Greg Bahnsen, No Other Standard
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It is not accidental that the glaring
socio-political and criminal problems of the late twentieth century
concern matters where our society has turned against the specific
directives of God´s law. What we are reaping is criminal anarchy
on the one hand, and (ironically) an ever-increasing scope of state
authority on the other. The state is doing more and more (and
spending irresponsibly), but doing less and less of what God has
ordained it to do for our good. Civil justice "” respect for every
person´s rights, freedom and protection "“ has fallen in the streets.
Have the critics of [revelatory] ethics not noticed this? Do they have any other standard to propose than God´s law? What exactly is the alternative they have to [revelatory] ethics? We have inherited the worst of both worlds when it comes to political theory: a social order which is simultaneously authoritarian (big government) and disrespectful of law (big crime). The state interferes with everything from milk prices to private Christian schools, promoting discriminatory results by unjustly restricting the market and our freedoms. Yet the criminal justice system is as ineffective and unfair as we have ever seen: first degree murder receiving a lighter sentence than armed robbery in some
cases; teenage hoodlums being arrested up to seventeen times (including felonies) before spending any time in jai~ molestation, rape, and destruction of property rising sharply in incidence and severity; unborn children slaughtered for convenience; assault and gang violence becoming a way of life (death); sexual fidelity as well as perversion promoted everywhere from the media to the schools (with no right to discriminate against it); prisons inhumanely warehousing offenders who will return repeatedly; plea-bargaining and early parole making a mockery out of already light
sentences, etc. things. At the same time, the opponents of [revelatory ethics] have
unwittingly turned us over to the worst kind of tyranny imaginable "” political power which is not restrained by any objective, publicly accessible, written standard of transcendent justice by which the state´s actions and prerogatives may be judged. Having no inscripturated morality from God as our socio-political standard (or nothing specific enough to be helpful), the critics of [revelatory ethics] have no principled basis or guidance for a judicial system by which to protect us from those who despise God (criminals) or those who wish to play God (the state).

Helping the Poor Without Feeding the Beast

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J. B. Atken
John Knox PCA
Layman, M.A. student at Louisiana College

Bahnsen always seems to humble me. He says what I try to think.

Vic

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R.Vic Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

One of the Last lectures he ever gave before he died was at Morecraft's church: Law and Disgrace. He said: Forget whether theonomy is right or wrong. The proof is often in the pudding. Let's assume that other ethical systems (in the case when people actually set forward a positive case, which usually never happens) are correct--God's law is no longer valid for society. Let's see how they are doing.

He would then ask the question, "How's it going in the other neighborhood?" And then list a list of hideous crimes and moral decay which cannot be thwarted except by an appeal to a transcendental law source. He was roaring at the end. My hair was standing up for about 30 minutes. It is one of the 3 best speeches I have heard in my life.

Jacob, where can I find that lecture? I'd really like to hear it.

Vic

Studies in Reformed Theology

Scroll down. It is the first lecture on there. It is free, provided you can get it to work. If you can, email me your findings.

I got it to work. Never mind.

http://cmfnow.com/index.asp?PageActi...arch=GO&Page=1

Thanks!

Vic

Its funny. You get to hear Bahnsen try out a Southern accent and curse (he was quoting the lyrics of rap songs to show the moral decadency).

"Useless laws weaken the necessary laws" (translation: the multiplication of unBiblical laws breeds disrepect for Biblical law). -- Charles De Montesquieu

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

Strange bedfellows? Not really. They are sometimes at odds because they're so similar.

Think of the former Eastern Bloc nations where authoritarian regimes were always side by side with organized crime and the black market. I have friends from that part of the world who, upon coming to the USA didn't understand what the big deal was with the mafia and organized crime in this country (IOW why were they thought of as bad) since they were largely seen as a provider of necessary goods and services (as well as "order", I suppose) in theirs.

[Edited on 4-1-2006 by Pilgrim]

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Chris
Member at Grace Community Baptist Church, Mandeville, LA

Beware of a religion without holdfasts. But if I get a grip upon a doctrine they call me a bigot. Let them do so. Bigotry is a hateful thing, and yet that which is now abused as bigotry is a great virtue, and greatly needed in these frivolous times. I have been inclined lately to start a new denomination, and call it "the Church of the Bigoted." Spurgeon

From the Oceania Ministry of Truth in Newspeak:

From Frederick Bastiat's The Law:

From the Psalmist (Ps. 94.20):

From Isaiah 5.20: