Typhoid (R2Kt virus) Bob Strikes Again

Dr. R. Scott Clark has gone from the ridiculous to the surreal in his latest advocacy of Radical Two Kingdom Virus Theology. It appears that one affect of long exposure to the R2Kt virus is dementia and addlepatedness.

“The Fourth Circuit has upheld the ban of a minister from praying at city council meetings in Fredericksburg, VA. His crime? He prays in Jesus’ name. That’s a sectarian prayer. Yes, it is and it’s a good thing too.

I can’t think of a non-sectarian prayer, at least not one in which I would want to be involved. As I understand Scripture non-sectarian prayer is idolatry.”

If Typoid Bob can’t think of a non-sectarian prayer why can he not think of a non-sectarian education, or a non-sectarian sociology, or a non-sectarian legal theory, or a non-sectarian culture? Why is it that all prayer is sectarian (and it certainly is) but all economic theory, governmental arrangements, art theory, and educational praxis is not sectarian?

This is an important question because part of Typhoid Bob’s problem is that he thinks that his ‘common realm’ or ‘secular realm’ can be a realm that is not a manifestation of some theology thus making it a non-sectarian realm. Suffice it to say that cultures are every bit as sectarian as prayers.

“People will decry this ruling as blow to religious freedom and freedom of speech (it is perhaps the latter) but there may be no clearer example of the confusion of the two kingdoms when Christ’s ministers do the bidding of Caesar by praying for divine blessing on behalf of the magistrate, as a civil function. Ministers and all Christians are commanded by God to pray for the magistrate. We do so during the week. We do so on the Sabbath, but do we have any business doing so to open legislative sessions? Legislators ought to pray as private persons before, during, and after their civil work but ministers are called by God as Christ’s servants in his eternal, immutable kingdom. They are not called as civil servants. If they will to be civil servants they have only to resign their ecclesiastical office. To attempt to function as an officer in both kingdoms simultaneously is a blow to the spirituality (which doesn’t mean ethereality) of Christ’s church.”

First, when a minister from the Church realm prays, he prays at the bidding of God, even if another minister of God in a different realm (the magistrate) requests him to pray.

Second, there is no confusion of the two kingdoms here as is seen in the reality that it is clearly seen, by God’s minister in the civil realm asking God’s minister in the ecclesiastical realm to come and offer an invocation that God, who reigns over both realms, and to whom both respective ministers (pastor and magistrate) are required to be in submission to, might grant wisdom to decision making and to be benevolent. Everybody in the room understands that reality of the two Kingdoms when a pastor is invited to offer invocation if only because it is clearly seen that the representative of God’s right hand is coming in to beseech God for the Kingdom of His left hand. Further, a wise pastor will include in his prayer the idea of the two Kingdoms to make that intuitive understanding clear.

Third, a wise pastor who is invited to pray in the context of a civil realm will include in his prayer the petition that these ministers in the civil realm will remember that they will be answerable to God for their decisions and will request that God will visit them with chastisement if they legislate contrary to God’s revealed word. There are a myriad of ways to make it clear that the minister isn’t present as the magistrates lackey. Equally so, there are an abundant means in which it can be communicated that the minister’s presence doesn’t mean that he supports any malfeasance that is taking place by God’s ministers in the civil realm.

Fourth, the prayer of a minister at a opening of a legislative session makes him a civil servant the way a Father being present at the birth of his child makes him a mother.

Typhoid Bob’s problem again is seeing spirituality as “otherworldliness” as opposed to seeing spirituality as incarnating the age to come in this present wicked age.

Make no mistake, the disagreement between those infected with R2kt virus and those who aren’t is a disagreement over what counts as “spirituality.”

“Afraid that the local imam will be opening a legislative session near you? You should be, but not because he’s a Muslim, but because he has no more business opening a session than your minister. God is sovereign. He raises kings and dashes them to the ground, but he administers two distinct kingdoms, by his sovereign power and will, in two distinct ways. He governs the spiritual kingdom, the visible church by the Word of God. He governs the civil kingdom by general revelation and the 2nd table of the natural law.

Recently, somebody has suggested that the close relation of Reformed people and Roman Catholics in the Acton Institute (where a big push for natural law is coming from) is leading to a Romanizing of Reformed Theology. When I read things like this I can’t help but perk up my hears when that argument is made.

