McAtee Contra Dr. James White On The Crusades

“But the fact is these folks are saying the Crusades did not go “far enough.” Far enough in what? Blaspheming Christ? Disparaging the gospel? Promoting hatred? What would you like to see more of, exactly? What would be “far enough?”

James White

1.) First, we have to distinguish between Crusades. Some of them were noble ventures. Some of them (like the 4th crusade) were Banker inspired and disastrous, finding Christians fighting against Christians. Notice though, that James doesn’t distinguish.

2.) One can only hold that the Crusades blasphemed Christ if one does not believe in Just War Theory, or in defensive war. White seems to not know that the initial Crusades were fought in response to Mooselimb conquering of Christian lands and the abuse of those Christians on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The initial Crusades fall under “Just War Theory,” and were honoring to the Lord Christ as the weak and judicially innocent Christians were being protected by the Knights of Europe.

2.) White complains about “promoting hatred,” seeming not to realize that there is not a thing unbiblical about hatred that is Biblical. All Biblical hatred is, is the response to someone that is attacking and seeking to destroy what the Christian loves. Hatred then of evil, is the necessary and corresponding mindset to loving what is good. As such, there is nothing wrong in the least with promoting hatred if the hatred we are promoting is wrapped up in our love for the good, praiseworthy and beautiful. The simple example is found in our loving God. If we love God we will “hate that which is evil,” as Romans 13 explicitly teaches.

In the Crusades the Mooselimbs were seeking to snuff out the Christian presence in lands that had been for centuries previously Christian. It was good to hate those who intended to destroy Christendom.

3.) Exactly, I would have liked to see more Islamic lands conquered by the sword for Christ. I would have liked to see the Mooselimb threat extinguished.

4.) Far enough would be seeing the nations covered with the Kingdom of Christ as the waters cover the sea.

5.) When the Crusader Knight Godfrey of Bouillon captured Jerusalem in the First Crusade they offered to make him king. He refused and said. “I will not wear a crown of gold in the city where Our Lord Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns.” James White considers this blasphemous? In the Dr. James White quote above White puts on display is Anabaptist credentials. Either that or Dr. White has been educated and marinated in the soup of Enlightenment humanism and so his worldview is what it is.

James White and I really hold to two vastly different Christianities.

Van Til On The Rationality / Irrationality Problem Of Those Who Eliminate God

“The rationalists and the empiricists were quite wrong in thinking that man could reach out beyond sensuous experience and attain to knowledge of God conceptually. To solve the problem of uniting the facts of existence (matter) to the principles of rationality (form), Kant found it necessary to say that these principles are a priori forms of the human mind . As forms these principles need the purely non rational stuff of sensuous experience for their filling . By combining this purely abstract form of rationality and the equally abstract principle of pure contingency , Kant sought to save science. He sought by means of this combination to attain to the universality and objectivity of scientific knowledge .

Obviously this universality is, on this basis, located in the knowing subject . And this subject is certainly not God . For by definition there is no theoretical knowledge of God at all. The ultimate reference point for all knowledge is therefore placed in man. If then there is any relation of necessity in nature and any relation of order in history , these relations spring ultimately not from God but from man. Therefore, if God is to be revealed to man in nature or in history, he must be wholly revealed in it and wholly penetrable by the theoretical reason . And thus positive or statutory religion must become identical with natural religion . The incarnation must become the abstraction of ideal humanity .

However , on this view man himself too would be swallowed up by nature as nature in turn would be swallowed up by man . In other words , the only way by which man can retain his freedom or assert his autonomy , an autonomy in terms of which the whole of nature and history has to be constructed , is by means of pure negation . As autonomous and free , man must be as little known by his own conceptual reason as is his God , for if man were known to himself by means of this theoretical reason then he would no longer be he . He would then be reduced to nature . It is for this reason that Kroner’s phrase, “ethical dualism,” expresses so accurately Kant’s conception of the negative relation of nature to the human self .”

