Contents: Chapter 9, "Corporate Faithfulness and Sanctification" (parts 1, 2, 3, and 4), interactive
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9cha.html#index9
Combined Interactive Contents for The Web Edition of Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal
http://www.lettermen2.com/combtoc.html
Freedom is one of the major underlying themes of the entire Bible.Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)
The Bible is the Magna Carta of our liberty; when it is neglected, it is not merely its morality that is jeopardized; it is not merely its virtue that is undermined; indeed, all the good it has wrought is thereby despised. -- Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847)
The roots of liberty and limited government are in the Protestant Reformation. We believe the key to the maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish covenanting struggle. -- James A. Dodson
See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Where then is this servitude? In the first place, I answer, that though God, in threatening men, does not immediately execute what he denounces, yet his threats are never weak and ineffectual. Secondly, that the judgments of God are not always exhibited before our eyes, nor apprehended by our carnal reason. The Canaanites, having shaken off the yoke of servitude, which was divinely imposed upon them, even proceeded to grasp at empire for themselves. But although they triumph for a time, yet in the sight of God their condition is not deemed free. Just as when the faithful are iniquitously oppressed, and tyrannically harassed by the wicked, their spiritual liberty is still not extinct in the sight of God. It behoves us then to be content with this proof of the divine judgment, that God promised the dominion of the land of Canaan to his servant Abraham, and at length devoted the Canaanites to destruction. -- John Calvin commenting on Genesis 9:28 and context
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:10)
It is this author's contention that the modern churches have let go of this important piece of the faith [Christ's Kingship over the nations -- compiler], once for all delivered to the saints. Thereby they have delivered the church, not to kings as nursing fathers, but to the cruel civil domination of the enemies of the true religion, their sheep being taught that they must submit passively to every pretended civil authority as the ordinance of God. By this defection, these leaders of the flock have also undermined the magistracy, allowing and even encouraging wicked men to remove this blessed ordinance from its foundation in God its creator, and from its subjection to Christ His King, thereby directly opposing God's benevolent ends in instituting civil government: Thus have [they] made the commandment of God of none effect by [their] tradition. . . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:6,9). Furthermore, by their false teaching regarding civil government, they have made themselves guilty of the very sin of which we are often accused: opposing the ordinance of God. If this wasn't enough, however, consider that their sin is worse than that of the garden variety rebel, inasmuch as their opposition to God's institution is not so much practical as it is principle; and because of their position as teachers and guides of the flock of God. Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. . . . For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. (James 3:1; II Cor. 13:8 [2 Corinthians 13:8]) -- Greg Price, Biblical Civil Government Verses the Beast, p. 64
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/romans-14-12.html
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/romans/14.htmlBad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of freemen. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated [defective] state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. -- Patrick Henry
If we are not governed by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants. (See 1 Samuel 8) -- William Penn
Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants. . . . Those who are willing to trade their essential liberties for a little temporary safety, deserve neither safety nor liberty. -- Benjamin Franklin
Freedom essentially is the predicate of immortality. Freedom is the grace of God streaming into the world of man. -- E. Merrill Root
Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. (Leviticus 25:10a)
*Bolton (or Boulton), Samuel, and John Cameron (1579?-1625), The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, or A Treatise Wherein the Rights of the law are Vindicated, the Liberties of Grace Maintained, and Severall Late Opinions Against the Law are Examined and Confuted. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Samuel Boulton was one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. He 'expounds the nature of Christian liberty and then clearly sets the bounds of that liberty. . . '." -- Publisher
Downame, George, The Christian's Freedom: Wherein is Fully Expressed the Doctrine of Christian Liberty, ISBN: 1877611751 9781877611759.
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), J.I. Packer (translator), and O.R. Johnston (translator), Bondage of the Will, ISBN: 0800753429 9780800753429. A Christian classic. Available (PDF and MP3) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL is fundamental to an understanding of the primary doctrines of the Reformation. In these pages, Luther gives extensive treatment to what he saw as the heart of the gospel. Free will was no academic question to Luther; the whole gospel of the Grace of God, he believed, was bound up with it and stood or fell according to the way one decided it . . . This is the greatest piece of writing that came from Luther's pen. In its vigour of language, its profound theological grasp, and the grand sweep of its exposition, it stands unsurpassed among Luther's writings." -- Publisher
"Luther recognized this book as his most important work and even said that if all his other books perished, he would hope that this one, along with his SMALL CATECHISM, would be the only ones to remain. As noted above, this is one of the most important books of the early Reformation, for it deals with what Luther saw to be the heart of the Gospel. Luther here refutes the Romish notion of 'free will' in man and upholds the absolute sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners -- as well as justification by faith alone. Luther clearly saw the issue of free will as the primary cause of his separation from Rome.
"In this book he replied to the Roman Catholic scholar, Erasmus, and his diatribe THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL. Though disagreeing with just about everything else Erasmus wrote, Luther commended Erasmus for recognizing the crux of the matter at issue between Rome and the Bible believers, the debate over 'free will.' In this regard Luther wrote,
that unlike all the rest, you alone have attacked the real issue, the essence of the matter in dispute [i.e. man's so-called free-will -- RB] . . . You and you alone saw, what was the grand hinge upon which the whole turned, and therefore you attacked the vital part at once; for which, from my heart, I thank you." 'This book is most needful at the present day,' noted Atherton in 1931, for 'the teachings of many so-called Protestants are more in accordance with the Dogmas of the Papists, or the ideas of Erasmus, than with the Principles of the Reformers; they are more in harmony with the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent than with the Protestant or Reformed Confessions of Faith.'
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Concerning Christian Liberty, ISBN: 0585150281 9780585150284. A Christian classic.
"An unabridged edition, to include: LETTER OF MARTIN LUTHER TO POPE LEO X and CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, with updated typeface." -- Publisher
Martin, Ralph P., Colossians: The Church's Lord and the Christian's Liberty: An Expository Commentary, ISBN: 0853641250 9780853641254.
Perkins, William (1558-1602), A Treatise of Gods Free Grace, and Mans Free Will, 1601.
Schaff, Philip (1819-1893), Church and State in the United States; or, The American Idea of Religious Liberty and its Practical Effects, ISBN: 0405040830 9780405040832.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture, the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
"This monograph, written during the centennial celebration of the United States Constitution, charts the historical relationship between church and state. Schaff writes from the unique position of a theologian and a historian who has lived on both sides of the Atlantic. Citing examples from Presidential addresses, court cases, and European observers such as Alexis de Tocqueville, Philip Schaff describes the genesis and growth of American Christianity and the unique historical context from which it sprang. He also outlines its historical connection with the church in Europe, and offers possibilities for the American church's future mission within this unique political climate." -- Publisher
Schaff, Church and State in the United States
https://archive.org/details/churchstateinuni00scharich
Schaff, Philip (1819-1893), The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church, 1845, ISBN: 1177859289 9781177859288.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture [American religious freedom -- compiler], the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
*Shepard, Thomas (1605-1649), and Jonathan Mitchel (1624-1668), Subjection to Christ in all his Ordinances and Appointments the Best Means to Preserve our Liberty: Together with a treatise of ineffectual hearing the Word, how we may know whether we have heard the same effectually, and by what means it may become effectual unto us: with some remarkable passages of his life / by Tho. Shephard . . . now published by Mr. Jonathan Michel . . . Running title: A WHOLESOME CAVEAT FOR A TIME OF LIBERTY. "To the reader" signed: William Greenhill [and] Samuel Mather. "To the Christian reader" signed: Edm. Calamy, 1654.
Zanchius, Jerom (1516-1590, Girolamo Zanchi, Augustus Toplady, and Justus Lipsius, The Doctrine of Absolute Predestination, ISBN: 0801099277. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #4, #19.
"Translated by Toplady at the age of nineteen and held from publication for some time, it was later requested by Dr. Gill that it be released to the public. After good circulation in North America and overseas, 'John Wesley attempted to circulate a few mutilated extracts from the book, signed with the initials of Toplady's name. This forgery of Mr. Wesley caused Toplady to issue another edition, and this is the edition that we have reprinted,' notes Atherton in the introduction. Furthermore, Atherton calls this 'one of the best, if not the best book ever issued on Absolute Predestination.' He also notes that 'in our day so-called Protestants not only deny and reject these truths, but very zealously support the popish theory of free-will. There is one thing all history testifies to, namely, that what the world calls Calvinism is the only doctrine that produces civil and religious liberty, pure and undefiled religion, national independence and prosperity, whilst all other systems produce superstition, worldliness and national decay, only to end in lawlessness, Bolshevism and destruction. It is forgotten that only the pure truth of God can make a nation great or save a sinner. To our Triune Covenant Lord be all the praise and glory'." -- Publisher
The Doctrine of Absolute Predestination
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/zanchius_absolute_predestination.html
See also: Freedom: A gift of the grace of god, An Introduction to the covenanted reformation, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, The covenanted reformation of scotland author/title listing, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, National establishment of religion: establishmentarianism, Biblical economics, and so forth, and so on.
The Temptation of Eve (part 1 of 2), a sermon on Genesis 3:1-6 by Brian Schwertley
The Satanic Worldview, as a secondary point, is exegeted from Genesis 3
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=720081817191
The Temptation of Eve (part 2 of 2), a sermon on Genesis 3:1-6 by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72008182576
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:31b, 32)If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:36)
Jesus alone gives true freedom.
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:7; Exodus 15:1-21)
Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (Deuteronomy 4:34)
John Calvin commenting on Deuteronomy 4:34 and the context of Deuteronomy 4:32-40
https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom03/calcom03.v.viii.html?scrBook=Deut&scrCh=4&scrV=32#v.viii-p20.1In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:1-6)GOD spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:1-3)O God! when thou wentest forth before thy people, etc. The Psalmist now proceeds to show that the Divine goodness is principally displayed in the Church, which God has selected as the great theater where his fatherly care may be manifested. What follows is evidently added with the view of leading the posterity of Abraham, as the Lord's chosen people, to apply the observations which had been just made to themselves. The deliverance from Egypt having been the chief and lasting pledge of the Divine favor, which practically ratified their adoption under the patriarch, he briefly adverts to that event. He would intimate that in that remarkable exodus, proof had been given to all succeeding ages of the love which God entertained for his Church. Why were so many miracles wrought? why were heaven and earth put into commotion? why were the mountains made to tremble? but that all might recognize the power of God as allied with the deliverance of his people. He represents God as having been their leader in conducting them forth. And this not merely in reference to their passage of the Red Sea, but their journeys so long as they wandered in the wilderness. When he speaks of the earth being moved, he would not seem to allude entirely to what occurred upon the promulgation of the law, but to the fact that, throughout all their progress, the course of nature was repeatedly altered, as if the very elements had trembled at the presence of the Lord. It was upon Mount Sinai, however, that God issued the chief displays of his awful power; it was there that thunders were heard in heaven, and the air was filled with lightnings; and, accordingly, it is mentioned here by name as having presented the most glorious spectacle of the Divine majesty which was ever beheld. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 68:7
It is true that Christianity, as over against certain social tendencies of the present day, insists upon rights of the individual souls. We do not deny the fact; on the contrary we glory in it. Christianity, if it be true Christianity, must place itself squarely in opposition to the soul-killing collectivism which is threatening to dominate our social life; it must provide the individual soul with a secret place of refuge from the tyranny of psychological experts; it must fight the great battle for the liberty of the children of God. The rapidly regressing liberty is one of the most striking phenomena of recent years . . . If liberty is to be preserved against the materialistic paternalism of the modern state, there must be something more than courts and legal guarantees; freedom must be written not merely in the constitution but in the people's heart. And it can be written in the heart, we believe, only as a result of the redeeming work of Christ. -- J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937)
The man is truly free who is most truly a slave to Jesus Christ. -- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:15)
See the Theological Notes: "The Greatness of God," at 1 Chronicles 29:11 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chronicles 29:11)
He is the fountain and centre of every thing that is bright and blessed. All that we can, in our most exalted praises, attribute to him he has an unquestionable title to. His is the greatness; his greatness is immense and incomprehensible; and all others are little, are nothing, in comparison of him. His is the power, and it is almighty and irresistible; power belongs to him, and all the power of all the creatures is derived from him and depends upon him. His is the glory; for his glory is his own end and the end of the whole creation. All the glory we can give him with our hearts, lips, and lives, comes infinitely short of what is his due. His is the victory; he transcends and surpasses all, and is able to conquer and subdue all things to himself; and his victories are incontestable and uncontrollable. And his is the majesty, real and personal; with him is terrible majesty, inexpressible and inconceivable. . . . His sovereign dominion, as rightful owner and possessor of all: "All that is in the heaven, and in the earth, is thine, and at thy disposal, by the indisputable right of creation, and as supreme ruler and commander of all: thine is the kingdom, and all kings are thy subjects; for thou art head, and art to be exalted and worshipped as head above all." -- Matthew Henry (1662-1714), An Exposition of the Old and New TestamentsSee the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "Christian Liberty," at Galatians 5:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "The Freedom and Bondage of the Will," at Jeremiah 17:9 in The Reformation Study Bible.
The righteousness of God is a prerequisite of true freedom, as explained briefly by John Calvin.
See The Institutes of the Christian Religion, (Battles translation, vol. 1), Book II, CHAPTER III.
Chapter III: Only Damnable Things Come Forth From Man's Corrupt Nature
(Corruption of man's nature is such as to require total renewal of his mind and will, 1-5)
1. The whole man is flesh
2. Romans, ch. 3 [Romans 3], as witness for man's corruption
3. God's grace sometimes restrains where it does not cleanse
4. Uprightness is God's gift; but man's nature remains corrupted
5. Man sins of necessity, but, without compulsion
(Conversion of the will is the effect of divine grace inwardly bestowed, 6-14)
6. Men's inability to do good manifests itself above all in the work of redemption, which God does quite alone
7. It is not a case of the believer's "co-operation" with grace; the will is first actuated through grace
8. Scripture imputes to God all that is for our benefit
9. The prayers in Scripture especially show how the beginning, continuation, and end of our blessedness come from God alone
10. God's activity does not produce a possibility that we can exhaust, but an actuality to which we cannot add
11. Perseverance is exclusively God's work; it is neither a reward nor a complement of our individual act
12. Man cannot ascribe to himself even one single good work apart from God's grace
13. Augustine also recognizes no independent activity of the human will
14. Augustine does not eliminate man's will, but makes it wholly dependent upon grace
See also the surrounding chapters."The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace." -- John Calvin, summarizing the teaching of Augustine
Carrying this to a logical conclusion, the honest must seriously questions the validity of a secular government, which enforces the separation of Church and State, and which is utterly intolerant of the Christian Ethic. The secularist's promise to deliver true freedom becomes a colossal modern myth, obviously intended to enslave and exploit a nation's people and their wealth. But the matter cannot be summed up in briefer form than in the eighth chapter of the book ON REBUKE AND GRACE TO VALENTINUS [available in the Anti-Pelagian Writings.] There Augustine first teaches: the human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace; when the feeling of delight has been imparted through the same grace, the human will is formed to endure; it is strengthened with unconquerable fortitude; controlled by grace, it never will perish, but, if grace forsake it, it will straightway fall; by the Lord's free mercy it is converted to good, and once converted it perseveres in good; the direction of the human will toward good, and after direction its continuation in good, depend solely upon God's will, not upon any merit of man. Thus there is left to man such free will, if we please so to call it, as he elsewhere describes: that except through grace the will can neither be converted to God nor abide in God; and whatever it can do it is able to do only through grace.(38), (38. Passages from Augustine quoted or alluded to in sec. 14 are: On Grace and Free Will xx. 41 (MPL 44. 905; tr. NPNF V. 461); On the Spirit and the Letter xxx. 52 (MPL 44. 333; tr. NPNF V. 106); Letters ccxvii. 5. 16 (MPL 33. 984 f.; tr. FC 32. 86); Sermons clxxvi. 5, 6 (MPL 38. 952 f.; tr. LF Sermons II. 907 f.); On Rebuke and Grace viii. 17 (MPL 44. 926; tr. NPNF V. 478); Letters ccxiv. 7 (MPL 33. 970; tr. FC 32. 61 f.) -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, Chapter III, Section 14. "Augustine does not eliminate man's will, but makes it wholly dependent upon grace"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. (Job 42:10a)
A religious doctrine involves practical consequences so important, and its effects upon individual and social life are so infallible and so profound, that it can never be contemplated with indifference by the mass of society, and much less by their rulers. We pray you to observe, amongst other things, that the stronger the feeling of dependence to which religion reduces the individual, the more she invests him, on the other hand, with a lofty independence. All religion is freedom. By introducing us into the service of one master, she emancipates us from the dominion of all others. If she does not altogether do away with dependencies of another order, she transforms them from absolute into relative ones. We still belong to society, we are perhaps linked to it by closer ties than before; but it is in a mediate manner, for man cannot serve two masters. It is this independence which exasperates the rulers of this world, and indeed, for the most part, all those who do not share in it. It is this sacred retreat of liberty which they would invade -- this freedom, of which they would deprive us; as if the numerous sacrifices which from time to time liberty has made for the common weal were insufficient, as if it were not enough, or rather as if it were nothing, for us to have devoted all our bodily powers and all our worldly goods to the service of society, so long as this offering is not completed by the sacrifice of the soul. It is spiritual domination, dominion over the soul, of which despotism, whether of princes or of the people, is especially desirous. Thus, when a tyrant has bereft a nation of all its liberties, until throughout the realm his will has become law, his ambition having nothing else wherewith to satiate its appetite, directs itself against religion. Thenceforward, having subjugated the bodies of men, he directs his attacks against their souls. It is because he cannot but be sensible that dominion over souls -- what do you say? -- over one single soul, is as much superior to that over bodies, as the soul itself is superior to its envelope of clay. He cannot endure the humiliation of knowing that there is a sphere in which the most obscure man, by the force of sympathy alone, wields a greater power than his own. A deep-rooted and bitter feeling of envy takes possession of him; he can enjoy no more repose, until moral force shall have yielded to the pressure of physical force -- until the second Mordecai shall have bowed down to this second Haman -- until the soul, by dethroning itself, shall have delivered him from this odious rivalry. And should he encounter in this enterprise an unlooked-for resistance, his impatience becomes fury, and he destroys those whom he cannot subdue. This has been the origin of many religious persecutions, and it discloses the secret motives of those atrocities by which some have been distinguished.
It does not follow, however, that all the evils with which the world has been inundated in the name of religion, are to be referred to this cause alone. They have originated in that preeminently just idea, that religion gives the true signification of every man, and of the whole of society; that there is nothing more deeply seated in us, nothing which more decisively determines what we are; and that to declare what we believe, is at the same time, and as a matter of necessity, to declare what we wish to be. The influence of a lordly spirit apart, it is not astonishing that the social power has everywhere, more or less, attempted to regulate the faith of the citizens and the instructions of the priesthood. Nor is it surprising that the priesthood, in aid of the state, have themselves attempted to dictate in a matter of this importance. For the suppression of this evil, the assistance of ages has been necessary, and this has not proved sufficient; the veto of public opinion has been also needed. Perhaps in certain countries something further has been required -- the progress of religious indifference. But nowhere is the fire extinguished, because nowhere is man changed; he will never witness unmoved, the energetic manifestation of religious principle; he may be indulgent to philosophical religions, or to religious philosophy, which penetrates not to the very sources of will and of action; but he will be, with his own full knowledge and consent, severe upon genuine faith. And why? because man possessing genuine faith, rises to his highest elevation; an elevation to which it is necessary that others should rise also, not indeed to rule over him (for this is impossible), but to treat with him, and to be at peace together. This is the true position and individuality of each renewed man, and everything is put in requisition to annul, subdue, and modify it.
We dwell no longer upon these different attempts, but return to the principle. We find that in the judgment of the community, the religious conviction of a man moulds his character, estimates his worth, and foretells his life. It is the invisible source of many efforts, and often of much violence. Well, then, we infer [sic] unhesitatingly, that the faith of a member of society cannot remain either a mystery or a matter of doubt to those who surround him. If, as we have sought to establish a former part of this work, the spiritual unity of society, its reality in the elevated sense of that word, depends on the mutual interchange of sentiments; and if that individual only can be said to belong to the community, with whose character she is acquainted, it must be especially in the sphere of religious convictions that this truth is apparent; we may even go further, and say, that although we might keep our sentiments on other subjects to ourselves, those that we entertain respecting religion could not be concealed. For our religious convictions imbue us so thoroughly and practically, that society knows not what she possesses in us, except as she knows what we are with respect to God.
This fact is more conspicuous, we admit, with reference to the Christian religion than to any other. In comparison with it, all other systems of faith are superficial; and we may remark in passing, that this is the reason why Christianity has drawn upon itself, and even excited among its followers, more intolerance than any other religion. The experimental character of its doctrines, coming in contact with the diverse passions of the human heart, has enkindled in the midst of society an active and devouring flame; and its profession has occasioned a host of outrages and calamities. Christianity is radical in the highest degree; radical in morals. It uproots one life, it implants another. Of all religions, it alone is in direct hostility with human nature in its fallen condition, as it is also the only religion which coincides with that same nature in all that sin has not polluted; at once the most human, and the least human of all systems; appearing to grant us everything, and to refuse us everything, but, in reality, granting everything to humanity, and refusing everything to sin. No religion consequently so effectually reforms the moral being; in such a manner, that the complexion of our life and conduct depends on whether we are or are not Christians, and upon what sort of Christians we are.
We should find it impracticable to attempt to distinguish between the doctrines of Christianity and its morals; between what is called its natural and universal morality, and its peculiar and arbitrary doctrines. Christian doctrine is morality -- Christian morality; to wish to distinguish between the two is to desire to divide a stream from its source. Christian doctrine is no sooner received than it regulates the conduct; the character of God becomes a model for man; what God is, man ought to be; and inasmuch as God in the Scriptures is invested with attributes which belong not to human nature, so also man, by means of the Gospel, is invested with a character which nature had not impressed upon him; it makes him a new man in every sense of the term: a man peculiar and extraordinary in the eyes of nature, but in every case a man, who, by the judgment of that very nature, is approved and esteemed. To declare our opinion upon Christian doctrine avails much; it is in fact to profess certain principle of conduct, and to attach ourselves to one or another system of morality; it is to reveal our inward man, to publish the operations of conscience; it is to give the standard of our judgments, and the rule of our actions.
We do well to avow it: whenever we revert to the considerations which most forcibly recommend a duty, we revert to the greatest difficulties in the way of its accomplishment; indeed, in most cases, to point out the motive, is to recognize the difficulty. In the present case, for example, nothing can render candour more difficult than that which enforces its obligation. It is just because such a religious doctrine, of necessity involves such a principle of morality, and such a rule of conduct; it is precisely because it is a disclosure of inward man, that so many persons are averse to declare to what doctrine they adhere. And it is sometimes because their opinion condemns them, sometimes because it elevates them, not so much in itself as in the characteristics and practical consequences with which public opinion has invested it. It is painful to excite repugnance or aversion, and it is sometimes still more painful to excite expectations which we feel but too conscious we cannot fulfill. If it were not so, why should we make a secret of our religious opinions, when we are at no pains to conceal any other? Why, when we are open and unreserved upon all the rest, should we not allow free expression to our thoughts upon this, the noblest of subjects? Why should communications of this nature be so generally regarded as the acme of candour and the pledge of intimacy? Why is there no real union, no true communion of soul, until both parties have expressed what they think, and above all, what they feel upon invisible and infinite subjects? Why do beings long united by the closest ties of affection, as soon as spiritual communion is formed between them, discover with surprise, that up to that period they had really never known, understood, or loved each other? -- that, as Montaigne expresses it, there was wanting to their friendship 'a certain inexplicable, yet essential power, the mediatrix of that union;' or that (as is really the fact), 'God is the true medium of true friendship?' All such instance go to confirm the truth of what we have said. A great effect supposes a powerful force -- a powerful force is employed only against a formidable resistance, and a formidable resistance has no place but in opposition to an urgent necessity. Here the necessity is a moral one -- it is a duty; an evident, and urgent, but a painful duty; for the consequences, even limiting them to their narrowest range, and considering none but those which are developed in the bosom of private relations, these consequences are, it must be confessed, of a startling character.
Nevertheless, if regarded only in the light of morality and natural reason, this candour, which appears so difficult and dangerous, would be found to possess real advantages, whilst reserve would have none but what are false and deceptive. Candour would break the ice which dissimulation thickens and consolidates from day to day; it would procure a more lasting peace; it would put the seal to confidence and friendship. You dread a storm: any storm would be preferable to the dead calm in which you live, -- a calm without peace and without security; for since no one can suppose that you are altogether destitute of religious prepossessions, that you have not some inward conviction to disclose, it will become a matter either of dread or of desire that you should disclose it. This very feeling of anxiety will be an evil in your social relations; if your connexions are desirous of it, when you are averse to making it, their importunity will disturb your peace; on the contrary, if they are averse to its manifestation, when you yourself desire it, they will avoid your company; there will of necessity be in your social relations something painful, constrained, and, in the end, insupportable. If they neither desire nor fear it, it must be because they are not acquainted with your character, and have no desire to become so, because they are not solicitous about your most important interests -- in other words, because they do not love you. And as between a mind occupied with spiritual things and one that is not, there is a wide gulf fixed, as true intimacy between two persons so different is altogether impossible, it is the duty of the more serious of the two, to sound the mind of his friend by disclosing his own, to provide a declaration by declaring himself. Every connexion founded upon a voluntary and designedly prolonged misunderstanding, every factitious union between minds pursuing directly opposite courses, is contrary to human dignity. . . . -- Alexander Vinet (1797-1847), and Charles Theodore Jones (translator), An Essay on the Profession of Personal Religious Conviction, pp. 73-81, and Vinet on FreedomThe concept of freedom does not explain sin. While sin is not unrelated to freedom, the latter does not explain the rise of the former. God has authentic freedom and cannot sin, and God created man with a freedom that was morally qualified and whose continuance depended on a refraining from sin. Man as created possessed the ability not to sin, and the man recreated in Christ, and begotten of God, does not sin. (1 John 5:18) ["The present tense of the Greek suggests behavior that is characteristic or usual. In this way John acknowledges, but does not excuse, the possibility of occasional sin."] True freedom is constituted by man's created, and later recreated, ability to do the good, not by a morally unqualified faculty to do either the one or the other. Freedom belongs to the essence of man as created by God and as restored by Christ; in neither instance is it a morally neutral and unqualified aspect of humanity. The effect of human sin upon freedom is defined in Biblical thought, therefore, not as another form of freedom, but rather as slavery and bondage (Romans 6). Man as created was no more free to sin than, having sinned and fallen into moral bondage, he is free again to become what he once was. Sin constitutes a loss, not an exercise of freedom. Sin is a mystery, immoral and irrational, whose denouement is not found in the concept of human freedom. Freedom as an explanation of sin leads invariably into some form of Pelagianism and Arminianism.
If in freedom man could sin against his Maker, freedom by the same definition would contain the possibility of man's self-propelled return to his Maker. If sin is a true exercise of freedom, such freedom, even after sin, remains also free both to act in Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, or Arminianistic fashion to undo its sin and to return to God -- or to refuse to return to God.
According to the Genesis account of man's fall into sin, man was not free to sin, but under divine command not to sin, on threat of death. Adam and Eve were under the restrictive divine command not to do what they in fact did. Freedom, as authority, is comprised of the components: might plus right. An authority which exercises a might without right is a totalitarian perversion of authority; a freedom which does that which it has no right to do is an anarchistic perversion of true freedom.
The theological tenet that God created man free, that is, with a freedom that was free to sin (posse peccare), is an explanation of sin in terms of sin. If God had endowed man with such freedom, God could not in justice allow man's freedom to suffer that bondage which sin inflicts upon freedom.
In Biblical thought, however, man's act of sin is regarded as a loss of freedom. According to the Genesis account of the Fall, man loses his right to existence in the Garden of Eden, his right to life, and his right to be himself -- naked and not ashamed. In the continuing Biblical account, man as sinner is exhibited as no longer free to be himself. He is either a slave to sin and under the power of death, a devotee of idols -- who in this devotion to idols becomes sub-human and like his idols (Psalm 115:8), or he becomes a captive to grace and through this captivity again receives his true freedom as a gift from God, a freedom permitting him to enjoy release from, and forgiveness for, his sinful past and the gift of grace that justifies his right to live in an open and unending future. -- James DaaneSo then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/romans-14-12.html
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/romans/14.htmlThe Treasury of David, Psalm 85, C.H. Spurgeon
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps085.phpTo open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. (Isaiah 42:7)
The work of the Messiah, according to the text, is to bring out the prisoners from the prison. I think this relates to the bondage under which a man lies to his sins. Habits of sin, like iron nets, surround the sinner, and he cannot escape their meshes. The man sins, and imagines that he cannot help sinning. How often do the ungodly tell us that they cannot renounce the world, cannot break off their sins by righteousness, and cannot believe in Jesus? Let all men know that the Savior has come on purpose to remove every bond of sin from the captive, and to set him free from every chain of evil. I have known men to strive against the habit of blasphemy, others against unchaste passions, and many more against a haughty spirit, or an angry temper. And when they have striven manfully, but unsuccessfully, in their own strength, they have been filled with bitter chagrin that they should have been so betrayed by themselves. When a man believes in Jesus his resolve to become a free man is to a great extent accomplished at once. Some sins die the moment we believe in Jesus, and these trouble us no more. Others hang on to us, and these die by slow degrees; but they are overcome so as never again to get the mastery over us. O struggler after mental, moral, spiritual liberty, if you would be free, your only possible freedom is in Christ. If you desire to shake off evil habits, or any other mental bondage, I shall prescribe no remedy to you but this, to commit yourself to Christ the Liberator. Love Him and you will hate sin. Trust Him, and you will no more trust yourself. Submit yourself to the sway of the incarnate God, and He will break the dragon's head within you, and hurl Satan beneath your feet. Nothing else can do it. Christ must have the glory. -- C.H. Spurgeon commenting on Isaiah in Devotional Classics of C.H. Spurgeon, p. 69In Scripture, religion means covenant. By His Word, God called into being an order of creation culminating in man. By that Word He also gave man His favor and brought him into a life of conscious covenantal fellowship with Himself. As De Graaf himself puts it: "Without covenant, there is no religion, no conscious fellowship between man and God, no exchange of love and faithfulness. Without the covenant, man would be just an instrument in God's hand. When God created man, He had more than an instrument in mind: He made a creature that could respond to Him . . . ." -- H. Evan Runner from Promise and Deliverance
The Treasury of David, Psalm 107, C.H. Spurgeon
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps107.phpAnd I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. (Psalm 119:45). Saints find no bondage in sanctity. The Spirit of holiness is a free spirit; he sets men at liberty and enables them to resist every effort to bring them under subjection. The way of holiness is not a track for slaves, but the King's highway for freemen, who are joyfully journeying from the Egypt of bandage to the Canaan of rest. God's mercies and his salvation, by teaching us to love the precepts of the word, set us at a happy rest; and the more we seek after the perfection of our obedience the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery. . . ." -- C.H. Spurgeon commenting on Psalm 119:45 in The Treasury of David, p. 228
The Treasury of David, Psalm 126, C.H. Spurgeon
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps126.phpWe can imagine the restored exiles at this time singing -- Psalm 126
When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
(It seemed too good to be true, they could not realize that so good a thing had befallen them.)
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
(What others declared concerning them was true, and they boldly avowed it; they did not bury the Lord's mercies in forgetfulness, or cast doubts upon them by mock modesty. We too often say "We hope and we trust," when we ought rather to say, "The Lord hath done great things for us.")
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. -- Spurgeon's Devotional Bible Psalm 126To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom and political happiness which mankind now enjoy. In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation, either through unbelief, or the corruption of its doctrines, or the neglect of its institutions; in the same proportion will the people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom . . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them. -- Jedediah Morse
What the Reformation's return to Biblical teaching gave society was the opportunity for tremendous freedom, but without chaos. That is, an individual had freedom because there was a consensus based upon the absolutes given in the Bible, and therefore real values within which to have freedom, without these freedoms leading to chaos. The world had not known anything like this before. -- Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984)
A republic once equally poised must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty. . . . He is the best friend of American liberty who is most sincere and active in promoting pure and undefiled religion. -- John Witherspoon (1723-1794)
Briefly stated, where Christ is demoted or limited, His Kingdom and crown rights are limited and demoted. There is then a shift of sovereignty from God to man, which means the triumph of the state. The state as the new sovereign becomes god walking on earth, and the result is the rapid death of all freedom. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001)
The Bible should be the principle text in our schools. -- Thomas Jefferson, author of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or isolators should be a nation of freemen. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated [defective] state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. -- Patrick Henry
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. "It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." -- John Philpot Curran, Speech Upon the Right of Election, 1790. (Speeches. Dublin, 1808.)
The real value of an object is that which one who knows its worth will give for it. He who made the soul, knew its worth, and gave His life for it. -- Arthur Jackson
Spoken to his wife, after visiting the cell in which he was incarcerated and for 16 months in Lefortovo prison in the Soviet Union, "I've always thought that the most powerful weapon in the world was the bomb. I've come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon in the world is the truth." -- Nathan Sharansky, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, The Presidential Medal of Freedom (2006), and The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award (2008), and former member of the Israel cabinet
It might be argued, generally, that all of life is a conflict between the opposites of truth and falsehood, light and darkness, love and hate, freedom and bondage, fair and foul, stability and destruction, life and death, eternity and temporal time, and so forth, and so on, with many subtle variations. Careful observation will show that everywhere love is withheld to control others -- in the family, among children, among adults, in Midwestern society, in the urban centers of the East and West, in government, in business, and so forth, and so on. So, as painful as the facts are, it might be concluded that we all are "rednecks."
Furthermore, mankind's blunder extends vertically to his relationship with the Triune God, the God of our fathers, the source of all wisdom, understanding, truth, and life. Withhold love from God and one is left without wisdom, blinded, in darkness, in bondage, and without hope. That is the redneck dilemma. It is also the dilemma of the unregenerate man.Freedom is a mystical truth -- It's expressed best in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, the chapter when the Grand Inquisitor confronted the returned Christ. The freedom that Christ gave the world was the freedom of being an individual, in a collectivity, of basing one's life on love, as distinct from power, of seeking the good of others rather than nourishing one's own ego. That was liberation. And the Chief Inquisitor, who speaks for every dictator, every millionaire, every ideologue that's ever been, says "we can't have it. Go away. Stay away." -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)
Adler, Mortimer, and Max Weismann, How to Think About the Great Ideas: From The Great Books of Western Civilization, ISBN: 0812694120 9780812694123.
Mortimer Adler concluded that more problems are caused by the denial of God than by anything else -- it changes the whole tenure of life. A compendium index is available for the series.
Augustine (of Hippo), Benjamin Breckridge Warfield, Peter Holmes, and Philip Schaff, Anti-Pelagian Writings, ISBN: 1565630998 9781565630994.
"The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace." -- John Calvin summarizing the teaching of Augustine
Bainton, Roland H., The Travail of Religious Liberty.
"Biographical studies of Thomas R. Torquemada, John Calvin, Miquel Servetus, Sebastian Castellio, David Joris, Bernardino Ochino, John Milton, Roger Williams, and John Locke. First published in 1951." -- Cyril J. Barber
Banks, Robert J., and Julia Banks, The Church Comes Home, ISBN: 156563179X 9781565631793.
"In our modern dislocated society many are searching for a church experience that offers true Christian sharing, nurturing, and discipleship, in addition to teaching and worship. For many such people the answer is found in the home church: a small, committed group of often diverse people who meet together in homes to pray, eat, sing, study, and share their lives.
"THE CHURCH COMES HOME is a handbook for those interested in home churches. It is both visionary and practical. It describes how home churches can be formed, how they should grow, and how networks of home churches can develop. It examines issues-for example, how to make decisions; how to determine doctrine; how to include children, singles, elders; and how to reach out to the community at large-and offers practical suggestions for their resolution.
"Robert Banks is Professor of the Ministry of the Laity and Chair of the Ministry Division at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.
"Julia Banks and her husband Robert have been involved with home churches for over twenty-five years. Together they have led seminars and assisted congregations in developing this style of gather in many parts of the world. Julia coordinates the community house in which she and Rob live with a group of students. She is also active as a church planter and in building networks among house churches." -- Publisher
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
Bloesch, Donald George, Freedom of Obedience: Evangelical Ethics in Contemporary Times, ISBN: 1579109322 9781579109325.
"Among my reasons for writing this book is the desire to present an evangelical alternative to the situationist and naturalist ethics that presently dominate the discussion in this field. While the primary focus of the book is on theological ethics, frequently references are made to current social issues; the last chapter is devoted to the intractable problem of war." -- Publisher
*Bolton (or Boulton), Samuel, and John Cameron (1579?-1625), The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, or A Treatise Wherein the Rights of the law are Vindicated, the Liberties of Grace Maintained, and Severall Late Opinions Against the Law are Examined and Confuted. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Samuel Boulton was one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. He 'expounds the nature of Christian liberty and then clearly sets the bounds of that liberty. . . '." -- Publisher
*Bonar, Horatius (1808-1889), Free-will A Christian classic.
Brooks, Pat, The Return of the Puritans, 5th edition, ISBN: 0932050042 9780932050045.
"Pat Brooks' classic on Christianity vs. socialism in mortal combat points the way back from degeneracy to divine favor for the U.S."
Shows the Masonic connection in the origins of the Illuminati, CRF, and the Red world government movement.
Brooks, Pat, Dale Crowley, Jr., and Des Griffin, Freedom or Slavery?
"A profoundly disturbing book . . . exposes the hidden agenda to de-Christianize and destroy her [the United States] through dispensational, 'Christian Zionism' and 'JudeoChristianity'."
*Brown, John (1810-1882), John Bunyan: His Life, Times and Work. A Christian classic.
