Tag: Politics
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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…
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True Political Power
An X post from February: There’s a lot of talk right now about Christians (and conservatives) learning to embrace and wield political power — something we have not really done for quite some time. This is all well and good. Being afraid of power is immature and irresponsible. Christians should seek to gain political power…
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Post-which-war consensus?
An X thread from 2/21/25, explaining that the “post-war consensus” is much older than the post-World War 2 era: The so-called postwar consensus that sought to weaken religious, civic, and familial loyalties as a peace-keeping measure in the aftermath of WW2 was really nothing new. Indeed, this tactic might be considered a post-Reformation consensus, as…
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There’s No Such Thing as Religious Liberty
Just a friendly reminder: there is no such thing as religious liberty. Why? Two reasons. 1. There is no such thing as “religion in general” – only particular religions. Thus, freedom for one religion will often come at the expense of another religion. 2. There is no such thing as religious neutrality. It’s impossible to…
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Living a Red Pill Life in a Blue Pill World
The red pill/blue pill metaphor has gotten mangled to the point that it’s almost useless. I never saw the Matrix movies, but when I first encountered the red pill/blue pill categories, I thought they were fairly helpful interpretive lenses for navigating certain aspects of life in the modern world. I thought the red pill/blue pill…
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Trump wins!
This is part of the email going out to my congregation this morning: “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” Those words from Psalm 2:4 certainly rang true last night. In the providence of God, we have just witnessed the greatest political comeback in American history. Donald Trump has battled back from losing the 2020…
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Progressives Will Not Make Very Much Progress, and Other Worldview Notes
I was teaching a Bible study on Judges 9 the other night and it occurred to me just how relevant this chapter is to many of our current issues. (We will eventually get audio up on our website.) First, anyone who wants a so-called “strong man” to rule should pay close attention to the beginning…