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.

Church Advocates Putting Light Under A Bushel As Effective Means Of Evangelism

“Because he was known as a hard worker and a devout Muslim, a young man got a good job herding cattle for wealthy families in his West African village. The families fed and paid him well. He liked the job and it helped him and his family members survive.

But then something happened. The young man started to talk with friends and others about Christianity—a religion about which he had known very little. He began to pray and reflect. One day, although he was frightened to make the move, he became a Christian.

At first he was happy and relieved. But then a group of Christians from another area told him that he needed to stop going to the mosque, stop fasting during Ramadan, and start speaking out against Islam.

The young man did this, but it didn’t go over well in his village. His friends turned against him. He lost his job. His wife was taken from him. He was attacked and beaten. Soon he was ostracized and not able to participate in the life of his village. In despair, he moved away.

Only later, after talking to other Christians, did he realize that he could have acted differently. These Christians told him that people had not been ready to hear his testimony. Following the first group’s advice had driven people away and made it harder for anyone to talk about Christianity. If the young man had kept his new faith “under the radar,” over time he might have been able to help others to consider becoming Christians.”

That this is being advocated as a new approach to evangelism is mind boggling. Are they actually advocating that the convert to Christ should have continued attending Mosque? Are they actually suggesting that the convert to Christ should have continued to celebrate the pagan holiday Ramadan? Are they saying that the convert was wrong for speaking out for Jesus? Are they actually teaching that when we are opposed for the sake of the Gospel we should shut up?

This article from the CRC Banner makes my head hurt.

The Banner Keeps Beating The Homosexual Drum

The Christian Reformed Church publication, “The Banner,” continues to push the homosexual agenda with its Editor’s recent Editorial on homosexuality. The Editor professes that he is not pushing homosexuality but merely desires to see all the hurting homosexuals that attend CRC churches receive loving acceptance and pastoral care.

The Editor suggests that the way to get past the current conversational impasse on the issue in the Denomination is for everybody to put aside their certainties on the subject and “do some fresh, serious, Bible study that is also informed by the latest scientific research on the subject.” Speaking only for myself, I would prefer to see some fresh, serious, scientific research that is also informed by wisdom of the Bible.

The problem with consulting “creation revelation” independent of the presuppositions drawn from Scripture is that “creation revelation” is only as good as the presuppositions that we bring to the “creation revelation.” Good and bad, and right and wrong, can not be determined by scientific research, though scientific research can be used and has been used to justify changing good and bad, and right and wrong in order to fit our preferences.

Face it, if Adam and Eve had looked to creation revelation and scientific research in order to determine whether or not they should eat the forbidden fruit they would have concluded that since the tree was good for food, and since the tree was pleasing to the eye, and since the tree was desirable to make one wise therefore scientific research and creation revelation taught that it was good to eat the fruit.

The call for people to put aside their certainties is merely a pretext to get the opponents of homosexuality to lay aside their opposition. It is only the opponents of homosexuality who lose by laying aside their certainties that the Scriptures speak against homosexuality. I mean, nobody really believes that the latest greatest scientific research is going to return a report confirming that homosexuality is deviant and putrid behavior. So, Rev. DeMoor appeals to laying aside our certainties and appeals to “scientific research,” knowing that such a call serves his agenda.

Rev. Bob DeMoor of the Banner, by opening and pursuing this conversation, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is serving the homosexual agenda.

For Tom, Michelle & Tommy J. – Pt. I

I have a extended family member who has a little boy and this past week she asked for some tips on how to teach her son how to pray.

Dear Tom & Michelle & Tommy J.,

I thought the best way to start in teaching Tommy J. how to pray is by looking at the prayer in the Bible that Jesus taught us to pray.

Matthew 6:9-13

9After this manner ought you to pray:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Before we begin to examine how we can use this as a template to inform our children how to pray we need to make some preliminary considerations.

The first consideration is found in the that little word “Our,” that I have put in bold relief. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray he was teaching a group of men who were already named and owned by God. This is why Jesus could teach them to address God as, “Our Father.”

This is key to understand. Jesus was not teaching a group of Hindu or Muslim worshipers how to pray. He was teaching a group of those who already worshiped the God of the Bible how to pray.

The point here is that only those who are worshipers of God can address the God of the Bible as “Our Father.” If we are not worshipers of God we cannot address God in this way. If we are not worshipers of the one true God, then we have to give up the false god or gods we are worshiping and humble ourselves before the God of the Bible and worship Him. The Bible teaches that if we are not worshipers of the God of the Bible then God will not hear our prayers.

“Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

So, our first lesson about prayer, Tommy J., is that we must be worshipers of the one true God. If we are not worshipers of the God of the Bible then we cannot refer to God as “Our Father.”

The good news Tommy J., is that God will receive all those who ask Him to be their God.

Tomorrow, Tommy J., we will look in to how it is possible that God would hear our prayers.

Bush Should Be Tried … But Not By Democrats

Recently it has been all over the news that B. Hussein Obama is toying with allowing his Attorney General to prosecute for crimes committed by Bush administration officials in relation to torture techniques pursued during the Bush administration.

Now, I have little doubt that the Bush administration is guilty of all kinds of crimes during their time in office, though I’m more concerned about the crimes committed in the run up to the war. I think that if there was such a thing as justice in Washington D.C. many of the Bush administration officials would end up behind bars.

However, the idea that Democrats are qualified to bring justice to the crimes of Republicans is like believing the Stalin communists were qualified to bring justice to the Nazi fascists. Bush administration officials may be guilty but their potential jurors are equally guilty. It would be a mockery of justice to see Democrats putting Republicans on trial.

Now, if we could have a trial were Democrats and Republicans alike would be put on trial I would be all for it. But we all know that is not going to happen.

However, in the end there will be no trials for the simple reason that Washington is a den of thieves and they honor the code of thieves. That code teaches that the group of thieves called the Democratic party does not go after the group of thieves called the Republican party in any significant large scale way, if only because everybody has the goods on everybody else. Significant large scale justice will never happen because everybody knows where all the bodies are buried and how to expose their accusers.

So what we get instead is a great deal of public self righteous pontificating about how despicable the guy in the other party is.