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“Larry Elder Resented His Father as a Child,” The Fallen State
“Churchill and the Jews,” by David Irving. Trying to educate myself more about the alternative, unconventional take on WWII, Churchill, and the Holocaust. Not convinced; but again, trying to be open or at least knowledgeable.
“Sir Richard Evans: The Dark Origins of Hitler Revisionism, Churchill Smear and Holocaust Denial,” The Winston Marshall Show. Basically the other side of the above, and thus the conventional academic take.
Last, a short series about the history, development, and present state of the biblical counseling movement from The Marscast at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Solid and very helpful:
Episode 318: The Birth of the Biblical Counseling Movement
Episode 319: The Legacy of Jay Adams
Episode 320: Van Til’s Fingerprints on Biblical Counseling
Episode 321: The Future of Biblical Counseling
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Direct. XX. See that your religion be purely divine, and animated all by God, as the beginning, the way, and the end; and that first upon thy soul, and then upon all that thou hast or dost, there be written “HOLINESS TO THE LORD;” and that thou corrupt not all with an inordinate hypocritical respect to man.
To be holy is to be divine, or devoted to God, and appropriated to him, and his will, and use; and that our hearts and lives be not common and unclean. To be godly, is to live to God, as those that from their hearts believe that he is God indeed, and that “he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” that he is “our God all-sufficient, our shield and exceeding great reward,” Heb. xi. 6; Gen. xv. 1; xvii. 1; and that “of him, and through him, and to him are all things,” that all may give the glory for ever unto him, Rom. xi. 36. As God is infinitely above all creatures, so living upon God, and unto God, must needs advance us above the highest sensual life; and therefore religion is transcendently above all sciences or arts. So much of God as is in you and upon you, so much you are more excellent than the highest worldly perfection can advance you to. God should be the First, and Last, and All in the mind, and mouth, and life of a believer. God must be the principal matter of your religion. The understanding and will must be exercised upon him. When you awake you should be still with him, Psal. cxxxix. 8. Your meditations of him should be sweet, and you should be glad in the Lord, Psal. civ. 34. Yet creatures, under him, may be the frequent, less principal matter of your religion; but still as referred unto him. God must be the author of your religion; God must institute it, if you expect he should accept it and reward it. God must be the rule of your religion, as revealing his will concerning it in his word. God must be the ultimate end of your religion; it must be intended to please and glorify him. God must be the continual motive and reason of your religion, and of all you do: you must be able truly to fetch your reason from heaven, and to say, I do it because it is his will; I do it to please, and glorify, and enjoy him. God must be taken as the Sovereign Judge of your religion, and of you, and of all you do; and you must wholly look to his justification and approbation, and avoid whatever he condemneth. Can you take God for your Owner, your Sovereign, your Saviour, your sufficient Protector, your Portion, your All? If not, you cannot be godly, nor be saved: if his authority have not more power upon you, than the authority of the greatest upon earth, you are atheistical hypocrites, and not truly religious, whatever you pretend. If “holiness to the Lord” be written upon you, and all that is yours, you are devoted to him as his own peculiar ones. If your names be set upon your sheep, or plate, or clothes, you will say, if another should take them, They are mine; do you not see my mark upon them? Slavery to the flesh, the world, and the devil, is the mark that is written upon the ungodly (upon the foreheads of the profane, and upon the hearts of hypocrites and all); and Satan, the world, and the flesh have their service. If you are consecrated to God, and bear his name and mark upon you, tell every one that would lay claim to you, that you are his, and resolved to live to him, to love him, to trust him, and to stand or fall to him alone. Let God be the very life, and sense, and end of all you do.
Richard Baxter, Christian Directory
Posted in Christian Life & Experience, Church of England, Experimental Religion & the Cure of Souls, Practice of Piety, Puritans & Puritanism | Leave a Comment »
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CHAP. X. What is to be done in order to Uniting.
Now we may be briefer in speaking of what is to be done in reference to particular differences, seeing that much may be gathered from the general principles already laid down, and it is not our purpose to enter into every particular. Yet we say:
1. It is the duty of such persons to seek union with one another, and for that purpose to offer and desire meetings and conferences, and to urge harmony upon one another. In that Council of Carthage, of which Aurelius was Moderator, they appointed that conferences should be sought with the Donatists, although they had been long in schism; and for that purpose they appointed Commissioners and gave them instructions to go from place to place and endeavor a settlement. Among these instructions were these: that their former schism and separation should prejudice no one; and that Ministers and Bishops should continue in their charges, if otherwise worthy, notwithstanding their former separation. This is observed not to have been without fruit in many places, as the acts and events are recorded by Balsamon. And this is according to the general rule of pursuing peace even when it seems to flee from men; while questions that may produce strife are to be avoided and fled from when they seem to pursue men, because, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:22 and following, The servant of the Lord must not strive, and so on.
