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Archive for the ‘Social Issues’ Category
Another prescription for community renewal
Posted in Free Church of Scotland, Missiology, Moral Suasion, Parish in American Context, Parish Theory & Practice, Parochial Strategy, Social Byproduct, Social Issues, The Gospel & the Poor, Theology of Community, Theology of Place, Thomas Chalmers on August 25, 2023| 1 Comment »
Community is dead. R.I.P. This short article by Dr. Carl Trueman laments the evaporation of community–at least in the West–and of its historically Christian nexus, the Church. He then offers a strategic prescription in the rediscovery of hospitality, no doubt in the spirit of Rosaria Butterfield. I couldn’t agree more. If we are embodied souls living in real places with zip codes and GPS coordinates, we as Christians need to love our neighbors in very tangible ways for their salvation — and as a happy byproduct, recreate community.
But I think this malady requires more than one prescription. Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), the pioneer of the Free Church of Scotland in which Trueman spent many years, was even in his day deeply troubled at the disintegration of then-modern community. The Industrial Revolution had forced masses of country folk into the slums of Britain’s factory-choked cities. It grieved him to his core that these people were living in grinding poverty and were completely falling through the cracks of the Church of Scotland’s traditional spiritual care, forming a bloated underclass of unchurched “home heathen.” And the mechanized web of misery only strengthened its grip by the complete and utter absence of community. His assessment is surprisingly contemporary: “As the matter stands, juxtaposition forms no security whatever for acquaintanceship—insomuch that the members of distinct households might live for years under the same roof, unknowing and unknown to each other.”
(more…)Collateral repair
Posted in Culture, Establishments, Parish Theory & Practice, Public Health, Sacred & Secular, Social Byproduct, Social Issues, The Gospel & the Poor, The Sacred Ministry, Thomas Chalmers on April 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
In the following quote, Chalmers explains how a territorial establishment, where parish missions bring the Gospel to every home and hearth, is a double blessing. Even if few souls are saved, the social and moral impact of the Gospel effort leavens the lump:
“And perhaps it will give in your eyes less of a Utopian, and more of an experimental character, to our anticipations of a result so general—if we ask you to consider the just observation of Mr. Wilberforce, on the effect of Christianity even beyond the circle of its own proper and genuine disciples. It elevates the general standard of morals, in every country or neighbourhood which it enters. Even though it should but spiritualize the few, it civilizes the many. Over and above its direct influence on those whom it converts, it has, through the medium of their example and their virtues, a reflex or secondary influence on the families of every little vicinity around them-insomuch that the sanctities and the extraordinary graces of a small number, with the influence of a purifying and preserving salt on the general mass, tell, by a certain overawing power, in restraining the profligacies, and so in raising the character for decency and morals of society at large. This will be remarkably seen in any parish that is under a reclaiming process from the out-fields of heathenism, if the experiment be but well and vigorously conducted. We do not say that the minister will Christianize all; or that he will introduce the worship of God, the voice of psalms, into every family. But the melody that is heard in the habitations of the righteous, will have a certain softening and subduing effect on the inmates of other habitations; and it will be found no romance, but in strict accordance with the realities of human nature, if-by means of his schools and of his other parochial institutes, and (of no small account either) if, by means of his own frequent and various intercourse with the people, and the dignifying effect upon all the householders of their personal acquaintance with the clergyman, and of the personal cognizance which he takes of them and of their families—he mollifies, and to a very great degree, the general aspect of that parochial community over which he presides ; and bequeaths to his successors a far blander and better generation, than he had to encounter himself at the outset of his great undertaking” (Works 14:334-335)
Light of the Jews, un orador del especies, etc.
Posted in Christian Life & Experience, Communion of the Saints, Confessional Subscription, Covenant Theology, Español, Experimental Religion & the Cure of Souls, Faith & Saving Faith, Individual & individualism, Patristics, Protestantism & Romanism, Redemption Accomplished, Redemption Applied, Social Issues, The Gospel, Vital Godliness, Vox Patrum on July 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »
“A Griegos y á bárbaros, á sabios y á no sabios soy deudor” (Rom. 1:14) —
![Chalmers, Orator of the Species [Esp]](https://westportexperiment.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/chalmers-orator-of-the-species-esp.jpg)
More quotes, sans image …
Communion of the Saints
“The speech of one hearty friend cannot but revive the spirits of another. Sympathy hath a strange force, as we see in the strings of an instrument, which being played upon, as they say, the strings of another instrument are also moved with it. After love hath once kindled love, then the heart, being melted, is fit to receive any impression. Unless both pieces of the iron be red hot, they will not join together. Two spirits warmed with the same heat will easily solder together.”
