman, has made it clear that he supports gay marriage and abortion.
Mrs Bligh can hardly contain her contempt for Christianity, she seems to have forgotten that Christian groups raised more money for flood victims than her government and all other fund raisers combined.
Queensland certainly needs our prayers so real leader with integrity and morality can be found.
(ACL webcast of event from 5.30pm tonight).
Annette Williams
Hi Murray,
Just a quick thought on your mention of being against the idea of a Christian state – do you have any reflections on Psalm 2? The Lord doesn’t seem to have any inhibitions about commanding obedience from kings and nations there.
I’d be just as against a militant Christianity as what I think you would be, where salvation and Christianity are enforced by means of the state – but I don’t believe that’s what Steve was arguing.
I would think that given all men everywhere should obey and honour God, that rulers should not be exempt – and should obey and honour Him as they govern as well.
It’s not about enforcing God’s rule by means of the state, but it is important that the state honour God within the context of its legitimate sphere of authority (just as families do in theirs) – not overstepping its bounds and enforcing its will and encroaching freedom.
I would think that the idea of a Christian state is one which upholds justice, executes civil punishment and allows freedom in life and faith to flourish in a society. Certainly some of the historical examples you have cited have, I would think, been guilty of twisting the ideal of the state into a means of conquest and ‘Christian’ domination that is not at all consistent with the Bible.
Just a few thoughts anyway brother.
God bless,
Isaac Overton
ACT
Insightful, biblical and to the point. What more can I say!!!!!
Warwick Marsh
Thanks Warwick
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
This is a very complex and stimulating subject. There are many biblical arguments that support the aim of a Christian state, maybe not so much advertently human, but more as part of god’s plan. If we can see history and the world as a knitted garment, maybe we can see God as the designer of the garment and us and our individual steps of obedience as the little stitches that make up the garment. If we all in our obedience follow the plan of the master in our own lives under direction of His word and the Holy Spirit, who is to say that a temporary Christian state in this temporary world may not be the result? I believe the time of King Alfred of Britain was such a time. There is no one strategy for all of God’s soldiers, as we are all under our own individual but no less biblical instructions. A mother who obeys her Lord in being a godly example to her children cares for them daily, instructs them in their daily meditation of god’s words and in repentance and obedience and prayer plays as much a role as the statesman who with godly advice and courage, integrity and responsibility leads and governs a whole nation.
Let us also not forget those who are already paying with their lives for the privilege of following our Lord and saviour. We in the west still seem to be asking the question “Is it safe”? before we engage in a full scale assault on evil. Bill, I was so encouraged by your quote by Mother Theresa in another article. “Love till it hurts.” Isn’t that the message of the gospel, or at least our active part of it? Jesus has already done what only he could do, give His life for the payment of our sin,. , we must now do ours and not count the cost. We often ask ourselves, when does a spiritual war become physical? Do we mean, physical in the sense that we begin to shoot people? or physical in the sense that we will put ourselves into harms way in order to protect others.
Hard questions no doubt, but questions we must ask if we want to run the race to the end. Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks, Isaac.
On the idea of a Christian state, we need to be clear on what the role of the state is under God’s ordinance. In short, its basic function is the restrain sin, be a terror to the evildoer, to protect its citizens, and to promote the common welfare of all under its jurisdiction (the “common weal”, hence “commonwealth”). All this is taught in Rom.13:1-7; 1 Pet.2:13-17. There is more to be said, of course, and more passages to consider.
However, what this means is a limited role, with limited powers, but by its very nature the state employs force and coercion to achieve its Divinely appointed ends. That is the nature of the beast, as the saying goes.
Christ’s kingdom, by contrast, operates on very different principles and by very different means, i.e. He rules by His Word and Spirit, establishing the kingdom of love in the heart.