CVT
Christianity & Barthianism – p. 406

1.) In order to get form in touch with matter … in order to put concepts and precepts in relation to one another there is only one way to do so and that is by presupposing the God of the Bible and His Word. Man, who starts with man to reason his way to God will always reason his way to a God who is but man said loudly. Man cannot even know himself unless he presupposes God. Neither can man know nature or its law unless he presupposes God who alone can give man a working definition of both what man is as the presupposer and what nature is as that which is being presupposed.

2.) When CVT writes;

The ultimate reference point for all knowledge is therefore placed in man. If then there is any relation of necessity in nature and any relation of order in history, these relations spring ultimately not from God but from man.

He is fairly close to the point that Thomas Kuhn’s was making in “Structures of Scientific Revolutions.” Kuhn, by demonstrating how science isn’t particularly “scientific” in the way we commonly think of science as being just the collection of objective facts, and Van Til by demonstrating that the reason that is so is because man, apart from the God of the Bible, is the one subjectively determining what science will and will not be, are both making the point that the objective world isn’t necessarily objective. Van Til only pipes up to say that, contra Kuhn, that the world can be objective if the God of the Bible is the one presupposed in all our thinking.

From the Mailbag: R2K & The ICE Protests

Dear Pastor;

What would R2K think of the protesters interrupting the Minnesota church service?

I know liberals always love the separation of church and state and even though they take it out of context, but here they seemed to meld the two.

John from Canada

Bret responds,

Hello John,

Good to hear from you. You’re one of those chaps who refresh me given how much we share in our mutual faith and worldview.

A couple options here;

They might say that Christians, as private citizens, might well do that as protesters who are Christian organized a political club opposed to ICE, while those members claim that is what Jesus would want of them.

R2K advocates have said in the past that Christians as private citizens are welcome to join Christian organizations that take up this or that cause. R2K just doesn’t want to be put in the position of having to speak on the issue of protests one way or the other. R2K might well say, “that is the common realm and what happens in the common realm is not related to the lane (grace realm) that we are obliged by God to not abandon.”

So, theoretically, in this scenario, Presbyterian Church “A” has some members (B) that belong to a political organization in favor of protesting ICE while at the same time having members (C) that belong to a political organization that protest those protesting ICE. These Christians will have no problem worshiping together in Presbyterian Church “A” because the pulpit will remain silent on the subject. Christians in groups “B” and “C” will find themselves, for example, taking communion together in the same service even though on Monday they may be in each other’s face in terms of protests.

The point is that it is possible that a R2K church and clergy would silent on the whole thing

John presses the question and asks;

But if we looked Michael Horton in the eye or that poor Pastor in Minnesota asked, hey Mike, would you be on my side that they did a terrible wrong here? What would Michael Horton say?

Bret responds;

This is the other possible option as to what R2K would say in this situation.

It might be the case that Mike Horton (or any R2K clergy advocate) would say that this would be an instance where the protesters are coming in to the grace realm (the Church’s worship service) from the common realm and as such the protesters (Christian or not) are confusing the two realms (grace and common) and so shouldn’t be there. If that is the way that R2K would consider the matter then a R2K clergy may well speak from the pulpit against the vagrancy.

However, I am fairly certain that R2K fanboys would not say the same thing if the protesters descended on a private business the way they did that church. If the protesters were descending on private property that are not churches then I can see R2K thinking … “That protesting is taking place in the common realm and therefore I will not speak to it from the pulpit,”or, “as a Pastor. I am obliged, in order to honor God, to remain silent on the subject. The two-Kingdom theology demands my silence.”

Exposing Matt Walsh’s Lousy Apologetics

I just learned this morning that the talking head, Matt Walsh, has repeatedly said that when dealing with an Atheist it is stupid to “Biblethump them,” to “throw Scripture at them,” or to “quote Scripture” at them. Matt Walsh basis all that on the fact that since as Atheists the Atheist doesn’t believe the Word of God, therefore it is useless to quote Scripture at them. According to Matt Walsh, we must instead, use “logic,” and “reason.”

This is stupid but consistent with all those who are Natural Law Thomist types.

What might we say in response to this in order to see how stupid it is?