-Richard Sibbes
Faith & the Promise
“The faith of the promises is the door at which the accomplishment of the promises doth enter in: according to the word, Luke 1:45, Blessed are they that believe, for there shall be a performance of those things that are spoken of the Lord unto them. If we were more in waiting for the accomplishment of the promises, the vision should speak, and should not tarry: and no doubt, a mercy coming to us, as the fruit and performance of a promise, will make it an exceeding refreshful thing, when a Christian getteth leave to sing that song, which is in Isa 25:9, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will come and save us. And when a mercy is the fruit and accomplishment of the promise, there is a beautiful lustre and dye upon that mercy, which no art could set on, but only the finger of the love of God.”
-Andrew Gray
Regeneration of Children
“The education of children should proceed on the principle that they are in an unregenerate state, until evidences of piety clearly appear, in which case they should be sedulously cherished and nurtured. . . . Although the grace of God may be communicated to a human soul, at any period of its existence, in this world, yet the fact manifestly is, that very few are renewed before the exercise of reason commences; and not many in early childhood.”
-Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience
Honesty in Confessional Subscription
“Honesty is as important in theology as in trade and commerce, in a religious denomination as in a political party. Denominational honesty consists, first, in a clear, unambiguous statement by a Church of its doctrinal belief, and, second, in an unequivocal and sincere adoption of it by its members. Both are requisite. If a particular denomination makes a loose statement of its belief, which is capable of being construed in more than one sense, it is so far dishonest. If the creed of the denomination is well drawn and plain, but the membership subscribe to it with mental reservation and uncertainty, the denomination is dishonest. Honesty and sincerity are founded in clear conviction, and clear conviction is founded in the knowledge and acknowledgement of the truth. Heresy is a sin, and is classed by St. Paul among’the works of the flesh,’ along with ‘adultery, idolatry, murder, envy and hatred,’ which exclude from the kingdom of God. (Gal. v. 19-21). But heresy is not so great a sin as dishonesty. There may be honest heresy, but not honest dishonesty. A heretic who acknowledges that he is such, is a better man than he who pretends to be orthodox while subscribing to a creed which he dislikes, and which he saps under pretence of improving it and adapting it to the times. The honest heretic leaves the Church with which he no longer agrees; but the insincere subscriber remains within it in order to carry out his plan of demoralization.”
– W. G. T. Shedd, Calvinism: Pure and Mixed, 152
Trials in the Womb of the Covenant of Redemption
“Whatever trials you have, whatever troubles you have, whatever difficulties you have, they come from the same covenant as Christ came for your salvation. They come from the same covenant as your regeneration came. They come from the same covenant as your hope of heaven comes. And they come with the same love, and they come for the same purpose, and that is that you might be to the glory of his grace throughout eternity.”
-Hugh M. Cartwright (1943-2011)
The Virgin Mary’s “Low Estate”
“In the following words she teaches us how worthless she felt of herself and that she received by the heavenly grace that was lavished on her every sort of good merit that she had. She says, “For he has considered the humility of his handmaid. For behold from this time on all generations will call me blessed.” She demonstrates that in her own judgment she was indeed Christ’s humble handmaid, but with respect to heavenly grace she pronounces herself all at once lifted up and glorified to such a degree that rightly her preeminent blessedness would be marveled at by the voices of all nations.”
-Venerable Bede
The Right Veneration of the Virgin
“But that she was eminently a saint; that her faith, and resignation, and absolute devotion to God, on the message of the angel, were most extraordinary and exemplary; that her relation to our common Saviour should render her name dear and venerable to us all; and that we should fulfil our part of her own prediction, that “henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,” [Luke 1:48]—all this is not only to be admitted, but remembered and regarded. . . Yet in counteracting this error, the veneration and affection due to her true character, has, I think, been sometimes refused, or impaired. Let us avoid both extremes. Let us worship God alone; but let us love and venerate all his saints, and the mother of our Lord among the chief.”
-Ashbel Green
A Penitent Marveling at Common Grace
“Her self-conceited heart is self-convict’d,
With barbed arrows of compunction prick’d;
Wonders how justice spares her vital breath,
How patient heav’n adjourns the day of wrath;
How pliant earth does not with open jaws
Devour her, Korah-like, for equal cause;
How yawning hell, that gapes for such a prey,
Is frustrate with a further hour’s delay.”-Ralph Erskine
“Social” Christianity & the Individual
“Nevertheless, the attempts to apply Christianity socially have profoundly affected the meaning which the Christian faith has for the average man and ordinary churchgoer. The emphasis on the social has largely stifled the spiritual nature of the faith. It has obscured the revealed fact that the Christian message was primarily to and for individuals. . . For the business of the Church in its God-given mission is to the individual and through the individual to society. Moreover, the Christian revelation holds out no hope for society except in so far as the men and women who form it are Christian, which for the secular State is a futile and unattainable ideal. It is therefore all the more essential that the truth should be understood that a Christian society can only be fashioned out of and by Christian men and women. . .”