As to Psalm 2, the psalm opens with the theme of rebellion against God and His Christ, throwing off His commands as so many unbearable constraints (what we see all over our world today). Yes, rulers of Gentile nations should enact laws in line with at least the Second table of the Decalogue (and once did), and as far as the First table in concerned there should at least be freedom and even encouragement of what is right and good, “so that we may have a peaceable life in the pursuit of godliness.” (1 Tim.2:2) When rulers defy their mandate to promote the common weal in this way, they will be judged. But this is a far cry from the state enforcing Christianity and punishing non-conformists, as Theodosius did at the end of the C4th, or the Stuart monarchy did in the latter half of the C17th (when Anglicanism was the only permissible brand of Christianity.). In short, enforce as far as possible the Second table, but allow liberty, and give encouragement to the godly as regards the First.
One caveat even there: since the 10th Commandment concerns our inward disposition it is properly out of reach of the state. The latter has no jurisdiction over a person’s inward moral dispositions and conscience (or lack thereof). Hence efforts in our “penal” system to modify behaviour are not only futile, but are no business of the state. Only a person’s outward acts are the purview of the state. Hence in regard to the 10th Comm the state may (and should) control gambling (the outward aspect of covetousness), but not his inward self.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Another prescient and excellent piece Bill.
I am beginning to see the makings of very difficult times for the world ahead, not just for believers. When the apple of God’s eye is touched (the church or Israel) then it seems to me that the Lord cannot be too pleased. Satan’s destruction is meant for all humanity and we are seeing that he has effectively used humanity against itself. Thanking Jesus that He has “overcome the world”.
Mihael McCoy
Another excellent, thought provoking article Bill, you raise some very frightening points, namely the role government will play in bringing about the decline of our current society. I think that all parents now need to be concerned with what their children will be taught and by whom.
We fortunately live in a country town and our one child who attends a local school, has, for now, ‘normal’ teachers with right social values. Our other children are being home schooled.
I shudder to think what our society will be like in the not to distant future if the ‘activists’ get their way.
Praying you and your family receive Gods protection in all this.
Fred Merlo
Many thanks Bill on another great piece. It’s getting downright scary how quickly things are unraveling all around us.
As the heat continues to build, God bless and keep you and yours and indeed give us all strength for what lies ahead.
George Kokonis
Murray, I appreciate what you say and forgive me if I don’t quite understand but I don’t believe that Christendom was established solely by witnessing and evangelism. This had to be enforced by political involvement. Leaving aside the issue of both Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism which made the mistake of becoming temporal governments in their own right, the Church worked in co-operation with the heathen kings, teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in addition the arts of civilisation: government; administration; architecture; writing etc. King Alfred was a case in point. Europe became Christendom. And as one commentator recently said, Israel was not a theocracy either. The priesthood and kings were separate domains.
This would never have been possible had Europe been overrun by Islam. But now we are. As Gaddaffi said, Muslims do not have go in for suicide bombing or terror tactics; all they need do is pro-create.
http://uk.search-results.com/videos?qsrc=167&o=100000051&l=dis&q=christendom%2C&dm=ctry&atb=sysid%3D406%3Auid%3D81edcdb23610e07b%3Auc%3D1327563739%3Asrc%3Dhmp%3Ao%3D100000051%3Aq%3Dchristendom%2
Our laws, that at one time were unashamedly based upon Biblical teaching, protected marriage, the family and the life of the unborn child, have been discarded; in their place we are now dominated by another theocracy that of Secularism, Darwinianism and Hegelianism. The consequence is that the whole of western civilisation is engaged in mass suicide and euthanasia. Put in a mix of homosexuality and we truly have a culture of death.
Winston Churchill got it wrong when he finished his description of the evils of Islam and that it was only by virtue of the West’s superior technology that we were saved from it: “were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.” [1]
What saved us was our own Christian presuppositions which gave us a high view of human life, marriage and the family and the martial vigour and moral courage to defend ourselves from the barbarism within our own societies, let alone that of those outside it, with laws and legislation drawn up by Parliament and ratified by a sovereign who promised to uphold the Christian faith. Our legislation protected us from ourselves from fallen nature. We no longer have that and all that Islam need do is wait for the walls to collapse.
