A Grave Heresy

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Some Good Quotes

"In this present day there is a grave heresy which has permeated large areas of the Christian Church; it claims that the Christian life of victory is produced solely by an inward guidance of the Holy Spirit. In matters of Christian ethics, whether it be in reference to how to love one's neighbor or to deciding if any particular activity is wrong, many Christians claim that for moral authority they depend only upon the guidance of the Spirit. Whichever way the Spirit "moves" them is the way which they trust to be right. Now even the most elementary biblical doctrine should dissuade these subjective moralists, for who among sinfully depraved men can trust his inner inclinations? On such a basis as has been described how could one possibly test the spirits to see if they be from God or Beelzebub? Does such a way of life affirm the sufficiency of God's canonical word? Does Scripture describe the work of the Spirit as that of mystical guidance? All these questions are fundamental and to be answered negatively."

Greg Bahnsen in Theonomy in Christian Ethics

Theonomy in Christian Ethics

While work has kept me away from home and away from the computer for a little while it has given me the chance to do a little extra reading lately.

One of the things I've recently started reading is Theonomy in Christian Ethics by Greg Bahnsen along with several critiques of the book. And while I haven't read enough of the book to really comment on it fairly yet the 25th Anniversary edition does come with a CD rom with numerous other resources and about 20 excellent mp3 messages on the subject.

If you really want to give this subject some fair thought and Biblical cross examination you might really enjoy this. While Mr. Bahnsen seems to say a few things in the book that might invite some misunderstandings the audio messages really seem to clarify a number of them.

No Logical Barrier from Tyranny

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Some Good Quotes
Law, Civil

"The source of moral authority and law within a society will either be theistic or political; when the former is repudiated, the latter allows no logical barrier from tyranny."

Greg Bahnsen in Theonomy in Christian Ethics

The Salt of the Earth?

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Some Good Quotes
Law, Civil

"The church is called to function as a preservative in society ("the salt of the earth") (Matthew 5:13), and thus the early church and Reformers main­lined, among other things, that the civil "magistrate" is also a "minister" if God (Romans 13:4,6) and as such responsible to His authority and law. Previously the autonomous polis and natural reason, taken to be the source and authority for political law, were challenged by the church, but today the church has largely succumbed to the idea that God's law is extraneous, not only to personal morality, but to matters of statesmanship and civil government. The theologians of this century have offered no serious alternative to the world, giving the impression that "the salt has lost its saltiness." For instance, in a book on the very topic of The Christian in Politics we read these words by Walter James:

The Christian is called upon to act beside other men and no assurance is given him that he will sense God's purpose better than they. He can no more aim to be a Christian statesman than a Christian engineer. . . . He stands on a par with the non-Christian. . . . His religion will give him no special guid­ance in his public task. . .

In addition to not having anything to speak before kings (Psalm119:46) because of its endorsement of neutralism in civil affairs, the modern church has shown itself to be as antinomian in its theory of ethics as the autono­mous secular man. As a result the church fails to challenge "the powers that be" with the "power (authority)" of Christ (Romans 13:1 with 28:18) or to offer restor­ative guidance to its society...."

Greg Bahnsen in Theonomy in Christian Ethics

The Great Debate: Does God Exist? 7, 8 and 9

The Great Debate: Does God Exist? 4,5 and 6

The Great Debate: Does God Exist? 1, 2 and 3

I didn't realize that this debate was still available on line. It has been broken up into 14 parts and put onto Youtube (because they only allow you 10 minutes at a time). While there's not much to look at because there is no video, the audio is well worth listening to! This is Greg Bahsen at his best destroying the "logic" of this poor atheist Gordon Stein:

More of The Myth of Neutrality

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Apologetics

Video

• Greg Bahnsen - The Myth of Neutrality (part 3)

• Greg Bahnsen - The Myth of Neutrality (part 4)

The Myth of Neutrality

New at Polemos
Apologetics

Video

• Greg Bahnsen - The Myth of Neutrality (part 1)

• Greg Bahnsen - The Myth of Neutrality (part 2)