Commonality and Antithesis

What accounts for cultural commonality between pagans and Christians in a given culture existing alongside the fundamental antithesis that the Bible teaches is between Christians and pagans?

Some posit the answer of Natural law. Natural law, so it is claimed, can be accessed by pagans and so allows pagans to operate with a proper sense of ought-ness to civil realm realities. However, such an answer misses the reality that Natural law, while being something that genuinely exists, can not be read aright except that Special revelation be, at some level, assumed. The pagan may get some things right and some might even credit that getting of some things right to Natural law, but the thing to remember is that those who want to credit that the pagan gets civil things right can’t account for how it is that a pagan who is beginning with autonomous self as their ultimate beginning point can get things right via Natural law.

The answer for the issue of commonality existing alongside the idea of the biblical antithesis is that both that the pagans have not yet worked out the implications of their Christ hating worldview — retaining yet stolen capital from the Christians worldview in their worldview — AND the Christian likewise has not yet worked out the implications of their Christ honoring worldview, retaining yet impurity in their thinking that allows accommodation and commonality with their pagan neighbor on matters that they ought not to be accommodating upon and where no commonality should exist. As time goes by and as people (Christians and pagans alike) work out the implications of their respective worldviews the result will be that the commonality decreases as the antithesis increases.

The fact that commonality exists is accounted for, not by Natural law, but rather by both Christians and pagans living together in the twilight of their inconsistencies.

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him. View all posts by jetbrane