The Vanity of the Human Mind

In our own lifetimes, we have seen the vanity of human life, in sin, here on earth, transgress, traverse, and greatly exceeded all imagination of what could be invented next. It may be an exponential increase, but it’s rising on the same curve that 17. cent. Theologian John Owen describes in his day, predicting an ever expanding increase in vanity. (And how accurately does this explain the modern world?):

“The mind of man by nature is wholly vain, under the power of vanity, and is an endless, fruitful womb of all monstrous births. The world is now growing towards six thousand years old, and yet is no nearer the bottom of the springs of its vanity, or the drawing out of its supplies, than it was the first day that sin entered into it. New sins, new vices, new vanities, break forth continually; and all is from hence, that the mind of man by nature is altogether vain. Nor is there any way or means for putting a stop hereunto in persons, families, cities, nations, but so far as the minds of men are cured and renewed by the Holy Ghost. The world may alter its shape and the outward appearances of things, it may change its scenes, and act its part in new habits and dresses, but it will still be altogether vain so long as natural uncured vanity is predominant in the minds of men; and this will sufficiently secure them from attaining any saving acquaintance with spiritual things.” Pneumatologia, chap. iii

Oh The Irony! Top Universities accused of being Anti-Semitic AND Islamophobic!

Oh the irony!

(Of course, antisemitic means anti-Jewish in common parlance although Arabs are Semites. But that aside,) Muslims must hate Jews religiously. It’s in their book. Mohammed was mocked by Jews in Mecca and so the later Quranic writings reflect his spite for Jews.

Jews believe they are God’s chosen people, and everyone else, including Muslims are under God’s curse and judgment. It’s in their book! (Although they have not kept God’s covenant, but instead are under his curse for rejecting the Messiah.)

This is a case where there are two contradictory religious positions, and you have to pick one, (or neither.) But you can’t pick both! So there are contradictory laws because Islam means not tolerating Jews and modern Judaism means not tolerating any non-Jews if they get in your way. 

So how are major universities running afoul of both at the same time? Well, they have different people: students and faculty taking different positions on issues. The irony is just hilarious. It’s lost on people who don’t actually understand Islam or Judaism. 

The doctrine of religious tolerance forces impossible contradictions.

COVID Lockdowns Failed

“It is not unreasonable to conclude from the available data that the lockdowns led to more overall deaths in the U.S. than a policy that resembled Sweden’s [not locking down] would have.”

Personally I’d like to see data on the impact of lockdowns on churches and in person church attendance.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/covid-lockdowns-big-fail-joe-nocera-bethany-mclean-book-excerpt.html

A New Speaker for the House asks the Republican conference to bow in prayer

The House of Representatives has elected a new speaker. After struggling to elect a new speaker for the last few weeks, the Republican conference settled on Mike Johnson from Louisiana. He asked the entire conference to bow in prayer following the vote. Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee lead in prayer thusly (by his account,) “Lord, please, do not let us lose our country. In Jesus name, Amen.”

(Burchett on the right of the photo after agreeing to lead in prayer if he could do it “‘Baptist style’ from the back”.)

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

What are we to do when they make void the law of God?; living in a decadent culture that not only sins against God, but sins in order to make void His law and set up its sins in place of it. The number one sign of a nation being under the judgment of God in Scripture is that he curses it with wicked and corrupt leaders. Which is precisely what we are experiencing in the USA today at the highest levels. We are nationally under the judgment of God.

This morning I went to church, where I heard a sermon on Psalm 119:121-128 (ayin).

The prescription of the psalmist applies to Christians in the USA today. We find ourselves un precisely that situation. It is to 1. Call upon God in prayer to act. v. 126 “It is time for thee, LORD, to work:
for they have made void thy law”, and 2. Pray for national repentance, reformation, and revival. Daniel 9 gives a model prayer. Won’t you pray it with me?

