1996 Issue 2
Thomas Ice, author of several dispensational works and director of the Pre-Trib Study Group, is convinced that Reformed theology, and especially its Reconstructionist branch, is anti-Semitic (Ice, "Hal Lindsey, Dominion Theology, and Anti-Semitism," Biblical Perspectives, 5:1 [Jan.-Feb., 1992]). His argument is fraught with error.
Ironically, the question that should naturally arise in this setting is wholly omitted. That question is: What is "anti-Semitism"? Nowhere in the article does he define "anti-Semitism." What is worse, he assumes anti-Semitism (or at least its philosophical underpinning) is any theology that does not hold that Jews will one day dominate the world.
Jesus bestows complete health on the total person of the paralytic by beginning with the removal of the cause of his physical malady, reminding us that the wages of sin is death, and that Jesus came to save us from the wages of sin. Therefore, the only way to complete health for the whole person is to have God reconciled to us through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. "It is proper to attend to this order in our prayers. When the feeling of afflictions reminds us of our sins, let us first of all be careful to obtain pardon, that, when God is reconciled to us, He may withdraw His hand from punishing." - Calvin
What we sing and what we believe are closely connected. In other words, there is a relationship between what a church or a people sing when they worship God, and their view of the God whom they worship. Patrick Cowley has expressed this point well, "It is theology that makes worship, and worship is always the expression of theology. It is only in theology that worship has its legitimate origin and sanction, and so the faith of the church is revealed in the worship of the church, as also in its daily work. Worship is the dramatization of theology, and is its living Technicolor film. As emphases in theology alter, so one finds changes in, or additions to, worship." (Cited by Jack Martin Maxwell: Worship and Reformed Theology: The Liturgical Lessons of Mersersburg. Pittsburgh Theological Monograph Series. no. 10. The Pickwick Press. 1976. p. 379.)
Fit Bodies, Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don't Think and What ยท to Do About It by Os Guinness.
This latest volume (already in its third edition) from the pen of this prolific writer examines the reasons why evangelicals fail to think from a Christian perspective. Of the many reasons he examines and. discusses, the following are included: polarization ("a false antagonism between the heart and the mind" p. 28), pietism (emphasizing a heart religion, which has historically opposed intellectualism), and populism, (a promotion of "the rights, wisdom, and virtues of common people") p. 44) that has led to churches being theologically leveled and thus retreating from a theological discussion of current issues. He also does not overlook the fact that we live in a day of visual images as opposed to communication by words. Thus, people have little motivation to think. Sadly, too many Christians are more interested in being entertained than in thoughtfully testing what they see and hear in terms of Scripture.
The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women by John Knox.
Originally published in 1558, this republication appears at a time when the rule of women in the local church is again being debated in Reformed circles. Readers familiar with Knox's writings know that Knox pulls no punches in his thesis that the Bible prohibits the rule of women in the church and also in society. Writing during the reign of Queen Mary, he fearlessly states, "To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city is repugnant to nature; contumely [insult] to God, a thing most contrary to His revealed will and approved ordinance; and finally, it is subversion of good order, of all equity and justice." (p. 19).
The Declaration of Independence is probably the most celebrated document in our history. This fact alone speaks volumes about the mentality of our day as well as the great misunderstandings which surround the document itself. The Declaration along with many other things in our history has largely become a mythological document. Gary North in his article The Declaration of Independence as a Conservative Document (The Journal of Christian Reconstruction, vol. I, Summer, 1976, no. 1) points out a number of the myths which have attached themselves to the Declaration of Independence.