"The tercentenary edition of the Bedford tinker's life and ministry, preaching and dissent, and travail for religious liberty." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
*Brutus, Junius (attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623] and sometimes to Hubert Languet [1518-1581]), A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, ISBN: 0921148453. Alternate title: VINDICIAE, CONTRA TYRANNOS: OR, CONCERNING THE LEGITIMATE POWER OF A PRINCE OVER THE PEOPLE, AND OF THE PEOPLE OVER A PRINCE, Hubert Languet (author) [also attributed to Stephanus Junius Brutus a pseudonym for Philippe Duplessis-Mornay], George Garnett (editor), ISBN: 0521342090 9780521342094. This [ISBN: 0921148453] is a reprint of a 1689 edition of this work, which was originally written in 1579. A Christian classic. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"Piety commands that the law and church of God be maintained. Justice requires that tyrants and destroyers of the commonwealth be compelled to reason. Charity challenges the right of relieving and restoring the oppressed. Those who make no account of these things do as much as in them lies to drive piety, justice, and charity out of this world, that they may never more be heard of." -- Junius Brutus
"John Adams held this book to be one of the most influential books in America on the eve of the Revolution. This 'defense' manual will help equip you for the battle." -- Publisher
"This book was even more influential than Thomas Payne's COMMON SENSE, in molding the American mind and preparing it for the war for independence. Much of our Declaration of Independence reflects its wisdom and thought. Written by a French Huguenot to give Biblical and civil justification for fighting against a government that was illegally killing it own people during the religious wars on France between the 1540s and late 1700. A must reading for those who want to understand religious and political history of Europe, or want to better understand the Biblical justification sought by our own founding fathers in their fight for independence. A must read!" -- Reader's Comment
Vidiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, by Junius Brutus, attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623]
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae.htm
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), and Robert Philip (1791-1858), The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate. Alternate title: THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL, AND UNSPEAKABLENESS OF THE LOSS THEREOF: WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT: FIRST PREACHED AT PINNERS HALL, AND NOW ENLARGED, AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"In the 1660s, Charles II, King of England, asked John Owen (1616 -- 83), why he went to hear the preaching of an uneducated tinker. [John Bunyan -- compiler]. Looking the King in the eye, Owen answered, 'May it please your Majesty, could I possess the tinker's ability for preaching, I would willingly relinquish all my learning'." -- Andrew Thomson, John Owen, Prince of Puritans
Owen would not have been surprised to learn that Bunyan's most influential work, PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, would be translated into more languages over the next 400 years than any book except the Bible.
The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate
http://archive.org/details/greatnessofsoulu00bunyuoft
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
This is the complete set of THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN, George Offor edition, reprinted by The Banner of Truth. It is free online, and is downloadable in the following formats: HTML, RTF, TEXT, and PDF.
http://www.chapellibrary.org/literature/bunyan/
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN is also available at Project Gutenberg.
Cullen, Edgar M., The Decline of Personal Liberty in America.
*Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Church History of Scotland: From the Commencement of the Christian Era to the Present Time, 1882, 2nd edition, 2 volumes. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #30.
"Few people are as well qualified to write such a history as the author of these volumes. Provides a vivid recounting of the struggle for independence and religious freedom." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Deane, William J., and Thomas Kirk, Studies in the First Book of Samuel.
*Dillenberger, John (editor), Martin Luther: Selections From his Writings, ISBN: 0385098766 9780385098762. A Christian classic.
"The development of Martin Luther's thought was both a symptom and moving force in the transformation of the Middle Ages into the modern world. Geographical discovery, an emerging scientific tradition, and a climate of social change had splintered the unity of medieval Christian culture, and these changes provided the background for Luther's theological challenge. His new apprehension of Scripture and fresh understanding of man's relation to God demanded a break with the Church as then constituted and released the powerful impulses that carried the Reformation. Luther's vigorous, colorful language still retains the excitement it had for thousands of his contemporaries. In this volume, Dr. Dillenberger has made a representative selection from Luther's extensive writings, and has also provided the reader with a lucid introduction to his thought." -- Publisher
See: "Martin Luther's Treatise on Christian Liberty" (The Freedom of the Christian).
"If one were to single out one short document representing the content and spirit of Luther's faith 'The Freedom of the Christian' would undoubtedly be at the top." -- John Dillenberger
*Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Ethics of Freedom.
"Ellul examines political freedom, but also talks about working it out in all human relationships. In a kind of dialogue with the Bible, he relates the Christian concept of freedom as rooted in the liberating work of Christ . . ." -- Vernon Grounds
*Ganz, Richard, You Shall be Free Indeed! The Statutes of Liberty for Godly Living.
"Shows how to have the freedom Christ gives. Rings the changes on 'freedom:' true vs. false, internal and external, from the expectations of others, to fail or succeed, to change, from self-love, to love, from legalistic holiness, for gospel holiness." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"Drawing from his experience as a nouthetic counselor and pastor, Ganz shows how Christians can have the freedom that Christ gives his people. Jay Adams says: 'This is one of the most encouraging and helpful books I have read in a long time'." -- GCB
Girardeau, John L., Individual Liberty and Church Authority: A Sermon Preached at Westminster Church, Charleston, Thursday Night, April 11, 1889, During the Sessions of Charleston Presbytery.
Gray, Andrew (1633-1656), The Duty and the Liberty of a Christian Church: Asserted Against Popery, Puseyism and Erastianism (BiblioBazaar, August 19, 2009), 48 pages, ISBN: 1113347295 9781113347299.
*Hammon, T.C., Perfect Freedom: An Introduction to Christian Ethics.
Hayek, Friedrich A., The Road to Serfdom, ISBN: 0415035287.
"A modern restatement of the great conflict between liberty and authority." -- Publisher
"This classic by one of the 20th century's leading libertarian thinkers has established itself beside the works of Orwell and others as a timeless meditation on the relationship between human freedom and government authority. Hayek argues that empowering government with increasing economic control leads not to utopia but to horrors such those seen in Nazi Germany.
"Hayek describes the world in 1944, alarmed by the rising ideas of the 'inevitable' trends to economic planning and centralization, pointing out the path that leads to totalitarian regimes. He says that socialism, fascism and nazism are 'species' of collectivisation which don't differ in their nature.
"In his book he tries to prove that in searching for security, governments can start to plan economic activities and, as this power grows, embark in building a society where every aspect of people's daily life was previously decided by the desire of a planner, because 'economic control is the control of the means for all our ends.'
"Hayek's work was a sort of bible for the neo-liberal era inaugurated by Thatcher and Reagan in the 80's and, although he explicitly opposes to the 19th century 'laissez-faire' economy, in many paragraphs he seems very "nostalgic" about it.
"It is maybe one of the best counterparts of Marx's THE CAPITAL and, thus, a must-read for any socialist or communist (as Marx is a must-read for every capitalist), in order to widen your knowledge of economics and to come to a better conclusion about defining your political beliefs. -- Reader's Comment
"I was introduced to Friedrich von Hayek through reading Thomas Sowell. And I decided to read this book because it was a highly recommended read in the Freedom's Nest Website Reading List. . . .
"In a totalitarian state, it is always the ruthless and the unsophisticated who ascend to the top. Extensive governmental control harms the society not just in delivering dismal economic results, but, more seriously, it produces a psychological change, an alteration in the character of the people.
"This little book was said to have had definitive influence on such giants as Churchill, Thatcher, Reagan and many others. Perhaps the book's influence was best attested to by its being banned in the USSR, China and many other totalitarian countries." -- Reader's Comment
*Hopkins, Rev. Mark, D.D., The Sabbath and Free Institutions. A Paper Read Before the National Sabbath Convention, Saratoga, Aug. 13, 1863. On Invitation of the New York Sabbath Committee.
"Hopkins argues three points, 1. That a religious observance of the Sabbath, or, as it may be called by way of distinction, the religious Sabbath, would secure the permanence of free institutions [civil governments], 2. That without the Sabbath religiously observed, the permanence of free institutions cannot be secured, and 3. That the civil, as based on the religious Sabbath, is an institution to which society has a natural right, precisely as it has to property." -- Wurth Books
"These propositions were demonstrated by a process of reasoning simple and irresistible, and, we may add, majestic. The third of these propositions, viz.: That society has a natural right to the civil Sabbath, is one of special interest and importance. It furnishes a firm foundation on which to rest rights and duty of the community to protect the Sabbath by civil legislation." -- Charles Hodge, D.D., of Princeton, reporting to The National Sabbath Convention, 1863, p. 19, "The Sabbath and Free Institutions." Charles Hodge and his son, A.A. Hodge, are considered to be two of the finest theologians produced by America.
"Mark Hopkins, educator, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., 4 Feb., 1802; d. in Williamstown, Mass., 17 June, 1887. He was a grandson of Col. Mark, of the Revolutionary army, a graduate of Yale, and the first lawyer in Berkshire county, who was a younger brother of Dr. Samuel, the theologian, and married to a half-sister of Ephraim Williams, the founder of Williams College. He was graduated at Williams in 1824, with the valedictory, was a tutor in that college in 1825-7, studied medicine at the same time, and was graduated at the Berkshire medical school in 1829. He began practice in New York city, but in 1830 was called to the chair of moral philosophy and rhetoric at Williams. He was licensed to preach in 1832. In 1836 he succeeded Dr. Edward D. Griffin as president of the college, which post he held until 1872, when he resigned, though retaining the chair of moral and intellectual philosophy, which was established for him in 1836, and that of Christian theology, which he assumed in 1858. The pastorate of the college church, on which he entered in 1836, he retained till 1883. He became president of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions in 1857. He received the degree of D.D. from Dartmouth in 1837, and Harvard in 1841, and that of LL.D. from the University of the state of New York in 1857, and from Harvard at its 259th anniversary in 1886.
"President Hopkins had a large influence for good, and was much beloved by his pupils, many of whom became eminent men, among them James A. Garfield. He was one of the most acute students of moral science that this country has produced since Jonathan Edwards. The last and fullest expression of his philosophical system is found the works entitled THE LAW OF LOVE AND LOVE AS THE LAW [CHRISTIAN ETHICS], ISBN: 9781429017824 1429017821 and AN OUTLINE STUDY OF MAN [AN OUTLINE STUDY OF MAN, or, THE BODY AND MIND IN ONE SYSTEM WITH ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS, AND A METHOD FOR BLACKBOARD TEACHING, New York: Scribners, 1887, c1886], both extensively used as textbooks, and the latter illustrating his methods in the classroom." -- Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1888.
The Sabbath and Free Institutions
http://www.lettermen2.com/hopkins.html
Kelly, Kent, The Separation of Church and Freedom: A war Manual for Christian Soldiers, ISBN: 0960413804 9780960413805.
Lindgren, Alvin J., and Norman Shawchuk, Let my People go: Empowering Laity for Ministry, ISBN: 0687213770 9780687213771.
"Well reasoned and on target, this discussion of the potential of laypeople comes like a breath of fresh air to those engaged in ministry." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn (1899-1981), Authority, ISBN: 0851513867 9780851513867.
"The late Doctor was revered for his adherence to all the teachings of the Bible, wherever they might lead. By the time of his death in the last decade, there were only a few preachers left in England who were able and also willing to preach the whole counsel of God. But Lloyd-Jones never flinched, nor excused those who did.
"This little book contains three of his sermons on the subject of authority: The Authority of Jesus Christ; The Authority of the Scriptures; The Authority of the Holy Spirit. They were preached because the Doctor saw that there is a crisis of authority in society in our day. Name an authority, and see if it is not being violated. The fools of our age think that authority is incompatible with man's freedom. Whereas, the only freedom worthy of that name comes from being under the authority of Christ Jesus, our Saviour, our Lord, and our God. . . . Dr. L-J sees the road to recovery from this rebellion to lie in the fearless assertion of Divine authority as pictured in the Holy Scriptures. Either we must admit the authority of truth, or else it is to be a state of 'the blackness of darkness for ever' for us . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
*Loane, Marcus L., Makers of Religious Freedom in the Seventeenth Century: Henderson, Rutherford, Bunyan, Baxter.
"Students of church and state will appreciate this book because it narrates the vigorous struggle for religious freedom on the part of Alexander Henderson and Samuel Rutherford in Scotland, and John Bunyan and Richard Baxter in England." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Commentary on Galatians, English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge, ISBN: 0825431247. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"I prefer this book of Martin Luther's (except the Bible), before all the books I have ever seen, as most fit for a wounded soul." -- John Bunyan
"This is a great, historic work, and is beyond criticism on account of its great usefulness. As a comment its accuracy might be questioned; but for emphatic utterances and clear statements of the great doctrine of the Epistle it remains altogether by itself, and must be judged per se." -- C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
"The reissue of a famous series of lectures delivered at Wittenberg University in 1553." -- Cyril J. Barber
Commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther
http://archive.org/details/cu31924029294133
Luther's Commentary on Galatians, That He might deliver us from the present evil world. (Galatians 1:4 excerpt), English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge
http://www.lettermen2.com/luther2.html
Luther's Commentary on Galatians, Who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth. (Galatians 3:1 excerpt), English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge
http://www.lettermen2.com/luther1.html
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Concerning Christian Liberty, ISBN: 0585150281 9780585150284. A Christian classic.
"An unabridged edition, to include: LETTER OF MARTIN LUTHER TO POPE LEO X and CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, with updated typeface." -- Publisher
*Machen, J. Gresham (1881-1937), The Christian View of Man, ISBN: 0851511120 9780851511122.
"This book by one of the founders of Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is undoubtedly one of the best guides, from a Reformed perspective, to be found anywhere. If you want a sound guide to the basic teachings of the Bible, you will find it in this book. Highly recommended!" -- GCB
"Provides an excellent introduction to Christian anthropology. First published in 1937." -- Cyril J. Barber
Deals with predestination and human freedom.
*MacPherson, Hector, Scotland's Battles for Spiritual Independence, 1905.
"Ably delineates between the quest for power (ecclesiastical as well as political), and a true spirit of independence based upon Biblical principles. Describes the struggle between church and state, and lays justifiable stress upon the far-ranging effects of the battles they fought and won." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Marshall, Walter (1628-1680), The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union With Christ, ISBN: 189277724X. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Reformation Heritage Books edition is a reprint of the 1954 edition set by Oliphants and includes an introduction by Joel R. Beeke. Also includes the author's famous sermon on "The Doctrine of Justification Opened and Applied."
See the WorldCat record for various foreign language editions.
Other editions:
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1597520543 9781597520546.
"This is by far the best book on the doctrine of Sanctification in print. It was originally written in the 17th century, but has been put into modern English with this edition. This book will help you better understand the Gospel and its power not only for our Justification, but our Sanctification as well." -- Reader's Comment
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1589600630 9781589600638.
"Here you will read the most closely reasoned defense of scriptural sanctification to be found anywhere. . . . Fourteen directions are given to the reader, all perfected with the aim of explaining to sincere souls what sanctification is, what it is not, and how to attain a holy walk before God. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-mystery of Sanctification, Opened, in Sundry Practical Directions: Suited Especially to the Case of Those who Labor Under the Guilt and Power of Indwelling Sin. To Which is Added a Sermon on Justification (1859)
http://archive.org/details/gospelmysteryofs02mars
Martin, Ralph P., Colossians: The Church's Lord and the Christian's Liberty: An Expository Commentary, ISBN: 0853641250 9780853641254.
*McFetridge, N.S., Calvinism in History. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A splendid book." -- Loraine Boettner
"The rich Reformation heritage of truth and freedom is set forth in four chapters: 1. Calvinism as a Political Force, 2. Calvinism as a Political Force in the History of the USA, 3. Calvinism as a Moral Force, 4. Calvinism as an Evangelizing Force." -- Publisher
"Arminianism, taking to an aristocratic form of church government, tend toward a monarchy in civil affairs, while Calvinism, taking to a republican form of church government, tends toward a democracy in civil affairs."
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. A lecture, Delivered, March 26, 1843, Under Appointment of the N.Y. Protestant Reformation Society (1843), John Niel McLeod
http://archive.org/details/protestantismpar00mcle
*Morey, Robert, The new Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom, ISBN: 0875523625 9780875523620.
"Exposes the godless suppression of religious freedom today and presents effective ways to convert atheists to Christ. In case you have not noticed atheism/secular humanism is gaining ground. Are you grounded in what these philosophies teach? Can you refute them? Dr. Morey will show you how." -- GCB
The American Atheist Union has said this is the most dangerous book ever written about religion.
Includes bibliography.
*Murray, Iain, The Reformation of the Church: A Collection of Reformed and Puritan Documents on Church Issues, ISBN: 085151118X 9780851511184.
"First published in 1965 and once again available. Documents are drawn largely from the 16th and 17th centuries and presents the finest thinking of the fathers on authority and freedom, the need for reformation, the nature of the government, unity, and membership of the Church of Jesus Christ." -- GCB
*Neal, Daniel (1678-1743), and Joshua Toulmin, The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists: From the Reformation in 1517, to the Revolution in 1688; Comprising an Account of Their Principles; Their attempts for a farther reformation in the church, their sufferings, and the lives and characters of their most considerable divines, 3 volumes.
"Reprinted from the latest edition and containing critical notes, this outstanding presentation of Protestant nonconformity (from 1517 to 1688), delineates the course of action taken by those dubbed Puritan, describes the seeds of liberty and democracy that they spread and that lie latent in their history and teachings, and presents a vivid picture of the effect of their stand for truth. This is an excellent work and is well-deserving of careful study. The benefits of reading these volumes is too great to be tabulated here. We can only hope that a new generation of men and women who are loyal to the Lord and His Word will peruse these pages to their own great profit." -- Cyril J. Barber
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 1 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofp01neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 2 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyo02neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 3 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofpurit03neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 4 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofpurit04neal
Osborn, Robert T., Freedom in Modern Theology.
Includes bibliographic footnotes.
*Parliament, The First Parliament During the Reign of James VI of Scotland, Christ's Triumphant Entry Into Scotland; Or, The Subjugation of the People, Laws, Liberties, and Crown of Scotland to His Supreme Majesty Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; Being, The Complete Text of all of the Acts of the First Parliament During the Reign of James VI of Scotland.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4)
The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. (Psalm 97:1)
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. (Psalm 37:6)
http://truecovenanter.com/official/acts_of_parliament_scotland_james_vi_p01.phtml
See: Skene, John, THE LAVVES AND ACTES OF PARLIAMENT, MAID BE KING IAMES THE FIRST, AND HIS SUCCESSOURS KINGES OF SCOTLAND.
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Slavery Christianity: Paul's Letter to Philemon, an article (Unicoi, TN: The Trinity Foundation, November, 2005), ISBN: 1891777173 9781891777172.
"Slavery. Racism. Rebellion. Civil disobedience. The problems are as pressing today as they were 1900 years ago when the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a slave-owner, Philemon, about his runaway slave -- and the runaway slave carried Paul's letter back to his legal owner.
"What did the letter say? Did Paul -- does Christianity -- approve of slavery? Does Christianity condone slavery? Or does the Gospel abolish slavery and establish freedom wherever it is believed? Jesus said, If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31,32)
"Paul's letter to Philemon is a masterpiece of divinely inspired political philosophy. It provides the basis for the non-violent abolition of slavery wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and believed.
"Dr. John W. Robbins holds the Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University. His most recent book is FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS." -- Publisher
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, ISBN: 0524065543 9780524065549. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from ATLA 1991-2638.
A magnificent catechism that sets forth the Crown Rights of The King of Glory and Lord of Lords. It also presents incontrovertible evidence that the United States Constitution is not a Christian document, and that it is, in fact, a slavery document.
"A manual of instruction, drawing from such notable authors as William Symington and J.R. Willson, presenting arguments and facts confirming and illustrating the 'Distinctive Principles' of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Chapters deal with: 'Christ's Mediatorial Dominion in General;' Christ's Exclusive Headship Over the Church;' 'The Supreme and Ultimate Authority of the Word of God in the Church;' Civil Government, the Moral Ordinance of God;' Christ's Headship Over the Nations;' 'The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ;' The Word, or Revealed Will of God, the Supreme Law in the State;' 'The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion:' 'The Spiritual Independence of the Church of Christ:' 'The Right and Duty of Dissent From an Immoral Constitution of Civil Government;' 'The Duty of Covenanting, and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants;' 'The Application of These Principles to the Governments, Where Reformed Presbyterians Reside, in the Form of a Practical Testimony;' and finally 'Application of the Testimony to the British Empire. . . '." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
On the Mediatorial Dominion of The Lord Jesus Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_01_mediatorial_dominion.html
The Exclusive Headship of The Lord Jesus Christ Over the Church of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_02_christs_headship_over_the_church.html
Civil Government the Moral Ordinance of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_04_civil_government.html
On Christ's Headship Over the Nations, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_05_christs_headship_over_nations.html
The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_06_subjection_of_nations_to_christ.html
See also: The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; CONSPIRACY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, and A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, 1649. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9, #25, and #26.
"Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, though scarce, is still one of his most important works with maybe only a few copies of the actual book left in existence. Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. A sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment and an affront to the holy God of Scripture). He also deals with conscience, toleration, penology (punishment), and the judicial laws, as related to both the civil and ecclesiastical realms. Excellent sections are also included which address questions related to determining the fundamentals of religion, how covenants bind us, the perpetual obligation of social covenants (with direct application to the Solemn League and Covenant and the covenant-breaking of Cromwell and his sectarian supporters), whether the punishing of seducing teachers be persecution of conscience, and much more. Walker adds these comments and context regarding Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, 'The principle of toleration was beginning to be broached in England, and in a modified shape to find acceptance there. Samuel Rutherford was alarmed, or rather, I should say, he was horrified, for he neither feared the face of man or argument. He rushed to the rescue of the good old view . . . It is not so easy to find a theoretical ground for toleration; and Rutherford has many plausible things to say against it. With the most perfect confidence, he argues that it is alike against Scripture and common sense that you should have two religions side by side. It is outrageous ecclesiastically, it is sinful civilly. He does not, however, take what I call the essentially persecuting ground. He does not hold that the magistrate is to punish religion as religion. Nay, he strongly maintains that the civil magistrate never aims at the conscience. The magistrate, he urges, does not send anyone, whether a heretic (who is a soul murderer -- RB), or a murderer, to the scaffold with the idea of producing conversion or other spiritual result, but to strengthen the foundations of civil order. But if he gives so much power to the king, he is no lover of despotism withal: the king himself must be under law. To vindicate this great doctrine is the object of another book, the celebrated LEX, REX; of which it has been said by one competent to judge, that it first clearly developed the constitutionalism which all men now accept.' (Theology and Theologians . . . pp. 11-12). In our day Francis Schaeffer, and numerous others, have critiqued many of the problems found in modern society, but most have spent little time developing explicitly Biblical solutions especially regarding the theoretical foundations that Rutherford addresses here. Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION provides a detailed blueprint for laying the foundations that must be laid before any lasting, God-honoring solutions will be found. Furthermore, Rutherford and his writings were the enemies of all governments not covenanted with Christ. This book will give you a very clear picture as to why 'the beast' (civil and ecclesiastical), has reserved his special hatred for such teaching. As Samuel Wylie noted 'the dispute, then, will not turn upon the point whether religion should be civilly established . . . but it is concerning what religion ought to be civilly established and protected, -- whether the religion of Jesus alone should be countenanced by civil authority, or every blasphemous, heretical, and idolatrous abomination which the subtle malignity of the old serpent and a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, can frame and devise, should be put on an equal footing therewith." -- The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis. Can our generation swallow Rutherford's hard, anti-pluralistic, Covenanter medicine, poured forth from the bottle of the first commandment, without choking on their carnal dreams of a free and righteous society divorced from God (and His absolute claims upon everyone and everything)? Not without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit -- that is for sure! In summary, this book answers all the hardest questions theonomists (and their wisest and best opponents), have been asking for the last 20-30 years (and these answers are much more in depth than any we have seen in the last couple of millennia [less about a century to account for the apostles]). As the reader will discover, Rutherford was a wealthy man when it came to wisdom (and much advanced theologically), and those who take the time to gaze into the King's treasure house, as exhibited in this book, will find that they are greatly rewarded. Furthermore, because of its uncompromising stand upon the Word of God, this book is sure to be unpopular among a wicked and adulterous generation. However, on the other hand, it is sure to be popular among the covenanted servants of King Jesus! This is one of the best books (in the top five anyway), for advanced study of the Christian faith. We have now obtained an easy-to-read, amazingly clear copy of this very rare, old treasure. Great price too, considering that a copy of the 1649 edition, containing this quality of print, would likely cost upwards of $1000 on the rare book market -- though it is unlikely you would ever see a copy for sale!" -- Publisher
A Brotherly and Free Epistle to the Patrons and Friends of Pretended Liberty of Conscience, Samuel Rutherford
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/rutherfurd_epistle_against_pretendedlibertyofconscience.html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Influences of the Life of Grace. Or, A Practical Treatise Concerning the way, Manner, and Means of Having and Improving of Spiritual Dispositions, and Quickening Influences From Christ the Resurrection and the Life. By Samuel Rutherfurd (sic), Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9 and 21.
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, ISBN: 0873779517. Alternate title: A TREATISE OF CIVIL POLICY: BEING A RESOLUTION OF FORTY THREE QUESTIONS CONCERNING PREROGATIVE, RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE, IN REFERENCE TO THE SUPREME PRINCE AND THE PEOPLE. / BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY OF ST ANDREWS IN SCOTLAND. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #10, #25.
" 'Lex, rex' is Latin for 'law is king.'
"LEX, REX is 'the great political text of the Covenanters.' (Johnston citing Innes in Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 305). 'Rutherford was the first to formulate the great constitutional principle Lex est Rex -- the law is King . . . much of the doctrine has become the constitutional inheritance of all countries in modern times.'
"Gilmour writes [in SAMUEL RUTHERFORD], 'that, as regards religious fervour, scholastic subtlety of intellect, and intensity of ecclesiastical conviction, Samuel Rutherford is the most distinctively representative Scotsman in the first half of the seventeenth century'." -- Publisher
"Without a doubt one of the greatest books on political philosophy ever written. Rutherford here has penned a great Christian charter of liberty against all forms of civil tyranny -- vindicating the Scriptural duty to resist tyrants as an act of loyalty to God." -- Publisher
"That resistance to lawful authority -- even when that authority so called has, in point of fact, set at nought 'all law' -- is in no instance to be vindicated, will be held by those only who are the devotees of arbitrary power and passive obedience. The principles of Mr. Rutherford's LEX, REX, however obnoxious they may be to such men, are substantially the principles on which all government is founded, and without which the civil magistrate would become a curse rather than a blessing to a country. They are the very principles which lie at the basis of the British Constitution, and by whose tenure the House of Brunswick does at this very moment hold possession of the throne of these realms." -- Rev. Robert Burns, D.D., in his "Preliminary Dissertation" to Wodrow's Church History
Additional sources of text related to LEX REX are as follows:
"Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX, his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked, for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book [A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE -- compiler] should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. It is a sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment, and an affront to the holy God of Scripture)." -- Publisher
A HIND LET LOOSE by Alexander Shields is sometimes referred to as 'Lex, Rex, Volume Two.'
A Hind let Loose; or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose; or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ
"This book sets forth the Crown rights of King Jesus, against all usurpers in both church and state, giving a history of some of faithful sufferings endured by the elect, in maintaining this truth." -- Publisher
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
"This [THE DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES OR A PEACEABLE PLEA FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], could be considered the LEX, REX of church government -- another exceedingly rare masterpiece of Presbyterianism! Characterized by Walker as sweeping 'over a wider field than most'." -- Publisher
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex: The law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People (1843)
http://archive.org/details/lexrexlawandpri00ruthgoog
Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, Samuel Rutherford
"Rutherford is to be praised for his teaching that the king is subject to the law of God. The Bible has nothing but condemnation for those who frame mischief by a law and declares rhetorically, Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? (Psalm 94:20). Deuteronomy 17 is the classic passage in defense of LEX, REX, wherein the king is charged to read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 17:19)." -- Publisher
http://www.constitution.org/sr/lexrex.htm
Lex, rex: the law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People, containing the reasons and causes of the defensive wars of the kingdom of Scotland, and of their expedition for the ayd and help of their brethren of England. In which a full answer is given to a seditious pamphlet, intituled, Sacro-sancta regum majestas, penned by J. Maxwell. By S. Rutherford. [Followed by], De jure regni apud Scotos; a dialogue, tr. by R. Macfarlan (repr. from the ed. of 1799).
http://books.google.com/books?id=jtYDAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Shepard, Thomas (1605-1649), and Jonathan Mitchel (1624-1668), Subjection to Christ in all his Ordinances and Appointments the Best Means to Preserve our Liberty: Together with a treatise of ineffectual hearing the Word, how we may know whether we have heard the same effectually, and by what means it may become effectual unto us: with some remarkable passages of his life / by Tho. Shephard . . . now published by Mr. Jonathan Michel . . . Running title: A WHOLESOME CAVEAT FOR A TIME OF LIBERTY. "To the reader" signed: William Greenhill [and] Samuel Mather. "To the Christian reader" signed: Edm. Calamy, 1654.
Sibbes, Richard (1577-1635), Glorious Freedom, ISBN: 0851517919. Alternate title: THE EXCELLENCY OF THE GOSPEL ABOVE THE LAW. Available (THE WORKS OF RICHARD SIBBES), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Stevens, R. Paul, Liberating the Laity: Equipping All the Saints for Ministry, ISBN: 0877846138 9780877846130.
"Seeks to abolish the distinction between clergy and laity and to elevate believers to their true dignity as ministers of Christ. Stevens is not an anticleric. His iconoclasm is of a different order; and his goal is the mobilization of the people of God to do the work he desires. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Swindoll, Charles, The Grace Awakening, ISBN: 9780849911880 0849911885.
"This is a book about the wonderful fact that Christianity faithfully lived will bring blessedness to our earthly existence, if we ignore the unholy 'grace-killers' among us. Jesus said, If therefore the Son shall make your free, you shall be free indeed. . . ." -- Publisher
"More and more Christians are realizing that the man-made restrictions and legalistic regulations under which they have been living have not come from the God of grace, but have been enforced by people who do not want others to be free. . . . Scarcely a day passes when I am not reminded of the need for a book emphasizing the full extent of grace, giving people permission to be free, absolutely free in Christ. Why? Because so few are!" -- Charles Swindoll
The author believes this is the most important book he has written. The message of Christian freedom is as repressed as the Gospel itself. This book will bless the hearts of the many who have never read a presentation of the message of our freedom in Christ and its wonderful practical implications for the individual, the church, and the nation. A study guide by the same name is available.
"The God of the universe has given us an amazing, revolutionary gift of grace and freedom. This freedom and grace set us apart from every other 'religion' on the face of the earth.
"In this bestselling classic, Charles Swindoll urges you not to miss living a grace-filled life. Freedom and joy -- not lists and demands and duties -- await all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. -- Publisher
Toon, Peter, Free to Obey: The Real Meaning of Authority, ISBN: 084230925X 9780842309257.
"Treats clearly and concisely the fact of sin and the enslavement of mankind to it. Explains the only path to perfect freedom. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
*VanderKemp (Van der Kemp), Johannes, The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ, in Life and Death: Exhibited in Fifty-three Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, ISBN: 9781142354152 1142354156. See: "all editions" in WorldCat.org.
The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ in Life and Death (Free download, Kindle format)
http://archive.org/details/christianentire00kempgoog
*Weaver, Henry Grady, Mainspring of Human Progress.
A monograph on the history of freedom.
Includes bibliography.
Woodhouse, A.S.P. (compiler and editor), Puritanism and Liberty: Being the Army Debates (1647-1649), From the Clarke Manuscripts With Supplementary Documents.
"The literature devoted to freedom is one of the exciting features of the middle years of the seventeenth century."
Woodson, William (editor), Freedom: Heritage, Accomplishments and Prospects in Christ.
Freed-Hardeman College Lectures, 1976. Includes bibliographical references.
Wylie, James A. (1808-1890), The Papal Hierarchy: An Exposure of the Tactics of Rome for the Overthrow of the Liberty and Christianity of Great Britain.
See: The History of Protestantism (1902), vol. 1 of 3.
http://archive.org/details/historyofprotes01wyli
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Church and state, Galatians, Christian liberty, Will and recalcitrance, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The Westminster Standards and family of documents, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Sex ethics, sex education, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, The covenanted reformation, Toleration and liberty of conscience, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, The Christian foundation of America, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, The covenanted reformation of scotland author/title listing, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary alliances, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 2134-2136, 2531, 4056
The Battle Continues: The Establishment of Liberty Through God's Law, Norman Patterson
"This 'higher' law was not the collective wisdom of human ingenuity. It was based upon the belief God revealed His perfect law in the Bible. This law was articulated succinctly in the Ten Commandments. No one, not even a king, had the right to claim divinity, blaspheme, lie, steal, fornicate, and bear false witness, etcetera. Biblical law annuls the divine right of kings. There is only One King and He has only one law. The most God allows government to do is punish evildoers who insist on violating His law. (Romans 13:1-4). These violations include trampling upon the life, liberty and property of others. As government secures the God-given rights of individuals, the whole of society prospers. When government sees themselves as the sovereign and the people as their property, society deteriorates. Conversely, when people put divine-like faith in government to create law to solve all their problems, they make government a god and thereby become idolatrous. Either way liberty is destroyed."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/patterson-norman9.html
*Biblical Slavery: It's Meaning and Necessity, a sermon [audio file], by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=74101315272
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Toleration: The Cut-throat of True Religion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/ToleratT.htm
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
http://www.uscirf.gov/
Why a Truly Christian People CANNOT be Subjugated by a Lawless State, a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRFPNFt4xNs&lc=UgyfL4e2as0gY8qy7bN4AaABAg
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:31,32)Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)
Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.
War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. -- James Madison (1751-1836)It is quite evident that in all of this Calvin was setting forth a view of free enterprise which is strictly Biblical. Free enterprise is that means adapted for man by which he fulfills the conditions of his stewardship. Enterprise that is truly free is constantly governed by the law of God. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/romans-14-12.html
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/romans/14.htmlPaul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers. -- John W. Robbins
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler], and the laissez faire school of economic thought. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
Planned economies do not work, because they fail to take into account man's sinfulness. -- Reader's comment on The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
The roots of liberty and limited government are in the Protestant Reformation. We believe the key to the maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish covenanting struggle. -- James A. Dodson
Having learnt from the Holy Scriptures that wise, brave, and virtuous men were always friends to liberty -- that God gave the Israelites a king in His anger, because they had not the sense and virtue enough to like a free commonwealth [1 Samuel 8:4-22] -- and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty [2 Corinthians 3:17] -- this made me conclude that freedom was a great blessing. -- Jonathan Mayhew, from his autobiography
Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants. . . . Those who are willing to trade their essential liberties for a little temporary safety, deserve neither safety nor liberty. -- Benjamin Franklin
The Corporate worldview we are operating under today remains rooted in the Feudal Age, a system in which a few wealthy noblemen lived in luxury at the expense of the masses. The capital of corporations is distributed by an accounting system that was constituted to serve the wishes of an aristocracy of wealth under a 16th century monarchy. The principles of accounting have remained essentially unchanged since that Feudal Age, 600 years ago. -- Vladimir Shlapentokh and Daniel Martinez, Feudal America: Elements of the Middle Ages in Contemporary Society
Hazlitt came to the conclusion that "this [the Eisenhower Administration program -- compiler] seems to take over from the New Deal the essence of the Keynesian ideology -- the belief in compensation spending -- the belief that any decline from a peak of inflationary prosperity can and should be offset and rectified by an increase in deficit spending." (21. Newsweek, January 10, 1980, p. 33.)
Lying at the very heart of the Eisenhower program was the philosophy of John Maynard Keynes, the noted English economist, who had gained the ear of Franklin D. Roosevelt with the result that the New Deal legislation from then on reflected this approach to the problems of the nation. For a long time Keynes had been a member of the Fabian Society in England, a socialist group in that country. (22. Keynes had set forth his philosophy in his Treatise on Money and General Theory of Economics, the first in England in 1930 and the second in this country in that same year. In 1936 his General Theory of Employment, Money and Interest was published.) Like most of his Fabian colleagues, Keynes erected his philosophy on the basic assumption that Christianity was not and could not be true and that new principles of human action must be found in a form of socialism which was very close to communism. Roosevelt's first contact with Keynes seems to have been a letter which Keynes published in the New York Times on December 31, 1933, and which apparently influenced him to abandon the gold standard a few months later. In a personal interview with President Roosevelt in 1934, Keynes was able to persuade him that he should adopt deficit spending as the policy which would lift the nation out of the depression. That there was a radical intent behind the writings of Keynes and the tone of his later compared with his earlier works is not difficult to demonstrate. He wrote:Lenin is said to have remarked that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. . . . Lenin was right. There is no subtler, no surer means of over-turning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. (23. Essays in Persuasion. New York, Norton, 1963, p. 77.)That such an idea was not an incidental reference, but lay at the heart of his whole approach to economic issues is quite evident, and he had given it much thought. He wrote: "The debauching of the currency is a process that engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose." (24. Ibid.)
Thus, this Keynesian approach to combating depression became the standard monetary policy for the succeeding administrations. It is doubtful that all those who have espoused such an approach, or even those who continue to support it today, are aware of the Marxian origins, or of its almost inevitable results. It was with good reason that Henry Hazlitt called the Eisenhower program a "Mini New Deal."
The debauchery of the currency through the persistent policy of encouraging inflation was and remains the standard radical attack on the fiscal soundness and integrity of the United States Government. Very few Americans are aware that it has its origins in a radical philosophy which was, and is, necessarily anti-Christian in both content and outlook. But liberals from the days of Franklin Roosevelt to our own day have, to varying degrees, been aware of its radical background and have sought to conceal it from the people. They have defended their inflationary programs on the ground that we must provide foreign aid for our friends abroad and an ever-widening social welfare program at home. Not only does such a program give an appearance of prosperity, but it also is an ideal way of redistributing the wealth of the nation according to a Marxian formula.
The liberal leadership within the major denominations and the National Council of Churches eagerly embraced such a policy on the ground that it was a necessary application of the principles of the Social Gospel. The leadership of the National Council has at times been willing to go further and faster into the area of creating a total social welfare state than the politicians have seen fit to tread.
The momentum achieved by this policy of planned inflation by the time of Eisenhower had become a popular national disease because money was so abundant and many people interpreted this vast supply of money as an indication of an increasing and virtually endless time of national prosperity. From 1952 on, both Democratic and Republican presidents have felt the compulsion to continue the inflationary process even though during their campaigns they would make valiant, if unrealistic, pleas for a balanced budget even while pleading for more and more federal expenditures for various welfare project, some of which have had dubious value, while others have proved to be very harmful, not only to the nation at large but to the recipients of the federal grants. (25. Today many observers have come to the conclusion that this inflationary spiral is almost irreversible apart from stringent political and fiscal policies which no president or Congress could put into effect without very serious consequences.) -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), in A Theological Interpretation of American History (1994, 1981, 1964), pp. 289-292The notion that additional government expenditures magically increase national output is ingrained in the national psyche. Keynesian economics professors can certainly take credit for this mindset; it is they who have schooled multiple generations of college students in Keynesian multiplier analysis.