Psalm 119:121ff I have done judgment and justice:
leave me not to mine oppressors.
Be surety for thy servant for good:
let not the proud oppress me.
Mine eyes fail for thy salvation,
and for the word of thy righteousness.
Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy,
and teach me thy statutes.
I am thy servant; give me understanding,
that I may know thy testimonies.
It is time for thee, LORD, to work:
for they have made void thy law.
Therefore I love thy commandments
above gold; yea, above fine gold.
Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right;
and I hate every false way.

Let us pray for national repentance, revival, and reformation, with Daniel:

Daniel 9:4-19

And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Team No Kids

The childfree mentality is evil. In fact, it’s diabolical. It is against life and pro death. It takes no thought for the future, but only the present. It makes you the center, in other words, self-centered. It dishonors the Creator. It is against the prosperity of the nation, and the flourishing of the human race. “Team No Kids” does what Satan bids.

On the direction of the USA

Millennials and older grew up in a moribund Christendom that was on its last leg here in the USA. There’s no going back to that. The foundations must be rebuilt. We’re going to party like it’s 1620.

In the third century Athanasius felt like the entire world was against him for preaching the true doctrine of Christ and he was literally banished from the Roman empire entirely. The heresy of Arianism was en vogue, similar to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Claiming that the Son is the first creation of the Father. Which is not a Savior. But within a generation or two the Arians were banished from the empire. And the preaching of the True doctrine of Christ was being promulgated by men like Gregory Nazianzus, basil the great and Gregory of Nyssa, after the framing of the Nicene creed, with the support of the empire.

Be encouraged. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. We win eventually!

The Reformed Response to Anti-Christian Governments

As our reformed forefathers taught us in the midst of terrible persecution against the Church of Christ, when the civil government and the body politic is shaking its fist at God and spitting at the sky, trying to throw off his yoke (Psalm 2), that is the exact time to proclaim the sovereign authority of God and his law over all nations and governments. It’s more important than ever.

The Belgic confession was written in 1559 (by Guido de Brès) when the false church of Rome was fiercely persecuting the reformed churches. It was literally thrown over the city wall as a statement of faith to the Roman Catholic rulers. Note what it says about the civil magistrate:

36 Of Magistrates
We believe that our gracious God, because of the depravity of mankind, has appointed kings, princes and magistrates, willing that the world should be governed by certain laws and policies; to the end that the dissoluteness of men might be restrained and all things carried on among them with good order and decency. For this purpose he has invested the magistracy with the sword, for the punishment of evildoers, and for the protection of them that do well. And their office is, not only to have regard unto, and watch for the welfare of the civil state; but also that they protect the sacred ministry; and thus may remove and prevent all idolatry and false worship; that the kingdom of antichrist may be thus destroyed and the kingdom of Christ promoted. They must therefore countenance the preaching of the Word of the gospel everywhere, that God may be honoured and worshipped by every one, as he commands in his Word. Moreover, it is the bounden duty of every one, of what state, quality, or condition soever he may be, to subject himself to the magistrates; to pay tribute, to show due honour and respect to them, and to obey them in all things which are not repugnant to the Word of God; to supplicate for them in their prayers, that God may rule and guide them in all their ways, and that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Wherefore we detest the Anabaptists and other seditious people, and in general all those who reject the higher powers and magistrates, and would subvert justice, introduce community of goods, and confound that decency and good order, which God has established among men.

The Prussian influence

Honestly one of the reasons why the US military is so effective is that we are Prussian in our doctrine, theory, and tactics. Starting with Baron von Steuben and the foundation of West Point. Continuing on, the Prussian influence has been great in the US military. We perfected Clausewitz’s Auftragstaktik. This means decisions made in the heat of battle by officers on the field.

Celebrating Juneteenth

Slavery has existed for all of human history and it still continues. Today we celebrate and commemorate the day The United States ended it in their own territory. It took the sacrifice of over 300,000 Union soldiers.

USA 🇺🇸! Let freedom ring.

Happy Juneteenth