“Evangelical ministers, holding their high commission as ambassadors of Christ, must ever plead with men to be reconciled to God. When people are reconciled to God they are in fact at peace with one another. From this peace, conditioned by faith in Jesus Christ, can alone arise a state of mutual peace among peoples of nations and a fellowship in peace of the states constituted of these reconciled peoples. . .”
“To-day, therefore, as at all times, the primary privilege and service of this ministry must be the regeneration of men who will become creators of a better and more really Christian civilisation.”
-Donald Maclean (1869–1943), Principal of the Free Church of Scotland and co-founder of the Evangelical Quarterly. From “An Evangelical Ministry.”-
A critical review of Byrd’s ‘recovery’
Posted in Christian Conduct, Contemporary Issues, Social Issues on June 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »
A large blue paperback volume with yellowing pages sits on one of my shelves. With all the stylistic aplomb of the decade of Lisa Frank, a golden starburst adorns the cover stating, “1993 Christianity Today Book of the Year.” The book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, has served as a sort of complementarian enchiridion for the decades since. Now it would seem, at least for one author, that this oft-admired tome has outlived its usefulness. Aimee Byrd, a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, has published Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a work positioned as a response to this movement spawned back in those heady days when ‘serious’ bible scholars used the NASB. With an adroit repurposing of the previous work’s title and the sort of thematic book cover that publishers dream of, this volume has quickly risen to the #1 bestseller position in Amazon’s Gender & Sexuality in Religious Studies category. Perhaps more importantly to the reader of this review, Byrd’s work is a matter of conversation throughout both the broader evangelical world and particularly the confessional Reformed circles from which she hails.
There is no reason to bore with such a full recounting of the work as other reviewers have and no doubt will admirably supply. Suffice to say that Mrs. Byrd sees the complementarian movement (and specifically the incarnation of it associated with the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) as having foisted a load of oppressive baggage upon Christian women, the “yellow wallpaper” which she uses as a compelling image throughout the work. In her own bold summary statement, “This book presents an alternative to all the resources marketed on biblical womanhood and biblical manhood today, focusing on the reciprocity of the male and female voices in Scripture, the covenantal aspect to Bible reading and interpretation, and bearing the fruit of that in our church life.” In both title and declared vision, this volume is expressly committed to leaving the complementarian movement behind for something better.
To read further, click here. Special thanks to Rev. Bryan Peters of the Presbyterian Reformed Church of Columbus, Indiana for this guest post.
On naming names in controversy
Posted in Authored by Site Admin, Social Issues on May 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »
In the present debate over Aimee Byrd (et al.) and her book Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, I have been forced to re-evaluate how and when naming names is appropriate in the Christian ‘public square.’ While it saddens me that rancor has developed among those with serious if not grave concerns over Byrd and company, it has at least helped me sharpen in my own mind a distinction that is vital.
For starters, I think the case is rather easily made that naming names in public matters involving public persons and opinions is unavoidable. To be sure, in private matters and where opinions are not openly set forth for public consumption, the order of the day is to deal with the brother privately to reclaim him. No one else need know, as it is a private affair. But there is only so much obfuscation possible with a big white elephant plopped down in the middle of the room.
Presbyterians during 1832 cholera outbreak
Posted in Ordinary Means Ministry, Public Health, Sabbatarianism & the Church Calendar, Sacred & Secular, Social Issues, Two Kingdoms Theology on April 1, 2020| 3 Comments »
A few striking observations from a favorite anecdote in John G. Paton’s autobiography, below. If I’m not mistaken, this would be referring to a cholera outbreak in 1832 in the U.K.
1. Healthy believers long for the courts of the Lord and don’t let lesser things get in their way. 2. However, it appears that godly Scottish Presbyterians in the early 19th century believed that public health crises could warrant church closures (or at least effectively cause them by population controls). 3. And apparently, the same believed that the state could mandate such closures (or at least effectively, etc.) in the interests of public health.
Not an argument that any of our churches must necessarily close under the present circumstances; just an observation to help put some strong opinions out there in context.
West Port Experiment 
