Ancient and Modern Tyranny

"In the ancient tyrannies of the Mesopotamina world, kings were said to be divine. The Egyptians believed that their Pharaoh was a divine being, the link between heaven and earth, the sustainer of Egypt's prosperity. This belief led directly to the idea of a divine State, a political order which could not be challenged by 'mere men.' The State, since it was the highest link between man and God, was therefore all-powerful, in the theologies of the ancient world. Of course, you can accomplish much the same thing by denying that there is any God above the political order. Since the State is the most visibly powerful human institution, athiesm removes a concept of some higher court of appeal beyond the State. The State becomes 'divine' by default -- the highest court of appeal, the highest moral authority. Not every athiest is a statist, but where athiesm predominates, the State steadily encroaches on men's freedom, for they are left with no higher authority to appeal to, or to provide them with the moral justification for resistance to tyranny. Where the fear of God is absent, the fear of the State is a convenient, and universal substitute." (Gary North, Unconditional Surrender p.14 - December 1982)

Edmund Burke

"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon thier own appetites...society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there is without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free." (1791)

Peace and Safety

"When men place peace above other considerations, they are unwilling to face up to anything which tells them that their dream is a futile one. They are ready then to compromise truth in order to gain peace, because they are weary of the struggle. But peace like happiness always eludes men when they make it a goal of human endeavor. Peace and happiness are by-products of other goals. We cannot make ourselves truly happy by deciding we need to be happy... What most People mean by peace is an attitude of, 'Leave me alone, and don't bother me with the problems of the world,' or, 'Do anything, but get rid of all these problems, and leave me to enjoy myself.' Peace in this sense is a retreat. It is more than that: it is a form of suicide, a surrender of life for a retirement to the sidelines of life. Unfortunately for these people, the world is now moving towards a radical confrontation of man by the basic issues and problems of life. All the posponed problems, the deferred and pressing debts of life, are beginning to fall due and are demanding attention. The luxury of indifference is fast waning. Church members who left the defense of the faith to their clergy are now finding that God is requiring them to defend their faith or to surrender it...The widespread apostasy of the clergy is forcing many of the laity out of their slumbers. If the faith is to be defended, they must do it. The result is a spreading revival of doctrinal concern, a re-awakening of faith, prayer and action, and a readiness to stand for the faith which did not exist twenty years ago. The old forms are curmbling, perhaps because they must. We live in a momentous and exciting era, a turning point in history. Before the healing rains come, the sky always darkens, and the thunder and lightning are very much in evidence. We are not in the winter-time of the world, but in its spring. Wise men will plant for the future." Rushdoony "The Roots of Reconstruction." pp. 806 & 807.

Creative Theology by RC Sproul

"If the reconstruction of theology is going to be meaningful and relevant to the modern age, there must be an element of creativity in it. If when the old structures have collapsed, we reconstruct them according to the same old blueprints, then we are asking for a repetition of the first collapse...It is not enough merely to mix the old and the new. This might only produce a false and grotesque freak. If the combination is to be sound, it must incorporate what is sound from the old with what is sound from the new... If there is a formula for creativity it is this: Challenge the assumptions...It is not good enough to challenge the assumptions arbitrarily or to dismiss the previous working assumptions out of hand. Such dismissals may result in the devolution of the art or science. It is the faulty assumption that must be found and discarded if a breakthrough is to be achieved. The task of isolating faulty assumptions is made difficult by the tendency of scholarship to accept certain assumptions uncritically and to enshrine them in the temple of the status quo. These uncritically accepted assumptions, elevated to the level of dogma, control the activity of a given dicipline. To challenge them is to invite the wrath of those who are comfortable with the traditions." RC Sproul & John Gerstner "Classical Apologetics." pp.64-66

Simeon's Blessing

"Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother; 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.'" Luke 2:34-35

Balaam & Balak

"Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord -- and I must say only what the Lord says?'" Numbers 24:12-13

My Friend Tim

I would like to pay a small tribute to a friend who has had the courage to stand up for what he believes in... Men like that are far too rare in our churches, I pray that God would grant us more of them... In his honor, I submit the following... "The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from 'controversial' matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight." J Gresham Machen 1923 "Christianity and Liberalism" pp.1-2

Minorities & Majorities

History has never been dominated by majorities, but only by dedicated minorities who stand unconditionally on their faith...We need to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and His salvation, and to pray for the conversion of the unregenerate. Prayer here, if coupled with Christian efforts, is not only proper but absolutely necessary. But, while only God can convert the wicked, men have the power to control the wicked. And the means of control is a strict sense of law and order, of justice. But today the sentimentalism that parades as Christianity, instead of seeking to control and to convert the evil seeks instead to love it and subsidize it. The result is a destruction of civilization and harm to both the godly members of society as well as to the wicked who cause the destruction. Rushdoony, "The Roots of Reconstruction." pp545 & 547

Bureaucracy in the Church

Now members of a body do not hold offices; they have functions... Thus, what we call church offices are in reality functions of the body of Christ in this world. This fact is very important. Offices lead to a bureaucracy and a ruling class, whereas functions keep a body alive. In the early church also, we have no evidence of what is commonplace today, regualr, stated bureaucratic meetings of presbyteries, synods, councils, bishops, etc. Instead, beginning with the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, the meetings were called to resolve a problem or meet a need. They were functional meetings, not organizational; they were aspects of the life of a body, not of a bureaucratic organization. Roussas John Rushdooney, Chalcedon Position Paper 97 pp404 The Roots of Reconstruction May 1988.

Plutarch

"The mind is not a ship to be filled with cargo, but a flame to be kindled."