Bill reminded us long ago of the words of the American–British poet and critic T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) who wrote:
“If Christianity goes, the whole of our culture goes. Then you must start painfully again, and you cannot put on a new culture ready made. You must wait for the grass to grow to feed the sheep to give the wool out of which your new coat will be made. You must pass through many centuries of barbarism. We should not live to see the new culture, nor would our great-great-great-grandchildren: and if we did, not one of us would be happy in it.”
[1] http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/27711
David Skinner, UK
Thanks to David Skinner for the Yuri Bezmenov links. If more people – especially those whom Bezmenov calls the “drop outs and half-baked intellectuals who are now in positions of power”, who have had the Demoralisation phase of psychological warfare, pumping Marxist Leninist ideology into their soft heads over decades, if more of these “useful idiots” could be made aware of Bezmenov’s message, and see how once they have fulfilled their usefulness they would be exterminated as a nuisance, it could be a game changer for at least some of leftist zealots who still have some room in their heads for independent thought. As Bezmenov says, when the realisation dawns that Equality is not the expected utopia, by then there will be nowhere to defect to (as he has done). I think his witness gives valuable perspective to the irreversible damage that is being wrought and it might get some people to snap out of their stupor.
You can tell there is an element of brainwashing in this with the robotic chant of “bigot”, “fascist”, “nazi” at anyone who deviates from the Champagne Socialist mantra.
Rachel Smith
David,
Thank you for your post. Clearly we have some areas of disagreement, but the quote from T.S. Eliot I can endorse. But the important thing to realise now is that the old days of Christendom have gone, and likely gone for good. Christendom gave many benefits, and ensured the stability of our civilization and culture; but there was also a down side. I believe we can see this in Rev.12:16, where we are told “the earth helped the woman, and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed from its mouth.” For many centuries the earth did help the woman, and we should be grateful for that; but those days have gone. The woman (the true church) is now on its own in a hostile world, just as in the early centuries. The order of the day now is not hand-wringing and nostalgia for the old days of “Christendom”, but how to live in this hostile world. First of all, it must be to give all possible assistance to the persecuted church.
Equally, it behoves us to look up for the redemption which draws near. More than ever, the present church should be in “second coming mode”, as was the apostolic church. Any theology which postpones this to the far-flung future, as I see coming from the Theonomy movement, I am dead against.
Murray R. Adamthwaite
Dear Murray, I agree, especially with regard to the way the Western Chruch seems indifferent- apart from teeny, tiny groups of elderly Christians – to the plight of the persecuted Church. How many churches have prayer groups (let alone an awareness) linked to Open Doors, Barnabas or CWS?
But returning to the main point of your response, we are called to get involved in earthly government and culture, at both a national and local level, even to being a school councillor, or dare I say a parent, or surrogate parent. Though we cannot force those around us to become Christians- even our own family members (for this is the task of the Holy Spirit) we are mandated to protect ourselves and our family from fallen human nature, the world and devil. Our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, has the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’, not ‘Imposer’ or ‘Enforcer.’
But free societies and individuals only operate under the authority of a higher power. Human nature, being what it is, is quickly over- whelmed by destructive forces over which it has no control when it takes the day off from God’s ultimate authority, the authority to which all earthly authorities are ultimately accountable. Fallen human nature left to itself, in the mistaken belief that it is autonomous, independent, with a “my life is my own” attitude, finds that it has no choice but to conform and become enslaved to base instinct, the surrounding culture and Satan. Our present society has been taught to brook no authority. Instead our children are encouraged to see themselves as victims of it. This at root is what the Human Rights culture is all about: mutiny, subversion and a shaking of the fist at parents, teachers, police and any form of authority. They will have no one rule over them.
As Christians, we are not autonomous, but have been bought at a price to render service to God which is perfect freedom. Unlike the unsaved who have an illusion of freedom, we do have choice, either to remain grafted into the vine or go AWOL and consequently find ourselves rapidly under bondage to the ‘old man’, the world and Satan. Thank God that He the great Shepherd keeps dragging us back into the fold.