The professors' counter intuitive tease in this effort has always been what is called the 'balanced budget multiplier.' (BBM) That is, even with equal increases in government spending and taxes increase output, output should supposedly rise by the same amount that spending and taxes rise . . .
The BBM is so at odds with simple economic logic that it should be an embarrassment for the economics profession. Strong words? Yes. But how else to describe economic nonsense? If output and taxes rise by the same amount, producers' after-tax income is unaltered by the fiscal action. -- T. Norman Van Cott, "Keynesian Multipliers are Like Dogs Chasing Their Tails"Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! -- Patrick Henry
One Nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
Without justice there can be no liberty.
When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms (regna) but a vast banditry (magna latocinia)? -- Augustine in City of God, IV. iv (MPL [Migne, J.P., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina], 41. 115; tr. NPNF [A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series], II. 66).
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. "It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." -- John Philpot Curran, Speech Upon the Right of Election, 1790. (Speeches. Dublin, 1808.)
Politics is a compromise with the authority of unholy spirits, unholy spirits who know that their lives will not go according to their destructive and self-destructive desires should they chose to be subject to the authority of Christ in his Mediatorial Reign.
If there is no final place for civil disobedience, then the government has been made autonomous, and as such, it has been put in the place of the Living God. -- Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984)
*Acton, John E., (1834-1902), The Correspondence of Lord Acton and Richard Simpson, 3 volumes, ISBN: 9780521738132 052173813X 9780521083553 0521083559 0521083699 9780521083690 052108380X 9780521083805.
*Acton, John E. (1834-1902), Essays on Freedom and Power, ISBN: 0844600008.
Essays such as, "The History of Freedom in Christianity," "The Protestant Theory of Persecution," and so forth.
Includes bibliography.
It should be noted that The Acton Institute has come under the control of the Roman Catholic Institution.
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority." -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)
The History of Freedom and Other Essays, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834-1902), John Neville Figgis, Reginald Vere Laurence
http://books.google.com/books?id=iOB6zeQ-rRwC&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Acton, John E., (1834-1902), History of Freedom and Other Essays, ISBN: 0836901355 9780548101537 0548101531.
"Perhaps better known for the famous quote of how 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' This work by Lord Acton is an excellent example of Europe's finest late 19th century political/historical intellectual. Acton's assertions are often dated due to the age within which he lived, but his perceptive views are worth investigating. Unfortunately Acton never wrote a single full volume of history. All that we have from Acton are compilations of his lectures, essays, and smaller works. The above such title being an example. The most interesting essay for American readers is Acton's essay on the American Revolution. A well read novice will be able to understand Acton's thesis, though his language can be somewhat difficult at times. The most fascinating aspect of this essay is Acton's assertion that America will degenerate into a 'barbarous' nation unless America's black population is segregated to another country. Acton did not live long enough to see America's burgeoning civil rights movements, and was obliged to see America from the standpoint of post-Reconstruction America. The only reason I graded this work short of '10' is due to the language. Besides being fluent in five languages, Acton was an awe inspiring intellectual, and sometimes his prose reflects his intellectualism, thereby sacrificing some readability." -- John R. Grace
*Acton, John E., (1834-1902), Lectures on the French Revolution.
Adler, Mortimer, and Max Weismann, How to Think About the Great Ideas: From The Great Books of Western Civilization, ISBN: 0812694120 9780812694123.
Mortimer Adler concluded that more problems are caused by the denial of God than by anything else -- it changes the whole tenure of life. A compendium index is available for the series.
Armey, Dick, The Freedom Revolution, ISBN: 0895264692 9780895264695.
"The new Republican House Majority Leader tells why big government failed, why freedom works, and how we will rebuild America." -- Publisher
*Bastiat, Frederic (1801-1850), The Law. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language.
"Full of truths that are not merely relevant, but are absolutely vital to our future." -- Dick Armey
"If ever there was a concise and powerful argument for defending Liberty and the Law against every social engineer, this has to be it (only 75 pages!). Bastiat is a master of words and the analogy. Every lover of freedom who wishes to get a nutshell understanding of why Liberty and Law matters ought to read this book. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
The Law, by Frederic Bastiat (part 1 of 10)
"The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! " -- Frederic Bastiat, from the Introduction
The Law, Frederic Bastiat
http://archive.org/details/law00fredguat
Beard, Charles Austin (1874-1948), and Forrest McDonald (introduction), An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, ISBN: 0029024803.
"In this classic and controversial interpretation of the economic conditions of the United States between 1783-1787, Beard proposes the thesis that the Framers were motivated by economic concerns. In his landmark work, THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN LAW, Hurst describes AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION . . . as 'one of "the basic works" on the Federal Convention of 1787.' (Hurst, The Growth of American Law: 458). Beard [1874-1948], was a founder of The New School for Social Research." -- Publisher
Bethell, Tom, Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages, ISBN: 0312223374 9780312223373.
"The phenomenal success of Western civilization and the remarkable economic expansion fueled by modern capitalism, says Tom Bethell, depend chiefly [see "Christ's Influence on Western Civilization," "The Ten Commandments," Robbins, Christ and Civilization, Smith's The Wealth of Nations, and so forth -- compiler], on the institution of private property and the development of secure property rights, yet this simple, striking idea is misunderstood by elite opinion leaders in the United States and around the world. Bethell, a reporter for the American Spectator, offers a history of property as an idea and a reality around the world. His sweeping narrative will appeal to fans of David Landes's THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONS and Jared Diamond's GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL. Yet, in many crucial respects, THE NOBLEST TRIUMPH (the title comes from British philosopher Jeremy Bentham's line that property laws represent 'the noblest triumph of humanity over itself'), is better than both, displaying a keener understanding of human nature and of how incentives shape behavior. In a chapter sure to inspire controversy, Bethell argues that the Irish potato famines of the 1840s were due primarily to Ireland's lack of stable property rights in the 19th century. Full of astute observations and written with real clarity, THE NOBLEST TRIUMPH makes a unique and welcome contribution to the debate over why some countries thrive while others languish." -- John J. Miller
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
Bovard, James, Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen, ISBN: 0312229674 9780312229672.
"Bovard (LOST RIGHTS), throws more red meat to angry libertarians in this anti-government jeremiad. While he provides some frightening examples of how governments -- mostly the U.S. Federal -- do more harm than good, his passion leads him to some hyperbolic conclusions. There are many passages that will make readers -- not only welfare-state liberals but also moderate Democrats and Republicans -- wonder whether they live in the same country as Bovard. One of his biggest targets is the notion of state sovereignty: 'The doctrine of "sovereignty" often does nothing more than provide a respectable gloss for some people's lust to control other people's behaviors, or to seize the fruits of other people's labor.' That last clause is telling, for it could just as well be turned against Bovard. It is precisely to stop nongovernmental entities (e.g., factory owners), from seizing the fruit of other people's labor (e.g., factory workers), that so many of the regulations and laws Bovard decries (e.g., a minimum wage or corporate taxes), were instituted. But Bovard is well-read and makes entertaining use of Rousseau, Hegel, Hobbes (he's very fond of Leviathan), and other thinkers. He's also consistent and intellectually honest enough to follow his own ideology to its logical conclusion about, for instance, marijuana (legalize it, he says). Few readers will agree with Bovard that the dominant spirit in America today is one that idolizes the state, but most will find that he makes a rousing theoretical case against statism." -- Publishers Weekly
*Brown, E. Richard, Rockefeller Medicine Men: Medicine and Capitalism in America, ISBN: 0520038177 9780520038172.
This book is as relevant today (2015) as it was in 1979. The players are still the same: foundations, corporations, and government. If anything the political-economic process of healthcare reform is even more complex today.
"This book explains how controlled the medicine industry is, how it became that way, and why America has the highest costs in the world for less than adequate medical care." -- Reader's Comment
"Historical epidemiological evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that medical science has played a relatively small role in reducing morbidity and mortality." (p. 219)
"Medical science rescued the medical profession, in particular the practitioners, from the widespread lack of confidence in their effectiveness." (p. 77)
Capitalists and corporate managers "embraced scientific medicine as an ideological weapon in their struggle to formulate a new culture appropriate to and supportive of industrial capitalism." (p. 10)
"For members of the corporate class, technological medicine has legitimized their economic and political dominance by diverting attention from the consequences of their control -- that is, from such 'social costs' as class inequalities, domination based on race or sex, occupational hazards, and environmental degradation. For the medical profession, the knowledge generated by medical science and the techniques of medical technology provided the basis for physicians' claims to a monopoly of authority over the practice of medicine." (p. 239)
"As medical science won public and professional credibility, it also solved the second and fundamentally more serious problem facing the profession in the nineteenth century: competition. . . . The overall impact of scientific medicine within the profession was to legitimize control by elite practitioners and medical school faculty." (p. 80)
"Health care could be more effective in improving health if its research and action were directed at environmental conditions in about the same proportion that those conditions contribute to sickness and death." (p. 240)
"If you have read and 'got' anything by Noam Chomsky, or Howard Zinn, you will 'get' this book.
"After being awarded an MBA from Stanford (hence, I can confidently say I very well understand the 'business' of medicine), and practicing medicine for 20 years in both the public and private sector, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Brown's thesis is on the money. -- Reader's Comment
*Brutus, Junius (attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623] and sometimes to Hubert Languet [1518-1581]), A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, ISBN: 0921148453. Alternate title: VINDICIAE, CONTRA TYRANNOS: OR, CONCERNING THE LEGITIMATE POWER OF A PRINCE OVER THE PEOPLE, AND OF THE PEOPLE OVER A PRINCE, Hubert Languet (author) [also attributed to Stephanus Junius Brutus a pseudonym for Philippe Duplessis-Mornay], George Garnett (editor), ISBN: 0521342090 9780521342094. This [ISBN: 0921148453] is a reprint of a 1689 edition of this work, which was originally written in 1579. A Christian classic. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"Piety commands that the law and church of God be maintained. Justice requires that tyrants and destroyers of the commonwealth be compelled to reason. Charity challenges the right of relieving and restoring the oppressed. Those who make no account of these things do as much as in them lies to drive piety, justice, and charity out of this world, that they may never more be heard of." -- Junius Brutus
"John Adams held this book to be one of the most influential books in America on the eve of the Revolution. This 'defense' manual will help equip you for the battle." -- Publisher
"This book was even more influential than Thomas Payne's COMMON SENSE, in molding the American mind and preparing it for the war for independence. Much of our Declaration of Independence reflects its wisdom and thought. Written by a French Huguenot to give Biblical and civil justification for fighting against a government that was illegally killing it own people during the religious wars on France between the 1540s and late 1700. A must reading for those who want to understand religious and political history of Europe, or want to better understand the Biblical justification sought by our own founding fathers in their fight for independence. A must read!" -- Reader's Comment
Vidiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, by Junius Brutus, attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623]
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae.htm
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), and Robert Philip (1791-1858), The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate. Alternate title: THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL, AND UNSPEAKABLENESS OF THE LOSS THEREOF: WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT: FIRST PREACHED AT PINNERS HALL, AND NOW ENLARGED, AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"In the 1660s, Charles II, King of England, asked John Owen (1616-1683), why he went to hear the preaching of an uneducated tinker. [John Bunyan -- compiler]. Looking the King in the eye, Owen answered, 'May it please your Majesty, could I possess the tinker's ability for preaching, I would willingly relinquish all my learning'." -- Andrew Thomson, John Owen, Prince of Puritans
Owen would not have been surprised to learn that Bunyan's most influential work, PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, would be translated into more languages over the next 400 years than any book except the Bible.
The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate
http://archive.org/details/greatnessofsoulu00bunyuoft
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
This is the complete set of THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN, George Offor edition, reprinted by The Banner of Truth. It is free online, and is downloadable in the following formats: HTML, RTF, TEXT, and PDF.
http://www.chapellibrary.org/literature/bunyan/
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN is also available at Project Gutenberg.
*Calvin, Jean (John, 1509-1564), and John H. Leith, The Christian Life, ISBN: 0060612983 9780060612986.
Calvin, On the Christian Life
http://www.ccel.org/calvin/christian_life/christian_life.html
Clark, William Roberts, Capitalism, not Globalism: Capital Mobility, Central Bank Independence, and the Political Control of the Economy, ISBN: 0472112937 9780472112937.
*Cole, Franklin P., (introductory essay and biographical sketches), They Preached Liberty, ISBN: 0913966169 9780913966167.
"An anthology of timely quotations from New England ministers of the American Revolution on the subject of liberty: its source, nature, obligations, types, and blessings." -- Publisher
*Coral Ridge Ministries, Taking Liberties: The Betrayal of our Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
A one-hour television special available in the form of a transcript, audio cassette [audio file], video cassette, or CD.
"Perhaps there is no other concept more important than liberty in understanding America."
A brilliant presentation of the concepts of liberty by a wide range of authorities.
Corey, Lewis, The Decline of American Capitalism, ISBN: 0405041160 9780405041167.
Includes bibliography.
Cragg, Gerald R., Freedom and Authority: A study of English Thought in the Early Seventeenth Century, ISBN: 0664207383 9780664207380.
Very extensive bibliography of 17th century authors.
Cullen, Edgar M., The Decline of Personal Liberty in America.
*Cunningham, William (1805-1861), John Calvin. Available in THE REFORMERS AND THE THEOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #17.
"As Cunningham states, 'John Calvin was by far the greatest of the Reformers with respect to the talents he possessed, the influence he exerted, and the services he rendered in the establishment and diffusion of important truth.' Here we have a succinct account of Calvin's works and the leading principles that he maintained. Calvin is without a doubt one of the great men in all of human history, and as he often pointed out, he owed everything to the Lord Jesus Christ -- all his talents, all his influence, his very salvation, etc. -- for that is the nature of 'Calvinism,' giving God all the glory!" -- Publisher
*Davies, Alfred M., Foundation of American Freedom.
"Traces the history of democracy and the American Constitution to the foundation for liberty and freedom that Calvin laid in his writings, and discourses on secular ideals and history. Forcibly reminds readers that America's concept of government rests ultimately on the authority of the Scriptures." -- Cyril J. Barber
DeJong, Norman, Christianity and Democracy.
"He will convince you that democracy is foreign to, and is the enemy of Christianity. And in that you will see why the Christians are again facing the lion's den, being overwhelmed by the democratic society that does not consent to their rule, or even to their peaceful existence." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
De Jong, Norman, Christianity vs. Democracy
(Westminster Media), An audio file.
Dima, Nicholas, Journey to Freedom, ISBN: 0944273041 9780944273043.
"This book is Dima's autobiographical description of the effects of communism on a nation, a family, and an individual. His description will haunt you. Communism loses any pretension of benevolence when you see the child hungry and hear his mother crying. The grandfatherly veil drops when you look in the prisons and labor camps and see the life of the people beaten, starved, and murdered. . . . We highly recommend this book. It is beautifully written. Like the Holocaust, it teaches lessons we must never forget." -- Susan Alder
*Domhoff, G. William, Who Rules America? Power and Politics, 4th edition, ISBN: 0767416376 9780767416375.
"Professor Domhoff poses (and answers), these questions:
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), The Subversion of Christianity, ISBN: 0802800491 9780802800497.
"What we today call Christianity, says Ellul, is actually far removed from the revelation of God. The church has perverted and reinterpreted Scripture over the years in order to mitigate the scandal of the Gospel. Yet Ellul remains hopeful, for the Holy Spirit continues to move in the world." -- Publisher
Ferguson, Niall, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, ISBN: 1594201927 9781594201929.
"Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. But historian Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What's more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history. Through Ferguson's expert lens, for example, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the world's first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. Yet the central lesson of financial history is that, sooner or later, every bubble bursts." -- Publisher
Ferguson, Niall, The Ascent of Money Boom and Bust (PBS Home Video), ISBN: 0793670519 9780793670512.
"Bestselling author, economist and historian Niall Ferguson takes a look at how money evolved, from the concept of credit and debt in the Renaissance to the emergence of a global economy and the subprime crisis we face today." -- Publisher
*Fertig, Lawrence, Prosperity Through Freedom.
Forbes, Steve, A New Birth of Freedom: Vision for America, ISBN: 0895263203 9780895263209.
"America today has the potential for the greatest economic boom and spiritual renewal in our history. Presidential candidate and publishing magnate Steve Forbes shows how we can once again brighten economic prospects for everyone, reform our corrupt political institutions, and restore the severely weakened moral foundations of our country." -- Publisher
*Frankland, Mark, and Ivan R. Dee, The Patriots' Revolution: How Eastern Europe Toppled Communism and won its Freedom, ISBN: 0929587804 9780929587806.
"The reasons for Eastern Europe's rejection of communism are complex and prismatic according to Mark Frankland, an award-winning journalist who's covered the politics and passions of the Warsaw Pact nations for the London Observer for 20 years. Nationalism, guilt, fear, mistrust, and the intolerance of political hypocrisy have all been mixed into a stew that finally bubbled over into demands for democracy and freedom. . . ." -- Gerald Wisz
*Griffin, G. Edward, The Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, ISBN: 0912986212 9780912986210.
"This is a story about limitless money and hidden global power. The good news is that it is as fascinating as any work of fiction could be, and this, I trust, will add both pleasure and excitement to the learning process. The bad news is that every detail of what follows is true." -- G. Edward Griffin
The CREATURE makes the fundamental political issues surrounding the Federal Reserve understandable to the American people -- hard-working citizens like you and me -- who are its victims." -- The New American
"This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It's all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. . . ." -- Publisher
Grigg, William Norman, Freedom on the Altar: the U.N.'s Crusade Against God and Family, ISBN: 0964567903 9780964567900.
*Hammon, T.C., Perfect Freedom: An Introduction to Christian Ethics.
*Jones, E. Michael , Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation and Political Control, ISBN: 1587314657 9781587314650.
"Thus, a good man, though a slave, is free; but a wicked man, though a king, is a slave. For he serves, not one man alone, but, what is worse, as many masters as he has vices." -- Saint Augustine in City of God
"Writing at the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, St. Augustine both revolutionized and brought to a close antiquity's idea of freedom. A man was not a slave by nature or by law, as Aristotle claimed. His freedom was a function of his moral state. A man had as many masters as he had vices. This insight would provide the basis for the most sophisticated form of social control known to man.
"Fourteen hundred years later, a decadent French aristocrat turned that tradition on its head when he wrote that 'the freest of people are they who are most friendly to murder.' Like St. Augustine, the Marquis de Sade would agree that freedom was a function of morals. Unlike St. Augustine, Sade proposed a revolution in sexual morals to accompany the political revolution then taking place in France. LIBIDO DOMINANDI -- the term is taken from Book I of Augustine's CITY OF GOD -- is the definitive history of that sexual revolution, from 1773 to the present.
"Unlike the standard version of the sexual revolution, LIBIDO DOMINANDI shows how sexual liberation was from its inception a form of control. Those who wished to liberate man from the moral order needed to impose social controls as soon as they succeeded because liberated libido led inevitably to anarchy. Aldous Huxley wrote in his preface to the 1946 edition of BRAVE NEW WORLD that 'as political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends compensatingly to increase.' This book is about the converse of that statement. It explains how the rhetoric of sexual freedom was used to engineer a system of covert political and social control. Over the course of the two-hundred-year span covered by this book, the development of ecologies of communication, reproduction, and psychic control -- including psychotherapy, behaviorism, advertising, sensitivity training, pornography, and plain old blackmail -- allowed the Enlightenment and its heirs to turn Augustine's insight on its head and create masters out of men's vices. LIBIDO DOMINANDI is the story of how that happened.
"E. Michael Jones, a Roman Catholic author of numerous books, is the editor and publisher of Culture Wars magazine." -- Reader's Comment
*Kelly, Douglas F., The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments From the 16th Through 18th Centuries, ISBN: 0875522971.
"Examines Calvin's influence on the civil governments of Geneva, Huguenot France, Knox's Scotland, Puritan England, and Colonial America. Shows how Calvin's legacy continues to bear upon the issues that guide and agitate Western nations today." -- Publisher
*Knox, John (1505-1572), David Laing (editor), The Works of John Knox, 6 volumes. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"Here is a chance to touch the flame that ignited whole nations for covenanted Reformation. John Knox is considered by many to have been the most biblically consistent and thoroughgoing of all the great Reformers of the sixteenth century. 'John Knox was in fact the embodiment of the Scottish Reformation as its preacher, theologian, liturgist, historian, and catalyst for reform.' (Hall and Hall [editors], Paradigms in Polity: Classic Readings in Reformed and Presbyterian Church Government [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994], p. 219). 'With this concern for purity of worship,' notes Kevin Reed regarding Knox, 'it is no wonder that the Scottish Reformation was the most thorough among any of the Protestant nations.' (from the introduction to John Knox, True and False Worship: A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry [Dallas, TX: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1550 reprinted 1994], p. 14). 'I know not,' states George Smeaton, 'if ever so much piety and genius were lodged in such a frail and weak body. Certain I am, that it will be difficult to find one in whom the gifts of the Holy Spirit shone so bright to the comfort of the church.' (cited in Thomas M'Crie, The Life of John Knox [1831], p. 272). THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX listed here is the complete six volume set collected by David Laing, 1895. Concerning this 6 volume collection, Kyle, in THE MIND OF JOHN KNOX (p. 14), notes, 'The only real basis for a study of Knox's thought must be the writings of the reformer himself. From 1846 to 1864, David Laing collected and edited nearly all of Knox's extant writings. This remarkable collection, which scholars regard highly, is indispensable for any serious study of John Knox.' Contains much that is related to worship questions and the blessings that God pours out upon Churches that keep the second commandment -- as well as the curses that follow those who reject the regulative principle of worship." -- Publisher
*Kuyper, Abraham, Lectures on Calvinism, ISBN: 9781598564440 1598564447. Alternate title: CHRISTIANITY AS A LIFE-SYSTEM: THE WITNESS OF A WORLD VIEW.Knox, John, Unedited History of the Reformation in Scotland Vol. 1 of 6.
"Reid, in his TRUMPETER OF GOD, notes that Knox 'wrote history as a prophet' and that, wherever he could, he used original sources, many of which he reproduced. Furthermore, he proclaims that this 'is still a work that no one interested in this area can afford to neglect.' As W.C. Dickinson has commented, 'it is his monument, for in it he puts flesh and blood on the whole Reformation movement.' Innes (JOHN KNOX, p. 45), says of this work, 'the author who has enabled us to see his own confused and changing age under 'the broad clear light of that wonderful book' the History of the Reformation in Scotland, and who outside that book was the utterer of many an armed and winged word which pursues and smites us to this day, must have been born with nothing less than genius -- genius to observe, to narrate, and to judge. Even had he written as a mere recluse and critic, looking out upon his world from a monk's cell or from the corner of a housetop, the vividness, the tenderness, the sarcasm and the humour would still have been there.' Moreover, Burton writes, 'there certainly is in the English language no other parallel to it in clearness, vigour, and picturesqueness with which it renders the history of a stirring period.' (cited in Innes, John Knox, p. 45). This photocopy edition far surpasses the edited down version that is available in paperback. Over 600 pages of stirring Reformation history." -- Publisher
The Works of John Knox (1846), vol. 1 of 6.
http://archive.org/details/worksofjohnkn01knox
Knox, John, Unedited History of the Reformation in Scotland Vol. 2 of 6.
"Knox portrayed the origins and development of a movement and not a mere chronology of events . . . Knox based his arguments on original sources and he often cited the documents in full. When Knox's History is compared to the contemporary vernacular narratives of Bishop Leslie and Sir James Melville, the superiority of Knox's work becomes evident. For the most part, these writers were preoccupied with petty details and had no conception of the momentous issues that hung on the events they recorded . . . Knox used history to demonstrate his single-track philosophy. And his philosophy said: 'The hearts of men, their thoughts, and their actions are but in the hands of God.' Lee said Knox's History was a sermon without an audience, a preaching book, one long inflammatory speech in behalf of God's truth as the reformer saw it.' (Kyle, The Mind of John Knox, p. 13). Our editions of volumes one and two of Knox's Works contain the only full, unedited version of Knox's massive History of the Reformation in Scotland available today." -- Publisher
Knox, John, Epistles, Admonitions, etc., Vol. 3 of 6
"Includes 'That the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry.' Also, writings on justification by faith, prayer, the Lord's supper, obedience to magistrates, an exposition of the sixth Psalm, letters of warning, comfort and more." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 4 of 6
"Includes 'The Appellation . . . to the Scottish Nobility,' 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women,' Answers Concerning Baptism, Form of Prayers/Sacraments in Geneva 1556, 'Letter to the Queen,' 'Summary of the Proposed Second Blast of the Trumpet,' and much more." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 5 of 6
"Includes 'On Predestination, in Answer to the Cavillations by an Anabaptist' (462 pp.), which Boettner, in his REFORMED DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION, calls Knox's 'chief theological work.' Also, A Letter to John Foxe, Names of Martyrs, etc. . . .
"Includes the Life of Knox, Letters Relating to Reformation in Scotland, The Book of Common Order, A Debate Concerning the Mass, Fasting, 'The Order of Excommunication and Public Repentance,' indices of names, places and the general index, etc. 755 pages." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 6 of 6
"Includes 'The Life of Knox,' 'John Knox Debates God's Law, Idolatry and Civil Resistance in the General Assembly of 1564,' 'The Scottish Confession of Faith (1560),' 'John Knox's Only Written Sermon - A Sermon on Isaiah 23:13-21, Preached in St. Giles's Church, Edinburgh, 19th August 1565,' 'A Letter of Wholesome Counsel Addressed to His Brethren in Scotland Or "What to do When There is no Faithful Church to Attend in Your Local Area" originally published in 1556,' 'Select Practical Writings of John Knox,' 'Against Romish Rites and Political and Ecclesiastical Tyranny, A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth in England (1554),' 'An Admonition to Flee Idolatry, Romanism and all False Worship (1554),' 'An Answer to a Jesuit: The Marks of a True Church and Ministry: An Answer to a Letter Written by James Tyrie, A Scottish Jesuit, 1572,' 'Against an Anabaptist: In Defense of Predestination,' 'Against Apostasy and Indifference (An Epistle to the Inhabitants of New Castle and Berwick, 1558),' 'On Justification by Faith Alone,' 'National Repentance and Reformation (A Brief Exhortation to England for the Speedy Embracing of the Gospel, 1559),' 'Reformation, Revolution and Romanism: An Appeal to the Scottish Nobility (1558),' 'The Pulpit of the Reformation: "The Last Judgment," by John Welch,' "The Parable of the Householders," and "The Parable of the Tares," by Hugh Latimer.' 'John Knox to the King,' 'The Execution of Servetus for Blasphemy, Heresy, Obstinate Anabaptism,' 'Defended (excerpted from his Treatise on Predestination),' 'A Debate Between John Knox and Secretary Lethington on the Duty of Christian Subjects to Execute Judgement Upon Criminal Magistrates,' 'The Execution of Servetus for Blasphemy, Heresy, Obstinate Anabaptism, Defended (excerpted from John Knox's Treatise on Predestination),' 'It Is I Be Not Afraid,' 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558),' and 'Sermon on Isaiah 26.'(sic, all of volume 6)
La Boétie, Etienne de (1530-1563), and Murray N. Rothbard, The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, ISBN: 0914156101 9780914156109.
"Properly pronounced not, as might be thought, La Bo-ay-see, but rather La Bwettie (with the hard 't')."
"THE DISCOURSE OF VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE has influenced some of the world's greatest social thinkers; from Leo Tolstoy to Mohandus Gandhi to Ayn Rand. Written in the 1550s, as something of an underground tract or pamphlet by a young French student and friend of essayist Michelle de Montaigne, this short work remains a timeless exposé of the psychology and inherent corruption involved in social or political power. The work has been in and out of print in English (Some of its various titles over the years were SLAVES BY CHOICE, ANTI-DICTATOR, THE WILL TO BONDAGE, and THE POLITICS OF OBEDIENCE: THE DISCOURSE OF VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE). In North America it has been out of print for some time now, unfortunately. Since its original circulation in the early 1550s as de la servitude volontaire ou contr'un, this short but powerful work seems to find its way back into print whenever the winds of social change began blowing toward tyranny." -- Reader's Comment
Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, Etienne de La Boétie
https://archive.org/details/PoliticsOfObedienceTheDiscourseOfVoluntaryServitude
Larson, John Lauritz, The Market Revolution in America: Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good, ISBN: 9780521883658 0521883652 9780521709897 052170989X.
*Leith, John H., John Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life, ISBN: 0664213308 9780664213305.
"This work provides a thorough analysis of Calvinist doctrine, defining Christian life in relation to four aspect of Calvinist thought: justification by faith, providence and predestination, history and the transhistorical, and church and society. The relationship between God and man is seen as the most central." -- GCB
Levin, Mark R., Plunder and Deceit, ISBN: 9781451606300 1451606303.
"Several decades ago I spent a considerable amount of time querying young people in regards to their understanding of the Declaration of Independence whose preamble defined and emphasized the natural rights that belong to every individual. Since I was able to recite the preamble from memory I was shocked that not one of these youth, even vaguely, understood that our God-given rights were clearly stipulated within this document. My parents were both patriots but it was not they who were responsible for my having committed the preamble of the Declaration to memory. It was my high school American History teacher who demanded that the entire class do so. What public school teacher would do so today? What public school teacher could do so today? Generations of Americans have been denied the education required to maintain our republic and many have, alternatively, been successfully indoctrinated to dislike core American values, culture, traditions, history and the very men who gave us the Constitution upon which our republic is founded.
"America, once a land of opportunity that people the world over sought to immigrate to, based upon the organic principles of individual liberty and free markets, has become a nation more akin to the places people have fled from. Opportunity has been stymied by regulations and taxes. Radical egalitarianism has changed the concept of opportunity to one of redistribution using a pseudo altruism and implemented by a powerful, omnipresent central federal authority which represents the worst possible scenario that the 9th and 10th Constitutional Amendments sought to prevent. All branches of government, in complete disregard for the separation of powers doctrine, have melded together so as to act uniformly, in concert, not only against the will of the people but, even more importantly, against the very Constitution designed to prevent such a central coalition of power. Federal agencies and bureaucracies have escaped the confines of the Constitutional bulwarks and firewalls and rule with an iron fist from which there is often no recourse to defy their tyranny. Career, professional politicians are bought and paid for by lobbyists looking to achieve advantages not afforded by free markets and capitalism but by exception from government implemented regulations designed to restrain their competition. Large swathes of our population has succumbed to a reliance and dependency on government for medical care, retirement, food, clothing and shelter which can only be afforded by heavy taxation and borrowing implemented by inefficient government bureaucrats at a cost which is predicted to outdistance and devour our entire GDP for decades in order to succeed. America is heading towards an unsustainable future and it is doing so more rapidly than was ever imagined.
"Americans have had enough from the masters of the universe, the elites, the Washington based insiders whose covetousness of power and control has gone beyond critical mass. The American people have hired republicans en masse to do what they campaigned upon and promised. These politicians have been deceitful. To address their failure Donald Trump has heralded their deceit which earned him an instantaneous advantage within the republican field of primary candidates. Democrats, such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama love the direction American is heading. It is a progressive direction whose ethos, when adopted by governments, has failed since Plato's pathos attempted to supplant Hellenic World democracy with his vision of utopia.
"Mark Levin is doing what American Education has failed to do for decades. He is a historian, a Constitutional scholar, a philosopher and through both his radio show and books a superb educator who delivers powerful incriminations against progressive liberal ideology and politics. He addresses our political crisis through the hindsight of history and reminds us of the applicable solutions offered by the Founders of our Constitution, a document from which we have drifted, which has been criticized by Justice Ginsberg as inadequate for modern times and hailed by Ayn Rand as the single greatest legislative achievement in the history of Western Civilization. He is my High School American History teacher who familiarized her classes with the Declaration of Independence. He is an oracle through which the vision of our founders and their mentors is transmitted to generations of Americans who have been stigmatized against our nation by a centrally controlled education system and a media which continues to do so post graduation. I believe that this will be the greatest educational book he has written. I'm sure, as always, it will challenge us to understand that our liberty is bequeathed by natural law which each individual is heir to and which no government has the authority to deny." -- Reader's Comment
*Levitt, Steven, and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, ISBN: 9780062132345 0062132342 9788466645775 8466645772.
"Nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused. . . .
"Though extraordinarily diverse, these crimes all have a common trait: they were sins of information. Most of them involved an expert, or a gang of experts, promoting false information or hiding true information; in each case the experts were trying to keep the information asymmetry as asymmetrical as possible.
"The practitioners of such acts, especially in the realm of high finance, inevitably offer this defense: 'Everybody else was doing it.' Which may be largely true. One characteristic of information crimes is that very few of them are detected." -- Levitt and Dubner
"More than 4 million copies sold worldwide. Published in 35 languages. . . . Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life 'from cheating and crime to parenting and sports' and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. FREAKONOMICS is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more." -- Publisher
Mackinnon, James, Calvin and the Reformation, 1936.
"This book is an attempt to portray Calvin's work as a leader of the Reformation at Geneva and far beyond it. He is an international, not merely a local or national figure, who had his finger on the pulse of the Reformation in many lands outside the little republic on the shore of Lake Leman. The Reformed churches are under no small obligation to John Calvin. If Luther was the creator of the Reformation, Calvin was its great organizer, developer, and propagandist." -- Publisher
Mackinnon, James (1860-1945), A History of Modern Liberty, 4 volumes, 1906-41.
Marshall, John Lewis, Natural Law and the Covenant: The Place of Natural Law in the Covenantal Framework of Samuel Rutherford's "Lex, Rex."
A dissertation. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Theological Seminary, 1995.
McDonald, Forrest, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution, ISBN: 0700603115 9780700603114.
"McDonald does a great job here unwinding the ideas and institutions developed by the founding generation to produce our system of dual sovereignty. He retains a reverence for what our founders accomplished, and constrains himself to an explanation of what happened to bring into operation our 'New Order' which now looks quite old.
"McDonald is critical of the Charles Beard brand of economic reductionism, and has no patience for the relentless deconstruction of the constitutionalist era by modern historians who insist on showing us that they, rather than these founders, are actually superior moral beings with better insights, as well as more slavish devotion to the current strains of academic obsessions.
"This should be on the list of the 10 best books to understand the American system of government." -- Reader's Comment
"Forrest McDonald, widely considered one of the foremost historians of the Constitution and of the early national period, reconstructs the intellectual world of the Founding Fathers -- including their understanding of law, history political philosophy, and political economy, and their firsthand experience in public affairs -- and then analyzes their behavior in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in light of that world. No one has attempted to do so on such a scale before. McDonald's principal conclusion is that, though the Framers brought a variety of ideological and philosophical positions to bear upon their task of building a 'new order of the ages,' they were guided primarily by their own experience, their wisdom, and their common sense." -- Publisher
McDonald, Forrest, and Russell Kirk, We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution, ISBN: 1560005742 9781560005742.
"Few vices are easier to arouse than envy. Politicians and ideologues have had great success exploiting the resentment that arises when pitting rich against the poor.
"From the time of its publication in 1913 until the 1960s, Charles Beard's thesis dominated discussion of the founders' motives. In the mode of the Marxist interpretation of history as class struggle, Beard argued that economic self-interest, rather than concern for the general good, determined the writing and outcome of the Constitution.
"Interestingly, Beard asserted his system of alignment without actually proving it, admitting that his work was fragmentary because it failed to fill in the blanks. The real legwork of research wasn't done until over fifty years later, when historian Forrest McDonald put Beard's thesis to the test. McDonald dug through numerous public records to write economic biographies of the delegates (the 55 who attended the Constitutional Convention and the 1,750 members at the state conventions), analyzing their occupations, income, and assets. By comparing these to how the delegates voted, he found that Beard's thesis was incompatible with the facts.
"In We the People McDonald analyzed the geographical and political factions represented by delegates, their property holdings and occupations, their voting patterns, if any, and whether they benefited directly from the proposed Constitution. For the state conventions he divided chapters into states favorable, divided, and opposed to the Constitution. At the end he re-evaluated Beard's thesis and discussed whether any economic interpretation could be applied to our founding given the complexity and variety of occupations and opinions that existed.
"The result was a remarkable, though at times necessarily tedious, bit of historical detective work. Very likely it came as a great relief to many Americans to learn that the founders had something other than their own economic gain at heart. Probably few were surprised that the founders were a much more diverse group than Beard had realized.
"We may find that independence difficult to believe today, when the forces of selfishness, materialism, and special interest seem so dominant, not merely among political and business leaders but among the general populace. Today propagandists still want to align people into absolutes, much like trial lawyers who portray their clients as angels and their opponents as devils. Our shallow political debates revolve around false dichotomies such as the Party of Business and the Party of the Common Man. But I imagine this adversarial, intellectually dishonest approach will continue to be used as an effective tool as long as there is envy to be harvested in the heart of man. -- Reader's Comment
*McFetridge, N.S., Calvinism in History. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A splendid book." -- Loraine Boettner
"The rich Reformation heritage of truth and freedom is set forth in four chapters: 1. Calvinism as a Political Force, 2. Calvinism as a Political Force in the History of the USA, 3. Calvinism as a Moral Force, 4. Calvinism as an Evangelizing Force." -- Publisher
"Arminianism, taking to an aristocratic form of church government, tend toward a monarchy in civil affairs, while Calvinism, taking to a republican form of church government, tends toward a democracy in civil affairs."
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), A Scriptural View of the Character, Causes, and Ends of the Present War (1815), 224 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Though having the war of 1812 (to 1815), between the United States and Britain, in view, the author notes that 'the principles which I have laid down, and enforced in these sermons, are not, however, of mere temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at war, they are of importance to a Christian community. There are the permanent principles of social order and public equity.'
