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Jerusalem Blade · #60 (**permalink**) 03-18-2007, 09:05 AM

Hello Sean,

I'm in a primitive place for the time being, but at some point I would like to see the Robbins' book you mentioned, Freedom and Capitalism. I am not much into political science, but I have much respect for this man. It does pay, I will admit, to be aware of the political situations we are in. It is highly edifying to be aware of the Christian roots of this land, and the support given the Christian faith by the early fathers, the government, and even the Supreme Court. I have made a study of the early constitutional views of the Faith, which is quite a contrast to the revisionist history being foisted upon us at present. As I said, I am interested in Robbins' view, for the man is right on on many things.

I won't seek to rebutt what you have said, as I have made my point fairly clearly and folks can choose for themselves. No sense in playing verbal ping-pong at this juncture in the discussion.

I am not a "rat" to inform anyone about your views, nor a member of the Thought Police; the "free market-place of ideas" and freedom of speech are valuable aspects of this country and its intellectual life.

I am sort of surprised to see so much anti-Federal gov't thought here at PB, which doesn't mean (in my mind) it is bad; it may just be that I am ignorant of some things (no doubt many things!). One example is the head-covering thread; I had not seen a cogent Biblical defense of it till I perused the posts on it. Now I have to ask the Lord for wisdom to see if this is something I must learn more of with a view to holding to it.

Which is not to say I will change my view of sorcery. If my exegesis of the Biblical material is sound, and my application of it to what we have been considering is pertinent, then it is not properly "my" view but God's. Are not the officers He has appointed to watch over the church mandated to discern and decide on such matters, for the safety of His flock? I have rendered my opinion, which I know is widely supported by others given to discern and rule. I am interested in other pastors'/elders' judgments on this matter, interacting with both the text and its modern application, to see what they think.

It really has no bearing -- or a different bearing, at any rate -- what the Federal gov't has to say about it. Citizens may vote for those who represent their views, as is the way in the U.S. In terms of the Kingdom of God and its government the stakes are much higher, arriving at the correct disposition of this problem.

To choose wrongly is to open a door the Lord wants closed, to open a veritable Pandora's Box.

It is given to the ministerium (in the sense Calvin would use the term), per Matthew 16:19 (& Matthew 18:18), to decide this issue, as those appointed to wisely rule.

I am open to fresh exegesis, and fresh scrutiny of the relevant sciences dealing with marijuana use, as well as pertinent experiential data (which is not to be despised, Sean), in a revisiting of this legal matter (legal as per the law of God's judgment on it).

Your views of the Federal gov't of the U.S. and its relation to this issue are interesting to me, as I admit I may have ignorance in this area.

A final question: given what we know -- or some may know -- of the tremendous impact the drug culture of the sixties and seventies had on not only our culture but the cultures of the entire world -- i.e., a remarkable new awareness with exponential growth -- can we be oblivious to the fact of a new but like phenomenon impacting world consciousness, this time not with the "groovy" or "spiritual" psychedelic awareness, but something deeper, something within the "Pandora's Box" of sorcery longing to break free and have no reins on it at all within the collective mind of humanity at large, were such drugs to be legalized?

One does not have to be a visionary to see the effect of legalized drugs on a culture's consciousness. What is it that is "taken out of the way" preventing the "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thess 2:7)? Is it the Spirit of Christ operating beneficially through the [governmental] "powers that...are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1)? Is not the rule of law, the wicked as well as the benign, the civil "ordinance of God" (13:2)?

Can it be that in such a topic as this we are given to peer into the very dynamics of this "mystery of iniquity" and what holds it back for the time?

On another note, Kenya is not too hot at the moment, only in the 90s. The (mostly Sudanese) men here, receiving training in theology and Biblical studies, are a delight to teach and interact with. The local Kenyan tribe, the Turkana, are a challenge to present the gospel to in such a way that they can comprehend it. I have a very good (& winsome) translator/indigenous evangelist to help in preaching to and teaching them. There are some Reformed Church men from the Kissi people (Kenyans) who are knowledgable in the Scripture and doctrine, and the men from the Sudan are from the Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS). It is a joy to be here.

I may not be able to participate in much discussion, as the shedule is very tight for the next two weeks, Sunday afternoons being an exception.

Interesting talking with you, Sean. I hope I have not offended you with my sometimes sharp remarks.

Steve