1.) Matt Walsh fails to understand what the underlying issue is as existing between the Atheist and the Christian when in debate/conversation. This issue isn’t so much what is immediately on the table. The issue is, “By whose authority are we going to determine the rightness or wrongness of whatever is being disputed.” The Atheist says to Matt Walsh … “I don’t accept your authority.” Matt Walsh says … “OK, then, I will agree to use your fallen authority as my authority.”What Matt Walsh has done by insisting that we shouldn’t Biblethump people is he has ceded the territory that counts the most. He has ceded to the Christ-hater the standard that will be used to determine truth. Now, if Matt Walsh does that … if Matt Walsh enters the dispute on the enemies chosen ground does Matt Walsh think he is going to be able to gainsay the Atheist? No … a thousand times “NO.” If the Christians abandons his Christian presuppositions in order to argue according to the humanist presuppositions, the Christian will lose every time.

2.) Logic and reason are what they are because of the authority of God’s Word. In other words Logic and reason, apart from presupposing God’s Word, quickly becomes illogical logic and irrational reason. Now, we can certainly make points against our Atheist friend without quoting chapter and verse but behind whatever point we are making better be a foundation that is anchored in Scripture or a necessary consequence thereof.

3.) Matt Walsh, being Roman Catholic, does not understand the noetic effects of the fall and as such does not embrace total depravity. For Matt Walsh (like all Thomists) man’s mind is not completely fallen and so quite without submission to God’s authority (whether implicit or explicit). Fallen man (like our Atheist friend) can be convinced about matters like Abortion, or Sodomite marriage, if we only make “reasonable” arguments per his self-centered standard. This appeal to “Natural Law” done by Matt Walsh and his Thomist friends fails to understand that as man is fallen, man uses his fallen thinking as a prism through which to see all issues that come before him. What Matt Walsh doesn’t realize is that the Atheist is not coming to the issue in a neutral fashion. The Atheist has skin in the came (his own autonomous authority that finds him being god in his life) and if we cede to the atheist the idea that we have to accept his putative neutral authority as the authority the Atheist will never convert because the very thing that needs to be challenged in the Atheist (his autonomous humanist reason) remains unchallenged, and so in authority over God’s authority.

4.) Matt Walsh, like all Thomists, has not only given up leveraging Scripture against the Atheist, he has also given up Scripture for himself. Matt Walsh is ignoring the passage in Romans 1 where the Holy Spirit clearly teaches that the Atheist is “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.” The Atheist is not an honest player in this discussion. His carnal mind is at warfare with God. Part of the Atheist’s plan for victory is to get “Christians” like Matt Walsh to broom out of the conversation the authority of God’s Word from the very beginning. In such a way the Atheist’s victory is assured in whatever dispute is at hand.

5.) What the Atheist needs to be told, when demanding that Scripture isn’t going to convince him, is, “I know. Now let me tell you why Scripture isn’t going to convince you. God’s Word, apart from the Holy Spirit’s regenerating power, is not going to convince you Mr. Atheist, because you are dead in your trespasses and sins. You are in rebellion against your maker and being in rebellion you will not submit to His authority. This leaves you without God and without hope. This leaves you continuing to try to escape what you know you can never escape as long as you’re in this defiance mode and that is that you are under God’s wrath and being under God’s just wrath against your sin you’re violently doing all you can to escape your sin, guilt and misery. You will not have God and His Word rule over you. Thus, I quite agree you can’t be convinced apart from the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life. The Holy Spirit, Mr. Atheist, was sent to convict people like you of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. Still, I have some hope. My hope is that you will finally see and admit to yourself your sin, guilt and misery and go to the only one who can set you free from that which has you so burdened and heavy laden. Mr. Atheist that one is Jesus Christ who God set forth as the one who alone can turn away God’s just wrath upon you and for the first time in your life give you peace with God. You see, Mr. Atheist, Jesus Christ died for sinners, and carried the guilt of particular sinners and now God commands you Mr. Atheist to finally give up your rebellion and flee to the only place where you can be once and forever done with your hatred of God, hatred of others, and hatred of self. Only upon crying out to God for rescue, will you understand and accept the clear teaching of Scripture on the matter we are in dispute. Won’t you please repent?”