Chapter headings include: 'The Right Discussing of Public Affairs,' dealing with why 'Ministers have the right of discussing from the pulpit those political question which affect Christian morals' and 'The Moral Character of the U.S. Federal Constitution;' The Moral Character of the Two Belligerents' (i.e. the national character, as moral persons, of both the United States and Britain); 'The Lawfulness of Defensive War;' 'The Present War,' dealing with how 'War in Defence of Property, Liberty, and National Independence and Honour is Lawful: and (How) Defensive War May Be for Precaution, Resistance, or Redress;' and 'The Ends for Which God in His Providence Permits the Existence of this War.' M'Leod concludes this work with these stirring words, 'the most faithful of Reformers with patriotic ardour contended with the sword in defence of their civil and religious liberties. Ulric Zwingle, the morning-star of the reformation, fell in battle at Zurich, 1530, at the commencement of the strife against arbitrary power; and towards the close of the struggle which terminated in the overthrow of the purest of the churches (i.e. the covenanted Presbyterian Church of Scotland -- RB), Richard Cameron fell at Airsmoss, 1680, while defending, as a Christian hero, the religion and liberties of his country, against the tyranny of the bishops, and the royal house of Stuart . . . If I claim a place among consistent Protestants, I must testify against all the acts of anti-Christian power. If I follow the steps which are died by the blood of the Martyrs, I must raise my voice against the thrones which shed that blood. If the Bible is my system of religion, and of social order, I must disclaim attachment to those powers that are hostile to evangelical doctrine'." -- Publisher
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. A lecture, Delivered, March 26, 1843, Under Appointment of the N.Y. Protestant Reformation Society (1843), John Niel McLeod
http://archive.org/details/protestantismpar00mcle
Morecraft III, Joe, With Liberty and Justice for All.
"Joe Morecraft III was the pastor of the late Senator Larry McDonald, who was killed when the Russians shot down his plane. This is Christian politics made simple. A very readable book that will help you to think through the place of the government in our lives, namely, the government's authority and limitations. All this is done with many passages quoted from Scripture. There is a chapter on the life of Larry McDonald. . . ." -- Publisher
"What are Christians to do when the civil government is evil? Must they always obey the authorities? What are the origins of civil government? Does the Bible authorize the government to execute criminals? Is abortion murder if it is legal? Shouldn't Christians stay out of politics? This book answers these questions and many more. Dr. Morecraft, pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, seeks Biblical answers to these questions. An instructive book for today." -- GCB
*Morey, Robert, The new Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom, ISBN: 0875523625 9780875523620.
"Exposes the godless suppression of religious freedom today and presents effective ways to convert atheists to Christ. In case you have not noticed atheism/secular humanism is gaining ground. Are you grounded in what these philosophies teach? Can you refute them? Dr. Morey will show you how." -- GCB
The American Atheist Union has said this is the most dangerous book ever written about religion.
Includes bibliography.
*Mullins, Eustace Clarence, Secrets of the Federal Reserve: The London Connection, ISBN: 9992967595.
"The greatest financial monopoly the world has ever known, is also responsible for worldwide moral decay, world wars, financial panics and revolutions." -- Eustace Mullins
"As an attorney I was impressed with the documentation by the author of the history of the development of the Federal Reserve. My undergraduate degree 25 years ago was in economics and I had to read much further to truly understand how our monetary system was unnecessarily based upon debt. Debt is bondage and central banks as the heart of fractional reserve banking hold the key to control of the world. If you do not believe this look at the policies of the IMF and realize that economic imperialism through central banking essentially controls the world today. A great companion book to read is THE CREATURE FROM JEKYELL ISLAND which explains our monetary system in more depth, and the video "Capital Crimes" is an excellent four hour treatise on the history of central banking beginning with the money changers in the temple whom Christ confronted and ending with a brilliant plan to gradually increase bank reserves while issuing Constitutional 'money' such that banks become mere vaults and the Federal Reserve is put to rest." -- Reader's Comment
Napolitano, Andrew P., The Freedom Answer Book: How the Government is Taking Away Your Constitutional Freedoms, ISBN: 9781400320295 1400320291.
"Answers questions about constitutional freedoms and explains how the government's actions are causing them to erode." -- Publisher
*Owen, John (1616-1683), The Death of Christ, volume 10 of WORKS, ISBN: 0851510647 9780851510644. Alternate title: SALUS ELECTORUM, SANGUIS JESU: OR THE DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST. BEING A TREATISE OF THE REDEMPTION AND RECONCILIATION THAT IS IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST; WHEREIN THE WHOLE CONTROVERSY ABOUT UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION IS FULLY DISCUSSED: IN FOUR PARTS; . . . BY JOHN OWEN, D.D. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #20.
"Greatest Biblical apologetic on the specific and limited nature of the atoning work of Christ in print. Contains discussions on Arminianism, the death of death in the death of Christ, Divine justice, and also discusses, in detail, many views of the atonement that certain men and groups held (and still hold)." -- Publisher
"THE DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST is a polemical work, designed to show, among other things, that the doctrine of universal redemption is unscriptural and destructive of the gospel. . . . Those who see no need for doctrinal exactness and have no time for theological debates which show up divisions between so-called Evangelicals may well regret its reappearance. Some may find the very sound of Owen's thesis so shocking that they will refuse to read his book at all. . . . But . . . there are signs today of a new upsurge of interest in the theology of the Bible: a new readiness to test traditions, to search the Scriptures and to think through the faith. It is to those who share this readiness that Owen's treatise is now offered, in the belief that it will help us in one of the most urgent tasks facing evangelical Christendom today -- the recovery of the Gospel.
"It is safe to say that no comparable exposition of the work of redemption as planned and executed by the Triune Jehovah has ever been done since Owen published his in 1684. None has been needed.
"Owen's interpretation of the texts . . . is sure; his power of theological construction is superb; nothing that needs discussing is omitted, and . . . no arguments for or against his position have been used since his day which he has not himself noted and dealt with. . . . Owen's work is a constructive, broad-based biblical analysis of the heart of the gospel, and must be taken seriously as such. . . Nobody has a right to dismiss the doctrine of the limitedness . . . of the atonement as a monstrosity of Calvinistic logic until he has refuted Owen's proof that it is part of the uniform biblical presentation of redemption, clearly taught in plain text after plain text. And nobody has done that yet." -- J.I. Packer, from the Introduction
"Packer's well balanced definition of Calvinism in the introduction to that volume [John Owen's THE DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST], is by far the best we have seen in 42 years of intensive reading." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: Being a Treatise of the Redemption and Reconciliation That is in the Blood of Christ; Wherein the whole controversy about universal redemption is fully discussed: In four parts (1792)
http://archive.org/details/deathofdeathinde00owen
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, including J.I. Packer's Introduction by John Owen
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/packer_intro.html
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: Redemption and Reconciliation That is in the Blood of Christ (Limited Atonement), 1 of 33, [audio file]
An audio file reading by Still Waters Revival Books from THE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN. Currently (October 2018), there are 77 readings of John Owen by SWRB and Reformed Baptist of Holland (Michigan), (Thomas Sullivan), at SermonAudio.com available for listening online, downloading as MP3 files, [audio file], and listening on iPhone, mobile phones, and MPE players.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=47081639571
*Parker, Thomas H.L., John Calvin: A Biography, ISBN: 0745912192 9780745912196.
"A definitive account of Calvin's life and labors with special attention being paid to Calvin's doctrine, writing, and influence." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Perks, Stephen C., The Christian Philosophy of Education Explained, ISBN: 0951889907 9780951889909.
"The editor of Calvinism Today magazine has written a book which, in the words of Samuel L. Blumenfeld, demonstrates with simplicity the cogent argument that the Christian and humanist worldviews are mutually exclusive, and that it is 'treason against God' to put children in the hands of non-believers for their education. Every Christian parent should read this challenging, forthright, insightful book before deciding where and how to educate his or her children." -- GCB
Peterson, Robert A., Calvin's Doctrine of the Atonement, ISBN: 0875523692 9780875523699.
"Peterson is a professor at Biblical Theological Seminary, in Pennsylvania. . . . The task has not been tackled in print before in so adequate a manner, and this essay is something of a milestone. I commend it heartily . . ." -- J.I. Packer
"To understand Calvin on the atonement is to understand the Reformed position on atonement." -- GCB
*Pink, Arthur W., (1886-1952), The Doctrine of Salvation, ISBN: 0801069807.
"A strongly Calvinistic exposition of the doctrine of soteriology, including in its treatment the practical aspects of growing in grace." -- Cyril J. Barber
Pipes, Richard, Property and Freedom, ISBN: 0375704477 9780375704475.
"While the bulk of the book compares England and Russia, showing how varying attitudes toward private property led these two nations in totally different directions, the final section examines the broad theme of property rights in the late 20th century -- a period when they have come under assault, and have been made increasingly conditional, by the growing strength of the welfare state. Pipes concludes with a broadside against New Deal and Great Society programs. Although liberal readers may bristle, none can deny that PROPERTY AND FREEDOM is the product of a great mind tackling a big theme with great enthusiasm." -- John J. Miller
Plum, Harry Grant (b. 1868), Restoration Puritanism: A Study of the Growth of English Liberty, ISBN: 0804616442 9780804616447.
Powell, James, The Triumph of Liberty: A 2,000 Year History Told Through the Lives of Freedom's Greatest Champions, ISBN: 068485967X 9780684859675.
"This volume contains the stories of men and women who have overcome great obstacles to give freedom to the world. Through the lives of 65 people, these stories cover the struggle to abolish slavery, stop wars, and overthrow tyrants, as well as the fight for human rights, religious toleration, individualism, the liberation of women and other such freedoms. The entries are based on biographies, diaries and interviews with scholars to provide an instructive narrative." -- Publisher
Reid, W. Stanford (editor), and Paul Woolley, John Calvin: His Influence in the Western World, ISBN: 0310447216 9780310447214.
"This book, which is dedicated to Paul Woolley, covers over 400 pages. There are 16 different chapters. The contributor's include: Robert Knudsen, W. Stanford Reid, Richard Gamble, D. Clair Davis, Philip Hughes, R.T. Kendall, J.N.D. Douglas, George Marsden, C. Gregg Singer, John Bratt, and others." -- GCB
Includes "The Scotch-Irish in America" by C. Gregg Singer.
*Richardson, Cyril Charles, Early Christian Fathers, ISBN: 0684829517.
The Early Christian Fathers, 38 vols.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest." The Roman Catholic Institution is the ultimate "negative guide to the positive," the reformers ultimate "opposite guide to political and economic reform."
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), The Grand Inquisitor's Second Coming.
"Totalitarianism is historically the most prevalent form of human government, from the tribal society in which all activities are regulated by the tribe or its rulers, the council, and witch doctor, to the totalitarianism of the Middle Ages when the Roman Church ruled all of life. . . . It is these more enduring forms of totalitarianism that will still be with us when the ghosts of Marx and Lenin are finally busted. . . . It is this new religiosity that will threaten the political, economic, religious, and social freedom of men in the twenty-first century. . . ." -- John W. Robbins
See: The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/reviews/journal.asp?ID=070a.html
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Money, Freedom and the Bible.
"Paul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers." A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation Conference, August 1989.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century.
"This article was originally written in 1996. It was first published in 2006 in FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS by John W. Robbins.
"By almost any measure, by virtually any criterion one selects, our fathers were freer and more civilized than we are, and their fathers had been freer and more civilized than they were."
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/281-Rebuilding_Freedom_in_America.pdf
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, 1649. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9, #25, and #26.
"Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, though scarce, is still one of his most important works with maybe only a few copies of the actual book left in existence. Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. A sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment and an affront to the holy God of Scripture). He also deals with conscience, toleration, penology (punishment), and the judicial laws, as related to both the civil and ecclesiastical realms. Excellent sections are also included which address questions related to determining the fundamentals of religion, how covenants bind us, the perpetual obligation of social covenants (with direct application to the Solemn League and Covenant and the covenant-breaking of Cromwell and his sectarian supporters), whether the punishing of seducing teachers be persecution of conscience, and much more. Walker adds these comments and context regarding Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, 'The principle of toleration was beginning to be broached in England, and in a modified shape to find acceptance there. Samuel Rutherford was alarmed, or rather, I should say, he was horrified, for he neither feared the face of man or argument. He rushed to the rescue of the good old view . . . It is not so easy to find a theoretical ground for toleration; and Rutherford has many plausible things to say against it. With the most perfect confidence, he argues that it is alike against Scripture and common sense that you should have two religions side by side. It is outrageous ecclesiastically, it is sinful civilly. He does not, however, take what I call the essentially persecuting ground. He does not hold that the magistrate is to punish religion as religion. Nay, he strongly maintains that the civil magistrate never aims at the conscience. The magistrate, he urges, does not send anyone, whether a heretic (who is a soul murderer -- RB), or a murderer, to the scaffold with the idea of producing conversion or other spiritual result, but to strengthen the foundations of civil order. But if he gives so much power to the king, he is no lover of despotism withal: the king himself must be under law. To vindicate this great doctrine is the object of another book, the celebrated LEX, REX; of which it has been said by one competent to judge, that it first clearly developed the constitutionalism which all men now accept.' (Theology and Theologians . . . pp. 11-12). In our day Francis Schaeffer, and numerous others, have critiqued many of the problems found in modern society, but most have spent little time developing explicitly Biblical solutions especially regarding the theoretical foundations that Rutherford addresses here. Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION provides a detailed blueprint for laying the foundations that must be laid before any lasting, God-honoring solutions will be found. Furthermore, Rutherford and his writings were the enemies of all governments not covenanted with Christ. This book will give you a very clear picture as to why 'the beast' (civil and ecclesiastical), has reserved his special hatred for such teaching. As Samuel Wylie noted 'the dispute, then, will not turn upon the point whether religion should be civilly established . . . but it is concerning what religion ought to be civilly established and protected, -- whether the religion of Jesus alone should be countenanced by civil authority, or every blasphemous, heretical, and idolatrous abomination which the subtle malignity of the old serpent and a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, can frame and devise, should be put on an equal footing therewith." -- The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis. Can our generation swallow Rutherford's hard, anti-pluralistic, Covenanter medicine, poured forth from the bottle of the first commandment, without choking on their carnal dreams of a free and righteous society divorced from God (and His absolute claims upon everyone and everything)? Not without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit -- that is for sure! In summary, this book answers all the hardest questions theonomists (and their wisest and best opponents), have been asking for the last 20-30 years (and these answers are much more in depth than any we have seen in the last couple of millennia. [less about a century to account for the apostles]). As the reader will discover, Rutherford was a wealthy man when it came to wisdom (and much advanced theologically), and those who take the time to gaze into the King's treasure house, as exhibited in this book, will find that they are greatly rewarded. Furthermore, because of its uncompromising stand upon the Word of God, this book is sure to be unpopular among a wicked and adulterous generation. However, on the other hand, it is sure to be popular among the covenanted servants of King Jesus! This is one of the best books (in the top five anyway), for advanced study of the Christian faith. We have now obtained an easy-to-read, amazingly clear copy of this very rare, old treasure. Great price too, considering that a copy of the 1649 edition, containing this quality of print, would likely cost upwards of $1000 on the rare book market -- though it is unlikely you would ever see a copy for sale!" -- Publisher
A Brotherly and Free Epistle to the Patrons and Friends of Pretended Liberty of Conscience, Samuel Rutherford
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/rutherfurd_epistle_against_pretendedlibertyofconscience.html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, ISBN: 0873779517. Alternate title: A TREATISE OF CIVIL POLICY: BEING A RESOLUTION OF FORTY THREE QUESTIONS CONCERNING PREROGATIVE, RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE, IN REFERENCE TO THE SUPREME PRINCE AND THE PEOPLE. / BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY OF ST ANDREWS IN SCOTLAND. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #10, #25.
" 'Lex, rex' is Latin for 'law is king.'
"LEX, REX is 'the great political text of the Covenanters.' (Johnston citing Innes in Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 305). 'Rutherford was the first to formulate the great constitutional principle Lex est Rex -- the law is King . . . much of the doctrine has become the constitutional inheritance of all countries in modern times.'
"Gilmour writes [in SAMUEL RUTHERFORD], 'that, as regards religious fervour, scholastic subtlety of intellect, and intensity of ecclesiastical conviction, Samuel Rutherford is the most distinctively representative Scotsman in the first half of the seventeenth century'." -- Publisher
"Without a doubt one of the greatest books on political philosophy ever written. Rutherford here has penned a great Christian charter of liberty against all forms of civil tyranny -- vindicating the Scriptural duty to resist tyrants as an act of loyalty to God." -- Publisher
"That resistance to lawful authority -- even when that authority so called has, in point of fact, set at nought 'all law' -- is in no instance to be vindicated, will be held by those only who are the devotees of arbitrary power and passive obedience. The principles of Mr. Rutherford's LEX, REX, however obnoxious they may be to such men, are substantially the principles on which all government is founded, and without which the civil magistrate would become a curse rather than a blessing to a country. They are the very principles which lie at the basis of the British Constitution, and by whose tenure the House of Brunswick does at this very moment hold possession of the throne of these realms." -- Rev. Robert Burns, D.D., in his "Preliminary Dissertation" to Wodrow's Church History
Additional sources of text related to LEX REX are as follows:
"Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX, his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked, for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book [A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE -- compiler] should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. It is a sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment, and an affront to the holy God of Scripture)." -- Publisher
A HIND LET LOOSE by Alexander Shields is sometimes referred to as 'Lex, Rex, Volume Two.'
A Hind let Loose; or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose; or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ
"This book sets forth the Crown rights of King Jesus, against all usurpers in both church and state, giving a history of some of faithful sufferings endured by the elect, in maintaining this truth." -- Publisher
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
"This [THE DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES OR A PEACEABLE PLEA FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], could be considered the LEX, REX of church government -- another exceedingly rare masterpiece of Presbyterianism! Characterized by Walker as sweeping 'over a wider field than most'." -- Publisher
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex: The law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People (1843)
http://archive.org/details/lexrexlawandpri00ruthgoog
Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, Samuel Rutherford
"Rutherford is to be praised for his teaching that the king is subject to the law of God. The Bible has nothing but condemnation for those who frame mischief by a law and declares rhetorically, Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? (Psalm 94:20). Deuteronomy 17 is the classic passage in defense of LEX, REX, wherein the king is charged to read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 17:19)." -- Publisher
http://www.constitution.org/sr/lexrex.htm
Lex, rex: the law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People, containing the reasons and causes of the defensive wars of the kingdom of Scotland, and of their expedition for the ayd and help of their brethren of England. In which a full answer is given to a seditious pamphlet, intituled, Sacro-sancta regum majestas, penned by J. Maxwell. By S. Rutherford. [Followed by], De jure regni apud Scotos; a dialogue, tr. by R. Macfarlan (repr. from the ed. of 1799).
http://books.google.com/books?id=jtYDAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
Schaff, Philip (1819-1893), Church and State in the United States; or, The American Idea of Religious Liberty and its Practical Effects, ISBN: 0405040830 9780405040832.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture, the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
"This monograph, written during the centennial celebration of the United States Constitution, charts the historical relationship between church and state. Schaff writes from the unique position of a theologian and a historian who has lived on both sides of the Atlantic. Citing examples from Presidential addresses, court cases, and European observers such as Alexis de Tocqueville, Philip Schaff describes the genesis and growth of American Christianity and the unique historical context from which it sprang. He also outlines its historical connection with the church in Europe, and offers possibilities for the American church's future mission within this unique political climate." -- Publisher
Schaff, Church and State in the United States
https://archive.org/details/churchstateinuni00scharich
Schaff, Philip, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church, 1845, ISBN: 1177859289 9781177859288.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture [American religious freedom -- compiler], the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
See, in particularly, the Foreword.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Scott, Otto, R.J. Rushdoony, M.R. Rushdoony, Martin G. Selbrede, and John Lofton, Jr., The Great Christian Revolution: The Myths of Paganism and Arminianism, ISBN: 1879998025 9781879998025.
"Dr. Warfield noted that Calvinism represents the Christian religion in its highest and purest form, for Calvinism alone acknowledges the totality of God's kingly prerogatives over every square inch of our world. This volume supports these powerful truths from three different perspectives, with each author supplying cumulative weight to the proposition that God rules in the affairs of all men, from the least to the greatest. This book will help you sort out much of the current error in theology in our day." -- GCB
"Never has so broad a sweep of Christian history been so swiftly or dramatically told. From the savage tribes of Europe to the rise of the most wealthy and intellectual civilization in the world; from the Dark Ages to the Reformation; from the tyranny of English kings to the spirit of freedom in Philadelphia. Otto Scott takes you on a gripping journey through the rise and fall of men and empires, while the Christian faith has always shined through every generation. Get this book for your library." -- Publisher
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society." -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice"
Notes: "Appeared in volume II of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIANITY . . . and was later printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company . . . 1967, for their Philosophical and historical studies series."
Contents: The author; Preface; I. The patristic foundations of calvinism; II. Calvinism: the summit of reformation theology; III. The later history of calvinism; IV. Influence of calvinism on western history and culture; V. Calvinism and economic thought and practice; VI. Calvinism and Philosophy; VII. Calvinism and education; VIII. Calvinism and social thought and practice; Bibliography.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages, ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Sklar, Martin J., The Corporate Reconstruction of American Capitalism, 1890-1916: The Market, the Law, and Politics, ISBN: 0521313821 9780521313827.
"This is a major work, its insights and reconceptualizations comparable to those of such books as Morton J. Horwitz's THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF AMERICAN LAW, 1790-1860 (Cambridge, 1977), and Ellis W. Hawley's THE NEW DEAL AND THE PROBLEM OF MONOPOLY (Princeton, 1966). Like these works, Martin J. Sklar's book fuses legal history with economic and intellectual history. In addition, Sklar provides a powerful overlay of political theory. The result is the most arresting reinterpretation of the Progressive Era to appear in two decades. . . .
"Here Sklar exhibits rich and original insight grounded in political theory and also in an appreciation of the gravity of what was going on within the economy and the inordinate difficulty of coming to terms with it. . . . Here Sklar has engaged, with remarkable wisdom and originality, the most difficult questions in one of the most complex periods of American history; and he has written a masterpiece that places us all in his debt." -- Thomas K. McCraw, The American Journal of Legal History
"This book is a judicious, immensely learned, thorough, and, in many places, brilliant analysis of the regulatory response to the corporate transformation of American capitalism." -- Donald J. Pisani, Texas A&M University, in The Journal of American History
"Of all the theories of contemporary society we have, Sklar's, it seems to me, is the only one that even begins to give adequate attention to the continued play of private interests, not only in the economy but in politics and culture as well. If his interpretation is correct, he has certainly provided a key to understanding the twentieth century." -- Eli Zaretsky, Journal of Social History
"The opening portion of the book deals also, as background, with the impetus in America toward economic imperialism beginning not later than the post-Civil War era and in doing so presents another means of understanding it, in addition to that presented by the British economist John A. Hobson in his 1902 book, IMPERIALISM, and especially in its chapter "The Economic Taproot of Imperialism." Hobson's work was well known to the players in Sklar's work, and the topic was discussed frankly and openly by mainstream capitalists and theorists of the day." -- Reader's Comment
*Spurgeon, C.H., (1834-1892), Spurgeon's Sovereign Grace Sermons, ISBN: 0921148437 9780921148432. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
"This book contains a wide range of Calvinistic sermons centering on soteriology, including one gem that is clearly postmillennial. It is completely retypeset." -- GCB
"So apt are Spurgeon's sermons that a host of preachers are to this very day preaching from his outlines. Of course, you can't do that unless you are willing to be as bold and fearless as was Spurgeon. He was not contentious, but he would not be silent when anyone was denying the plain teachings of the Bible. These he put forth in a style that was pleasing, but solidly founded on the Scriptures. This meant that he preached the sovereignty of God and Christ over this world in everyone and in everything, down to the minutest details. For as he says it, either God through Christ rules the world, or Satan rules the world. Whichever you believe will tell who it is that you serve. Spurgeon preached Christ, For of him, and through him, and to him are all things; to whom be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36). If you believe that, Spurgeon believes that you would not long be deceived by the Devil's appeal to your human senses, and prejudices, and natural self-love . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
The Spurgeon Center
http://www.spurgeon.org/
Steele, David N., and Curtis Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism, ISBN: 0875524443 9780875524443. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Defines, defends, and documents the five points of Calvinism. A good introduction to Reformed Theology; excellent for study groups or personal use. Well indexed, easy to use, with much information leading to other books concerning the five points and other area of Calvinistic thought." -- Publisher
Stepelevich, Lawrence S., (editor), The Capitalist Reader, ISBN: 0870003798 9780870003790.
Swancara, Frank, Thomas Jefferson Versus Religious Oppression.
"Swancara was a journalist, wrote book in his old age, apparently had an obsession with 'religious oppression,' Jefferson was a hero of his, he actually studied the collection of Jefferson's library, Jefferson gave it to the Library of Congress when it was formed.
"Swancara was godless and argued everything from the wrong side, but it is the best listing of public documents and legislation calling for religious tests for office holders that I have seen, goes back to English law which prohibited a man from being a member of Parliament unless he believed there was going to be a final judgment and our actions have eternal consequences. Swancara unwittingly produced a valuable work for the reformer." -- Reader's Comment
Szasz, Thomas Stephen, Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry; An Inquiry into the Social uses of Mental Health Practices.
*Tame, Chris R., and Centre for Policy Studies, Bibliography of Freedom, ISBN: 0905880250 9780905880259.
Tawney, R.H., Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ISBN: 0765804557 9780765804556.
Thornwell, James H., (1812-1862), Analysis of Calvin's Institutes, With Notes, Questions and Comments. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A valuable, but sometimes overlooked, aid in understanding Calvin's masterpiece. Great for use as a study guide or for use in teaching groups." -- Publisher
*Tocqueville, Alexis de, Democracy in America, ISBN: 0060915226.
Translated by Henry Reeve and revised by Francis Bowen. Edited by Philip Bradley
"Tocqueville in the early part of the 19th century was commissioned by the French government to travel throughout the United States in order to discover the secret of the astounding success of this experiment in democracy. . . . A classic of political and sociological reporting and analysis . . ." -- Publisher
Democracy in America
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/home.html
Toon, Peter, Puritans and Calvinism
*Turretin, Francis (1623-1687), Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Vols. 1, 2, and 3, ISBN: 0875524516 9780875524511 0875524524 9780875524528.
Turretin was the renowned teacher of the Academy in Geneva and successor to Calvin, Beza, and Diodati.
These three volumes "mark the arrival of the first complete edition of the INSTITUTES OF ELENCTIC THEOLOGY to be published in the English language. Heartily recommended by James Montgomery Boice, Sinclair B. Ferguson, John H. Gerstner, Leon Morris, and others. Theologians, pastors, and students will welcome this treatise, which first develops and then contrast Reformed doctrines with Roman Catholic, Arminian, and Socinian views. . . ." -- Publisher
Francis Turretin, excerpts
http://www.apuritansmind.com/FrancisTurretin/francisturretin.htm
Vision Video, The Better Hour: The Legacy of William Wilberforce, DVD (Vision Video, March 18, 2008), ISBN: 0793694124 9780793694129, 60 minutes.
A new documentary about William Wilberforce, subject of the film "Amazing Grace."
" 'The Better Hour' is the story of a man who, inspired by faith, used his political and social influence to change the world for the better. At the beginning of the 19th century, almost a third of the British economy depended on the trade of human beings. William Wilberforce was determined to end this horrific practice, by persuading both Parliament and British society to abolish slavery in the British Empire.
"Once, everyone knew the name William Wilberforce. Frederick Douglas said, 'Let no man forget the name of William Wilberforce.' A quarter century after Wilberforce's death, Abraham Lincoln said, 'Every school boy knows the name of William Wilberforce.' Yet 'few Americans today understand why, or even know Wilberforce's name,' explains 'The Better Hour' executive producer Cullen Schippe.
"Shot in high definition, 'The Better Hour: The Legacy Of William Wilberforce' is an engaging documentary, rich with content and commentary, that can inspire people with the remarkable story of William Wilberforce. He used his position as a British parliamentarian to launch 69 organizations for the betterment of society and end the trans-Atlantic slave trade -- a business that was key to the country's economic strength.
"The film focuses on a politician who, over time, developed strength of character in the service of high and seemingly unattainable goals. This film highlights William Wilberforce's drive and love for humanity and reveals how he and his colleagues worked tirelessly to end the slave trade, even as it represented a large portion of the British economy. In Wilberforce, we see character and a sense of justice for all join together to bring into the world what the English poet William Cowper described as 'the better hour'." -- Publisher
*Von Mises, Ludwig, Liberty and Property, ISBN: 9781579703783 157970378X.
"Originally delivered as a lecture at Princeton University, October 1958, at the 9th meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society." Includes bibliographical references.
*Wallace, Ronald S., Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life, ISBN: 1579100473 9781579100476.
"This renowned student of Calvin's theology says that the great Reformer did not hold that the doctrine of the priesthood of believers was an individualistic idea apart from the Church. Also sets forth Calvin's views on prayer, ethics, and other Christian disciplines. Always the idea of assurance, achievement, and hope was present because of our union with Christ." -- GCB
Wallace, Ronald, S., Calvin, Geneva, and the Reformation: A Study of Calvin as Social Reformer, Churchman, Pastor, and Theologian, ISBN: 0707305128 9780707305127.
Warfield, Benjamin B., (1851-1921), Calvin and Augustine, ISBN: 0875525261.
Augustine was a major influence on Calvin. It is said that Calvin paraphrased Augustine about 400 times in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
*Warfield, B.B., (1851-1921), The Works of B.B. Warfield, 10 volumes, ISBN: 0801096456 9780801096457.
"Edited by E.D. Warfield, W.P. Armstrong and C.W. Hodge. Warfield's complete writings are back in print after years of unavailability! Professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1887 to his death in 1921, Warfield was the leading Calvinistic theologian of his time. His precise scholarship, keen logic, and spiritual insight were enormously influential then, and still are illuminating to contemporary evangelicals. This reprint of Oxford's 1927-1932 edition appears now in 10 volumes. . . ." -- CBD
*Weaver, Henry Grady, Mainspring of Human Progress.
A monograph on the history of freedom.
Includes bibliography.
Winstanley, Gerrard (b. 1609), The law of Freedom in a Platform: or, True Magistracy Restored, ISBN: 0952807068 9780952807063.
Woodhouse, A.S.P., (compiler and editor), Puritanism and Liberty: Being the Army Debates (1647-1649), From the Clarke Manuscripts With Supplementary Documents.
"The literature devoted to freedom is one of the exciting features of the middle years of the seventeenth century."
Woodiwiss, Michael, Gangster Capitalism: The United States and the Globalization of Organized Crime, ISBN: 0786716711 9780786716715.
"Everyone knows what organized crime is. Each year dozens of feature films, hundreds of books, and thousands of news stories explain to an eager public that organized crime is what gangsters do. Closely knit, ethnically distinct, and ruthlessly efficient, these mafias control the drugs trade, people trafficking and other serious crimes. If only states would take the threat seriously and recognize the global nature of modern organized crime, the FBI's success against the Italian mafia could be replicated throughout the world. The wicked trade in addictive drugs could be brought to a halt.
"The trouble is, as Woodiwiss demonstrates in shocking and surprising detail, what everyone knows about organized crime is pretty much completely wrong. In reality the most important figures in organized crime are employees of multinational companies, politicians and bureaucrats. Gangsters are certainly a problem, but much of their strength comes from attempts to prohibit the market for certain drugs. Even here they are minor players when compared with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies that selectively enforce prohibition and profit from it. Woodiwiss shows how respectable businessmen and revered statesmen have seized these opportunities in an orgy of fraud and illegal violence." -- Reader's Comment
Woodiwiss, Michael, The Return of Gangster Capitalism: The Global Rise of Organised Crime, ISBN: 9780745332024 0745332021.
Yiannopoulos, Milo, Dangerous, ISBN: 069289344X 9780692893449.
"A book on free speech written by the Breitbart columnist and blogger Milo Yiannopoulos." -- Abstract
"The liberal media machine did everything they could to keep this book out of your hands. Now, finally, DANGEROUS, the most controversial book of the decade, is tearing down safe spaces everywhere." -- Publisher
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Church and state, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Political and economic freedom, Justice, judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, day of judgment, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Reform of the church, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Christian self-government, True republicanism, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Theft: commentary and cases of conscience, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Friendly fascism, Taxation and War, Ethics, Biblical civil government and the basis for civil resistance, Friendly fascism, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Meltdown: the depression of 2008, God's deliverance of nations, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The counter-reformation, Toleration and liberty of conscience, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, The national covenant, The solemn league and covenant, The covenanted reformation of scotland author/title listing, Biography of covenanters, Acts of faithful assemblies, The scottish covenanting struggle, Confession of national sin and covenant renewal, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The scottish covenanting struggle, Covenanting in america, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, Servant leadership, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Creeds, confessions and catechisms, Arminianism, Antinomianism, The courts, the law base, and the judicial system, The banking system, Biblical economics, Slavery, our system of enslavement, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, The american civil war (the war between the states), Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 2135
America's Republic: How the Great Experiment Came About (and how we Keep it), November 09, 2018
"A brief history of America, its founding documents, and what we can do to keep the flame of liberty burning bright."
https://fee.org/articles/america-s-republic-how-the-great-experiment-came-about-and-how-we-keep-it/
America's Transformation From Liberty to Democracy, Randall G. Holcombe
"If we were able to go back to the time of the Revolutionary War and ask the typical American to describe, in one word, the underlying principle of the new American government, that one word would have been liberty. If we were to ask the typical American citizen today to describe, in one word, the underlying principle of American government, that one word would be democracy. The Declaration of Independence is largely a list of grievances against the King of England, and the American Founders wanted to escape the oppression of the British government and establish a constitutionally limited government to protect the rights of its citizens -- to preserve their liberty. Today Americans view the role of their government as carrying out the will of the majority. My new book, FROM LIBERTY TO DEMOCRACY: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (University of Michigan Press), describes how the fundamental principle of American government has been transformed from liberty to democracy."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/holcombe1.html
*Biblical Slavery: It's Meaning and Necessity, a sermon [audio file], by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=74101315272
John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 46 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92903104854Speaking on Calvinism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 53 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8110391415Theology of John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 40 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1060385424The History of Calvinism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian View of History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72902195726Calvinism and the Reformation
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 76 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8180372910Church History #28: John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 76 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4150417057Church History #29: John Calvin and the Church #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 43 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=415041727Church History #30: John Calvin and the Church #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 67 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4150417258
Christian Reconstruction Critiqued, a tract
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/FREEBOOK/Recon.htm
Corporate Faithfulness and Sanctification (part 2)
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chb.html
The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.
http://www.fee.org/
Freedom of Speech in the United States
"Time, place, and manner restrictions and the First Amendment
"Traditional public forums include public areas, such as parks and sidewalks. These areas have the strongest protections under the First Amendment."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States
The Illusion of Freedom: We're Only as Free as the Government Allows, John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead, April 26, 2022
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_illusion_of_freedom_were_only_as_free_as_the_government_allows
Magna Carta
"Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for 'the Great Charter of the Liberties'), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; "Great Charter"), is a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215."
Includes Magna Carta clauses in the 1215 and later charters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
Magna Carta and the Fight for Freedom Today, an address by Peter Hammond
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)
"Magna Carta is one of the most important legal documents in history, a powerful symbol of liberty, a potent foundation for the protection of freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of association, the right to private ownership of property, trial by jury by one's peers, the right to determine one's taxes, the right to a just and uniform standard of weights and measures for money transactions and goods, the right of having a voice in the running of government, municipal rights and all the other essential foundations for Christian civilization. 15 June [2020] marks the 804th anniversary of the proclamation of Magna Carta, the first statute, the first written restriction on the powers of government, the grandfather of all Bills of Rights.
"At this time of lawlessness, corruption, gross abuse of government and threats to constitutional protections for private ownership of property, it is necessary to go back to Magna Carta, the great charter of liberties, to give hope for the future and direction for peace, productivity and justice." -- Reformation500
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61419813532698&fbclid=IwAR3Nd0LUhkgLel6f0WdgkPM1dSQTviOwalz0xj4pj3k_R04UPLVNSb7lB
Magna Carta and the Fight for Freedom Today in History
https://vimeo.com/channels/1317537/342199070
Blessing the Nations: 800 Years of the Magna Carta
https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/magna-carta-800-47560613
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Monetary_Theory
Great Moments in Presbyterian History #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160371437Great Moments in Presbyterian History #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History, 34 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160371538Great Moments in Presbyterian History #3: The Westminster Assembly
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160371617Great Moments in Presbyterian History #4: Colonial Presbyterianism and the Great Awakening
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037179Great Moments in Presbyterian History #5: Theological Tensions of the 19th Century: Old School -- New School
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037188Great Moments in Presbyterian History #6: Presbyterianism in the 20th Century
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160371916Great Moments in Presbyterian History #7: The Presbyterian Church in the 20th Century: Emergence of the OPC
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160372014Great Moments in Presbyterian History #8: What the Bible has to say About the Nature of Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160372131
History of the American Presbyterian Church #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the AP Church, 40 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1270518534History of the American Presbyterian Church #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the AP Church, 52 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=127051872Great Moments in Presbyterian History #4: Colonial Presbyterianism and the Great Awakening
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037179The Religious and Theological Causes of Secession
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 75 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181136Theological Tensions of the 19th Century: Old School -- New School
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 34 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1216037188Presbyterianism in the 20th Century
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 42 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160371916The Presbyterian Church in the 20th Century: Emergence of the OPC
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 47 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160372014
What the Bible has to say About the Nature of Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 48 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160372131Presbyterian Church Government #01: Introduction to Biblical Church Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1270518133Presbyterian Church Government #02: Different Forms of Church Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181353Presbyterian Church Government #03: The Visible Church Offices #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181435Presbyterian Church Government #04: The Visible Church Offices #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181925Presbyterian Church Government #05: The Visible Church Offices #3
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181547Presbyterian Church Government #06: The Visible Church Offices #4
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705181925Presbyterian Church Government #07: Presbytery
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182013Presbyterian Church Government #08: General Assembly
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182052Presbyterian Church Government #09: Commission and Committee
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182214Presbyterian Church Government #10: Ordination and Candidates
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182250Presbyterian Church Government #11: Licensure and Worship
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182348Presbyterian Church Government #12: Worship
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian Church Government
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182423
The Reformation in England 1 of 2 (The Providential Historical Preparation for the Westminster Assembly), Hebrews 11:2; Ephesians 4:11
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian History, 44 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607144153The Reformation in England 2 of 2 (and America)
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian History, 76 min., Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 19:13
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=126071623510John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly 1/3 (History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology)
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Presbyterian History, 52 min., Acts 1:11; Romans 13
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=124071413102John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250The Westminster Assembly
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 50 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160371617
The Illusion of Freedom: We're Only as Free as the Government Allows, John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead, April 26, 2022
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_illusion_of_freedom_were_only_as_free_as_the_government_allows
Liberty Bookshop
"Reading and studying great books is a life long and enjoyable pursuit. Every person should pursue the intellectual life of the autodidact (self-educated). Liberty Bookshop's goal is to provide the tools and the community to encourage the liberal education of autodidacts everywhere."
http://www.libertybookshop.com/shop/customer/home.php
Meet Bill Still, Fiat-money Advocate
"An analysis of the documentaries Money Masters and Capital Crimes by G. Edward Griffin.
http://www.freedomforceinternational.org/freedomcontent.cfm?fuseaction=meetstill
The Moral Basis of a Free Society, Steve Forbes
"Americans have always defined true freedom as an environment in which one may resist evil and do what is right, noble, and good without fear of reprisal. It is the presence of justice tempered with mercy. It is a rule of law based on fundamental moral truths that are easily understood and fairly and effectively administered. It offers individuals and families equal opportunity to better their lives morally, spiritually, intellectually, and economically.