Genesis tells us that God instituted earthly authority and governments and that we should obey them. Mosaic law never made a child of God, but it was designed to protect a society from self-destruction and at least prepare a soil, a culture, where true conversion was possible and civilisation might flourish. Mosaic law used to underpin the laws of western civilisation, but now one finds these either removed or literally covered over by curtains in churches and law courts for fear that they will give offence.
The Ten Commandments, all ten of them, were a gift from God to protect us from ourselves. Since Sunday observance and blasphemy laws have been repealed what do find has happened? People work harder, longer and more stressfully, with family life blown to the wind. As for blasphemy, these have been replaced by far more savage laws criminalising those who make the slightest criticism of homosexuality and Islam. As for culture: we stand amidst its ruins, picking over what we can salvage from it.
At its height, Western civilisation never imposed “religion” but we are now under submission and slavery to the tyranny of New Marxism and soon that of Islam.
I shall stop blathering now.
David Skinner, UK
Thanks Murray (and David!).
I would agree with your outline of the role of the state under God’s ordinance, I don’t think we’re actually a really long way apart. I particularly agree with your comment on its limited role, limited power, and focus on civil justice/punishment against civil sins.
I’d also agree that it is a separate entity to Christ’s Kingdom. However, I would think that if the state is operating in terms of the Biblical ‘blueprint’ we’ve discussed, then it is submitting itself under Christ’s Kingdom, and is thus properly a Christian state. It’s leaders ideally should have a personal sense of honouring God, should agree in that, and should then seek to execute the duties of the state in light of that commitment to honouring God. In this sense I think it is right for the state to submit to the Lordship of Christ within its own limited sphere. As I see it, this is the classical reconstructionist position on the state, although I prefer to think of it as Biblical as opposed to tagging it with a term that brings all sorts of different meanings and connotations to different people.
I find it interesting when you say that the rulers of Gentile nations should enact laws in line with the Second table of the Decalogue, I agree. However, I would think that it is plain that in the books that follow, much of the Decalogue is expounded – and so the application of those civil laws is demonstrated and should be followed. Where the books of the pentateuch offer extended instruction on given civil penalties, I would think that given their consistency with the Decalogue, it is perfectly reasonable to say that these laws should be applied in the civil sphere by the state where it is clear that they are civil in nature.
I think you make an excellent and very important point when you use the example of the 10th command being out of reach of the state – and I would extend that principle to cover much of the pentateuch as well. There is much in those laws which is not given a civil sanction, addresses inward disposition, addresses ceremonial sacrifices and cleansing (which has been fulfilled in Christ now and no longer is practiced in terms of OT law), addresses specific situations unique to the time in which they were given – and in that sense much of the OT law is not in the reach of the state today. Much of the first half of the Decalogue is similarly not in the jurisdiction of the civil arena – which is why I wouldn’t necessarily give the state a role in it.
All in all I think the Westminster Confession of Faith says it well when it discusses ongoing validity of these laws in terms of their general equity.
“Enforcing Christianity” is a goal which is a warped version of preaching the gospel, which is the task of the Church and not the state – although the state should provide circumstances that allow the gospel to flourish. In upholding these laws I believe the state also provides the circumstances which allow godly culture to develop (which I think David has been touching upon in some of his comments). In particular, as David said, Western civilisation at its height never ‘imposed’ religion, but the Church in her strength preaching the gospel, and men working in all spheres of life to God’s glory naturally produced a more godly culture and left a godly legacy for us – all within the context of a society more rightly protected by the state. I don’t believe these cultural benefits are the result of some sort of cooperation between the Church and Christendom as you seem to suggest. Prosperity and life are found only on God’s terms and in Christ, and so the cultural strength that history bears witness too should be solely attributed to the life of faith in civilisation. No system based upon disobedience to God can ultimately prosper, it is a system of death and only benefits inasmuch as it aligns with God’s models for how things should work. The weaknesses we witness in the historical examples should be attributed to the fact that sin remains in the lives of saints and the wicked alike.
To my knowledge, these positions are those of theonomy – and yet I would fully agree with your sentiment against enforcing Christianity via the state.
I will refrain from commenting on matters of eschatology just now if I might!
An interesting discussion, thanks.
God bless,
Isaac Overton, ACT