The fact that Typhoid Bob desires to keep Imam’s out of the public square the same way he desires to keep ministers out of the public square indicates again that he desires a naked public square. Dr. R. Scott Clark’s theology is one with the ACLU on this score.

Also, the 2nd table of the law presupposes the first table. It is no more possible to govern the civil kingdom by the 2nd table of the law without the 1st table then it is to fire a gun that doesn’t have any bullets in it. Bullets presuppose a gun in order to be effective. Just so, the 2nd table presupposes the first table in order to be effective. The breakdown of the West over the last 100 yeas ought to be testimony of that fact.

“Can you imagine the Apostle Paul opening a session of the Roman senate? The real question is whether we’re going to continue to try to hang on to the last remnants of Christendom.”

Note the hatred of Typhoid Bob for Christendom. We must remind our readers here that if we will not have a Christendom we will have some other kind of “dom” whether it is Islamadom, or Humanismdom. It is not possible to have a naked public square, despite all the insistence of the R2kt types that such a thing is possible. This hatred of Christendom represents a failure of nerve to incarnate the Christian faith into every area of life.

I cannot imagine the Apostle Paul being asked to open a session of the Roman senate in prayer but I can imagine the Apostle Paul praying to open the session of the Roman senate just as I can imagine him giving a defense of the Gospel on Mars Hill. Such a prayer would have been a wondeful opportunity to give the Gospel.

“Why does any legislative body need to invite anyone to pray? Why do they need to open sessions with prayer?”

Because they understand that they are ministers of God in the civil realm? Because they desire God to bless their deliberations? Because they desire to communicate that unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain attempting to legislate anything not according to His will? Because they are a pious Christian people and a pious Christian people are notorious for invoking God at important events.

Is he serious by asking those questions?

“Yes, Christians ought to serve in government and Christians ought to pray for government and Christians who serve in government should pray while they’re serving, but a city council meeting is not a worship service. It’s not a prayer meeting. It’s not a bible study.”

ROFLOL

I guess this means I, as the minister, should quit praying before our covenant mealtimes since covered dish dinners are not official worship services.

They’re meeting to discuss whether to pave my walk or not. They’re meeting to approve a budget but we’re not a theocracy.

First, note how Dr. Clark belittles what happens in the public square. This seems to communicate that where the really important stuff happens is in his “spiritual” Kingdom.

Second, does God’s Word have nothing to say how money should be spent?

Third, we are a theocracy. All governments are theocracys. Even if Bob got his way with R2Kt the government would be a theocracy. Theocracy is an unavoidable category. We live under one now. Dr. Clark’s theology won’t allow him to realize that.

“We don’t have a state church.”

We most certainly do. It’s called the government schools. If the city council wants to be inconsistent by asking a minister to pray as opposed to the local school principal Christian ministers should take advantage of that.

“We don’t have an officially approved doctrine of God.”

We do in a defacto sense. It is, “In the State we live and move and have our being.” If the city council wants to be inconsistent by asking a minister to pray as opposed to the some government official in the tank for the State Christian ministers should take advantage of that.

“We don’t know or care about the church affiliation of those whom we elect to office.”

Typhoid Bob may not care but I care and take pains to find out before I cast a vote.

“In that case, what am I doing praying with Unitarians, pagans, Hindus, and Roman Catholics? That’s crazy. I can agree with them on street paving because of the providence of God but I don’t have to agree with them theologically and I don’t have to and don’t want to pray with them.

I’m only praying with them because I’m the one praying. If a priest or Imam were praying you can bet I wouldn’t be praying with them.

What if the pagans decided that they were going to pave the street with sub-standard filling charging the citizens for the good stuff while keeping the difference. You see, worldview does make a difference for paving streets.

His congregation didn’t call him to pray at city council meetings. They called him to preach the gospel to them and to evangelize the community and the catechize their children. If he’s doing his job I don’t know that he has time to pray at city council meetings.

And what makes Typhoid Bob think that praying in a God honoring Biblical fashion at the opening of a legislative meeting isn’t evangelism?

Dr. Clark has tunnel vision.