"Freedom, in other words, is neither a commodity for dictators to distribute and deny at will nor a moral, spiritual, or political vacuum in which anything goes. Freedom is a priceless treasure that the state is supposed to safeguard. Why? Because human beings have an intrinsic right to be free, a right that comes not from the state but from God. To the Founding Fathers, this was a 'self-evident' truth. It is the essence of the American experiment in self-government.
"The Founders, even those most suspicious of organized religion, believed that man's place in the universe was no accident -- that man himself and the world in which he lived were created and sustained by a just and loving God. 'It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being,' wrote George Washington, 'and it is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.' James Madison put it this way: 'The belief in a God All Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the World and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources.'
http://www.policyreview.org/nov97/moral.html
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Theft: Commentary and Cases of Conscience. A Listing Excerpted From The Institutes of Biblical Law by Rousas John Rushdoony, 1973 edition
http://www.lettermen2.com/theft.html
Three New Testament Roots of Economic Liberty by Howard Ahmanson
http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/97jan_feb/ahmanson.html
The Trinity Foundation
http://trinityfoundation.org/
*Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the Union 2021.
*The National Debt is Worse Than Advertised
"When you include unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, that actual US debt stands at $123.11 trillion, according to the 'Financial State of the Union 2021' published by Truth in Accounting.
"In order to pay off all of Uncle Sam's liabilities, every taxpayer in the US would have to write a check for $796,000. . . .
"The federal government has $5.95 trillion in assets and $129.06 trillion in liabilities. If it were a private company, the US government would be bankrupt."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2021/04/23/the-national-debt-is-worse-than-advertised/
About our National Debt
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/about/our_national_debt
It is quite evident that in all of this Calvin was setting forth a view of free enterprise which is strictly Biblical. Free enterprise is that means adapted for man by which he fulfills the conditions of his stewardship. Enterprise that is truly free is constantly governed by the law of God. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46The wealthy stand as magistrates in the economic arena and have the same duty of stewardship as do those who hold political office. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
If the American people ever wish to regain control of the government, we must understand the monetary system and materially alter the banking system so as to replace our debt based money-out-of-thin air economy with an economy based on production, savings, capitalism, and competition. Only then, can true prosperity return. If we ever get to audit the Fed and its money lenders, the demand to End the Fed will become overwhelming. -- Andrew Napolitano
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler], and the laissez faire school of economic thought. -- Singer, C. Gregg, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
The notion that additional government expenditures magically increase national output is ingrained in the national psyche. Keynesian economics professors can certainly take credit for this mindset; it is they who have schooled multiple generations of college students in Keynesian multiplier analysis.
The professors' counter intuitive tease in this effort has always been what is called the 'balanced budget multiplier.' (BBM) That is, even with equal increases in government spending and taxes increase output, output should supposedly rise by the same amount that spending and taxes rise . . .
The BBM is so at odds with simple economic logic that it should be an embarrassment for the economics profession. Strong words? Yes. But how else to describe economic nonsense? If output and taxes rise by the same amount, producers' after-tax income is unaltered by the fiscal action. -- T. Norman Van Cott, "Keynesian Multipliers are Like Dogs Chasing Their Tails"The Great Depression as Moral Failure: Presbyterian Industrialists and a Religious Rationale for Opposing the New Deal, Tyler Flynn, Assistant Professor of History, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA.
"For these business-friendly Presbyterians, the economy was in a free-fall because of human failure, not the failure of capitalism. As one Presbyterian clergyman wrote, capitalism was the 'oldest social order in the world' that 'came down to us through thousands of years;' it was the 'outgrowth of trial and experience.' The problem of the Great Depression was not capitalism, they claimed, but the foolishness and greed of the individuals at the helm of this economic system, captains of industry who pursued personal wealth at the expense of workers and the public." -- Tyler FlynnConservatism is a political philosophy that professes to be practical and grounded in reality -- not in ideological or utopian dream worlds -- yet it cannot furnish a coherent answer to a very practical question: What is the proper punishment for a thief? Even ignoring the big questions -- What is the ideal government? Is there an ideal government? Is any government justified? What is the proper relationship between church and state? -- conservatism cannot answer a small question. If conservatism cannot offer a justified answer to a small question, it probably cannot answer larger questions. -- John W. Robbins in Conservatism: An Autopsy
Hazlitt came to the conclusion that "this [the Eisenhower Administration program -- compiler] seems to take over from the New Deal the essence of the Keynesian ideology -- the belief in compensation spending -- the belief that any decline from a peak of inflationary prosperity can and should be offset and rectified by an increase in deficit spending." (21. Newsweek, January 10, 1980, p. 33.)
Lying at the very heart of the Eisenhower program was the philosophy of John Maynard Keynes, the noted English economist, who had gained the ear of Franklin D. Roosevelt with the result that the New Deal legislation from then on reflected this approach to the problems of the nation. For a long time Keynes had been a member of the Fabian Society in England, a socialist group in that country. (22. Keynes had set forth his philosophy in his Treatise on Money and General Theory of Economics, the first in England in 1930 and the second in this country in that same year. In 1936 his General Theory of Employment, Money and Interest was published.) Like most of his Fabian colleagues, Keynes erected his philosophy on the basic assumption that Christianity was not and could not be true and that new principles of human action must be found in a form of socialism which was very close to communism. Roosevelt's first contact with Keynes seems to have been a letter which Keynes published in the New York Times on December 31, 1933, and which apparently influenced him to abandon the gold standard a few months later. In a personal interview with President Roosevelt in 1934, Keynes was able to persuade him that he should adopt deficit spending as the policy which would lift the nation out of the depression. That there was a radical intent behind the writings of Keynes and the tone of his later compared with his earlier works is not difficult to demonstrate. He wrote:Lenin is said to have remarked that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. . . . Lenin was right. There is no subtler, no surer means of over-turning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. (23. Essays in Persuasion. New York, Norton, 1963, p. 77.)That such an idea was not an incidental reference, but lay at the heart of his whole approach to economic issues is quite evident, and he had given it much thought. He wrote: "The debauching of the currency is a process that engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose." (24. Ibid.)
Thus, this Keynesian approach to combating depression became the standard monetary policy for the succeeding administrations. It is doubtful that all those who have espoused such an approach, or even those who continue to support it today, are aware of the Marxian origins, or of its almost inevitable results. It was with good reason that Henry Hazlitt called the Eisenhower program a "Mini New Deal."
The debauchery of the currency through the persistent policy of encouraging inflation was and remains the standard radical attack on the fiscal soundness and integrity of the United States Government. Very few Americans are aware that it has its origins in a radical philosophy which was, and is, necessarily anti-Christian in both content and outlook. But liberals from the days of Franklin Roosevelt to our own day have, to varying degrees, been aware of its radical background and have sought to conceal it from the people. They have defended their inflationary programs on the ground that we must provide foreign aid for our friends abroad and an ever-widening social welfare program at home. Not only does such a program give an appearance of prosperity, but it also is an ideal way of redistributing the wealth of the nation according to a Marxian formula.
The liberal leadership within the major denominations and the National Council of Churches eagerly embraced such a policy on the ground that it was a necessary application of the principles of the Social Gospel. The leadership of the National Council has at times been willing to go further and faster into the area of creating a total social welfare state than the politicians have seen fit to tread.
The momentum achieved by this policy of planned inflation by the time of Eisenhower had become a popular national disease because money was so abundant and many people interpreted this vast supply of money as an indication of an increasing and virtually endless time of national prosperity. From 1952 on, both Democratic and Republican presidents have felt the compulsion to continue the inflationary process even though during their campaigns they would make valiant, if unrealistic, pleas for a balanced budget even while pleading for more and more federal expenditures for various welfare project, some of which have had dubious value, while others have proved to be very harmful, not only to the nation at large but to the recipients of the federal grants. (25. Today many observers have come to the conclusion that this inflationary spiral is almost irreversible apart from stringent political and fiscal policies which no president or Congress could put into effect without very serious consequences.) -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), in A Theological Interpretation of American History (1994, 1981, 1964), pp. 289-292No corporation on earth comes close to the accounting fraud practiced year after year by the Federal Government. In fact, there is no real accountability at all for the trillions in tax dollars raised and spent annually by Congress and our entrenched Federal Agencies. The official 'accounting' that does take place is a sham. Every year Congress creates a meaningless budget, the Fed prints phony money, the Budget Office issues false revenue forecasts, and the Administrative Agencies waste billions in the most unproductive ways imaginable. Literally tens of billions of dollars go unaccounted for every year, simply disappearing down bureaucratic black holes. [and the banking system is controlled by the Federal Reserve -- compiler]. This hardly represents a standard against which corporations should be judged! -- Texas Congressman, Ron Paul in What About Government Accountability?
Totalitarianism is historically the most prevalent form of human government, from the tribal society in which all activities are regulated by the tribe or its rulers, the council, and witch doctor, to the totalitarianism of the Middle Ages when the Roman Church ruled all of life. . . . It is these more enduring forms of totalitarianism that will still be with us when the ghosts of Marx and Lenin are finally busted. . . . It is this new religiosity that will threaten the political, economic, religious, and social freedom of men in the twenty-first century. . . . . -- John W. Robbins
Interestingly the decade (1850-1860), before the War Between the States, was a decade of unprecedented industrial growth and growing prosperity, which lead to economic depression in 1857. War began in 1860.
I believe it is high time America quit sacrificing our moral health at the altar of economic strength. By continuing to put financial considerations before morality, we are producing a nation that is rich, but has completely seared its conscience and can't even enjoy the fruit of our labor anymore. We have become a nation that doesn't know how to blush, and our children are the ones who are paying the price. -- Rusty Lee Thomas
The powerful and wealthy conceal theft, of course, by economic and legal games, the game rules being of their own making.
For example, (1) A ten percent capitalization rate on residential rental property results in a profit of 100 percent over a ten year period, based on the current market price of the property. In other words, after ten years of renting the owner has recovered the entire cost of the property, and he still owns the property at an appreciated market value, making residential rental property one of the most lucrative investments possible. (2) The cost of building a new home is just a fraction of the market value of the property, the balance is a windfall profit to the developer. Some of the reasons for the inflated market value follow. (3) The Federal Government of the United States of America is the largest business enterprise in the world. It is run by politicians who, for the most part, are businessmen and lawyers, not scholars and statesmen. They can sit down at a table together for 20 minutes and write a multi-million dollar budget. They are accountable to practically no one. (4) The cost of living is high in big cities because, among other reasons, after the multi-million dollar budget is written by the politicians, then taxes and assessments are increased to pay for it. By raising property assessments to generate revenue, the cost of real estate simultaneously increases, and it follows that the cost of all goods go up. (5) All these changes, increasing taxes, assessments, market values of real estate, costs of goods, and the resulting inflation, all these changes profit the wealthy property owners and business owners who simply pass on tax increases and higher costs to the consumer. (6) The banking system, money, is controlled by The Federal Reserve System, which in turn is run by unelected officials, veteran leaders of corporate investment banks, who control the amount of money in the economy and interest costs. Generally speaking, this amounts to a complete monopoly over the economy and value of the dollar. (7) The principles of accounting being used today have generally remained essentially unchanged since the Feudal Age, 600 years ago, principles of accounting which allowed a few wealthy noblemen to live in luxury at the expense of the masses. (8) And so forth, and so on. This is just a very, very brief and general overview of some of the games being played, and how the powerful and wealthy game the system. For more details on things you may not have learned in the public education system see other book-length works in this topical listing.
The middle and lower classes are, for the most part, uneducated and ignorant of the extent of the games, therefore, they do not fully understand how they are being fleeced by the "Aristocracy of Wealth."
Meanwhile, many of the unregenerate members of society, who by their human nature are unable to trust in The Triune God to "place a table before them." That is to say, they are unable to trust in God to provide for all their needs, just, as recorded in Genesis and Exodus, he set his people free from bondage, fought against their enemies and gave them victory, guided them through the Wilderness, daily feed them with manna from heaven, and then gave them the Promised Land of Canaan.
Regrettably, unregenerate men, not able to trust in the Faithfulness of a Covenant God, become "flesh-pleasers." They are all too willing to trust in man, all too ready to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, welcoming them and their "games" with open arms, and with great enthusiasm, in hopes of securing their fleshly desires.
Regrettably, these unregenerate men, these "Cains," are all too often both incompetent and corrupt, are all too often in the majority, and all too often seize political and economic power.
All to often unregenerate men are willing to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, as opposed to submitting to the influence of the Faithful, Triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has covenanted to be their God, to redeem them from their rebellious, Fallen State, and to show them "The Way, the Truth, and the Life," both temporal and eternal.
The Ten Commandments are, of course, the "constitution" of that covenant between God and man. Notice that all Ten Commandments speak to covetousness, and the tenth summarizes all that is not to be coveted in the second table, commandments four through ten.
Consequently the world is subject to repeating economic depression and collapse caused by immoral rule, the covetousness, incompetence, and corruption of the Cains in political and economic power.Selfishness and pride will blind even the gifted and learned to the truth. Lust for power and the will to play God will blind us to the truth. Intense nationalistic pride, political bent, alienation during secular schooling, or personal ambitions blind us to the "evident connection between Absolute Truth, sovereign authority, holiness, life, loving obedience, moral behavior, sanctification, justice, freedom (political, economic, and individual), social stability, and real progress. . . ." -- Preface to Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal
Bastiat, Frederic (1801-1850), and David Ames Wells (1828-1898), Essays on Political Economy (1877)
http://archive.org/details/essaysonpolitica00bastuoft
Beard, Charles Austin (1874-1948), and Forrest McDonald (introduction), An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, ISBN: 0029024803.
"In this classic and controversial interpretation of the economic conditions of the United States between 1783-1787, Beard proposes the thesis that the Framers were motivated by economic concerns. In his landmark work, THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN LAW, Hurst describes AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION . . . as 'one of "the basic works" on the Federal Convention of 1787.' (Hurst, The Growth of American Law: 458). Beard [1874-1948], was a founder of The New School for Social Research." -- Publisher
Bello, Walden, with Shea Cunningham and Bill Pau, Dark Victory: The United States, Structural Adjustment, and Global Poverty, ISBN: 0935028765 9780935028768.
"Best short work on the role of the IMF in global misery. Bello provides a clear, concise and well evidenced argument that the structural adjustment programs of the IMF and World Bank have sunk the countries of the global south into deeper and deeper debt and impoverishment. Bello sets this argument in the historical frame of the northern backlash against the rising economic power of the south. He also links the economic philosophy behind adjustment to the widening prosperity gap and falling real wages in the north.
"A must read for all those curios about the World Bank and IMF and why people are against them." -- Reader's Comment
Braby, Don, The Greatest Depression of All Time: Will America Survive This Time and What can you do About it, ISBN: 1438201931 9781438201931.
"THE GREATEST DEPRESSION is a book that is written to alert Americans of the coming economic crisis that many believed would occur during the lives of our children's or our grandchildren's lives. However, that time is now. The United States is about to see an economic crisis for the ages. Buy this book now and discover how to prepare for the financial crisis of 2009 and beyond." -- Publisher
"Revisiting his earlier predictions of precarious times in American economics [THE APPROACHING WINTER: THE NEXT GREAT DEPRESSION, 2005], Braby has created a second, more telling book, rife with explanations of our current financial crisis and its symptoms (layoffs, mortgage defaults, chronic unemployment, failure of government and financial institutions to recognize/prevent catastrophe). While I'm no economist, I understood and appreciated Braby's explanation of cyclical economics, and how -- whether it's inflated stocks or a subprime mortgage crisis -- history has a way of repeating itself, especially when it comes to our economy. Detailing an 80-year economic 'cycle,' and weaving in the current effects of a Bear Market on our 'American psyche,' Braby leaves no room for doubt: we're in a mess and should have seen it coming.
"While THE GREATEST DEPRESSION OF ALL TIME isn't a how-to for anyone looking to weather the current financial crisis, it is a solid, well-researched read for those interested in a crash course in American economic history or the state of American economic affairs (through late summer 2008). For that reason, and for Braby's concise, easy approach to economics, I heartily recommend this read." -- Reader's Comment
*Brzezinski, Zbigniew, Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the eve of the Twenty-first Century, ISBN: 0684196301 9780684196305.
"Rarely has there been a book as explosive and challenging as this brilliant analysis of today's massive geopolitical disorder. The triumphant collapse of communism has brought neither economic stability nor social democracy to the former Soviet Union. Nor, for that matter, to the rest of the world. We are living in a time of fragmentation: increasing disunity in Europe, dangerous eruptions in the Islamic republics, growing disparity between the world's rich and poor, and the evils of the 'permissive cornucopia' in America which, through overstimulation of material desires and sensual self-gratification, is leading to the collapse of Western moral and spiritual values. In short, we are living in a philosophical climate that is 'out of control.' It is Zbigniew Brzezinski's firm belief that we must draw both moral and political lessons from the 'megadeaths' of the twentieth century, a century in which at least 167 million people were slaughtered in the name of the 'politics of organized insanity,' or the 'meta-myths' of such dictators as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, among others. Unless we can practice self-restraint derived from a moral commitment in the quest for global democratic 'interdependence,' we stand destined to risk again our very own survival.
"Lives deliberately extinguished by politically motivated carnage: 167,000,000 to 175,000,000. Including: War Dead: 87,500,000, Military War Dead: 33,500,000, Civilian War Dead: 54,000,000, Not-war Dead: 80,000,000, Communist Oppression: 60,000,000." -- Publisher
Chomsky, Noam, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky, ISBN: 1583224890 9781583224892.
"Though Chomsky repeatedly states that the 9/11 attack is unjustified, he rightly argues that if we fail to understand the context of such an attack, then we're doomed, like the state of Israel, to live without any hope of peace and justice. Throughout the various interviews reproduced in this book, he maintains that 'we should recognize that in much of the world the U.S. is regarded as a leading terrorist state, and with good reason. We might bear in mind, for example, that in 1986 the U.S. was condemned by the World Court for 'unlawful use of force' (international terrorism), and then vetoed a Security Council resolution calling on all states (meaning the U.S.), to adhere to international law.' What the U.S. has done or supported in Vietnam, Granada, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Sudan, El Salvador, Chile, occupied Palestine, etc. constitute a recent history of political terrorist repression, whereby hundreds of thousands of innocent people, especially women and children, have been killed primarily to protect the political and economic (e.g. oil, coffee), interests of the United States.
"Chomsky reminds us that the current war is nothing new or partisan. The attack on Afghanistan is/will be 10 times as devastating as Clinton's attack on the Sudan in which the 'death toll from the bombing has continued, quietly, to rise . . . Thus, tens of thousands of people -- many of them children -- have suffered and died from malaria, tuberculosis, and other treatable diseases . . .' And this attack as we must remember was done based on the same current erroneous reasons given for the current attack on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq -- all three in pursuit of a despotic leader.
"Not a supporter of the Islamic fundamentalist bin Landen, Chomsky does remind readers of the history of the U.S. in Afghanistan whereby in the 1980s, the U.S. trained and funded networks to commit a 'holy war against the Russian occupiers . . . .' By 1989, they [the Mujahidin, in which bin Landen was a principle leader], succeeded in their Holy War in Afghanistan. As soon as the U.S. established a permanent military presence in Saudi Arabia, bin Landen and the rest announced that from their point of view, that was comparable to the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and they turned their guns on the Americans, as had already happened in 1983 when the U.S. had military forces in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia is a major enemy of the bin Laden network, just as Egypt is. That's what they want to overthrow, what they call the un-Islamic governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, other states of the Middles East, and North Africa. And it continued." -- Reader's Comment
Chomsky, Noam, and Edward S. Herman, The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism (Political Economy of Human Rights, Vol. 1), ISBN: 0896080919 9780896080911.
"Chomsky and Herman present a brilliant, shattering, and convincing account of United States-backed suppression of political and human rights in the Third World. The 'best and brightest' pundits of the status quo emerge from this book thoroughly denuded of their credibility." -- Publisher
Clark, William Roberts, Capitalism, not Globalism: Capital Mobility, Central Bank Independence, and the Political Control of the Economy, ISBN: 0472112937 9780472112937.
Coral Ridge Ministries, Economic Manifesto. A call to America's Leaders: Reverse our Nation's Disastrous Economic Policies! (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
"You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15 NKJV), applies to government, just as it does to private individuals. Tax policy to redistribute income, to take from the rich and give to the poor, and economic policy to steal from everyone to bail out the rich, amounts to 'legalized theft' and violates God's law.
"Socialism threatens freedom.
"Man is sinful (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23), and any system that places economic and political power in the hands of a few is a threat to liberty. Socialism concentrates economic authority in government and empowers politicians to impose their will and 'wisdom' on the marketplace by force of law.
"Government should not play favorites.
"The proper role of government is to ensure a level playing field by providing equal justice to all. Federal policy should favor neither poor nor rich: You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty." (Leviticus 19:15 NKJV) -- Coral Ridge Ministries
https://store.coralridge.org/_layouts/CRMCommon/pages/Economic%20Manifesto.htm
Cunningham, William (1805-1861), Politics and Economics: An Essay on the Nature of the Principles of Political Economy Together With a Survey of Recent Legislation.
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Money and Power, ISBN: 0551013923 9780551013926.
"Discusses the ethics of wealth and incidentally elucidates the Biblical teaching on money and its use. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
"In this one of many brilliant books by Ellul, he exposes the folly of a purely collective, societal approach, such as that offered by communism, or capitalism. Instead, through a study of various Biblical references in the Old and New Testament, puts the responsibility on the individual. The new covenant of Jesus is compared to the Old Testament pattern of wealth as a sign of blessing. He examines the teaching of Jesus on God and Mammon. Contemporary models of stewardship are exposed as inadequate. Further, he clearly shows the underlying power money has over a person, despite any feelings of control we may think we have. The teachings of Jesus about giving and trusting provide the path to freedom -- every hair is numbered. Only by God's grace and transforming love are we able to overcome this subtle and insidious power. Highly recommended, especially at a time in our history when many have lost faith in the market." -- Reader's Comment
*Galbraith, James, The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and why Liberals Should too, ISBN: 141656683X 9781416566830.
"Shows how to break the spell that conservatives have cast over the minds of liberals (and everyone else), for many years." -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2001)
"The cult of the free market has dominated economic policy-talk since the Reagan revolution of nearly thirty years ago. Tax cuts and small government, monetarism, balanced budgets, deregulation, and free trade are the core elements of this dogma, a dogma so successful that even many liberals accept it. But a funny thing happened on the bridge to the twenty-first century. While liberals continue to bow before the free-market altar, conservatives in the style of George W. Bush have abandoned it altogether. That is why principled conservatives -- the Reagan true believers -- long ago abandoned Bush.
"Enter James K. Galbraith, the iconoclastic economist. In this riveting book, Galbraith first dissects the stale remains of Reaganism and shows how Bush and company had no choice except to dump them into the trash. He then explores the true nature of the Bush regime: a 'corporate republic,' bringing the methods and mentality of big business to public life; a coalition of lobbies, doing the bidding of clients in the oil, mining, military, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, insurance, and media industries; and a predator state, intent not on reducing government but rather on diverting public cash into private hands. In plain English, the Republican Party has been hijacked by political leaders who long since stopped caring if reality conformed to their message.
"Galbraith follows with an impertinent question: if conservatives no longer take free markets seriously, why should liberals? Why keep liberal thought in the straitjacket of pay-as-you-go, of assigning inflation control to the Federal Reserve, of attempting to 'make markets work'? Why not build a new economic policy based on what is really happening in this country?
"The real economy is not a free-market economy. It is a complex combination of private and public institutions, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, higher education, the housing finance system, and a vast federal research establishment. The real problems and challenges -- inequality, climate change, the infrastructure deficit, the subprime crisis, and the future of the dollar -- are problems that cannot be solved by incantations about the market. They will be solved only with planning, with standards and other policies that transcend and even transform markets.
"A timely, provocative work whose message will endure beyond this election season, THE PREDATOR STATE will appeal to the broad audience of thoughtful Americans who wish to understand the forces at work in our economy and culture and who seek to live in a nation that is both prosperous and progressive." -- Publisher
"James Galbraith has written an extremely challenging book. Although its principal target is conservative economics, it is no less critical of conventional liberalism. Galbraith correctly recognizes that today both approaches are intellectually bankrupt and incapable of addressing the nation's pressing economic problems. I hope The Predator State stimulates needed debate among both liberals and conservatives on the mistakes both sides have made that have gotten us to where we are now." -- Bruce Bartlett, author of Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
Huffington, Arianna, Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America, ISBN: 1400047714 9781400047710.
"Who filled the trough? Who set the table at the banquet of greed? How has it been possible for corporate pigs to gorge themselves on grossly inflated pay packages and heaping helpings of stock options while the average American struggles to make do with their leftovers?
"Provocative political commentator Arianna Huffington yanks back the curtain on the unholy alliance of CEOs, politicians, lobbyists, and Wall Street bankers who have shown a brutal disregard for those in the office cubicles and on the factory floors. As she puts it: 'The economic game is not supposed to be rigged like some shady ring toss on a carnival midway.' Yet it has been, allowing corporate crooks to bilk the public out of trillions of dollars, magically making our pensions and 401(k)s disappear and walking away with astronomical payouts and absurdly lavish perks-for-life.
"The media have put their fingers on pieces of the sordid puzzle, but Pigs at the Trough presents the whole ugly picture of what's really going on for the first time -- blistering, wickedly witty portrait of exactly how and why the worst and the greediest are running American business and government into the ground.
"Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski, Adelphia's John Rigas, and the Three Horsemen of the Enron Apocalypse -- Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andrew Fastow -- are not just a few bad apples. They are manifestations of a megatrend in corporate leadership -- the rise of a callous and avaricious mind-set that is wildly out of whack with the core values of the average American. WorldCom, Enron, Adelphia, Tyco, AOL, Xerox, Merrill Lynch, and the other scandals are only the tip of the tip of the corruption iceberg.
"Making the case that our public watchdogs have become little more than obedient lapdogs, unwilling to bite the corporate hand that feeds them, Arianna Huffington turns the spotlight on the tough reforms we must demand from Washington. We need, she argues, to go way beyond the lame Corporate Responsibility Act if we are to stop the voracious corporate predators from eating away at the very foundations of our democracy.
"Devastatingly funny and powerfully indicting, PIGS AT THE TROUGH is a rousing call to arms and a must-read for all those who are outraged by the scandalous state of corporate America." -- Publisher
"The gluttony continues! Every day brings another jaw-dropping new example of precisely the kind of political and corporate outrages that prompted me to write Pigs at the Trough. As I wrote in the book, our representatives in Washington have tried to fool us with a Madison Avenue version of reform, featuring glitzy bill signings and execs-in-chains photo-ops but pitifully little substance. The president's assertion in his State of the Union address that one of the greatest accomplishments of his presidency was reforming corporate America was outrageous. The ongoing march of corporate sleaze proves otherwise.
"In just the last few weeks alone, as we prepare our own taxes, we've learned that the Wall Street firms who've agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle conflict-of-interest charges will actually be able to claim the vast majority of those payments as tax deductions. Think of that: not only do these financial flimflam artists escape criminal indictment, they get a massive write-off to boot! Then there's the astounding story of how Sprint's top two executives paid no taxes on $288 million in stock-option profits thanks to highly imaginative tax shelters dreamed up by the accounting alchemists at Ernst and Young. And you were worried about whether you could deduct that $42 dollar business lunch you had with a friend?
"PIGS AT THE TROUGH shows how and why such appalling abuses continue to happen -- and why Washington continues to turn a blind eye.
"Normally, it's satisfying to be right. But in this case, it's just plain nauseating." -- Arianna Huffington
*Kelly, Marjorie, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, ISBN: 1576752372 9781576752371.
First published just prior to the Enron debacle, the new paperback edition, includes new material on Enron.
"Wealth inequality, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are symptoms -- the fevers and chills of the economy. The underlying illness, says Business Ethics magazine founder Marjorie Kelly, is shareholder primacy: the corporate drive to make profits for shareholders, no matter who pays the cost. In THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly argues that focusing on the interests of stockholders to the exclusion of everyone else's interests is a form of discrimination based on property or wealth. She shows how this bias is held by our institutional structures, much as they once held biases against blacks and women. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL exposes six aristocratic principles that corporations are built on, principles that we would never accept in our modern democratic society but which we accept unquestioningly in our economy. Wealth bias is a holdover from our pre-democratic past. It has enabled shareholders to become a kind of economic aristocracy. Kelly shows how to design more equitable alternatives -- new property rights, new forms of corporate governance, new ways of looking at corporate performance -- that build on both free-market and democratic principles. We think of shareholder primacy as the natural law of the free market, much as our forebears thought of monarchy as the most natural form of government. But in THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly brilliantly demonstrates that it is no more 'natural' than any other human creation. People designed this system and people can change it. We need a change of mind as profound as that of the American Revolution. We must question the legitimacy of a system that gives the wealthy few -- the ten percent of Americans who own ninety percent of all stock -- a disproportionate power over the many. In so doing, we can fulfill the democratic principles of our nation not only in the political sphere, but in the economic sphere as well." -- Publisher
"Brilliant. So simple. So direct. And so beautifully written. I think we have found our Thomas Paine for the new millennium." -- David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Marjorie Kelly is the cofounder and editor of Business Ethics, a national publication on corporate social responsibility. Kelly's writing has appeared in publications such as The Utne Reader, The Progressive Populist, Tikkun, Earth Island Journal, Hope Magazine, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Her work has been anthologized in a half-dozen books, including THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS and THE NEW PARADIGM IN BUSINESS. Kelly is a regular speaker and commentator on business ethics and corporate social responsibility featured in The Wall Street Journal, quoted in the New York Times, and interviewed frequently on NPR and other radio networks." -- Publisher
Divine Right of Capital
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/
Business Ethics Magazine
http://www.business-ethics.com/
An Opening for Change: Understanding the Enron Crisis
Excerpted from THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL: DETHRONING THE CORPORATE ARISTOCRACY, by Marjorie Kelly, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, paperback edition 2003
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/new_agenda.htm
Corporate Accountability Project
http://www.corporations.org/
Corporate Governance
http://corpgov.net/
Code for Corporate Responsibility
http://www.c4cr.org/
Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), The Mortgaging of America, ISBN: 9781929626038 1929626037.
"The stock market is down. Unemployment is up. And Congress is furiously spending taxpayer dollars to 'bail out' our ailing economy.
"We are in a time of economic trouble. One in which America desperately needs the timeless truths of God's Word.
"These messages from Dr. D. James Kennedy offer enduring biblical wisdom that transcends today's frightening headlines and give both understanding and hope.
"THE MORTGAGING OF AMERICA presents Dr. Kennedy's warning about the dangers of socialism, a failed economic system now gaining popularity on Capitol Hill. It also gives readers biblical perspective on economics, the nature and reason for work-the difference between justice and charity -- and the way in which the concept of 'social justice' has led to America's welfare state mentality.
"The perspective, wisdom, and guidance provided in this book reveal the causes of many of our fiscal woes and shed light on the pathway to true economic recovery." -- Publisher
*Korten, David C., When Corporations Rule the World, 2nd edition, ISBN: 1887208046 9781887208048.
"WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD explains how economic globalization has concentrated the power to govern in global corporations and financial markets and detached them from accountability to the human interest. It documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of these corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere on the planet to serve their own narrow ends. It also reveals why and how millions of people are acting to reclaim their political and economic power from these elitist forces and presents a policy agenda for restoring democracy and rooting economic power in people and communities. This new edition is expanded with new information, including a new preface, a new introduction, a new chapter on The Global Democracy Movement, and a new epilogue.
"David C. Korten is board chair of the Positive Futures Network, publishers of YES! A Journal of Positive Futures, and founder and president of The People-Centered Development Forum. He is a former faculty member of the Harvard Business School and the author of nine previous books including the bestselling WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD and THE POST-CORPORATE WORLD." -- Publisher
Yes! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/
McChesney, Fred S., Money for Nothing: Politicians, Rent Extraction, and Political Extortion, ISBN: 0674583302 9780674583306.
"Surveys reveal that a majority of Americans believe government is run for special interests, not public interest. The increased presence and power of lobbyists in Washington and the excesses of PAC and campaign contributions, in-kind benefits, and other favors would seem to indicate a government of weak public servants corrupted by big private-interest groups.
"But as Fred McChesney shows, this perspective affords only a partial understanding of why private interests are paying, and what they are paying for. Consider, for example, Citicorp, the nation's largest banking company, whose registered lobbyists spend most of their time blocking legislation that could hurt any one of the company's credit-card, loan, or financial-service operations. What this scenario suggests, the author argues, is that payments to politicians are often made not for political favors, but to avoid political disfavor, that is, as part of a system of political extortion or 'rent extraction.'
"The basic notion of rent extraction is simple: because the state can legally take wealth from its citizens, politicians can extort from private parties payments not to expropriate private wealth. In that sense, rent (that is, wealth), extraction is 'money for nothing' -- money paid in exchange for politicians' inaction. After constructing this model of wealth extraction, McChesney tests it with many examples, including several involving routine proposals of tax legislation, followed by withdrawal for a price. He also shows how the model applies more generally to regulation. Finally, he examines how binding contracts are written between private interests and politicians not to extract wealth.
"This book, standing squarely at the intersection of law, political science, and economics, vividly illustrates the patterns of legal extortion underlying the current fabric of interest-group politics.
"Fred S. McChesney is Professor of Law at the Cornell Law School." -- Publisher
"To support his view that rent extraction imposes enormous costs on the economy, McChesney provides a wealth of evidence from recent policy debates. For example, he cites the United States Federal Trade Commission's efforts -- at the request of Congress -- to impose warranty and defect disclosure requirements on used car dealers as an attempt by individual members of Congress to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for voiding the rules. In this instance, he provides statistics on contributions made by the National Auto Dealers' Association to members of Congress who voted to repeal the regulations. In discussing the Supreme Court's response to the wheeling and dealing, he points out that the dealers were essentially tricked into paying to repeal legislation that Congress never intended to enact anyway.
"On the Clinton health care plan, he states that stock prices of pharmaceutical firms began to fall before the policy was formally proposed. He emphasizes that investors knew that once price controls became an issue, the firms involved would have to spend money fighting the legislation by making campaign contributions. Thus, the firms were expected to lose enormous sums of money whether or not the bill was actually passed. Most importantly, he points out that the firms were never able to recover any of the money they lost in the process.
"In addition to legislative threats to impose price caps, he cites situations in which politicians threaten to repeal existing price caps to obtain contributions. For example, he states that proposals to raise admission fees at Yellowstone National Park have met with resistance from local merchants and users who benefit from lower prices. In other words, politicians can even threaten regulatory systems that they inherited from previous regimes in order to extract contributions from the firms that benefit from those systems. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
McDonald, Forrest, and Russell Kirk, We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution, ISBN: 1560005742 9781560005742.
"Few vices are easier to arouse than envy. Politicians and ideologues have had great success exploiting the resentment that arises when pitting rich against the poor.
"From the time of its publication in 1913 until the 1960s, Charles Beard's thesis dominated discussion of the founders' motives. In the mode of the Marxist interpretation of history as class struggle, Beard argued that economic self-interest, rather than concern for the general good, determined the writing and outcome of the Constitution.
"Interestingly, Beard asserted his system of alignment without actually proving it, admitting that his work was fragmentary because it failed to fill in the blanks. The real legwork of research wasn't done until over fifty years later, when historian Forrest McDonald put Beard's thesis to the test. McDonald dug through numerous public records to write economic biographies of the delegates (the 55 who attended the Constitutional Convention and the 1,750 members at the state conventions), analyzing their occupations, income, and assets. By comparing these to how the delegates voted, he found that Beard's thesis was incompatible with the facts.
"In We the People McDonald analyzed the geographical and political factions represented by delegates, their property holdings and occupations, their voting patterns, if any, and whether they benefited directly from the proposed Constitution. For the state conventions he divided chapters into states favorable, divided, and opposed to the Constitution. At the end he re-evaluated Beard's thesis and discussed whether any economic interpretation could be applied to our founding given the complexity and variety of occupations and opinions that existed.
"The result was a remarkable, though at times necessarily tedious, bit of historical detective work. Very likely it came as a great relief to many Americans to learn that the founders had something other than their own economic gain at heart. Probably few were surprised that the founders were a much more diverse group than Beard had realized.
"We may find that independence difficult to believe today, when the forces of selfishness, materialism, and special interest seem so dominant, not merely among political and business leaders but among the general populace. Today propagandists still want to align people into absolutes, much like trial lawyers who portray their clients as angels and their opponents as devils. Our shallow political debates revolve around false dichotomies such as the Party of Business and the Party of the Common Man. But I imagine this adversarial, intellectually dishonest approach will continue to be used as an effective tool as long as there is envy to be harvested in the heart of man." -- Reader's Comment
Mooney, S.C., Usury: Destroyer of Nations.
"Nothing quite like this book to be found anywhere which thoroughly covers this important topic of usury (charging interest), from a foundation of God's Word. A definition and history of usury is given along with a survey of Biblical texts and popular excuses for usury. Mooney concludes with a call to repentance." -- GCB
Includes bibliographical references.
North, Gary, Introduction to Christian Economics,
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, The Pirate Economy, ISBN: 0930462254 9780930462253.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Salvation Through Inflation: The Economics of Social Credit, ISBN: 0930464648 9780930464646 0930464664 9780930464660.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, The Sinai Strategy: Economics and the Ten Commandments, ISBN: 0930464079 9780930464073.
