The Purpose of Law and Government

What are the obligations and purposes of law and government?

(1) To protect (a) public health, (b) safety, and (c) morals, and (2) to advance the general welfare—including, preeminently, protecting people’s fundamental rights and basic liberties. - Robert P. George

For the whole discussion see Justin Taylor's blog.

The Church's Need to Refocus

While the church fathers and Reformers are hardly above criticism, the contention of this book is that we are the oddities, not they; we are the ones obsessed with trivialities. The church fathers and Reformers had a more biblical sense of priorities than we have. We have permitted the idolaters of power and mammon to set our priorities for us; we have let them convince us that the really big issues confronting the world are political, and they can be solved through political means.

Peter J. Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church, p. 21

America's Hope

For the present, Western Christians find themselves in some important respects in the same situation as the Christians of the early centuries A.D. We face not merely a hostile elite, but a hostile culture. Orthodox Christians must stop thinking of ourselves as the temporarily exiled rulers of America who can be restored to power if only an election or two would go our way. We must start accepting the truth that, sociologically speaking, we are a minority subculture. If this accurately describes the current state of American Christianity, the task before the church is not to ‘take back the levers of power,’ but rather to convert a pagan world. Our cultural crisis, in short, goes much deeper than moral majoritarians suspect. It is not as if the top floors of the edifice of Christendom need some remodeling. The entire building has collapsed, and now, if it is to be rebuilt at all, it must be rebuilt from the ground floor. The problem is not that America has been the site of a coup that can be corrected by a counter-coup. America is the site of a death, and the only known antidote for death is resurrection.

- Peter Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church, pp. 10-11

America Going the Way of Ancient Rome?

America is going the way of ancient Rome. The past decade will be remembered as the pivotal tipping point where the United States ceased to be a superpower. Like the Roman Empire in its later stages, America's imperial grandeur masked moral rot and economic decay.

The beginning of the 21st century promised continued U.S. global dominance. Our economic might seemed unrivaled; the dot-com boom had not yet gone bust. Washington was still basking in the warm glow of its victory in the Cold War. America bestrode the world like a military and economic colossus.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks changed everything. Like Rome and Imperial Britain, the United States embarked upon costly, prolonged wars in far-away countries. The result is that America remains mired in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two wars have cost more than 5,200 dead and $1 trillion with no victory or end in sight.

Read the whole article here. I would only disagree with the author's view of Sept. 11th changing everything. I think America was on this course long before 2001. But he is correct in pointing out that there is no real difference between Bush and Obama on this point. Nor has there been any difference on this point with any modern President. America is an Empire.

HT: Gene Veith

Separation of School and State

This is an idea worth checking out:
“I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education."

"Our proclamation is a declaration of independence, a statement that declares that each signer believes people should be free to educate their children for a real future, for a free future, and not be forced to have them educated for the government’s future."

The Alliance for Separation of School and State.

Their strategy:
 

1.      If you have children in public schools, make the choice to remove them and employ some form of independent schooling. Take a look at these ideas, resources and options to get you started:

• Find a Private School (includes ideas for combining private and home education, as well as thoughts on financing your children’s education, and more).

• Start Home Education (resources, ideas, how-to’s, alternative schooling, and more).
    

2.      Help someone else remove a child from public school and encourage those who have already chosen this path.  There are endless ways to do this, from encouraging others to helping out financially, from providing resources to even beginning a school yourself.  Here are some ideas and resources to get you started:

• Support Independent Educators (lots of ways, both financial and non-financial, to help families choose and remain committed to independence.

• Provide Practical Support to Home Educators (ideas on stocking resource centers and libraries, offering tutoring and workshops, giving moms a break, networking, and more).

• Start a Private School (there are many varieties of private schools — links and resources to get you started).
      

3.      Help spread the message of freedom in education. The Alliance is dedicated full-time to educating the public about the need for state-free, independent schooling and to helping people make and support that choice. Your partnership with us is deeply appreciated.

Moving the World

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” –Helen Keller

HT: George Grant

Real Presence Necessary to Assemble Together?

The "real presence" I am referring to does not involve the elements of the Lord's Supper. Instead, there is debate as to whether the real presence of Christians is needed to constitute the gathering of the church. Gene Veith references the idea of internet churches here. In our modern technological culture it is easy to lose the important idea of bodily presence.

Lamenting a Culture Lacking in Multi-Generational Experience

Russell Moore considers the lack of the three generation family in our modern culture. Read the article here. Once the reality of this problem is recognized, it will be possible to begin to think about ways to overcome this deficit. If it is not possible to change the past or even the present, it may be possible for many to begin planning for ways they can be a three generation family with their children and grandchildren.

Why a Blog about Comprehensive Christianity?

The great need for Christian influence among individuals, families, and churches, as well as the lack of Christian impact at all levels, and at all points, of society and culture, stands as a stark reminder of the need for, and the potential for, comprehensive Christianity.

The desire of this blog is that Christians begin to live out a consistent biblical Christianity, resulting in a greater manifestation of the truth of the gospel with the faithfulness of Christians becoming more apparent and resulting in a greater impact upon the world in the present, as well as future generations, and thus experiencing a greater expansion and manifestation of God's Kingdom.

This may not appear to be a humble attempt. Nor, on one level, is it meant to be. However, on another level, it certainly is a humble attempt. The will and power of God is the only way any Christian influence will be brought to bear in this world. In addition, this attempt no doubt will be a very small voice across the landscape of humanity. Nonetheless, a contribution to the advancement of the cause of Christ is possible.

Nor is this a Lone Ranger approach. By networking and linking to others it is hoped that positive discussion, debate, and implementation of the ideas presented here can be expansive in their impact. I do not pretend to have all of the answers. Instead, I am a disciple of Christ, always learning what it means to follow Him in this world.There is a real sense in which the church is on this journey together. Because of this collective journey, we have much to learn from those who have gone before and from those who presently journey with us.

So here is praying, thinking, and discussing toward a comprehensive Christianity.