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Movements that do not police themselves are bound to fail.
An X thread from October ’24: It is crucial to understand the times and to understand the Scriptures. Many Christian movements have fizzled out quickly because their leaders misunderstood the cultural situation. Or, the movement got traction, grew, and became influential, but did damage because it was more culture-shaped than Scripture-shaped. An example of the… Read more
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Worship before Warfare. Liturgy before Dominion. Consecration before Conquest.
An X post rom January ’25: Before Joshua could conquer the land of Canaan militarily, politically, and culturally, Abraham had to conquer it liturgically. Abraham toured the land of Canaan, building altars, places of worship, which laid the foundation for the conquest to come. Liturgy is the basis of dominion. The key to cultural transformation… Read more
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Time for a New Reformation
I love B. B. Warfield, but when he claimed the Reformation was the triumph of Augustine’s doctrine over grace over Augustine’s doctrine of the church, he was wrong. See Calvin’s Institutes Book 4. The Reformation – at least at its best – was the *integration* of Augustine’s doctrine of grace with Augustine’s doctrine of the… Read more
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The Problem with a Demythologized Christian Nationalism: Doing Politics as if Satan Were Real
Christian politics deals not only with earthly kings and presidents, but with heavenly principalities and cosmic powers. Our political theology is incomplete if it only deals with earthly rulers and earthly realities. A true politics embraces the politics of heaven as well. The principalities and powers are political actors as well. We must contend not… Read more
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A Note on Social Contract Theory
Social contract theory, originating primarily with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, is not only contrary to a biblical theology of the state, but also tells a story that is so patently absurd it is hard to believe it ever gained credence in the first place. Social contractualists, in brief, assume that men, by nature, are… Read more
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Liturgy is the needle; Christendom is the thread it pulls through.
The kingdom of Christ is far broader than the church. But the church, in both her gathered and scattered capacities, acts as the bearer of the kingdom. The church announces the kingdom by proclaiming Jesus is Lord and celebrates the kingdom in the Eucharist. Furthermore, the church embodies the lifestyle of the kingdom in her… Read more