"A detailed exploration of the Ten Commandments and their social, political and especially, economic implications for all of mankind. Nations in which the Bible is freely preached tend to adopt a free market economy. The capitalism vs. socialism controversy is really God vs. Satan." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Successful Investing in an Age of Envy, ISBN: 0930462084 9780930462086.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), No Longer Business as Usual: Fighting Bribery and Corruption, ISBN: 9264176608 9789264176607.
"Corruption respects no borders, knows no economic distinctions, and infects all forms of government. Today, corruption has moved to the top of the global political agenda as its dramatic impact on economic development and its corrosive effect on political stability and democratic political institutions has become increasingly obvious. In the new millennium, the OECD and associated governments, which account for over 75 percent of trade and investment worldwide, will play by stricter rules. The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions will outlaw the practice of bribing foreign officials, making competition for international business much more fair and open. Bribery in commercial transactions is only part of the problem. A whole arsenal of legal instruments to combat corruption have now been developed to improve ethical standards in the public sector, to end tax deductibility for bribes, to curtail money laundering, and to clean up public procurement practices. This book provides the key elements needed to build and preserve corruption-free institutions, systems, and private enterprises."
Paul, Ron, The Revolution: A Manifesto, ISBN: 9780446537513 0446537519.
"This Much Is True: You Have Been Lied To.
"In THE REVOLUTION, Texas Congressman and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul has exposed the core truths behind everything threatening America, from the real reasons behind the collapse of the dollar and the looming financial crisis, to terrorism and the loss of our precious civil liberties. In this book, Ron Paul provides answers to questions that few even dare to ask. . .The government is expanding. Taxes are increasing. More senseless wars are being planned. Inflation is ballooning. "Our basic freedoms are disappearing. . . .
*Phillips, Kevin, Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich, ISBN: 0767905334 9780767905336.
"For more than thirty years, Kevin Phillips' insight into American politics and economics has helped to make history as well as record it. His bestselling books, including THE EMERGING REPUBLICAN MAJORITY (1969) and THE POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR (1990), have influenced presidential campaigns and changed the way America sees itself. Widely acknowledging Phillips as one of the nation's most perceptive thinkers, reviewers have called him a latter-day Nostradamus and our 'modern Thomas Paine.' Now, in the first major book of its kind since the 1930s, he turns his attention to the United States' history of great wealth and power, a sweeping cavalcade from the American Revolution to what he calls 'the Second Gilded Age' at the turn of the twenty-first century.
"The Second Gilded Age has been staggering enough in its concentration of wealth to dwarf the original Gilded Age a hundred years earlier. However, the tech crash and then the horrible events of September 11, 2001, pointed out that great riches are as vulnerable as they have ever been. In WEALTH AND DEMOCRACY, Kevin Phillips charts the ongoing American saga of great wealth -- how it has been accumulated, its shifting sources, and its ups and downs over more than two centuries. He explores how the rich and politically powerful have frequently worked together to create or perpetuate privilege, often at the expense of the national interest and usually at the expense of the middle and lower classes.
"With intriguing chapters on history and bold analysis of present-day America, Phillips illuminates the dangerous politics that go with excessive concentration of wealth. Profiling wealthy Americans -- from Astor to Carnegie and Rockefeller to contemporary wealth holders -- Phillips provides fascinating details about the peculiarly American ways of becoming and staying a multimillionaire. He exposes the subtle corruption spawned by a money culture and financial power, evident in economic philosophy, tax favoritism, and selective bailouts in the name of free enterprise, economic stimulus, and national security.
"Finally, WEALTH AND DEMOCRACY turns to the history of Britain and other leading world economic powers to examine the symptoms that signaled their declines -- speculative finance, mounting international debt, record wealth, income polarization, and disgruntled politics -- signs that we recognize in America at the start of the twenty-first century. In a time of national crisis, Phillips worries that the growing parallels suggest the tide may already be turning for us all." -- Publisher
Pipes, Richard, Property and Freedom, ISBN: 0375704477 9780375704475.
"While the bulk of the book compares England and Russia, showing how varying attitudes toward private property led these two nations in totally different directions, the final section examines the broad theme of property rights in the late 20th century -- a period when they have come under assault, and have been made increasingly conditional, by the growing strength of the welfare state. Pipes concludes with a broadside against New Deal and Great Society programs. Although liberal readers may bristle, none can deny that PROPERTY AND FREEDOM is the product of a great mind tackling a big theme with great enthusiasm." -- John J. Miller
*Powell, Jim, FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression, ISBN: 140005477X 9781400054770.
"The Great Depression and the New Deal. For generations, the collective American consciousness has believed that the former ruined the country and the latter saved it. Endless praise has been heaped upon President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for masterfully reining in the Depression's destructive effects and propping up the country on his New Deal platform. In fact, FDR has achieved mythical status in American history and is considered to be, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of all time. But would the Great Depression have been so catastrophic had the New Deal never been implemented?
"In FDR'S FOLLY, historian Jim Powell argues that it was in fact the New Deal itself, with its shortsighted programs, that deepened the Great Depression, swelled the federal government, and prevented the country from turning around quickly. You'll discover in alarming detail how FDR's federal programs hurt America more than helped it, with effects we still feel today, including:
"This groundbreaking book pulls back the shroud of awe and the cloak of time enveloping FDR to prove convincingly how flawed his economic policies actually were, despite his good intentions and the astounding intellect of his circle of advisers. In today's turbulent domestic and global environment, eerily similar to that of the 1930s, it's more important than ever before to uncover and understand the truth of our history, lest we be doomed to repeat it. -- PublisherHow Social Security actually increased unemployment
How higher taxes undermined good businesses
How new labor laws threw people out of work
And much more
"The economic results of FDR's programs were devastating. For example, consider the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). The price and production controls of the AAA led to perverse practices such as millions of tons of domestic oat and corn being burned while the U.S. simultaneously imported oat and corn, millions of peaches being left to rot and millions of 'excess' pigs being needlessly slaughtered while lard was being imported from overseas. The extent of economic regulation under the FDR Administration reached such absurd levels, there was even a government board organized solely to control the production and pricing of milk![We think the Cato Institute is naive here, or playing into the hands of the Aristocracy of Wealth. One major factor in economic depression is the Governments failure to enforce regulations on business, regulations that may be seen as "token regulations" that deceive the public. In fact, they are never enforced. The Securities and Exchange Commission is a prime example. -- compiler]. Programs that inundated private businesses with unprecedented waves of regulations, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the National Recovery Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Programs that redistributed wealth from producers to consumers, such as the Federal Emergency Relief Act and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Programs that nationalized industries, centrally planned infrastructure or created make-work projects to increase employment such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Powell argues that these programs typically led to poorly planned infrastructure that was more expensive than what could have been acquired in a free market.
"From reading this book, you will also learn that many of FDR's earliest programs, such as the AAA and the National Recovery Act, were originally ruled as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Unfortunately FDR stayed in office long enough to appoint 7 of the 9 sitting supreme court justices, which eventually opened the floodgates for New Deal reforms. Thus, is the unforeseen danger of having a President serve more than two terms.That government spending is always good for the economy, even if it is engaging in pointless ventures such as building pyramids.
War is good for the economy.
Gold (as a standard of currency), is a "barbarous relic" that prevents economic growth.
A capitalist economy will inevitably slow to a halt without periodic bolsters from centralized planning.
Consumption (i.e., the destruction of wealth), not production, drives the economy. Thus, government should redistribute wealth from those who would invest it to those who would spend it.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest." The Roman Catholic Institution is the ultimate "negative guide to the positive," the reformers ultimate "opposite guide to political and economic reform."
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), The Grand Inquisitor's Second Coming.
"Totalitarianism is historically the most prevalent form of human government, from the tribal society in which all activities are regulated by the tribe or its rulers, the council, and witch doctor, to the totalitarianism of the Middle Ages when the Roman Church ruled all of life. . . . It is these more enduring forms of totalitarianism that will still be with us when the ghosts of Marx and Lenin are finally busted. . . . It is this new religiosity that will threaten the political, economic, religious, and social freedom of men in the twenty-first century. . . ." -- John W. Robbins
See: The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/reviews/journal.asp?ID=070a.html
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Money, Freedom and the Bible.
"Paul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers." A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation Conference, August 1989.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century.
"This article was originally written in 1996. It was first published in 2006 in FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS by John W. Robbins.
"By almost any measure, by virtually any criterion one selects, our fathers were freer and more civilized than we are, and their fathers had been freer and more civilized than they were."
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/281-Rebuilding_Freedom_in_America.pdf
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Slavery Christianity: Paul's Letter to Philemon, an article (Unicoi, TN: The Trinity Foundation, November, 2005), ISBN: 1891777173 9781891777172.
"Slavery. Racism. Rebellion. Civil disobedience. The problems are as pressing today as they were 1900 years ago when the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a slave-owner, Philemon, about his runaway slave -- and the runaway slave carried Paul's letter back to his legal owner.
"What did the letter say? Did Paul -- does Christianity -- approve of slavery? Does Christianity condone slavery? Or does the Gospel abolish slavery and establish freedom wherever it is believed? Jesus said, If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31,32)
"Paul's letter to Philemon is a masterpiece of divinely inspired political philosophy. It provides the basis for the non-violent abolition of slavery wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and believed.
"Dr. John W. Robbins holds the Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University. His most recent book is FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS." -- Publisher
Ross, Robert Gaylon, Sr. Who's who of the Elite: Members of the Bilderbergs, Council on Foreign Relations, and Trilateral Commission, ISBN: 0964988801 9780964988804.
"The January 2000 revision brings an all-new source of information about the international banking cabal that is dominating the entire world, both politically and economically. Every page is new and improved over the 1996 edition, which was very good, as well." -- Robert Gaylon Ross, Sr.
Rothbard, Murray N., What has Government Done to our Money, ISBN: 0945466102 9780945466109.
"Rothbard's most famous monetary essay. It has appeared in multiple editions and influenced two generations of economists, investors, and businessmen. After presenting the basics of money and banking theory, he traces the decline of the dollar from the 18th century to the present, and provides lucid critiques of central banking, New Deal monetary policy, Nixonian fiat money, and fixed exchange rates. He also provides a blueprint for a return to a 100 percent reserve gold standard." -- Publisher
Rushdoony, R.J., (1916-2001), Larceny in the Heart: The Economics of Satan and the Inflationary State, ISBN: 1879998327 9781879998322.
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Salvation and Godly Rule, ISBN: 999144789X. Available through Exodus Books.
"The Christian is commissioned to bring all things into captivity to Christ. Godly rule in our personal, family, social, vocation, political, and economic life is a consequence of salvation. Includes 72 short chapters, over 500 pages." -- GCB
Sauer, Richard, Selling America Short: The SEC and Market Contrarians in the Age of Absurdity, ISBN: 9780470582114 0470582111.
"An industry insider reveals the inner workings of our financial system and the agencies who attempt to control it. During his dozen years as an SEC attorney, author Richard Sauer opened and supervised some of its most notable financial cases-investigations that took him to a dozen countries and returned hundreds of millions of dollars to American investors. While a partner at a major law firm and, later, a hedge fund manager, he saw firsthand the follies and failures of our system. Now, in SELLING AMERICA SHORT, he shares his extraordinary experiences with you. SELLING AMERICA SHORT is a gripp. -- Publisher
"Mr. Sauer shares a fascinating professional biography with us. First, he shares his experiences about working at the SEC enforcement division -- breaking down a couple of corporate fraud stories. He then gives us a perspective on municipal bond disclosures and politics. Finally, he walks through his time at a short-focused fund Copper River. This multi-faceted experience weaves together some hard learned conclusions:
1. "It's difficult to count on the SEC to stop financial crooks in a timely manner. Even worse, if you become a vocal critic of these corporate abusers, you run into the financial, legal, and reputational risks yourself. And the government may not always be on your side!
2. "From the fund management perspective, another takeaway is to diversify your investment banking relationships. When the crunch time comes, a hedge fund may run into partner risks that can become existential.
3. "Bottom line, when you become a public critic of the bad guys, do not be surprised to get some rocks be thrown your way. Your own house better be made of steel, or better yet, be a bunker." -- Reader's Comment
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), From Rationalism to Irrationality: The Decline of the Western Mind From the Renaissance to the Present, ISBN: 0875524281 9780875524283, and a reprint of the P&R Publishing edition of 1979 (Wipf and Stock, 2006), 479 pp.
"Now, frankly students, this course is presented from obviously the Reformed Theology. I hold unabashedly, unashamedly to the whole of Reformed Theology as we find it specifically in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Longer and Shorter Catechisms.
"At the same time I hold to a position in regard to Apologetics generally known as Presuppositionalism, and particularly that view held by Cornelius Van Til.
"This book is an attempt to enlarge and to broaden the scope of Van Til's own Apologetical system, and also his Epistemology. By that I mean, and I worked this book with him, so anything that I say is not to be construed as a criticism of Cornelius Van Til. I might add he wrote me a letter. He is delighted with this book. But what I did was to take his principles, both of Apologetics and of Epistemology, and apply them to all realms of modern thought.
"Dr. Van Til, for good and sufficient reason, sought to limit to the main stream of what we might call pure Philosophy, that is from Saint Thomas, well even before them, back to the Greeks, but particularly in the more modern period, from Saint Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham (Occam), down through Descartes, the Rationalists, the Empiricists, down to Kant and Hegel, and of course Modern Philosophy and Modern Theology. Very seldom has he gone into what we might call the arena of Political Philosophy, or the arena of Social Thought, or the arena of Psychology and Psychiatry, the realm of Educational Philosophy, and into Art, Music, and so on, to the Fine Arts.
"This book is an attempt to apply his system, and show what happens when the Western mind has forsaken his principles, or the principles which he has espoused, and turned into its own way. And thus the book called FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY. The thesis being that the Rationalism inherent in Saint Thomas and the post-Thomists, and more particularly, and more openly, in the Philosophy of the Renaissance, and Descartes, and Spinosa, and Leibniz has, as it's gained momentum in the modern world, brought Western Culture to its knees. We are living, as I would think, in the death throws of the Western Cultures, the Western Civilization." -- Dr. C. Gregg Singer, in the introductory address to his course in Apologetics soon after FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY came off the press in 1979
Apologetics: #01: Classical and Medieval Thought #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 56 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453
"Locke endeavored to set forth a political philosophy which would anchor his democratic political thought on what he felt were the firm foundations of his empiricism. However, his insistence that nature has bestowed upon mankind certain basic and inalienable rights was an assumption quite contrary to his empiricism. His denial of conscience as an innate possession or quality makes it impossible for men to know that they possess the rights of life, liberty, and property. The very concept of a human right is moral in nature and has its basis of authority in the human conscience. It is thus impossible for men to know through the senses that they have these cherished human rights. Granted that it was far from Locke's intention to undermine or destroy the traditional English concept of personal rights, his empiricism removed from his political thought the necessary foundations on which a government could be built for the protection of these rights. His empiricism supported neither the idea that men have such rights nor that they are inalienable. (p. 61)
"Underlying the secular and naturalistic assumptions of the thought of the Enlightenment was a related and equally serious problem. In their political and economic thought the leaders of this era were passionately devoted to the pursuit of freedom, and yet they seemed to be completely unaware of this incompatibility between their quest for freedom on the one hand and their reliance upon natural law on the other. How can an impersonal and deterministic concept of law produce and sustain a meaningful concept of freedom? Blindly convinced that there was no problem involved in the contradiction, the leaders of the Enlightenment pushed boldly ahead in the quest for political and economic liberty. However, their failure to recognize the issues involved in this quest led not only to the disaster of the French Revolution but to the growth of the totalitarian political and economic philosophies which first appeared in Hegel and Marx during the nineteenth century and reached their culmination in the totalitarianism of the twentieth century." (p. 73) -- quoted at the blog, Imago Veritatis: Post-modern Reformed Paleo-orthodoxy
Singer used this as textbook for his course in Apologetics. Epistemology is a recurring theme throughout the textbook and the course. The series of 24 addresses on Apologetics is available free online. See: "Apologetics" under:
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society." -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice"
Notes: "Appeared in volume II of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIANITY . . . and was later printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company . . . 1967, for their Philosophical and historical studies series."
Contents: The author; Preface; I. The patristic foundations of calvinism; II. Calvinism: the summit of reformation theology; III. The later history of calvinism; IV. Influence of calvinism on western history and culture; V. Calvinism and economic thought and practice; VI. Calvinism and Philosophy; VII. Calvinism and education; VIII. Calvinism and social thought and practice; Bibliography.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1994, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1964), ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Sowell, Thomas, Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, ISBN: 9780465081431, 9780465003457, 0465081436, 0465003451.
"The application of economics to major contemporary real world problems -- housing, medical care, discrimination, the economic development of nations -- is the theme of this new book that tackles these and other issues head on in plain language, as distinguished from the usual jargon of economists. It examines economic policies not simply in terms of their immediate effects but also in terms of their later repercussions, which are often very different and longer lasting. The interplay of politics with economics is another theme of APPLIED ECONOMICS, whose examples are drawn from experiences around the world, showing how similar incentives and constraints tend to produce similar outcomes among very disparate peoples and cultures. -- Publisher
Sowell, Thomas, and Brian Emerson (reader), Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, an audio-book, ISBN: 9781441733153 1441733159.
"Thomas Sowell has a different idea about how economics should be taught. With this groundbreaking introduction to economics, Sowell has thrown out the graphs, statistics, and jargon. Learning economics, he believes, should be relaxing, and even enjoyable.
"Listen to Basic Economics, narrated by Brian Emerson, on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
"Thomas Sowell is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Among his published works are BASIC ECONOMICS, LATE TALKING CHILDREN, and RACE AND CULTURE. He has also published in both academic journals and the popular media including Newsweek, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and 150 newspapers that carry his nationally syndicated column." -- Publisher
Sowell, Thomas, Economic Facts and Fallacies, ISBN: 9780465003495 0465003494.
"From one of America's most distinguished economists, a short, brilliant and revelatory book: the fundamental ideas people most commonly get wrong about economics, and how to think about the subject better.
"ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues -- and does so in a lively manner and without requiring any prior knowledge of economics by the readers. These fallacies include many beliefs widely disseminated in the media and by politicians, such as fallacies about urban problems, income differences, male-female economic differences, as well as economics fallacies about academia, about race, and about Third World countries.
"One of the themes of ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES is that fallacies are not simply crazy ideas but in fact have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power -- and makes careful examination of their flaws both necessary and important, as well as sometimes humorous.
"Written in the easy to follow style of the author's BASIC ECONOMICS, this latest book is able to go into greater depth, with real world examples, on specific issues.
"Thomas Sowell has taught economics at a number of colleges and universities, including Cornell University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Amherst College. He has published both scholarly and popular articles and books on economics, and is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
"In this slim volume, Sowell exposes, refutes and debunks six of the major economic fallacies of our time:
1. Urban Facts and Fallacies"As you've probably noticed, these are six of the major flashpoint issues of our times -- and Sowell knocks down the myths and lies the left-wing has worked so hard to spread.
2. Male-Female Facts and Fallacies
3. Academic Facts and Fallacies
4. Income Facts and Fallacies
5. Racial Facts and Fallacies
6. Third World Facts and Fallacies
Spannaus, Nancy (editor), and Christopher White (editor), The Political Economy of the American Revolution, ISBN: 0943235146 978-0943235141.
"Do you Know What the American System of Economics is all About?
"Most Americans actually don't -- and it's not because they are stupid. It's because there's been a systematic suppression of the truth, to the point where it's been written out of the history books and schools throughout the nation. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was first published in 1977 in order to revive the truth about American history. Newspaper editor Nancy Spannaus and historian Christopher White assembled the crucial writings which defined the American System, as a continuation of the Italian Golden Renaissance tradition, and a war against British imperialism and free trade. They produced a book of readings which served as an assault on the Treason School of American history. This new edition adds some crucial materials, but its guts are the same: the works of Alexander Hamilton and his French predecessor, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. These are writings you either can't find anywhere else, or which are hard to find. They are supplemented by introductory essays by Spannaus and White. The scholar and the conscientious citizen will find this book indispensable. The American war against British imperialist methods continues today, and must be won." -- Publisher
*Stockman, David Alan, The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America, ISBN: 9781586489120 1586489127. Release date: April 2, 2013.
"THE GREAT DEFORMATION is a searing look at Washington's craven response to the recent myriad of financial crises and fiscal cliffs. It counters conventional wisdom with an eighty-year revisionist history of how the American state -- especially the Federal Reserve -- has fallen prey to the politics of crony capitalism and the ideologies of fiscal stimulus, monetary central planning, and financial bailouts. These forces have left the public sector teetering on the edge of political dysfunction and fiscal collapse and have caused America's private enterprise foundation to morph into a speculative casino that swindles the masses and enriches the few. . . .
"Defying right- and left-wing boxes, David Stockman provides a catalogue of corrupters and defenders of sound money, fiscal rectitude, and free markets. The former includes Franklin Roosevelt, who fathered crony capitalism; Richard Nixon, who destroyed national financial discipline and the Bretton Woods gold-backed dollar; Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke, who fostered our present scourge of bubble finance and addiction to debt and speculation; George W. Bush, who repudiated fiscal rectitude and ballooned the warfare state via senseless wars; and Barack Obama, who revived failed Keynesian "borrow and spend" policies that have driven the national debt to perilous heights. By contrast, the book also traces a parade of statesmen who championed balanced budgets and financial market discipline including Carter Glass, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Simon, Paul Volcker, Bill Clinton, and Sheila Bair.
"Stockman's analysis skewers Keynesian spenders and GOP tax-cutters alike, showing how they converged to bloat the welfare state, perpetuate the military-industrial complex, and deplete the revenue base -- even as the Fed's massive money printing allowed politicians to enjoy "deficits without tears." But these policies have also fueled new financial bubbles and favored Wall Street with cheap money and rigged stock and bond markets, while crushing Main Street savers and punishing family budgets with soaring food and energy costs. THE GREAT DEFORMATION explains how we got here and why these warped, crony capitalist policies are an epochal threat to free market prosperity and American political democracy.
"David A. Stockman was elected as a Michigan congressman in 1976 and joined the Reagan White House in 1981. Serving as budget director, he was one of the key architects of the Reagan Revolution plan to reduce taxes, cut spending, and shrink the role of government. He joined Salomon Brothers in 1985 and later became one of the early partners of the Blackstone Group. During nearly two decades at Blackstone and at a firm he founded, Stockman was a private equity investor. Stockman attended Michigan State University and Harvard Divinity School and then went to Washington as a congressional aide in 1970. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller THE TRIUMPH OF POLITICS: WHY THE REAGAN REVOLUTION FAILED." -- Publisher
*Tocqueville, Alexis de, Seymour Drescher (translator), and Gertrude Himmelfarb (introduction), Memoir on Pauperism, ISBN: 156663167X 9781566631679.
"In this neglected memoir, written just after the first volume of DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, Tocqueville seeks to understand why the most impoverished countries of Europe in his time had the fewest paupers, while the most opulent nation -- England -- had the most." -- Publisher
*Ubel, Peter A., Free Market Madness: Why Human Nature is at Odds With Economics -- And why it Matters, ISBN: 1422126099 9781422126097.
"In this book, Peter Ubel argues that the combination of human nature and free markets can be downright dangerous for our health and well-being. That government must step in and further regulate the markets that reward those who exploit our weaknesses. He shows that by understanding and controlling the factors that go into our decisions, we can all begin to stop the damage we do to our bodies, our finances, and our economy as a whole." -- Publisher
Valeri, Mark, Heavenly Merchandize: How Religion Shaped Commerce in Puritan America, ISBN: 9780691143590 0691143595.
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE offers a critical reexamination of religion's role in the creation of a market economy in early America. Focusing on the economic culture of New England, it views commerce through the eyes of four generations of Boston merchants, drawing upon their personal letters, diaries, business records, and sermon notes to reveal how merchants built a modern form of exchange out of profound transitions in the Puritan understanding of discipline, providence, and the meaning of New England.
"Mark Valeri traces the careers of men like Robert Keayne, a London immigrant punished by his church for aggressive business practices; John Hull, a silversmith-turned-trader who helped to establish commercial networks in the West Indies; and Hugh Hall, one of New England's first slave traders. He explores how Boston ministers reconstituted their moral languages over the course of a century, from a scriptural discourse against many market practices to a providential worldview that justified England's commercial hegemony and legitimated the market as a divine construct. Valeri moves beyond simplistic readings that reduce commercial activity to secular mind-sets, and refutes the popular notion of an inherent affinity between puritanism and capitalism. He shows how changing ideas about what it meant to be pious and puritan informed the business practices of Boston's merchants, who filled their private notebooks with meditations on scripture and the natural order, founded and led churches, and inscribed spiritual reflections in their letters and diaries.
"Unprecedented in scope and rich with insights, HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE illuminates the history behind the continuing American dilemma over morality and the marketplace. -- Publisher
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE is a magisterial account of the interplay of economics and religion in early America. In place of abstract theories of 'modernization' or 'the spirit of capitalism,' Valeri engages representative figures on the ground, and through their stories narrates the ways in which transformations in religious thought actually shaped a premodern market culture. Students of early American religion, economics, and imperialism will have to consult this seminal work." -- Harry S. Stout, Yale University
Various, Proceedings of the Fourth Calvinistic Congress: Held in Edinburgh 6th to 11th July, 1938.
"Contents: Reformed faith and its ethical consequences: to the individual / E. Sebestyen; W. Childs Robinson | in the family / John Macleod | in the church / G.T. Thomson | in society / R.J.G. M'Knight | in the state / V.H. Rutgers | in economics / J.H.S. Burleigh | in art / Leon Wencelius, and P.R. Musculus | The interrelation of theology and secular knowledge / J. de Saussure | Significance of the Old Testament for the Christian life / W. Vischer | Speeches delivered at public meetings / G.D. Henderson, Auguste Lecerf, M.P. Ramsey, David Read, Dr. Kromsigt, Stewart M. Robinson, J.B. Soucek, and W.H. Hamilton."
Vidal, Gore, Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta, ISBN: 1560255021 9781560255024.
"Stunning selection of essays which offer a passionate critique of the Bush-Cheney coup in 2000. Vidal shows that Bush's Government represented the oil and gas industries and also incorporated some of their leading executives into the government: 'Bush Senior of the Carlyle Group, Bush Junior of Harken, Cheney of Halliburton, Condoleezza Rice of Chevron-Texaco, Rumsfeld of Occidental, Gale Norton of BP-Amoco.'
"The book shows that not only were Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld expecting the September 11th attack, but that they were actively preparing for it. Vidal provides the evidence to show that al-Qaida were virtually goaded into attacking the US.
"Another theme is the undermining of the original democratic aims of the U.S. republic by the 'oligarchy,' who control every facet of U.S. society. He argues that the founders of the republic had 'invented the Electoral College so that the popular voice of the people could be throttled, much as the Supreme Court throttled the Floridians on 12 December [2000:]. We were to be neither a democracy, subject to majoritarian tyranny, nor a dictatorship, subject to Caesarean folly.'
"There are many powerful historical and political insights which emanate from the author's comprehensive knowledge of history and from contemporary developments. Vidal makes three startling claims which he substantiates: that the U.S. forced Japan into the attack on Pearl Harbor; that the Japanese had been trying to surrender from May 1945 and that there was no good reason to drop the two atom bombs; that it was the U.S. which started the Cold War as Truman wanted a military build-up." -- Reader's Comment
*Vieira, Edwin, Pieces of Eight: The Monetary Powers and Disabilities of the United States Constitution, ISBN: 9780967175911, 0967175917.
"This book gives a detailed legal (constitutional) argument demonstrating that our present monetary system is a contradiction of what was intended and what is expressed in the U.S. Constitution. The book also describes the legal history of the Supreme Court cases that brought the system to this point." -- Publisher
Woodiwiss, Michael, Gangster Capitalism: The United States and the Globalization of Organized Crime, ISBN: 0786716711 9780786716715.
"Everyone knows what organized crime is. Each year dozens of feature films, hundreds of books, and thousands of news stories explain to an eager public that organized crime is what gangsters do. Closely knit, ethnically distinct, and ruthlessly efficient, these mafias control the drugs trade, people trafficking and other serious crimes. If only states would take the threat seriously and recognize the global nature of modern organized crime, the FBI's success against the Italian mafia could be replicated throughout the world. The wicked trade in addictive drugs could be brought to a halt.
"The trouble is, as Woodiwiss demonstrates in shocking and surprising detail, what everyone knows about organized crime is pretty much completely wrong. In reality the most important figures in organized crime are employees of multinational companies, politicians and bureaucrats. Gangsters are certainly a problem, but much of their strength comes from attempts to prohibit the market for certain drugs. Even here they are minor players when compared with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies that selectively enforce prohibition and profit from it. Woodiwiss shows how respectable businessmen and revered statesmen have seized these opportunities in an orgy of fraud and illegal violence." -- Reader's Comment
Woodiwiss, Michael, The Return of Gangster Capitalism: The Global Rise of Organised Crime, ISBN: 9780745332024 0745332021.
See also: Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, Carnality and flesh pleasing: lust, desires, ambition, pleasure, Gambling, The aristocracy of wealth, Feudalism, Anarchy, Tyranny, The aristocracy of wealth, War, Wealth and prosperity, the snare of, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Sex ethics, sex education, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Church and state, Reform, state sovereignty, and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Background, foundation, and history of the covenanted reformation of scotland, The theology of freedom, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Political and economic freedom, Biblical economics, Christian liberty, Freedom with responsibility to god, Christian self-government, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Justice, judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Meltdown: the depression of 2008, God's deliverance of nations, and so forth, and so on.
Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=819021843
Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8190218822
How Government Budget Deficits Make us Poorer
"According to some commentators the US federal budget deficit still remains a major economic problem, notwithstanding that it draws less attention than in the past."
https://mises.org/blog/how-government-budget-deficits-make-us-poorer
What the Price of Gold is Telling us, Ron Paul
This is a 4865 word article. Just a few quotes follow.
"The dollar price of gold reflects dollar depreciation." [devaluation, inflation -- compiler]
The gold price has risen "from $250 per ounce in 2001 [the year of 9/11 -- compiler], to over $1000 today . . . .
"Since 2001 the dollar has been devalued by 60 percent . . . .
"Though our inflation -- i.e., the depreciation of the U.S. dollar -- has been insidious, average Americans are unaware of how this occurs. For instance, few Americans know nor seem concerned that the 1913 pre-Federal Reserve dollar is now worth only four cents. . . .
"Forget about the lip service given to transparency by new Fed Chairman Bernanke. Not only is this administration one of the most secretive across the board in our history, the current Fed firmly supports denying the most important measurement of current monetary policy to Congress, the financial community, and the American public. Because of a lack of interest and poor understanding of monetary policy, Congress has expressed essentially no concern about the significant change in reporting statistics on the money supply.
"Beginning in March [2008 -- compiler], though planned before Bernanke arrived at the Fed, the central bank discontinued compiling and reporting the monetary aggregate known as M3. M3 is the best description of how quickly the Fed is creating new money and credit. Common sense tells us that a government central bank creating new money out of thin air depreciates the value of each dollar in circulation. Yet this report is no longer available to us and Congress makes no demands to receive it. . . . [could this complex policy issue also be the Feds' "solution" to the impending financial crisis in Social Security fund? -- compiler]
"A soaring gold price is a vote of -- no confidence -- in the central bank and the dollar. This certainly was the case in 1979 and 1980. Today, gold prices reflect a growing restlessness with the increasing money supply, our budgetary and trade deficits, our unfunded liabilities, and the inability of Congress and the administration to rein in runaway spending. . . .
"Special interest groups, who vigorously compete for federal dollars, want to perpetuate the system rather than admit to a dangerous addiction. Those who champion welfare for the poor, entitlements for the middle class, or war contracts for the military industrial corporations, all agree on the so-called benefits bestowed by the Fed's power to counterfeit fiat money. Bankers, who benefit from our fractional reserve system, likewise never criticize the Fed, especially since it's the lender of last resort that bails out financial institutions when crises arise. And it's true, special interests and bankers do benefit from the Fed, and may well get bailed out -- just as we saw with the Long-Term Capital Management fund crisis a few years ago. In the past, companies like Lockheed and Chrysler benefited as well. But what the Fed cannot do is guarantee the market will maintain trust in the worthiness of the dollar. Current policy guarantees that the integrity of the dollar will be undermined. Exactly when this will occur, and the extent of the resulting damage to the financial system, cannot be known for sure -- but it is coming. There are plenty of indications already on the horizon.
"Foreign policy plays a significant role in the economy and the value of the dollar. A foreign policy of militarism and empire building cannot be supported through direct taxation. The American people would never tolerate the taxes required to pay immediately for overseas wars, under the discipline of a gold standard. Borrowing and creating new money is much more politically palatable. It hides and delays the real costs of war, and the people are lulled into complacency -- especially since the wars we fight are couched in terms of patriotism, spreading the ideas of freedom, and stamping out terrorism. Unnecessary wars and fiat currencies go hand-in-hand, while a gold standard encourages a sensible foreign policy.
"The cost of war is enormously detrimental; it significantly contributes to the economic instability of the nation by boosting spending, deficits, and inflation. Funds used for war are funds that could have remained in the productive economy to raise the standard of living of Americans now unemployed, underemployed, or barely living on the margin. . . ." and so forth (another 2495 words follow) -- Ron Paul in What the Price of Gold Is Telling Us
"Dr. Paul is the author of several books, including CHALLENGE TO LIBERTY; THE CASE FOR GOLD; and A REPUBLIC, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT. He has been a distinguished counselor to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and is widely quoted by scholars and writers in the fields of monetary policy, banking, and political economy. He has received many awards and honors during his career in Congress, from organizations such as the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the Council for a Competitive Economy, Young Americans for Freedom, and countless others."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul445.html
It has been said that the only thing the Christian really needs to do is to learn to trust in God, and then to be obedient to him in all things.Economics is based on covenant relationships.
Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Thou shalt not covet. (Exodus 20:17)
John Calvin has been credited with being the founder of capitalism.
It is quite evident that in all of this Calvin was setting forth a view of free enterprise which is strictly Biblical. Free enterprise is that means adapted for man by which he fulfills the conditions of his stewardship. Enterprise that is truly free is constantly governed by the law of God. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
Capitalization is the accumulation of wealth, the conversion of work, savings, and forethought into tangible working assets. No progress is possible without some measure of capitalization. It is a serious error to assume that socialism and communism are opposed to capitalization or to capitalism; their opposition is simply to private capitalism, but their dedicated policy is to state capitalism. For the state to plan any program of progress, public works, or conquest, work, frugality, and forethought are necessary. The work is exacted from the people by force; the frugality or savings is again forced out of the people by means of wage controls, compulsory savings and bond-buying programs, and slave labor, the forethought is provided by the state planners.
To return to the matter of capitalization, capitalization in a society requires a background of faith and character. In every era of history, capitalization is a product of the Puritan disposition, of the willingness to forego present pleasures to accumulate some wealth for future purposes. Where there is no character, there is no capitalization but rather decapitalization, the steady depletion of wealth. Society becomes consumption centered rather than productive, and it begins to decapitalize the centuries-rich inheritance which surrounds it.
Thus, decapitalization is preceded always by a breakdown of faith and character. Where men feel that private happiness is man's purpose and goal rather than serving and glorifying God, and finding joy in Him, where men feel that life owes them something rather than seeing themselves as debtors to God, and where men feel called to fulfill themselves apart from God rather than in Him, there society is in rapid process of decapitalization." -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), The Institutes of Biblical Law, 1973 edition, p. 522-524It is possible to speak of the studied irrelevance of much preaching and comment on Scripture. A law of central importance to the monetary and economic morality of a nation is treated casually or not at all. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), in Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 468
The notion that additional government expenditures magically increase national output is ingrained in the national psyche. Keynesian economics professors can certainly take credit for this mindset; it is they who have schooled multiple generations of college students in Keynesian multiplier analysis.
The professors' counter intuitive tease in this effort has always been what is called the 'balanced budget multiplier.' (BBM) That is, even with equal increases in government spending and taxes increase output, output should supposedly rise by the same amount that spending and taxes rise . . .
The BBM is so at odds with simple economic logic that it should be an embarrassment for the economics profession. Strong words? Yes. But how else to describe economic nonsense? If output and taxes rise by the same amount, producers' after-tax income is unaltered by the fiscal action. -- T. Norman Van Cott, "Keynesian Multipliers are Like Dogs Chasing Their Tails"Reformed scholars attribute recurring, national, economic depression to broad scale immorality, in other words, unethical business practices, or, fleecing one's fellowman. In one sense all ten commandments of The Decalogue address covetousness in human nature. And the 10th is a summary of the previous nine. (Tyler Flynn)
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler], and the laissez faire school of economic thought. -- Singer, C. Gregg, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
Planned economies do not work, because they fail to take into account man's sinfulness. -- Reader's comment on The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
Conservatism is a political philosophy that professes to be practical and grounded in reality -- not in ideological or utopian dream worlds -- yet it cannot furnish a coherent answer to a very practical question: What is the proper punishment for a thief? Even ignoring the big questions -- What is the ideal government? Is there an ideal government? Is any government justified? What is the proper relationship between church and state? -- conservatism cannot answer a small question. If conservatism cannot offer a justified answer to a small question, it probably cannot answer larger questions. -- John W. Robbins in Conservatism: An Autopsy
No corporation on earth comes close to the accounting fraud practiced year after year by the Federal Government. In fact, there is no real accountability at all for the trillions in tax dollars raised and spent annually by Congress and our entrenched Federal Agencies. The official 'accounting' that does take place is a sham. Every year Congress creates a meaningless budget, the Fed prints phony money, the Budget Office issues false revenue forecasts, and the Administrative Agencies waste billions in the most unproductive ways imaginable. Literally tens of billions of dollars go unaccounted for every year, simply disappearing down bureaucratic black holes. [and the banking system is controlled by the Federal Reserve -- compiler]. This hardly represents a standard against which corporations should be judged! -- Texas Congressman, Ron Paul in What About Government Accountability?
I believe it is high time America quit sacrificing our moral health at the altar of economic strength. By continuing to put financial considerations before morality, we are producing a nation that is rich, but has completely seared its conscience and can't even enjoy the fruit of our labor anymore. We have become a nation that doesn't know how to blush, and our children are the ones who are paying the price. -- Rusty Lee Thomas
The powerful and wealthy conceal theft, of course, by economic and legal games, the game rules being of their own making.