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This is a modern classic of pastoral theology on the topic of regular, family “home visitation.” A must read for every Reformed and Presbyterian elder. Want to listen to it? Try Natural Reader.
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The following passages from from Samuel Rutherford’s A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience (1649).
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2. The sword did not force the conscience of any then, more then now; nor could it cudgell an Idolater, or a blasphemer, into the sound faith then, more then now, and weapons of the Prophets in the Old Testament, as well as the Apostles in the New, were not carnall but spirituall, and mighty through God. Prophets, as Prophets, no more used the sword against mens consciences of old, than Christ, his Apostles, and Ministers doe now, Mat. 28.19,20. And as Christ saith now, preach the Gospel, but kill none, use neither staffe nor sword, nor miraculous power to destroy hereticks, or burn Samaria, so he said to his Prophets, speake my word to Israel and Judah and the Nations, to Ninive and others, but kill none, and use the sword against none of the rebellious who will not heare, that they may be converted. Yet he commanded the Magistrate to use the sword against the seducing Prophet, nor can the Libertines shew us of a Ceremoniall death inflicted for the transgression of a morall law, which transgression is now made free from all bodily punishment, indeed the man that refused to raise up seed to his brother was put to shame by the law, and we are freed from both the law, and the penalty thereof, and the man that gathered sticks on the Sabbath was put to death by an answer from God no doubt, but the breach of the holy Sabbath instituted before the fall is no Ceremoniall transgression, nor doe we thinke that every violation of the Sabbath was punished by death, but that the Magistrate, Masters and Fathers, are not to punish with bodily coercive power the transgressours of the fourth command, is most false. For what the Magistrate commands the Subject, the Master the servant, the Father the sons, and which they have warrant from the Morall law to command in these relations, that they command in order to the sword and rodde, if their commandements find no other welcome but rebellion, for the power of Magistrate, and Master, yea, and of the Father now in the state of sin is essentially coercive; they may compell their inferiours by strong hand, either to doe or suffer the will of God, which is sufficient to prove our point. Though it be true, some morall transgressions Moses punished with death, as Sabbath-breaking, it followeth not therefore the godly Prince may now punish it with death, but it followes not therefore, such transgressours are made free, through Christ, of all bodily punishment, as Libertines inferre, for though the temporarines of the punishment be only in the measure of punishment, yet not in the punishment it selfe. [189-191]
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First, there are five sorts of toleration proceeding from five different principles. 1. Of indifferency. 2. Of policy. 3. Of pretended conscience and equity. 4. Of necessity. 5. Of charity.
The first is when the Magistrate is a Nullifidian, Neutralist, and Adiaphorist, esteeming as Gallio did, questions of the law and of the Ordinances of Christ, to be of words & names, or things which he careth not for, Acts 18.14, 15.
The second is when the Magistrate tolerateth hereticks and sectaries for his own profit, or some such interest of policy, such as maketh the Pope to tolerate the Jews in Italy, yea in Rome itself, where they have their synagogues, circumcision and liturgies, because his profit by them is greater then by the very Courtizans; yea, besides their certain tribute, he doth sometimes impose on them a subsidy of ten thousand crownes extraordinary for some service of the State, as Europa Speculum, pag. 221, 222. hath represented to us. And whether the States of the united Provinces do not grant tolerations upon the like interests of their own profit, I leave it to the judgement of their own consciences.
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CHAP. VII. General Grounds Leading to Unity.
But now, it may be more difficult to speak particularly about what is actually the duty at such a time when a Church lies under rents and divisions. For though the general principle is granted, yet often it is difficult to determine the particular cure, and still more difficult sincerely to follow it. It is always easier to prescribe rules to others than to follow them ourselves, especially in such a case when spirits are in the heat and fervor of contention, whereby they are somewhat drunk with affection for their own side and prejudice against the other, and distracted, as it were, with a sort of madness in pursuing their adversaries, as that great and meek Divine Melanchthon expressed it, so that it is hard to bring affections that are in such a temper into captivity to the obedience of light.
And though we will not undertake to be particular and fully satisfying in this, wishing and hoping that it may be more effectually done by someone else, yet, having come this far, we shall, in an abstract manner, consider some things in reference to it and endeavor to set forth what we conceive to be the duty, especially of the Ministers of the Gospel who have an interest in such a Church; as also what may be required of others who may possibly think themselves less concerned therein. We shall keep this order: we shall lay down some general grounds, which we suppose to be granted; we shall premise some preparatory endeavors agreeable to the same; we shall speak negatively of what ought not to be done, or ought to be forborne; positively of the healing means called for in reference to several sorts of division, with some questions arising thereupon; and lastly, we shall consider the grounds that press the serious and condescending application of these or other healing means in such a case.
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