Category: Politics and Public Policy

17 June, 2015

On Trans-everything. A Summary from Douglas Groothuis

“I am nearly sixty years old. I have been studying, writing about, and teaching about culture, philosophy, theology, and art diligently and for decades. I have never seen the revolt against God-given categories of being as we are seeing now. Men identify as women. Women identify as men. Whites identify as blacks. The healthy identify as disabled. Most of these bogus identifications require expensive self-mutilation.

The explanation for all of this sad perversity is simple. Without the knowledge of God, one does not know one’s true identity. If God is dead in our experience, law, traditions, then human beings are no longer reckoned as made in the image of that God. Rather, we are made (and re-made) in the image of ourselves. This contradiction leads to abysmal elasticity. X identifies as Y. So what? What is the basis for this re-identification? It is the self, untrammeled by reality or morality. This is “the protean self” of Robert Jay Lifton from 25 years ago. Yet he had no idea what the extent and depth of the protean spell might be. We do. God says:

All who hate me love death (Proverbs 8:36).”

15 June, 2015

The Christian Alternative to Humanistic Moralism

Ephesians 4:28 (ESV)

²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Aside from 2:11, this is the first set of imperatives in Ephesians, and there are many from here to the end of the book. 4:25 may represent the actual “practical” section of the book more than 4:1.

Note also that this section begins the practical application of 4:17-24: for example, the thief, in taking off the old self and being renewed, puts on something else. Also, the thief, rather than being merely reformed in his behaviour, goes further than the world does (in merely desiring him to cease stealing), but employs himself, and that for the good of others. Humanistic thinking is satisfied with the former thief’s employment to cease to be a burden to society, but a thief renewed in the spirit of his mind will employ himself beyond that to be benevolent to others. This stands, therefore, in sharp contrast to humanistic schemes of charity and benevolence. The one seeks only a an outward change to a minimum standard; the other demonstrates the outworking of a new creation.

It may also be noted that the thief is encouraged to work, not simply to supply his own needs, but to share with those in need. The common word for “give” (didomi) occurs almost 700 times in the New Testament. But there is another form of this word, “to share” (metadidomi). This form occurs five times in the New Testament and is variously translated, “contribute, impart, share.”

This is the kind of application that is true Christianity, and not religious moralism.

The idea that the thief should work so that his earnings may be confiscated by the state (taxed), to be given to others, is foreign to the New Testament order. Sharing is not of compulsion, but is the action of a renewed heart toward one in need. The one who shares is in the position to see a need, and act upon it out of love; the state is unable to determine the difference between true need and sloth, and is too willing to give the property of others to those who are not in need. To often Christians mistakenly view compassion outsourced to the state as real compassion, when this is actually foreign to the teachings of Christ and the Apostles. –SJ

1 May, 2015

Blogging the Revised Ontario Sex-Education Curriculum: 9 Cultural Shifts since WWII.

Nine major cultural shifts have been forced upon Christian families since World War II. This list is not complete, and certainly these did not simply arise in the mid-20^th century. The philosophies and worldviews that fostered these are much older. See these articles on Cultural Marxism. Part 2 is here. When we hear the words, “Social Justice,” we are, more times than not, hearing the words of Karl Marx.

Delayed marriage: Delaying marriage until husband and wife both have established careers and have become financially stable, increases the risk of sexual activity outside of marriage. Parents of couple should find ways to support younger marriages, while the husband continues to learn, apprentice, or establish work. Excellent resources here.
No-fault divorce: An increase in the divorce rate has brought about family destabilization, and increase in child poverty. This child poverty has become a problem of the state.
The removal of charity and compassion to the state: Welfare entitlements, social safety nets, income security, government-only control of health care spending has increased the size of the state and reduced the family. It has created a generation that cannot function without support from other taxpayers.
The decriminalization of adultery, fornication, pornography and sodomy as led to a loss of shame and a normalisation of sexual sin
Legalisation of abortion has led to a decrease in overall population in nearly every industrialised nation, setting these nations under the judgement of God. Taxpayers unwillingly must pay for abortions.
Loss of parental rights and authority: State intervention into family life through court-ordered custody, unaccountable Children’s Aid Societies, and state control of adoption agencies.
Compulsory state-funded Public school: This is the industrial revolution applied to the family. Education is removed from the parents as first educators and the church as an educational resource. The Liberal government of Ontario unjustly removed tax-credits for parents who paid tuition to private schools.
Homosexuality and transgenderism: The mandatory acceptance and normalisation of what is to be pitied, repented of, and avoided.
The rejection of Triune God as Lord of the land, and the rejection of the Bible as His Word. Taking prayers and Christian instruction out of public schools did not cause these problems, but are a result of them.