For those who want to see this teased out even more, I highly recommend this article by Cornelius Van Til;

https://www.apologeticscentral.org/post/mr-grey-mr-black-and-mr-white-by-cornelius-van-til-with-commentary

Alienism Embraced By The Reformed World As Infected By Arminianism

The Arminian, given his atomistic individualism, rejects the significance of his race and people, by claiming that God does not deal with nations. The Arminian  rejects the significance of his family/recent ancestors, by claiming a non-existent libertarian free will and so he finds it comparatively easy to reject the covenantal nature of salvation in a Godly covenantal line. We see thus that the Arminian’s libertarian free will combined with his atomistic individualism works in him a heightened ability to just disregard the boundaries that God has set for man. He has become just an individual, floating in a sea of multi-colored individuals, with no past, no special connection to kin, with each individual serving as their own god/means of redemption. Because of this the Arminian is especially prone to being an Alienist.

This is doubly true for the Arminian Baptist, who, because of his Baptist teaching. This is a Baptist upbringing that denies continuity in the way that God has structured salvation by cutting the NT off from the OT. In the OT it is undeniable that God works salvation in covenantal lines. When God says,

Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations…

Deuteronomy 7:9

And;

But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children— / to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

Psalm 103:17-18

The Reformed believers has the expectation that God will be faithful to His promise to the God to us and to our seed. The Arminian Baptist on the other hand, as seen by their refusal to mark their children in Baptism with God’s mark of ownership, teaches their children, that the child must ask Jesus into their hearts, thus communicating that God does not work in covenantal/generational lines. By stripping the covenantal nature away from redemption what is communicated is that while the child may indeed belong to God as a result of their “sinner’s prayer,” he most certainly has not been irresistibly drawn by a God who works in family lines and keeps his covenant to a thousand generations. The covenantal continuity is gone. The sense that God works normatively (though not exclusively) in covenantal lines disappears.

As such the Arminian Baptist is more easily prone to Alienism. (Here the Reformed Baptist has major contradictions in their system since they also have aversion to covenantal continuity as seen in their agreement with Arminian Baptists to not baptize their children.) Alienism is that, until recently, that unspoken doctrine that teaches that there does not exist strong cords of attachments that bind the generations together by means of God’s covenantal faithfulness. Arminian Baptists especially, have trouble wrapping their heads around the Biblical doctrine of Kinism that is built upon the foundation of God’s covenantal/generational faithfulness. Alienism, consistent with the Arminian Baptist soil it grows out of, presupposes  that God does not work in covenantal lines. It presuppose discontinuity between the Old and New Testament.

It is a devilish system that had the accelerant of Dispensationalism poured on it. Dispensationalism was an accelerant because Dispensationalism is a system of radical discontinuity. I suppose we ought to be thankful that the mainline Dispensationalists were able to beat back the Bullingerite Dispensationalists. Still, while the Dispensationalists infected all of the denominations in the 20th century the slice of Christendom most infected were the Arminian Baptists.

However, no one has yet plumbed the depth of the infection of Arminian Dispensationalism on the body of Christ. I submit the unwillingness of many of the “conservative” “Reformed” denominations to see what their forefathers saw in terms of the covenantal unity of a particular race, ethnic group, and family is the result of Arminianism via Dispensationalism infecting the Reformed world. The Reformed have, whether by the influence of the Dispensational influence, or rather by the influence of Marxist categories (which have also been stridently Alienist) has resolved to make war on their Father’s Kinism. This has been repeatedly seen in the past few years but now it will be put on parade in the RPCNA trial of Rev. Sam Ketchum. The Reformed, by their recent pronouncements on race, recent booklet written against Kinists, and their resolve to put Ketchum on trial have put their Arminian, Dispensational, and/or Marxist bona fides on display and demonstrated all the anti-Christianity that exists in their putative Christianity.

I mean, just look at all the quotes from the Reformed Fathers from Church history as chronicled in the 2nd edition of the anthology “Who Is My Neighbor.” Just look at all the quotes from the early Church forward on this matter in the commpendium, “A Survey of Racialism in the Christian Sacred Tradition,” by Alexander Storen.