For example, (1) A ten percent capitalization rate on residential rental property results in a profit of 100 percent over a ten year period, based on the current market price of the property. In other words, after ten years of renting the owner has recovered the entire cost of the property, and he still owns the property at an appreciated market value, making residential rental property one of the most lucrative investments possible. (2) The cost of building a new home is just a fraction of the market value of the property, the balance is a windfall profit to the developer. Some of the reasons for the inflated market value follow. (3) The Federal Government of the United States of America is the largest business enterprise in the world. It is run by politicians who, for the most part, are businessmen and lawyers, not scholars and statesmen. They can sit down at a table together for 20 minutes and write a multi-million dollar budget. They are accountable to practically no one. (4) The cost of living is high in big cities because, among other reasons, after the multi-million dollar budget is written by the politicians, then taxes and assessments are increased to pay for it. By raising property assessments to generate revenue, the cost of real estate simultaneously increases, and it follows that the cost of all goods go up. (5) All these changes, increasing taxes, assessments, market values of real estate, costs of goods, and the resulting inflation, all these changes profit the wealthy property owners and business owners who simply pass on tax increases and higher costs to the consumer. (6) The banking system, money, is controlled by The Federal Reserve System, which in turn is run by unelected officials, veteran leaders of corporate investment banks, who control the amount of money in the economy and interest costs. Generally speaking, this amounts to a complete monopoly over the economy and value of the dollar. (7) The principles of accounting being used today have generally remained essentially unchanged since the Feudal Age, 600 years ago, principles of accounting which allowed a few wealthy noblemen to live in luxury at the expense of the masses. (8) And so forth, and so on. This is just a very, very brief and general overview of some of the games being played, and how the powerful and wealthy game the system. For more details on things you may not have learned in the public education system see other book-length works in this topical listing.
The middle and lower classes are, for the most part, uneducated and ignorant of the extent of the games, therefore, they do not fully understand how they are being fleeced by the "Aristocracy of Wealth."
Meanwhile, many of the unregenerate members of society, who by their human nature are unable to trust in The Triune God to "place a table before them." That is to say, they are unable to trust in God to provide for all their needs, just, as recorded in Genesis and Exodus, he set his people free from bondage, fought against their enemies and gave them victory, guided them through the Wilderness, daily feed them with manna from heaven, and then gave them the Promised Land of Canaan.
Regrettably, unregenerate men, not able to trust in the Faithfulness of a Covenant God, become "flesh-pleasers." They are all too willing to trust in man, all too ready to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, welcoming them and their "games" with open arms, and with great enthusiasm, in hopes of securing their fleshly desires.
Regrettably, these unregenerate men, these "Cains," are all too often both incompetent and corrupt, are all too often in the majority, and all too often seize political and economic power.
All to often unregenerate men are willing to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, as opposed to submitting to the influence of the Faithful, Triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has covenanted to be their God, to redeem them from their rebellious, Fallen State, and to show them "The Way, the Truth, and the Life," both temporal and eternal.
The Ten Commandments are, of course, the "constitution" of that covenant between God and man. Notice that all Ten Commandments speak to covetousness, and the tenth summarizes all that is not to be coveted in the second table, commandments four through ten.
Consequently the world is subject to repeating economic depression and collapse caused by immoral rule, the covetousness, incompetence, and corruption of the Cains in political and economic power.Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. -- Abraham Lincoln, December 3, 1861, First Annual Message to Congress
Interestingly the decade (1850-1860), before the War Between the States, was a decade of unprecedented industrial growth and growing prosperity, which lead to economic depression in 1857. War began in 1860.
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. "It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." -- John Philpot Curran, Speech Upon the Right of Election, 1790. (Speeches. Dublin, 1808.)
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. -- The Golden Rule
*Bastiat, Frederic (1801-1850), The Law. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language.
"Full of truths that are not merely relevant, but are absolutely vital to our future." -- Dick Armey
"If ever there was a concise and powerful argument for defending Liberty and the Law against every social engineer, this has to be it (only 75 pages!). Bastiat is a master of words and the analogy. Every lover of freedom who wishes to get a nutshell understanding of why Liberty and Law matters ought to read this book. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
The Law, by Frederic Bastiat (part 1 of 10)
"The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! " -- Frederic Bastiat, from the Introduction
The Law, Frederic Bastiat
http://archive.org/details/law00fredguat
Bastiat, Frederic (1801-1850), Selected Essays in Political Economy, ISBN: 0910614156 9780910614153.
"He was the most uncompromisingly consistent advocate of laissez-faire in the 19th century -- and the most quotable! Here, in a single volume, are this great political economist's most brilliant writings. They include his immortal classic, 'The Law,' as well as such unforgettable essays as 'The State,' 'What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen,' 'Property and Plunder,' 'Declaration of War Against the Professors of Political Economy' and many others. An intellectual feast! With an Introduction by Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek." -- Publisher
Beisner, E. Calvin, Prosperity and Poverty: The Compassionate Use of Resources in a World of Scarcity, ISBN: 1579108083 9781579108083.
"E. Calvin Beisner here looks at all the same assumptions that Austrian economics [Libertarians -- compiler], does, though from a biblical perspective. He reasons in more or less the same way; one thing that impressed me about this work, though, is how efficient he is at getting to some rather important conclusions such as: the free market is the most efficient and best way to determine prices. Therefore, to allow any other entity to determine prices (such as the government), is a misuse of resources, and therefore disobeying the Dominion Mandate set forth in Genesis.
"This work, though building on the work of other economists such as Ludwig von Mises and Eugene von Bohm-Bawerk, represents the close of communism, and all done from the Christian worldview. Highly recommended! " -- Reader's Comment
Bethell, Tom, Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages, ISBN: 0312223374 9780312223373.
"The phenomenal success of Western civilization and the remarkable economic expansion fueled by modern capitalism, says Tom Bethell, depend chiefly [see "Christ's Influence on Western Civilization," "The Ten Commandments," Robbins, Christ and Civilization, Smith's The Wealth of Nations, and so forth -- compiler], on the institution of private property and the development of secure property rights, yet this simple, striking idea is misunderstood by elite opinion leaders in the United States and around the world. Bethell, a reporter for the American Spectator, offers a history of property as an idea and a reality around the world. His sweeping narrative will appeal to fans of David Landes's THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONS and Jared Diamond's GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL. Yet, in many crucial respects, THE NOBLEST TRIUMPH (the title comes from British philosopher Jeremy Bentham's line that property laws represent 'the noblest triumph of humanity over itself'), is better than both, displaying a keener understanding of human nature and of how incentives shape behavior. In a chapter sure to inspire controversy, Bethell argues that the Irish potato famines of the 1840s were due primarily to Ireland's lack of stable property rights in the 19th century. Full of astute observations and written with real clarity, THE NOBLEST TRIUMPH makes a unique and welcome contribution to the debate over why some countries thrive while others languish." -- John J. Miller
Burkett, Larry, What the Bible Says About Money: A Topical Concordance Containing Every Verse in the Bible Related to Money and Personal Financial Matters, ISBN: 0943497752 9780943497754.
"This is actually a 'topical concordance' to every verse in the Bible relating to money and personal financial matters. A valuable reference and study tool for pastors, students, teachers and all serious Christians." -- GCB
Carson, Thomas, and Mary Bonk, Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, ISBN: 0787677264 9780787677268 0787638889 9780787638887 0787638897 9780787638894 0787638900 9780787638900.
Chalmers, Thomas (1780-1847), Application of Christianity to the Commercial and Ordinary Affairs of Life (1853). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #21.
Chamberlain, John, The Roots of Capitalism, ISBN: 0913966231 9780913966235.
Chilton, David, Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider, ISBN: 0930464001 9780930464004.
Clouse, Robert G., William E. Diehl, et al., Wealth and Poverty: Four Christian Views of Economics, ISBN: 0877843473 9780877843474.
Coral Ridge Ministries, Economic Manifesto. A call to America's Leaders: Reverse our Nation's Disastrous Economic Policies! (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
"You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15 NKJV), applies to government, just as it does to private individuals. Tax policy to redistribute income, to take from the rich and give to the poor, and economic policy to steal from everyone to bail out the rich, amounts to 'legalized theft' and violates God's law.
"Socialism threatens freedom.
"Man is sinful (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23), and any system that places economic and political power in the hands of a few is a threat to liberty. Socialism concentrates economic authority in government and empowers politicians to impose their will and 'wisdom' on the marketplace by force of law.
"Government should not play favorites.
"The proper role of government is to ensure a level playing field by providing equal justice to all. Federal policy should favor neither poor nor rich: You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty." (Leviticus 19:15 NKJV) -- Coral Ridge Ministries
https://store.coralridge.org/_layouts/CRMCommon/pages/Economic%20Manifesto.htm
Cunningham, William (1805-1861), The Mercantile System.
Cunningham, William (1805-1861), Modern Civilization in Some of its Economic Aspects.
Dabney, Robert Lewis, Principles of Christian Economy.
Davis, John Jefferson, Your Wealth in God's World: Does the Bible Support the Free Market? ISBN: 087552219X 9780875522197.
*Galbraith, James, The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and why Liberals Should too, ISBN: 141656683X 9781416566830.
"Shows how to break the spell that conservatives have cast over the minds of liberals (and everyone else), for many years." -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2001)
"The cult of the free market has dominated economic policy-talk since the Reagan revolution of nearly thirty years ago. Tax cuts and small government, monetarism, balanced budgets, deregulation, and free trade are the core elements of this dogma, a dogma so successful that even many liberals accept it. But a funny thing happened on the bridge to the twenty-first century. While liberals continue to bow before the free-market altar, conservatives in the style of George W. Bush have abandoned it altogether. That is why principled conservatives -- the Reagan true believers -- long ago abandoned Bush.
"Enter James K. Galbraith, the iconoclastic economist. In this riveting book, Galbraith first dissects the stale remains of Reaganism and shows how Bush and company had no choice except to dump them into the trash. He then explores the true nature of the Bush regime: a 'corporate republic,' bringing the methods and mentality of big business to public life; a coalition of lobbies, doing the bidding of clients in the oil, mining, military, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, insurance, and media industries; and a predator state, intent not on reducing government but rather on diverting public cash into private hands. In plain English, the Republican Party has been hijacked by political leaders who long since stopped caring if reality conformed to their message.
"Galbraith follows with an impertinent question: if conservatives no longer take free markets seriously, why should liberals? Why keep liberal thought in the straitjacket of pay-as-you-go, of assigning inflation control to the Federal Reserve, of attempting to 'make markets work'? Why not build a new economic policy based on what is really happening in this country?
"The real economy is not a free-market economy. It is a complex combination of private and public institutions, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, higher education, the housing finance system, and a vast federal research establishment. The real problems and challenges -- inequality, climate change, the infrastructure deficit, the subprime crisis, and the future of the dollar -- are problems that cannot be solved by incantations about the market. They will be solved only with planning, with standards and other policies that transcend and even transform markets.
"A timely, provocative work whose message will endure beyond this election season, THE PREDATOR STATE will appeal to the broad audience of thoughtful Americans who wish to understand the forces at work in our economy and culture and who seek to live in a nation that is both prosperous and progressive." -- Publisher
"James Galbraith has written an extremely challenging book. Although its principal target is conservative economics, it is no less critical of conventional liberalism. Galbraith correctly recognizes that today both approaches are intellectually bankrupt and incapable of addressing the nation's pressing economic problems. I hope The Predator State stimulates needed debate among both liberals and conservatives on the mistakes both sides have made that have gotten us to where we are now." -- Bruce Bartlett, author of Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
*Grant, George, Bringing in the Sheaves: Transforming Poverty Into Productivity, ISBN: 0915815036 9780915815036 0915815044 9780915815043. Alternate title: PRAYING IN THE SHEAVES: TRANSFORMING POVERTY INTO PRODUCTIVITY.
"The Biblical mandate is to care for the poor, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised -- to take the salve of Gospel love to the stranger, the hungry, and the misbegotten. Rev. Grant knows the dismal failures and the Biblical solutions. He believes the Bible and the blueprint it offers can transform poverty into productivity. Unlike most other books on poverty, it is not primarily theory; it is primarily practice, Biblical practice. This is the single most helpful book on the subject." -- Publisher
Grant, George, The Dispossessed: Homelessness in America, ISBN: 0891074112 9780891074113.
"Grant has a solution to the problem of the homeless that really works. How does he know his ideas work; he practices them. He says that the Bible speaks directly to this problem. The answer is not more government control. His ideas on homelessness and social policy are really different." -- Publisher
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Grant, George, with Gary North (general editor), In the Shadow of Plenty: Biblical Principles of Welfare and Poverty.
"The Bible tells us what to do, when, where, how, and why. It offers us a 'blueprint' for victory over poverty. The SHADOW OF PLENTY lays out that 'blueprint' simply, practically, and understandably." -- Publisher
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Griffiths, Brian, The Creation of Wealth: A Christian's Case for Capitalism, ISBN: 0877845662: 9780877845669.
"Few people have attempted a Biblical approach to economics. Griffiths considers the theological implications after divesting contemporary theories of their humanistic values. The result is a major step forward and the proposal of solutions to the abuses that presently prevail." -- Cyril J. Barber
Hayek, Friedrich A., The Road to Serfdom, ISBN: 0415035287.
"A modern restatement of the great conflict between liberty and authority." -- Publisher
"This classic by one of the 20th century's leading libertarian thinkers has established itself beside the works of Orwell and others as a timeless meditation on the relationship between human freedom and government authority. Hayek argues that empowering government with increasing economic control leads not to utopia but to horrors such those seen in Nazi Germany.
"Hayek describes the world in 1944, alarmed by the rising ideas of the 'inevitable' trends to economic planning and centralization, pointing out the path that leads to totalitarian regimes. He says that socialism, fascism and nazism are 'species' of collectivisation which don't differ in their nature.
"In his book he tries to prove that in searching for security, governments can start to plan economic activities and, as this power grows, embark in building a society where every aspect of people's daily life was previously decided by the desire of a planner, because 'economic control is the control of the means for all our ends.'
"Hayek's work was a sort of bible for the neo-liberal era inaugurated by Thatcher and Reagan in the 80's and, although he explicitly opposes to the 19th century 'laissez-faire' economy, in many paragraphs he seems very "nostalgic" about it.
"It is maybe one of the best counterparts of Marx's THE CAPITAL and, thus, a must-read for any socialist or communist (as Marx is a must-read for every capitalist), in order to widen your knowledge of economics and to come to a better conclusion about defining your political beliefs. -- Reader's Comment
"I was introduced to Friedrich von Hayek through reading Thomas Sowell. And I decided to read this book because it was a highly recommended read in the Freedom's Nest Website Reading List. . . .
"In a totalitarian state, it is always the ruthless and the unsophisticated who ascend to the top. Extensive governmental control harms the society not just in delivering dismal economic results, but, more seriously, it produces a psychological change, an alteration in the character of the people.
"This little book was said to have had definitive influence on such giants as Churchill, Thatcher, Reagan and many others. Perhaps the book's influence was best attested to by its being banned in the USSR, China and many other totalitarian countries." -- Reader's Comment
Hodge, Ian, Baptized Inflation: A Critique of 'Christian' Keynesianism, ISBN: 0930464087 9780930464080.
"This book is a refutation of the writings of Douglas Vickers. But it is more than this. It is a Bible-based critique of the monstrous lies of Keynesian economics, and written in clear language, unlike the books of Keynes and Vickers. It also sets forth the Biblical case for the free market economy." -- Publisher
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), The Mortgaging of America, ISBN: 9781929626038 1929626037.
"The stock market is down. Unemployment is up. And Congress is furiously spending taxpayer dollars to 'bail out' our ailing economy.
"We are in a time of economic trouble. One in which America desperately needs the timeless truths of God's Word.
"These messages from Dr. D. James Kennedy offer enduring biblical wisdom that transcends today's frightening headlines and give both understanding and hope.
"THE MORTGAGING OF AMERICA presents Dr. Kennedy's warning about the dangers of socialism, a failed economic system now gaining popularity on Capitol Hill. It also gives readers biblical perspective on economics, the nature and reason for work-the difference between justice and charity -- and the way in which the concept of 'social justice' has led to America's welfare state mentality.
"The perspective, wisdom, and guidance provided in this book reveal the causes of many of our fiscal woes and shed light on the pathway to true economic recovery." -- Publisher
Lannom, Jack, The Ministry of The Trinity Foundation, "Introduction to Economics," a lecture series on CD, The Trinity Foundation Lecture Series, 2005
This is Collection 1: Introduction to Economics, Lecture 3, "The Ministry of The Trinity Foundation" of The Conference on Christianity and Economics.
Jack Lannom speaks on the influence of The Trinity Foundation, and John Robbins on his life. "God's truth is all truth" not all truth is God's truth. The Bible is "Our Legacy of Salvation, Sanity, and Civilization." There is no truth in any science. Science provides us with much useful knowledge, but it is not a source of truth.
http://www.trinitylectures.org/
Lee, Francis Nigel, The Christian Manifesto of 1984: An Answer to the Communist Manifesto of 1848, ISBN: 0949762032 9780949762030.
Lee, Francis Nigel, Communism, a Christian Evaluation, ISBN: 0949762016 9780949762016.
Lee, Francis Nigel, Communism Versus Christianity.
Love, Christopher (1618-1651), Scripture Rules to be Observed in Buying and Selling. By Mr. Christopher Love, Late Minister at Laurence Jury, London. Rules Concerning Buying Commodities. Rules Concerning Selling Commodities, 1653.
Mises, Ludwig Von, and George Reisman, Epistemological Problems of Economics, ISBN: 0814787576 9780814787571 0814787584 9780814787588.
Caveat: These are probably libertarian authors.
Mooney, S.C., Usury: Destroyer of Nations.
"Nothing quite like this book to be found anywhere which thoroughly covers this important topic of usury (charging interest), from a foundation of God's Word. A definition and history of usury is given along with a survey of Biblical texts and popular excuses for usury. Mooney concludes with a call to repentance." -- GCB
Includes bibliographical references.
Nash, Ronald H., Poverty and Wealth: The Christian Debate Over Capitalism, ISBN: 0891074023 9780891074021.
"This book demonstrates that of all economic systems that are in use on this planet capitalism is the one based on the Bible's whole teaching. Some systems emphasize one teaching of the Bible to the exclusion of the others. True capitalism takes the whole of the Bible into view. Nash is right-on!" -- GCB
Nelson, Robert H., Reaching for the Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of Economics, ISBN: 0822630249 9780822630241.
"Nelson has labeled the two great traditions the Roman and the Protestant. Thinkers whom he categorizes as Roman tend to believe deeply in reason, that mankind can improve his lot, find salvation even, by applying reason. Thinkers in the Protestant tradition do not have such faith. They see mankind as depraved and alienated, to be saved by grace or some other force outside its own power. They despair of the institution set up to govern mankind, pointing out that such creations do not perform as intended (that is, as reason might dictate), but willy-nilly. They become bureaucratic, if not corrupt, and need to be overthrown. . . . Nelson is an economist by training, and one of his aims is to show the roots of modern economic ideas in these Roman and Protestant traditions. . . . ." -- Jean A. Briggs
North, Gary, The Coase Theorem: A Study in Economic Epistemology, ISBN: 0930464613 9780930464615.
"To those who may wonder if Gary North is qualified to speak on this subject have no fear, he is. His training and study in economics, adjusted by his study of the Bible . . . provide a rather different view." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Leviticus: An Economic Commentary, ISBN: 0930464729 9780930464721.
North, Gary, Marx's Religion of Revolution: Regeneration Through Chaos, ISBN: 093046415X 9780930464158.
"Primarily Karl Marx was a man filled with the hatred for God and for humanity and only secondarily an economic theorist, according to Dr. North. This book, first published in 1968, returns to print in our day of 'liberation theology' which is gaining support in surprising areas of Christendom." -- GCB
Includes bibliography.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, The Pirate Economy, ISBN: 0930462254 9780930462253.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Puritan Economic Experiments, ISBN: 0930464141 9780930464141.
North, Gary, Salvation Through Inflation: The Economics of Social Credit, ISBN: 0930464648 9780930464646 0930464664 9780930464660.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, The Sinai Strategy: Economics and the Ten Commandments, ISBN: 0930464079 9780930464073.
"A detailed exploration of the Ten Commandments and their social, political and especially, economic implications for all of mankind. Nations in which the Bible is freely preached tend to adopt a free market economy. The capitalism vs. socialism controversy is really God vs. Satan." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Successful Investing in an Age of Envy, ISBN: 0930462084 9780930462086.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Tithing and the Church, ISBN: 0930464699 9780930464691 0930464702 9780930464707.
North, Gary, Treasure and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Luke.
"This judicial schizophrenia of modern Christians has led to their political and cultural paralysis. Their paralysis has led either to their persecution or their marginalization politically. In the case of marginalization, most of them have praised the result. . . .
"In Luke's Gospel, Jesus is most adamant about the dangers of riches. If long-term economic growth is the supreme evidence of God's common grace in modern history, as free market economists would insist that it is if they believed in either God or common grace, then why does the Gospel of Luke display such hostility to riches? I do my best to answer this question in this commentary. -- Preface
http://www.garynorth.com/public/467.cfm
Penney, J.C., Christian Principles in Business.
"Wise men do not light a candle and place it under a bushel. Life's greatest benefactions -- intelligence, liberty, religion -- are for dissemination. There can be no moral justification for withholding the benefits that result from a wise distribution of knowledge.
"Liberty, that one priceless boon for which all men yearn, thrives only in the light. It must be proclaimed and practiced to be enjoyed and appreciated by all.
"Religion was never intended for self-gratification. It must be turned loose upon the world, and the more unconsciously that loosening process takes place, the more beneficial its results.
"Christ declared that He was the Light of the world. Religion must scatter that Light or fail in the accomplishment of its supreme mission." -- J.C. Penney
*Perkins, William (1558-1602), The True Gaine More in Worth Than all the Goods in the World, 1601. Alternate title: CHRIST THE TRUE AND PERFECT GAINE.
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Christianity and Economics (2 lectures)
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest." The Roman Catholic Institution is the ultimate "negative guide to the positive," the reformers ultimate "opposite guide to political and economic reform."
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), The Grand Inquisitor's Second Coming.
"Totalitarianism is historically the most prevalent form of human government, from the tribal society in which all activities are regulated by the tribe or its rulers, the council, and witch doctor, to the totalitarianism of the Middle Ages when the Roman Church ruled all of life. . . . It is these more enduring forms of totalitarianism that will still be with us when the ghosts of Marx and Lenin are finally busted. . . . It is this new religiosity that will threaten the political, economic, religious, and social freedom of men in the twenty-first century. . . ." -- John W. Robbins
See: The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/reviews/journal.asp?ID=070a.html
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Intermediate Economics, a CD lecture series, The Trinity Foundation Lecture Series
This is Collection 2: Intermediate Economics, a series of 18 lectures by John Robbins, including:
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Introduction to Economics, a CD lecture series, The Trinity Foundation Lecture Series.
This is Collection 1: Introduction to Economics, a series of 10 lectures, including:
Conference on Christianity and Economics (8 lectures)
The Growth of Government in the United States, John Robbins The Roots and Fruits of the Environmental Movement, E. Calvin Beisner The Ministry of the Trinity Foundation, Jack Lannom The Failure of Secular Economic Theory, John Robbins The Failure of Secular Economic Policy, Ronald Cooper Justice and Wealth, E. Calvin Beisner Christian Economists: Do They Know What They Are Doing? Ronald Cooper The Promise of Christian Economics, John Robbins
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Money, Freedom and the Bible.
"Paul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers." A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation Conference, August 1989.
Rockwell, Llewellyn H. Jr., Speaking of Liberty, ISBN: 0945466382 9780945466383.
"Ludwig von Mises said that teaching the public was just as important as addressing scholars -- maybe more so. That is what Lew Rockwell specializes in: history and theory and analysis in defense of the free society, written in clear prose to reach a broad audience. Rockwell's new book is as pro-liberty as it is brutally critical of government. It is relentlessly forthright yet hopeful about the prospects for liberty. It is rigorous enough to withstand the enemy's closest scrutiny, and chock full of the energy and enthusiasm that will keep you reading.
"SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is a collection of speeches delivered by Rockwell over a period of ten years. The book begins with economics, and explains why Austrian economics matters, how the Federal Reserve brings on the business cycle, why we need private property and free enterprise, the unrecognized glories of the capitalist economy, and why the gold standard is still the best monetary system. Other sections deal with war, Mises and his work, other important thinkers in the libertarian tradition, and the culture and morality of liberty.
"The book is united by a set of fixed principles: the corruption of politics, the universality and immutability of the ideas of freedom, the centrality of sound money and free enterprise, the moral imperative of peace and trade, the importance of hope and tenacity in the struggle for liberty, and the need for everyone to join the intellectual fight. We all have searched for the book we could give to friends and neighbors, business associates and family members, to explain why we believe in the cause of liberty. SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is that book." -- Publisher
Rose, Tom, Economics: The American Economy From a Christian Perspective, ISBN: 0961219807 9780961219802.
Rose, Tom, Economics: Principles and Policy From a Christian Perspective, ISBN: 0915134225 9780915134229.
"This book covers the nature of economics and the nature of man, the Bible and economics, basic economics, the distribution and market system, and more. Here is a good place to start for a proper understanding of money. Could easily be used as a textbook." -- GCB
Rothbard, Murray N., What has Government Done to our Money, ISBN: 0945466102 9780945466109.
"Rothbard's most famous monetary essay. It has appeared in multiple editions and influenced two generations of economists, investors, and businessmen. After presenting the basics of money and banking theory, he traces the decline of the dollar from the 18th century to the present, and provides lucid critiques of central banking, New Deal monetary policy, Nixonian fiat money, and fixed exchange rates. He also provides a blueprint for a return to a 100 percent reserve gold standard." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Institutes of Biblical Law, 3 volumes, ISBN: 1879998130. Available through Exodus Books.
Volume 1: Institutes of Biblical Law, ISBN: 0875524109.Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The Roots of Inflation.
"A monumental volume . . . Deeply explores the meaning and application of the Ten Commandments for today in civil government, social ethics, and personal conduct." -- GCB
"Many consider this to be the author's most important work. With indices." -- Publisher
Volume 2: Law and Society, ISBN: 1879998238.
"The relationship of Biblical Law to communion and community, the sociology of the Sabbath, the family and inheritance, and much more are covered in the second volume. Contains an appendix by Herbert Titus. With indices." -- Publisher
Volume 3: The Intent of the Law, ISBN: 1879998130.
" 'God's law is much more than a legal code; it is a covenantal law. It establishes a personal relationship between God and man.' The first section summarizes the case laws. The author tenderly illustrates how the law is for our good, and makes clear the difference between the sacrificial laws and those that apply today. The second section vividly shows the practical implications of the law. The examples catch the reader's attention; the author clearly has had much experience discussing God's law. The third section shows that would-be challengers to God's law produce only poison and death. Only God's law can claim to express God's 'covenant grace in helping us'. With indices." -- Publisher
See also: Theft: Commentary and Cases of Conscience. A Listing Excerpted From The Institutes of Biblical Law by Rousas John Rushdoony, 1973 edition
http://www.lettermen2.com/theft.html
Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), and Edward A. Powell, Tithing and Dominion. Available through Exodus Books.
"Discusses Biblical tithing, government taxation, and the validity of each. Under the tithe, Powell discusses taxation, first fruits, firstborn, the tithe, the social tithe, the rejoicing tithe, the poor tithe, and enforcing God's taxes." -- GCB
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), From Rationalism to Irrationality: The Decline of the Western Mind From the Renaissance to the Present, ISBN: 0875524281 9780875524283, and a reprint of the P&R Publishing edition of 1979 (Wipf and Stock, 2006), 479 pp.
See: "Irrationalism in Economic Thought and Practice," pp. 376-383, "Conclusion: The Recovery of Christian Theism," pp. 411-412, and "The Reconstruction of Economic Life," pp. 425-435.
"But what does this return to Christian theism mean? First of all, it means that in our private and public economic activities we are stewards of a sovereign God and that our wealth is His. We do not possess it in fee simple, but only as His stewards, and in our acquisition and use of that wealth we are responsible to Him who has created us in His image, the world, and its wealth which He has entrusted to us. This also means that we must sweep aside all the economic philosophies which have emerged out of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. It means that if we are to recover a sane biblical rationalism in economic affairs, we must ignore all the theories derived from Adam Smith and the Enlightenment, the Manchester school of English thought, Karl Marx, the Christian socialism of nineteen-century England, and its more modern derivatives, the American version of the Social Gospel movement, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, the Great Society, and all other programs which are unbiblical in their origins and aims."
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society." -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice"
Notes: "Appeared in volume II of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIANITY . . . and was later printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company . . . 1967, for their Philosophical and historical studies series."
Contents: The author; Preface; I. The patristic foundations of calvinism; II. Calvinism: the summit of reformation theology; III. The later history of calvinism; IV. Influence of calvinism on western history and culture; V. Calvinism and economic thought and practice; VI. Calvinism and Philosophy; VII. Calvinism and education; VIII. Calvinism and social thought and practice; Bibliography.
Sowell, Thomas, Economic Facts and Fallacies, ISBN: 9780465003495 0465003494.
"From one of America's most distinguished economists, a short, brilliant and revelatory book: the fundamental ideas people most commonly get wrong about economics, and how to think about the subject better.
"ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues -- and does so in a lively manner and without requiring any prior knowledge of economics by the readers. These fallacies include many beliefs widely disseminated in the media and by politicians, such as fallacies about urban problems, income differences, male-female economic differences, as well as economics fallacies about academia, about race, and about Third World countries.
"One of the themes of ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES is that fallacies are not simply crazy ideas but in fact have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power -- and makes careful examination of their flaws both necessary and important, as well as sometimes humorous.
"Written in the easy to follow style of the author's BASIC ECONOMICS, this latest book is able to go into greater depth, with real world examples, on specific issues.
"Thomas Sowell has taught economics at a number of colleges and universities, including Cornell University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Amherst College. He has published both scholarly and popular articles and books on economics, and is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
"In this slim volume, Sowell exposes, refutes and debunks six of the major economic fallacies of our time:
1. Urban Facts and Fallacies"As you've probably noticed, these are six of the major flashpoint issues of our times -- and Sowell knocks down the myths and lies the left-wing has worked so hard to spread.
2. Male-Female Facts and Fallacies
3. Academic Facts and Fallacies
4. Income Facts and Fallacies
5. Racial Facts and Fallacies
6. Third World Facts and Fallacies
*Tocqueville, Alexis de, Seymour Drescher (translator), and Gertrude Himmelfarb (introduction), Memoir on Pauperism, ISBN: 156663167X 9781566631679.
"In this neglected memoir, written just after the first volume of DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, Tocqueville seeks to understand why the most impoverished countries of Europe in his time had the fewest paupers, while the most opulent nation -- England -- had the most." -- Publisher
Valeri, Mark, Heavenly Merchandize: How Religion Shaped Commerce in Puritan America, ISBN: 9780691143590 0691143595.
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE offers a critical reexamination of religion's role in the creation of a market economy in early America. Focusing on the economic culture of New England, it views commerce through the eyes of four generations of Boston merchants, drawing upon their personal letters, diaries, business records, and sermon notes to reveal how merchants built a modern form of exchange out of profound transitions in the Puritan understanding of discipline, providence, and the meaning of New England.
"Mark Valeri traces the careers of men like Robert Keayne, a London immigrant punished by his church for aggressive business practices; John Hull, a silversmith-turned-trader who helped to establish commercial networks in the West Indies; and Hugh Hall, one of New England's first slave traders. He explores how Boston ministers reconstituted their moral languages over the course of a century, from a scriptural discourse against many market practices to a providential worldview that justified England's commercial hegemony and legitimated the market as a divine construct. Valeri moves beyond simplistic readings that reduce commercial activity to secular mind-sets, and refutes the popular notion of an inherent affinity between puritanism and capitalism. He shows how changing ideas about what it meant to be pious and puritan informed the business practices of Boston's merchants, who filled their private notebooks with meditations on scripture and the natural order, founded and led churches, and inscribed spiritual reflections in their letters and diaries.
"Unprecedented in scope and rich with insights, HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE illuminates the history behind the continuing American dilemma over morality and the marketplace. -- Publisher
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE is a magisterial account of the interplay of economics and religion in early America. In place of abstract theories of 'modernization' or 'the spirit of capitalism,' Valeri engages representative figures on the ground, and through their stories narrates the ways in which transformations in religious thought actually shaped a premodern market culture. Students of early American religion, economics, and imperialism will have to consult this seminal work." -- Harry S. Stout, Yale University
*Von Mises, Ludwig, Liberty and Property, ISBN: 9781579703783 157970378X.
"Originally delivered as a lecture at Princeton University, October 1958, at the 9th meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society." Includes bibliographical references.
*Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: The Relationship Between Religion and the Economic and Social Life of Modern Culture, ISBN: 0024248606 9780024248602.
*Witsius, Herman (1636-1708), The Economy of the Covenants. Alternate title: THE OECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, COMPREHENDING A COMPLETE BODY OF DIVINITY. BY HERMAN WITSIUS, . . . FAITHFULLY TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN, AND CAREFULLY REVISED, BY WILLIAM CROOKSHANK, D.D. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. . . Vol. 1. Dublin, 1774, 3 Vols., ISBN: 0875528708. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27. A Christian classic.
Witsius is considered to be the father of Covenant Theology.
"Witsius (1636-1708), was a Dutch theologian, professor of Divinity at the Universities of Frankes, Utrecht, and Leyden. . . . In the very full introduction by J.I. Packer, you can get a very good overview. And at the same time you will get a succinct but amazingly appropriate overview of the scriptural covenants. . . . Packer compares Witsius to John Owen as a thorough, meticulous scholar who thought through everything before he set his pen to paper. It was this reviewer's blessing to obtain a set of Witsius in his early Christian life, and can testify to much help from them." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Witsius, Herman, The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man: Comprehending a Complete Body of Divinity (1837)
http://archive.org/details/MN41373ucmf_5
Witsius, Herman, Of Election from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_election.html
Witsius, Herman, Of Justification, from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_justification.html
Witsius, Herman, Of the Violation of the Covenant of Works on the Part of Man from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_violation_of_the_Covenant_of_Works.html
Woodiwiss, Michael, Gangster Capitalism: The United States and the Globalization of Organized Crime, ISBN: 0786716711 9780786716715.
"Everyone knows what organized crime is. Each year dozens of feature films, hundreds of books, and thousands of news stories explain to an eager public that organized crime is what gangsters do. Closely knit, ethnically distinct, and ruthlessly efficient, these mafias control the drugs trade, people trafficking and other serious crimes. If only states would take the threat seriously and recognize the global nature of modern organized crime, the FBI's success against the Italian mafia could be replicated throughout the world. The wicked trade in addictive drugs could be brought to a halt.
"The trouble is, as Woodiwiss demonstrates in shocking and surprising detail, what everyone knows about organized crime is pretty much completely wrong. In reality the most important figures in organized crime are employees of multinational companies, politicians and bureaucrats. Gangsters are certainly a problem, but much of their strength comes from attempts to prohibit the market for certain drugs. Even here they are minor players when compared with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies that selectively enforce prohibition and profit from it. Woodiwiss shows how respectable businessmen and revered statesmen have seized these opportunities in an orgy of fraud and illegal violence." -- Reader's Comment
Woodiwiss, Michael, The Return of Gangster Capitalism: The Global Rise of Organised Crime, ISBN: 9780745332024 0745332021.
See also: State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Gambling, The banking system, The federal reserve, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Church and state, Treason and impeachment, The sabbath, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, The banking system, Meltdown 2008, the greatest depression in history, Personal finance, Greed, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Stress, The workplace, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 557-608
Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=819021843
*The Fed, Fiat Currency, and Feckless Keynesian Economics, Steven T. Matthews
The creation of the Fed [The Federal Reserve -- compiler], is "the most tragic blunder ever committed by Congress. The day it [the Federal Reserve Act of 1913] was passed, old America died and a new era began. A new institution was born that was to cause, or greatly contribute to, the unprecedented economic instability in the decades to come." -- Hans F. Sennholz in Money and Freedom, quoted in End the Fed, p. 23
The Fed, Fiat Currency, and Feckless Keynesian Economics, Steven T. Matthews
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=316
The Impact of Judicial Reforms on Economic Activity in Texas by The Perryman Group
http://www.cse.org/informed/867.html
Inheritance and Dominion -- Deuteronomy, by Gary North
Gary North, Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
See there additional e-books on Christian Economics by Gary North and others
Judicial Reform has Economic Benefits
http://freedom.gov/news/releases/judicial.asp
LewRockwell.com
http://www.lewrockwell.com/
The Puritan Political Heritage
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Puritan Heritage, 47 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=922039503
Theft: Commentary and Cases of Conscience. A Listing Excerpted From The Institutes of Biblical Law by Rousas John Rushdoony, 1973 edition
http://www.lettermen2.com/theft.html
The Trinity Foundation
http://trinityfoundation.org/
Thomas Chalmers Page
http://www.newble.co.uk/chalmers/
Three New Testament Roots of Economic Liberty by Howard Ahmanson
http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/97jan_feb/ahmanson.html
What's Wrong With Multi-level Marketing?
http://www.vandruff.com/mlm.html
See the Theological Notes: "The Image of God," at Genesis 1:27 in The Reformation Study Bible.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)See the Theological Notes: "Christian Liberty," at Galatians 5:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:31,32)If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:36)
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. (Titus 2:11, 12)
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1:2, 3)
"The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace." Carrying this to a logical conclusion, the honest must seriously questions the validity of a secular government, which enforces the separation of Church and State, and which is utterly intolerant of the Christian Ethic. The secularist's promise to deliver true freedom becomes a colossal modern myth, obviously intended to enslave and exploit a nation's people and their wealth. But the matter cannot be summed up in briefer form than in the eighth chapter of the book ON REBUKE AND GRACE TO VALENTINUS [available in the Anti-Pelagian Writings.] There Augustine first teaches: the human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace; when the feeling of delight has been imparted through the same grace, the human will is formed to endure; it is strengthened with unconquerable fortitude; controlled by grace, it never will perish, but, if grace forsake it, it will straightway fall; by the Lord's free mercy it is converted to good, and once converted it perseveres in good; the direction of the human will toward good, and after direction its continuation in good, depend solely upon God's will, not upon any merit of man. Thus there is left to man such free will, if we please so to call it, as he elsewhere describes: that except through grace the will can neither be converted to God nor abide in God; and whatever it can do it is able to do only through grace.(38), (38. Passages from Augustine quoted or alluded to in sec. 14 are: On Grace and Free Will xx. 41 (MPL 44. 905; tr. NPNF V. 461); On the Spirit and the Letter xxx. 52 (MPL 44. 333; tr. NPNF V. 106); Letters ccxvii. 5. 16 (MPL 33. 984 f.; tr. FC 32. 86); Sermons clxxvi. 5, 6 (MPL 38. 952 f.; tr. LF Sermons II. 907 f.); On Rebuke and Grace viii. 17 (MPL 44. 926; tr. NPNF V. 478); Letters ccxiv. 7 (MPL 33. 970; tr. FC 32. 61 f.) -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, Chapter III, Section 14. "Augustine does not eliminate man's will, but makes it wholly dependent upon grace"
There is an evident connection between absolute truth, life, moral behavior, freedom (political, economic, and individual), and social stability.
