Symposium On Christian Economics Jcr Vol 2 No 1

The continuing and intensifying economic crises of the twentieth century are the direct product of the interference into the economy by the civil government. The messianic state cannot permit any aspect of human life, animal life, and inorganic nature to assert any claims of lawful independence from political manipulation. The end result of the deification of the state is the breakdown of humanistic society.

As a result, the break-down in secular legal structures throughout the world—a legal crisis which is becoming increasingly obvious to voters, politicians, and humanistic scholars—has not brought with it a cry for the restoration of biblical law, the only alternative which has any possibility of survival in the long run.

Witchcraft, occultism, paranormal science, and mysticism are growing like plagues in the Western world. These phenomena have baffled modern educators and conventional rationalists, since such activities seem to be completely opposed to everything that the public schools have taught for over a hundred years. Worst of all in the minds of conventional secularists, all this discussion of demonic forces may lead to an even more appalling conclusion: the idea that God, also a supernatural force, may reappear in the modern, "post-Christian" world. At all costs, a God who can make himself felt in time and on earth must be avoided. Mysticism is one thing—totally internalized—but supernatural forces are not supposed to have any impact on external, so-called phenomenal affairs. Occultism is another form of humanism. It is the product of the quest for power apart from God and His law-order. It was not a major force in the so-called "Dark Ages." Not until the fifteenth century did witchcraft become a serious problem in Europe, and it was the Renaissance, not medievalism, which sparked the great explosion of demonism and magic in the sixteenth century. During the period of the early Middle Ages (A.D. 500-1000), there were practically no signs of witchcraft in Europe. Only with the revival of ancient Gnosticism and the invasion of Middle Eastern dualism did signs of widespread witchcraft reappear. Occultism and humanism are not sworn enemies; they are first cousins. It was only the influence of Christian principles, which laid such stress on the orderliness of God's universe, that made possible the confidence of modern rationalists in denying the influence of supernatural forces. As the confidence in creation-law has waned in this century, "rational" humanism has become increasingly unsuccessful in retarding the expansion of occult humanism. This Journal of Christian Reconstruction offers readers the necessary evidence for a refutation of the familiar charge that occultism and religion necessarily go together, and that only a hard-headed rationalism can restrain the forces of spiritual anarchy. Far from retarding occultism, modern rationalism's blindness to the reality of occult forces is now creating a perverse inquisitiveness on the part of modernism's children, who have learned to be critical of everything, including old-fashioned rationalism. The philosophy of the "open universe"—closed to God—has produced the new occult experimentalism. If anything except Christian orthodoxy might be true, why not find out through personal observation and experiment? Since 1965, the Western world has faced the greatest explosion of occultism that it has seen in three hundred years. This time no one can blame orthodox Christianity: it has been the secularists who have wielded the power.

The author discusses three major hermeneutical views concerning the fulfillment of the promises God made in the Davidic Covenant—that is, a house (dynasty), a kingdom (realm), and a throne (right to rule). He shows how the adherents of each view differ regarding the timing and nature of the fulfillment of each aspect. He also investigates the hermeneutical methodology of each view to determine how they arrived at their conclusions, and then he analyzes their conclusions from an exegetical perspective. Furthermore, he explains in detail and defends the view he considers to be biblical. Most of all, in an age where compromise on biblical interpretation has become the norm, he encourages his readers to interpret the Scriptures according to the normal laws of language in order to arrive at their intended meaning. I am honored to endorse this book for Patrick Nasongo. His extensive research reveals why three prominent evangelical approaches differ in their interpretations of the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. His analysis is fair and the reader will learn much about each methodology. Larry A. Tyler, Ph.D. Dean, Bowman School of Bible & Theology Temple Baptist Seminary

Specifics concerning creation are officially relegated into the realm of things indifferent to salvation or the life of the church. Various perspectives serve as popular alternatives to the six-day creation within circles that still concern themselves with the question of biblical inerrancy.

In the previous issue of The Journal, we presented the case for the puritans as reforms who were determined to reconstruct society in terms of Biblical law. Not every Puritan had this vision, of course; not every Puritan agreed about the nature of Biblical law. But sufficient numbers of them did share this vision, especially in New England, and the world still reaps the benefits of their efforts. This is another way of saying that the Puritans expected success to come their way, and when it did, it left its mark on Western Civilization. By unleashing the talents of men in every station in life, the Puritan doctrine of the priesthood of all believers transformed the West. A grass-roots reconstruction began which was to lead eventually to the American War of Independence. The top-down hierarchy of Anglicanism did not take root in the Puritan colonies. Because of this, American political life was freed from the dead hand of a church-state bureaucratic tradition. But it was not simply in the realm of politics that Puritanism left its mark. Consider modern science. Without the doctrines of Puritanism, it is unlikely that modern science ever would have appeared. The calling before God, the legitimacy of the mechanic's trade, the optimism concerning the study of nature, and many other Puritan concepts brought forth modern science. Two articles, one by Charles Dykes and the other by E. L. Hebden Taylor, demonstrate this forcefully. Christians seldom know what modern historians of science know, namely, that Puritanism was basic to the advent of modern scientific progress. This ingrained optimism stemmed from their eschatological presuppositions, as James Payton demonstrates with respect to English Puritans and Aletha Joy Gilsdorf shows with respect to the first generation of colonial Puritans. And then there was Oliver Cromwell. Judy Ishkanian provides us with a detailed biography of this crucially important military and political leader of the Puritan forces in England. Who was he, how did he accomplish his goals, and where did he get his vision? These questions are answered in considerable depth, given the limitations of a single chapter in biography. This issue of The Journal is a continuation of an investigation into the nature of the Puritan reformation. It is followed by the third and final volume, "Puritanism and Society." Anyone who wants access to illuminating introductions to the impact of Puritanism outside of the institutional church as such, should have these volumes in his library. They will serve later Christian scholars as starting points for further research. Even more important, they open up a whole new world of Christian history and inspiration, for the Puritans vision-that all of the earth is open ground for the establishment of God's Kingdom-can be revived in our day. That vision can become a heritage for later generations. But to become a part of that heritage, men must reconsider the standard accounts of Puritanism's influence in the less informed (but widely read) secular textbooks. For Christians who want to learn why and how Puritan theology led to Puritanism's reconstruction of seventeenth-century though and culture, these issues of The Journal are indispensable.

There are millions of Bible-believing Christians in the United States, people who affirm their faith in the infallibility of the Bible. Yet it is obvious to anyone that the United States is dominated by the forces of secular humanism.

By every known academic measurement, government-subsidized, secular, compulsory education is a massive failure and getting worse. Yet the American public continues to believe that government-financed education is moral,useful, and basically a great economic bargain.