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Theonomy vs. Contemporary Christian Legal Norms
Using the Bible to define what laws are just and unjust can lead to a number of conflicts with contemporary legal systems and even legal systems favored by Christians today. This post will mention two that I think are more controversial but under mentioned: 1) No Inchoate Crimes The general rule of “an eye for…
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John Owen on the Theonomy Debate between Joel McDurmon and Jordan Hall
John Owen, Works, Volume 8 (“Sermons to the Nations“), p. 394: Although the institutions and examples of the Old Testament, of the duty of magistrates in the things and about the worship of God, are not, in their whole latitude and extent, to be drawn into rules that should be obligatory to all magistrates now,…
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Pseudo-Kline Retranslates the Torah
The Pentateuch actually states: Deuteronomy 4:6-8Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto…
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Are Nations Supposed to be Concerned About Righteousness?
Some people seem to think that nations have no business in promoting morality in general or sexual morality in particular. There’s not always a cogent reason for this objection, but often the presupposition behind the objection is that there is supposed to be separation of church and state, and that this separation should entail the…
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One of the Problems of Pluralism
If you live in a pluralistic society, you are going to have deal with situations like this one (link). Keep in mind that Sikhs are required by their religion to carry a kirpan. Their code of conduct states: “Have, on your person, all the time, the five K’s: The Keshas (unshorn hair), the Kirpan (sheathed…
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Where in the Golden Rule is That?
Someone (I’d use their name or handle, if they had left one) asked where in “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (sometimes called the “Golden Rule”) did Jesus authorize “religious persecution,” which (one supposes) is the pejorative term that folks these days us to refer to the Reformed position on…
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The real Francis Turretin on: Continuing vs. Abrogated Portions of Civil Law
One of the areas where I might disagree (with respect to some of the nuances) with the real Francis Turretin, is in his treatment of the Old Testament civil law. Nevertheless, as Andrew Myers has (at Virginia is for Hugenots) kindly provided a quotation from Turretin on this subject (along with other interesting related material),…
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GreenBaggins on Theonomy – A Response
Lane Keister at GreenBaggins has a post in which he argues that “Theonomy is Biblically-Theologically Wrong” (link). I can summarize it thus: “redemptive-historical theology removes the O.T. civil laws while natural law replaces them.” 1) Limited Agreement on the Church-State Distinction I agree that the church and state are not one and the same thing…
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Homosexuality and Ethiopia
It is reported that religious leaders in Ethiopia are pushing for a constitutional ban on homosexuality (link). While it is great that a nation would condemn sin, governmental action is not enough. The church needs to be active in preaching the true Gospel of repentance and faith in Christ. While the government does have a…
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Five Kingdoms Theology
There is a difference between the church and the state. They are two different kingdoms, with different spheres of authority. The Bible gives us information on how each sphere properly operates. They are not, however, the only two spheres of authority, contrary to the impressions that some recent advocates of so-called “Two Kingdoms” theology. There…