A religious doctrine involves practical consequences so important, and its effects upon individual and social life are so infallible and so profound, that it can never be contemplated with indifference by the mass of society, and much less by their rulers. We pray you to observe, amongst other things, that the stronger the feeling of dependence to which religion reduces the individual, the more she invests him, on the other hand, with a lofty independence. All religion is freedom. By introducing us into the service of one master, she emancipates us from the dominion of all others. If she does not altogether do away with dependencies of another order, she transforms them from absolute into relative ones. We still belong to society, we are perhaps linked to it by closer ties than before; but it is in a mediate manner, for man cannot serve two masters. It is this independence which exasperates the rulers of this world, and indeed, for the most part, all those who do not share in it. It is this sacred retreat of liberty which they would invade -- this freedom, of which they would deprive us; as if the numerous sacrifices which from time to time liberty has made for the common weal were insufficient, as if it were not enough, or rather as if it were nothing, for us to have devoted all our bodily powers and all our worldly goods to the service of society, so long as this offering is not completed by the sacrifice of the soul. It is spiritual domination, dominion over the soul, of which despotism, whether of princes or of the people, is especially desirous. Thus, when a tyrant has bereft a nation of all its liberties, until throughout the realm his will has become law, his ambition having nothing else wherewith to satiate its appetite, directs itself against religion. Thenceforward, having subjugated the bodies of men, he directs his attacks against their souls. It is because he cannot but be sensible that dominion over souls -- what do you say? -- over one single soul, is as much superior to that over bodies, as the soul itself is superior to its envelope of clay. He cannot endure the humiliation of knowing that there is a sphere in which the most obscure man, by the force of sympathy alone, wields a greater power than his own. A deep-rooted and bitter feeling of envy takes possession of him; he can enjoy no more repose, until moral force shall have yielded to the pressure of physical force -- until the second Mordecai shall have bowed down to this second Haman -- until the soul, by dethroning itself, shall have delivered him from this odious rivalry. And should he encounter in this enterprise an unlooked-for resistance, his impatience becomes fury, and he destroys those whom he cannot subdue. This has been the origin of many religious persecutions, and it discloses the secret motives of those atrocities by which some have been distinguished.
It does not follow, however, that all the evils with which the world has been inundated in the name of religion, are to be referred to this cause alone. They have originated in that preeminently just idea, that religion gives the true signification of every man, and of the whole of society; that there is nothing more deeply seated in us, nothing which more decisively determines what we are; and that to declare what we believe, is at the same time, and as a matter of necessity, to declare what we wish to be. The influence of a lordly spirit apart, it is not astonishing that the social power has everywhere, more or less, attempted to regulate the faith of the citizens and the instructions of the priesthood. Nor is it surprising that the priesthood, in aid of the state, have themselves attempted to dictate in a matter of this importance. For the suppression of this evil, the assistance of ages has been necessary, and this has not proved sufficient; the veto of public opinion has been also needed. Perhaps in certain countries something further has been required -- the progress of religious indifference. But nowhere is the fire extinguished, because nowhere is man changed; he will never witness unmoved, the energetic manifestation of religious principle; he may be indulgent to philosophical religions, or to religious philosophy, which penetrates not to the very sources of will and of action; but he will be, with his own full knowledge and consent, severe upon genuine faith. And why? because man possessing genuine faith, rises to his highest elevation; an elevation to which it is necessary that others should rise also, not indeed to rule over him (for this is impossible), but to treat with him, and to be at peace together. This is the true position and individuality of each renewed man, and everything is put in requisition to annul, subdue, and modify it.
We dwell no longer upon these different attempts, but return to the principle. We find that in the judgment of the community, the religious conviction of a man moulds his character, estimates his worth, and foretells his life. It is the invisible source of many efforts, and often of much violence. Well, then, we infer [sic] unhesitatingly, that the faith of a member of society cannot remain either a mystery or a matter of doubt to those who surround him. If, as we have sought to establish a former part of this work, the spiritual unity of society, its reality in the elevated sense of that word, depends on the mutual interchange of sentiments; and if that individual only can be said to belong to the community, with whose character she is acquainted, it must be especially in the sphere of religious convictions that this truth is apparent; we may even go further, and say, that although we might keep our sentiments on other subjects to ourselves, those that we entertain respecting religion could not be concealed. For our religious convictions imbue us so thoroughly and practically, that society knows not what she possesses in us, except as she knows what we are with respect to God.
This fact is more conspicuous, we admit, with reference to the Christian religion than to any other. In comparison with it, all other systems of faith are superficial; and we may remark in passing, that this is the reason why Christianity has drawn upon itself, and even excited among its followers, more intolerance than any other religion. The experimental character of its doctrines, coming in contact with the diverse passions of the human heart, has enkindled in the midst of society an active and devouring flame; and its profession has occasioned a host of outrages and calamities. Christianity is radical in the highest degree; radical in morals. It uproots one life, it implants another. Of all religions, it alone is in direct hostility with human nature in its fallen condition, as it is also the only religion which coincides with that same nature in all that sin has not polluted; at once the most human, and the least human of all systems; appearing to grant us everything, and to refuse us everything, but, in reality, granting everything to humanity, and refusing everything to sin. No religion consequently so effectually reforms the moral being; in such a manner, that the complexion of our life and conduct depends on whether we are or are not Christians, and upon what sort of Christians we are.
We should find it impracticable to attempt to distinguish between the doctrines of Christianity and its morals; between what is called its natural and universal morality, and its peculiar and arbitrary doctrines. Christian doctrine is morality -- Christian morality; to wish to distinguish between the two is to desire to divide a stream from its source. Christian doctrine is no sooner received than it regulates the conduct; the character of God becomes a model for man; what God is, man ought to be; and inasmuch as God in the Scriptures is invested with attributes which belong not to human nature, so also man, by means of the Gospel, is invested with a character which nature had not impressed upon him; it makes him a new man in every sense of the term: a man peculiar and extraordinary in the eyes of nature, but in every case a man, who, by the judgment of that very nature, is approved and esteemed. To declare our opinion upon Christian doctrine avails much; it is in fact to profess certain principle of conduct, and to attach ourselves to one or another system of morality; it is to reveal our inward man, to publish the operations of conscience; it is to give the standard of our judgments, and the rule of our actions.
We do well to avow it: whenever we revert to the considerations which most forcibly recommend a duty, we revert to the greatest difficulties in the way of its accomplishment; indeed, in most cases, to point out the motive, is to recognize the difficulty. In the present case, for example, nothing can render candour more difficult than that which enforces its obligation. It is just because such a religious doctrine, of necessity involves such a principle of morality, and such a rule of conduct; it is precisely because it is a disclosure of inward man, that so many persons are averse to declare to what doctrine they adhere. And it is sometimes because their opinion condemns them, sometimes because it elevates them, not so much in itself as in the characteristics and practical consequences with which public opinion has invested it. It is painful to excite repugnance or aversion, and it is sometimes still more painful to excite expectations which we feel but too conscious we cannot fulfill. If it were not so, why should we make a secret of our religious opinions, when we are at no pains to conceal any other? Why, when we are open and unreserved upon all the rest, should we not allow free expression to our thoughts upon this, the noblest of subjects? Why should communications of this nature be so generally regarded as the acme of candour and the pledge of intimacy? Why is there no real union, no true communion of soul, until both parties have expressed what they think, and above all, what they feel upon invisible and infinite subjects? Why do beings long united by the closest ties of affection, as soon as spiritual communion is formed between them, discover with surprise, that up to that period they had really never known, understood, or loved each other? -- that, as Montaigne expresses it, there was wanting to their friendship 'a certain inexplicable, yet essential power, the mediatrix of that union;' or that (as is really the fact), 'God is the true medium of true friendship?' All such instance go to confirm the truth of what we have said. A great effect supposes a powerful force -- a powerful force is employed only against a formidable resistance, and a formidable resistance has no place but in opposition to an urgent necessity. Here the necessity is a moral one -- it is a duty; an evident, and urgent, but a painful duty; for the consequences, even limiting them to their narrowest range, and considering none but those which are developed in the bosom of private relations, these consequences are, it must be confessed, of a startling character.
Nevertheless, if regarded only in the light of morality and natural reason, this candour, which appears so difficult and dangerous, would be found to possess real advantages, whilst reserve would have none but what are false and deceptive. Candour would break the ice which dissimulation thickens and consolidates from day to day; it would procure a more lasting peace; it would put the seal to confidence and friendship. You dread a storm: any storm would be preferable to the dead calm in which you live, -- a calm without peace and without security; for since no one can suppose that you are altogether destitute of religious prepossessions, that you have not some inward conviction to disclose, it will become a matter either of dread or of desire that you should disclose it. This very feeling of anxiety will be an evil in your social relations; if your connexions are desirous of it, when you are averse to making it, their importunity will disturb your peace; on the contrary, if they are averse to its manifestation, when you yourself desire it, they will avoid your company; there will of necessity be in your social relations something painful, constrained, and, in the end, insupportable. If they neither desire nor fear it, it must be because they are not acquainted with your character, and have no desire to become so, because they are not solicitous about your most important interests -- in other words, because they do not love you. And as between a mind occupied with spiritual things and one that is not, there is a wide gulf fixed, as true intimacy between two persons so different is altogether impossible, it is the duty of the more serious of the two, to sound the mind of his friend by disclosing his own, to provide a declaration by declaring himself. Every connexion founded upon a voluntary and designedly prolonged misunderstanding, every factitious union between minds pursuing directly opposite courses, is contrary to human dignity. . . . -- Alexander Vinet (1797-1847), and Charles Theodore Jones (translator), An Essay on the Profession of Personal Religious Conviction, pp. 73-81, and Vinet on FreedomJesus alone gives true freedom.
It is true that Christianity, as over against certain social tendencies of the present day, insists upon rights of the individual souls. We do not deny the fact; on the contrary we glory in it. Christianity, if it be true Christianity, must place itself squarely in opposition to the soul-killing collectivism which is threatening to dominate our social life; it must provide the individual soul with a secret place of refuge from the tyranny of psychological experts; it must fight the great battle for the liberty of the children of God. The rapidly regressing liberty is one of the most striking phenomena of recent years . . . If liberty is to be preserved against the materialistic paternalism of the modern state, there must be something more than courts and legal guarantees; freedom must be written not merely in the constitution but in the people's heart. And it can be written in the heart, we believe, only as a result of the redeeming work of Christ. -- J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937)
Christians in their unregenerate state, walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). The ungodly are the slaves of Satan. Said our Lord to the Pharisees, Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do (John 8:44). Men are taken captive by him (the Devil) at his will (2 Timothy 2:26).
Now the Gospel is God's appointed agency for delivering men from their awful bondage to the Devil. When the Lord commissioned the apostle Paul to go unto the Gentiles, He sent him to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18). Christians are a people who have been delivered from the Power of darkness (Satan) and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Colossians 1:13). -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), Christian LibertyThe roots of liberty and limited government are in the Protestant Reformation. We believe the key to the maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish covenanting struggle. -- James A. Dodson
Hold fast to the Bible as the anchor of your liberty. Write its precepts in your heart, and practice them in your lives. -- Ulysses S. Grant
Christian fellowship should be characterized by spontaneity and freedom.
Acton, John, E. (1834-1902), The History of Freedom and Other Essays, ISBN: 1596052244 9781596052246.
*Anderson, James N.D., Morality, Law and Grace, ISBN: 0877845468 9780877845461.
"Faces the pressing problems of the present day and provides perceptive counsel and sane solutions to the moral confusion of our contemporary society. Also underscores the relevancy of the Christian message, the uniqueness of its ethic, and the richness of its liberty. An admirable blending of scientific logic, legal expertise, and Biblical knowledge." -- Cyril J. Barber
Augustine (of Hippo), Benjamin Breckridge Warfield, Peter Holmes, and Philip Schaff, Anti-Pelagian Writings, ISBN: 1565630998 9781565630994.
"The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace." -- John Calvin summarizing the teaching of Augustine
Barrett, C.K., Freedom and Obligation: A Study of the Epistle to the Galatians, ISBN: 0664246621 9780664246624.
"Writing clearly and succinctly, Barrett argues that Galatians stands at the heart of the New Testament. He introduces Paul's method of theological reflection and analyzes the dispute about freedom within the early church. . . . ." -- CBD
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
*Blumenfeld, Samuel, Is Public Education Necessary? ISBN: 0815958269 9780815958260.
"This book tells, for the first time, the story of how and why Americans gave up educational freedom so early in their history for the imagined benefits of state-controlled education. The author delves into a wealth of original sources to reveal how a comparative handful of secularists, who were more concerned with destroying religion than with freeing man, spearheaded the drive toward public education. Centered at Harvard, this nineteenth-century liberal elite worked tirelessly -- and successfully -- to put America on the road to educational statism. By exploring the very roots of the system, this book provides the missing link in our educational history." -- Publisher
*Bolton (or Boulton), Samuel, and John Cameron (1579?-1625), The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, or A Treatise Wherein the Rights of the law are Vindicated, the Liberties of Grace Maintained, and Severall Late Opinions Against the Law are Examined and Confuted. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Samuel Boulton was one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. He 'expounds the nature of Christian liberty and then clearly sets the bounds of that liberty. . . '." -- Publisher
*Bonar, Horatius (1808-1889), The Everlasting Righteousness, or How Shall man be Just With God? A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language.
"First published in 1874, THE EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS, may be the best book on the doctrine of justification by faith alone ever written.
"Since the seventeenth century, the church's adherence to the central doctrine of the Christian faith has been weakening; in the twentieth century it has all but disappeared. But to those who remain faithful -- to those who are called of God -- justification by faith alone is the best news there could ever be: that Christ died for our sins, and we shall live forever because of Christ's righteousness.
"Justification by faith alone -- the 'principal hinge of religion,' according to John Calvin, the 'doctrine by which the church stands or falls,' according to Martin Luther -- is salvation. Without it, all hope is lost; with it, Heaven gained. Bonar's discussion is without equal in the English language." -- John W. Robbins
The Everlasting Righteousness, Horatius Bonar
http://books.google.com/books?id=nQMDAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
*Bonar, Horatius (1808-1889), Free-will A Christian classic.
*Brown, John (of Edinburgh, 1784-1858), Exposition of Galatians. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS, by the Rev. Dr. Brown, is a work of deep piety, vast learning, unwearied industry, and sound judgment. The author 'has endeavoured to make this exposition at once a readable book for intelligent Christians, though unacquainted with the sacred languages, and a satisfactory statement of the facts and principles on which the exegesis is based, to critical students of the New Testament'." -- William Pringle, translator of Calvin's Commentary on Galatians
"His discussion of the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh is very useful. And his discourse on faith, and the duties and responsibilities of those who have the faith that works by love is penetrating and inspiring. This does not duplicate Luther. Brown has original ideas you can use." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"A refreshing treatment of Paul's letter that has been called the Charter of Christian Liberty. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Brutus, Junius (attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623] and sometimes to Hubert Languet [1518-1581]), A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, ISBN: 0921148453. Alternate title: VINDICIAE, CONTRA TYRANNOS: OR, CONCERNING THE LEGITIMATE POWER OF A PRINCE OVER THE PEOPLE, AND OF THE PEOPLE OVER A PRINCE, Hubert Languet (author) [also attributed to Stephanus Junius Brutus a pseudonym for Philippe Duplessis-Mornay], George Garnett (editor), ISBN: 0521342090 9780521342094. This [ISBN: 0921148453] is a reprint of a 1689 edition of this work, which was originally written in 1579. A Christian classic. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"Piety commands that the law and church of God be maintained. Justice requires that tyrants and destroyers of the commonwealth be compelled to reason. Charity challenges the right of relieving and restoring the oppressed. Those who make no account of these things do as much as in them lies to drive piety, justice, and charity out of this world, that they may never more be heard of." -- Junius Brutus
"John Adams held this book to be one of the most influential books in America on the eve of the Revolution. This 'defense' manual will help equip you for the battle." -- Publisher
"This book was even more influential than Thomas Payne's COMMON SENSE, in molding the American mind and preparing it for the war for independence. Much of our Declaration of Independence reflects its wisdom and thought. Written by a French Huguenot to give Biblical and civil justification for fighting against a government that was illegally killing it own people during the religious wars on France between the 1540s and late 1700. A must reading for those who want to understand religious and political history of Europe, or want to better understand the Biblical justification sought by our own founding fathers in their fight for independence. A must read!" -- Reader's Comment
Vidiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, by Junius Brutus, attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623]
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae.htm
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0664220207 9780664220204. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. A Christian classic.
"Edited by John McNeill and translated by Ford Lewis Battles, this is the definitive English language edition of one of the monumental works of the Christian church -- Calvin's INSTITUTES.
"Still considered by many to be the finest explanation and defense of the Protestant Reformation available.
"The work is divided into four books: I. The Knowledge of God the Creator, II. The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, III. The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ, IV. The External Means or Helps by Which God Allures us Into Fellowship With Christ and Keeps us in it. . . . THE INSTITUTES is praised by the secular philosopher, Will Durant, as one of the ten books that shook the world." -- GCB
Calvin spent a lifetime writing and perfecting INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. His Prefatory Address makes it clear that he intended the work to be a defense of Christianity to the King of France.
Therefore, plainly stated, one of the most influential works ever published in the English language is a defense of Christianity to leaders of State.
Prefatory Address to His Most Christian Majesty, The Most Mighty and Illustrious Monarch, Francis, King of the French, His Sovereign, John Calvin. Available in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
"Indeed, this consideration makes a true king: to recognize himself a minister of God in governing his kingdom. Now, that king, who in ruling over his realm does not serve God's glory, exercises not kingly rule but brigandage. [Footnote: 'Nec iam regnum ille sed latrocinium exercet.' An echo of Augustine's famous phrase: 'When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms [[regna]] but a vast banditry [[magna latocinia]]?' City of God, IV. iv (MPL [[Migne, J.P., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina]], 41. 115; tr. NPNF [[A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series]], II. 66)]. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God's scepter, that is, his Holy Word; for the heavenly oracle that proclaims that where prophecy fails the people are scattered [Prov. 29:18 (Proverbs 29:18)], cannot lie." (Battles translation)
"The characteristic of a true sovereign is, to acknowledge that, in the administration of his kingdom, he is a minister of God. He who does not make his reign subservient to the divine glory, acts the part not of a king, but a robber. He, moreover, deceives himself who anticipates long prosperity to any kingdom which is not ruled by the sceptre of God, that is, by his divine word. For the heavenly oracle is infallible which has declared, that where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18), (Beveridge translation)."
See the entire Prefatory Address, Beveridge translation. Considered to be one of the greatest prefaces ever written.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.ii.viii.html
"The doctrines of covenant liberty were rediscovered in the Reformation. John Calvin went further than anyone else in defining liberty and what Christians need to do to maintain it. Includes bibliographies."
It is recommended that INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION be used for daily devotions and may be used in combination with Ford Lewis Battles and John Walchenbach, AN ANALYSIS OF THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION OF JOHN CALVIN and with CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES.
Calvin's Commentaries at BibleStudyGuide.org
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_index.htm
Calvin's Commentaries, complete
From the Calvin Translation Society edition.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/commentaries.i.html
One Hundred Aphorisms, Containing, Within a Narrow Compass, the Substance and Order of the Four Books of The Institutes of the Christian Religion
http://www.lettermen2.com/pringle.html
Contents and Chapter Sections for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559 (McNeill/Battles)
http://www.lettermen2.com/icrcont.html
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 1
http://archive.org/details/instituteschrist01calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 2
http://archive.org/details/institutesofreli02calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Beveridge translation
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.vii.html
Monergism: Commentaries
From Mongergism.com search "commentaries."
http://www.monergism.com
*Cole, Franklin P., (introductory essay and biographical sketches), They Preached Liberty, ISBN: 0913966169 9780913966167.
"An anthology of timely quotations from New England ministers of the American Revolution on the subject of liberty: its source, nature, obligations, types, and blessings." -- Publisher
Diekema, Anthony J., Academic Freedom and Christian Scholarship, ISBN: 0802847560.
"This book reflects on the scholarly literature on academic freedom and the personal experience of an educator with 20 years experience as a college president. The book offers a balanced approach which develops a working definition of academic freedom, assesses the threats it faces, acknowledges the significance of academic freedom, and explores educational policy implications for Christian colleges. The chapters are: (1) Introduction; (2) The Search for Definition; (3) Threats to Academic Freedom; (4) Academic Freedom in the Context of Worldview; (5) Policy Development in the Christian College: Modest Proposals; and (6) Reflections: Toward an Ethos of Freedom. An appendix contains the expanded mission statement for Calvin College (contains 254 references)." -- Publisher
*Dillenberger, John (editor), Martin Luther: Selections From his Writings, ISBN: 0385098766 9780385098762. A Christian classic.
"The development of Martin Luther's thought was both a symptom and moving force in the transformation of the Middle Ages into the modern world. Geographical discovery, an emerging scientific tradition, and a climate of social change had splintered the unity of medieval Christian culture, and these changes provided the background for Luther's theological challenge. His new apprehension of Scripture and fresh understanding of man's relation to God demanded a break with the Church as then constituted and released the powerful impulses that carried the Reformation. Luther's vigorous, colorful language still retains the excitement it had for thousands of his contemporaries. In this volume, Dr. Dillenberger has made a representative selection from Luther's extensive writings, and has also provided the reader with a lucid introduction to his thought." -- Publisher
See: "Martin Luther's Treatise on Christian Liberty" (The Freedom of the Christian).
"If one were to single out one short document representing the content and spirit of Luther's faith 'The Freedom of the Christian' would undoubtedly be at the top." -- John Dillenberger
Downame, George, The Christian's Freedom: Wherein is Fully Expressed the Doctrine of Christian Liberty, ISBN: 1877611751 9781877611759.
*Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), An Inquiry Into the Modern Prevailing Notions of That Freedom of the Will: Which is Supposed to be Essential to Moral Agency, Virtue and Vice, Reward and Punishment, Praise and Blame. A Christian classic.
"Contains a detailed inquiry into the prevailing theory regarding the freedom of the will and human determinism. First published in 1754." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Finley, Martha (1828-1909), The Elsie Books 28-book series (Bulverde, TX: Mantle Ministries; Elkton, MD: Holly Hall Publications, and various other publishers).
Originally written in the late 1800's for girls and young women, the Elsie Dinsmore books were bestsellers for over thirty years. When we are introduced to Elsie in the first book she is a sweet and humble eight-year-old whose great desire in life is to be reunited with her father, whom she has never met. Her faith and her obedience to God's commandments uphold her in the great troubles she often faces, and the drama to which we are spectators is as timely for today's girls as it was for the young ladies of the 19th century. A new edition of one of GCB's bestsellers, the series offers Christian values and character building examples through stories that are compelling, heartwarming, and enduring. Ages 10 and up." -- GCB
"The Elsie Books -- 28 in all -- are some of the most widely read children's stories ever written. When they first came out more than a hundred years ago, the publisher could scarcely keep them in stock. . ." -- Publisher
"Altogether Miss Finley's novels sold more than 28,000,000 copies in the last century. This made them among the bestselling novels of all time. . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
*Book 1: Elsie Dinsmore, ISBN: 158182064X 9781581820645. (Bulverde, TX: Mantle Ministries), ISBN: 1888306319.
"Set amid the sweet blossoms of a southern mansion, this timeless classic delves into the heart of Elsie -- by all counts, an extraordinary little girl. Share in Elsie's quest for love from her earthly father as it leads to a mature understanding of the love of her Father in Heaven. Join Elsie as she suffers through endless hours of scrutiny from Miss Day, her mean-spirited school teacher, taunting from her mischievous young Uncle Arthur, and scoldings from a cold-hearted father she so desires to please -- all with the peace and quiet countenance that comes from knowing she is God's child. This, the first of the heart-warming Elsie Books, will both challenge and inspire you." -- Publisher
Elsie Dinsmore: Book 1, Martha Finley
http://www.hshangout.com/elsie.html
*Book 2: Elsie's Holidays at Roselands, ISBN: 9781888306323 1888306327.
"When Elsie's father becomes ill, she takes on the job of nurse-companion, and all goes well until Elsie, because it is the Sabbath, as a matter of conscience refuses to read to him from a secular book. The battle of wills that ensues nearly causes first her father's death, and then Elsie's. Lonely Elsie -- punished, ostracized, and then abandoned by her father -- turns to her heavenly Father for comfort and assurance. Will her father realize that Elsie's obedience to God must be paramount, and submit himself to the same Divine Authority?" -- Publisher
On an even more serious note, one moral of this story is the broader life and death struggle between Truth and Falsehood (See: Absolute truth and relativism [duality and non-duality], Epistemology of theology, the theory of knowledge, and Christian scholarship.) The consequence of conflict of will is death of the "One," or war of the "Many" (see Rushdoony, THE ONE AND THE MANY: STUDIES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF ORDER AND ULTIMACY. Conflict of will (see Will and recalcitrance, Rebellion and lawlessness: wickedness, demonic possession, abnormal behavior, insanity, mental illness, mental retardation,) may begin when one individual (see The doctrine of man [human nature, total depravity],) or the corporate body (see Corporate faithfulness and sanctification), tries to usurping authority over others (see Power, Authority) -- tries to control and possess the other (see Tyranny, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement.) The means of control may be either outward or occult (see The occult, spiritism, witchcraft), deceit, repression or suppression of the truth, replacing moral and ethical absolutes with relativism (see Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Medical ethics, Absolute truth and relativism [duality and non-duality], unfaithfulness to the highest ethical standards (see The ten commandments: the moral law, The holy bible), Heresy and apostasy (apostacy, old english), Spiritual adultery [spiritual whoredom/harlotry,] (see Idolatry, syncretism, Jeremiah and lamentations,) invocation of the demonic, Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly Carnality and flesh pleasing: desires, pleasure, Justice, judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord,) attempts to take authority over another politically or by mental malpractice (see Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, making up their own rules (see Absolute truth and relativism [duality and non-duality],) ignoring or changing constitutional or creedal documents, unjust laws for the accumulation of wealth and power, indebtedness, disenfranchisement, (see denial of freedom,) Priestcraft, pharisaism, soul-stealing, possessiveness, physical seduction and whoredom, political economic or sexual enslavement (see Sexual relationship,) and so forth, and so on.
This abuse, this soul-violence, quenches the Holy Spirit (see Owen, God's Presence With a People the Spring of Their Prosperity; With Their Special Interest in Abiding in Him.) If either side is immovable, then death is the consequence (see Soteriology, atonement, The blood of christ, Hell, and Heaven.)
How are conflicts of will resolved? By submission to the Absolute Truths of God's word, the great common denominator, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
All this bears a strain of the Gospel (see Book-length presentations of the free offer of the gospel message of salvation and the life to come: the means of grace, The westminster confession of faith.)
Book 2: Holidays at Roselands
http://archive.org/details/holidaysatrosel00finlgoog
Holidays at Roselands (Gutenberg text)
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=14280
Mantle Ministries (Elsie Dinsmore Series and Mildred Series)
http://www.mantlemin.com
Fiske, John, The Beginnings of New England, or, the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty, 1902, ISBN: 0781228492.
*Ganz, Richard, You Shall be Free Indeed!: The Statutes of Liberty for Godly Living, ISBN: 1895019001 9781895019001.
"Shows how to have the freedom Christ gives. Rings the changes on 'freedom:' true vs. false, internal and external, from the expectations of others, to fail or succeed, to change, from self-love, to love, from legalistic holiness, for gospel holiness." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"Drawing from his experience as a nouthetic counselor and pastor, Ganz shows how Christians can have the freedom that Christ gives his people. Jay Adams says: 'This is one of the most encouraging and helpful books I have read in a long time'." -- GCB
Girardeau, John L., Individual Liberty and Church Authority: A Sermon Preached at Westminster Church, Charleston, Thursday Night, April 11, 1889, During the Sessions of Charleston Presbytery.
*Hall, David W., and David J. Vaughan, A Heart Promptly Offered: The Revolutionary Leadership of John Calvin, ISBN: 9781581825053 1581825056.
"Few today realize the extent to which John Calvin, the great Genevan reformer, and his work have shaped modern culture. Few know that it was John Calvin who pioneered the effort to decentralize government by calling for checks and balances against the rule of the few or the king. Equally unknown are his efforts to establish a productive social safety net for immigrants, create educational models that were far ahead of his time, and instill a sense of self-worth in all citizens (regardless of their occupations or class). He was also known for his support of free markets, the rise of private enterprise, and the advancement of publishing and knowledge beyond its medieval confines. The result of his efforts was an explosion of culture and liberty, a story that often is lost or ignored in the rush to offer criticism of the man. A HEART PROMPTLY OFFERED presents the basic story of Calvin's life, along with numerous excerpts from his own pen -- writings from his letters, commentaries, and sermons. In addition to summarizing the main topics of CALVIN'S INSTITUTES, it lays out his ground-breaking political theory." -- Publisher
Hopkins, Evan H., The Law of Liberty in the Spiritual Life, ISBN: 0875082734.
James, Charles F., Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia Including the Essay "The Presbyterian Church and Religious Liberty in Virginia," by William Wirt Henry, ISBN: 0306719770 9780306719776.
Reprinted in conjunction with the 400 year celebration of the founding of Virginia and the settlement of Jamestown (1607-2007).
"Both the book and essay were originally printed in the same year -- 1900. The timely importance of this reprint is based on the fact that the religious liberty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution was born in the struggle for religious liberty in Virginia. This volume deals with Virginia Baptists and their great suffering for religious or soul liberty. By this is meant the natural and inalienable right of every soul to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and that religion is, and must be, a voluntary service; and that no earthly power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, has any right to compel conformity to any creed or to any species of worship, or to tax a man for its support. The author, Charles James, became a convert to Christ and the Baptist faith during the War Between the States in 1864. From his memoriam, he was a soldier of the Confederacy, a soldier of the Cross, a patriot, loyal friend, devout Christian, diligent student, accurate scholar, able minister, and a skilled educator. He began serious research on this volume around 1883, never stopping his research until this volume was published with his own funds through J.P. Bell in 1900, only two years before his death." -- Publisher
James, Charles F., and William Wirt Henry, Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia. Alternate title: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN VIRGINIA, ISBN: 9781594421549 1594421544.
Lim, Paul Chang-Ha, In Pursuit of Purity, Unity, and Liberty: Richard Baxter's Puritan Ecclesiology in its Seventeenth-century Context, ISBN: 1429408065 9781429408066 9789004138124 9004138129.
"Richard Baxter's ecclesiology will be the focus of this study. Baxter (1615-1691) lived through the British Civil Wars, the Regicide, the Interregnum, the restoration of monarchy and episcopacy in 1660, subsequent ejection of numerous Puritan pastors, and the Glorious Revolution of 1689. His ecclesiology was formed within these multifarious contexts. Among others, three significant facets of purity, unity, and liberty are examined in detail. This book re-examines the central role of catechizing and congregational discipline in Baxter's understanding of the true church, his insistence that the purity and unity of the church are to be pursued concurrently, the self-perceived identity of English Puritans, and the question of the true church in the latter-half of the seventeenth century." -- Publisher
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), J.I. Packer (translator), and O.R. Johnston (translator), Bondage of the Will, ISBN: 0800753429 9780800753429. A Christian classic. Available (PDF and MP3) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL is fundamental to an understanding of the primary doctrines of the Reformation. In these pages, Luther gives extensive treatment to what he saw as the heart of the gospel. Free will was no academic question to Luther; the whole gospel of the Grace of God, he believed, was bound up with it and stood or fell according to the way one decided it . . . This is the greatest piece of writing that came from Luther's pen. In its vigour of language, its profound theological grasp, and the grand sweep of its exposition, it stands unsurpassed among Luther's writings." -- Publisher
"Luther recognized this book as his most important work and even said that if all his other books perished, he would hope that this one, along with his SMALL CATECHISM, would be the only ones to remain. As noted above, this is one of the most important books of the early Reformation, for it deals with what Luther saw to be the heart of the Gospel. Luther here refutes the Romish notion of 'free will' in man and upholds the absolute sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners -- as well as justification by faith alone. Luther clearly saw the issue of free will as the primary cause of his separation from Rome.
"In this book he replied to the Roman Catholic scholar, Erasmus, and his diatribe THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL. Though disagreeing with just about everything else Erasmus wrote, Luther commended Erasmus for recognizing the crux of the matter at issue between Rome and the Bible believers, the debate over 'free will.' In this regard Luther wrote,
that unlike all the rest, you alone have attacked the real issue, the essence of the matter in dispute [i.e. man's so-called free-will -- RB] . . . You and you alone saw, what was the grand hinge upon which the whole turned, and therefore you attacked the vital part at once; for which, from my heart, I thank you." 'This book is most needful at the present day,' noted Atherton in 1931, for 'the teachings of many so-called Protestants are more in accordance with the Dogmas of the Papists, or the ideas of Erasmus, than with the Principles of the Reformers; they are more in harmony with the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent than with the Protestant or Reformed Confessions of Faith.'
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Christian Liberty.
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Commentary on Galatians, English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge, ISBN: 0825431247. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"I prefer this book of Martin Luther's (except the Bible), before all the books I have ever seen, as most fit for a wounded soul." -- John Bunyan
"This is a great, historic work, and is beyond criticism on account of its great usefulness. As a comment its accuracy might be questioned; but for emphatic utterances and clear statements of the great doctrine of the Epistle it remains altogether by itself, and must be judged per se." -- C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
"The reissue of a famous series of lectures delivered at Wittenberg University in 1553." -- Cyril J. Barber
Commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther
http://archive.org/details/cu31924029294133
Luther's Commentary on Galatians, That He might deliver us from the present evil world. (Galatians 1:4 excerpt), English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge
http://www.lettermen2.com/luther2.html
Luther's Commentary on Galatians, Who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth. (Galatians 3:1 excerpt), English translation by Erasmus Middleton, B.D., edited by John Prince Fallowes, M.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge
http://www.lettermen2.com/luther1.html
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Concerning Christian Liberty, 80 pages, ISBN: 0585150281 9780585150284. A Christian classic.
"An unabridged edition, to include: LETTER OF MARTIN LUTHER TO POPE LEO X and CONCERNING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, with updated typeface." -- Publisher
*Luther, Martin (1483-1546), Rhegius Urbanus (1489-1541), and Walter, Lynne, A Frutefull and Godly Exposition and Declaracion of the Kyngdom of Christ, and of the Christen Lybertye, made vpon the wordes of the prophete Jeremye in the xxij. chapter [Jeremiah 22], with an exposycyon of the viij. Psalme [Psalm 8], intreatyng of the same matter, by the famous clerke Doctor Martyn Luther, whereunto is annexed A godly sermon, of Doctor Urbanus Regius, vpon the ix. Chapyter of Mathewe [Matthew 9] of the woman that had an issew of blood and of the rulers daughter, newly translated oute of hyghe Almayne, 1548.
Includes: "An homily or sermon of the famous doctour Urbanus Rhegius of fayth and resurrection, upon the Gospell of Mathew, in the ix. chapter [Matthew 9], of the woman, whiche was grieued with the issew of bloudde, and of the doughter of the chief ruler, which being dead Christ restored to lyfe, preached to the people of Hannouer in Sarou," with caption title. Running title reads: OF THE KYNGDOME OF CHRIST AND THE CHRISTEN LIBERTE. A TRANSLATION, BY WALTER LYNNE, OF EINE EPISTEL AUS DEM PROPHETEN JEREMIA.
*MacPherson, Hector, Scotland's Battles for Spiritual Independence, 1905.
"Ably delineates between the quest for power (ecclesiastical as well as political), and a true spirit of independence based upon Biblical principles. Describes the struggle between church and state, and lays justifiable stress upon the far-ranging effects of the battles they fought and won." -- Cyril J. Barber
McDonald, James McGowan, The Perfect law of Liberty: An Address, Delivered in Rehoboth Church, Iowa, July 4th, 1861.
Manton, Thomas (1620-1677), Liberty and Blessing in the Law of Christ. Available (WORKS OF THOMAS M'CRIE) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #5.
*Marshall, Walter (1628-1680), The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union With Christ, ISBN: 189277724X. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Reformation Heritage Books edition is a reprint of the 1954 edition set by Oliphants and includes an introduction by Joel R. Beeke. Also includes the author's famous sermon on "The Doctrine of Justification Opened and Applied."
See the WorldCat record for various foreign language editions.
Other editions:
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1597520543 9781597520546.
"This is by far the best book on the doctrine of Sanctification in print. It was originally written in the 17th century, but has been put into modern English with this edition. This book will help you better understand the Gospel and its power not only for our Justification, but our Sanctification as well." -- Reader's Comment
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1589600630 9781589600638.
"Here you will read the most closely reasoned defense of scriptural sanctification to be found anywhere. . . . Fourteen directions are given to the reader, all perfected with the aim of explaining to sincere souls what sanctification is, what it is not, and how to attain a holy walk before God. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-mystery of Sanctification, Opened, in Sundry Practical Directions: Suited Especially to the Case of Those who Labor Under the Guilt and Power of Indwelling Sin. To Which is Added a Sermon on Justification (1859)
http://archive.org/details/gospelmysteryofs02mars
McKenzie, Richard B., Bound to be Free, ISBN: 0817975519 9780817975517.
"Why is it that in the land of the free, special interests control what we eat, wear, and drive, whereas government tells us how our children will be educated and how much we will pay for life's essentials? In this book McKenzie identifies the forces destroying us bit by bit, and shows what can be done now to stop the erosion of individual and marketplace freedom before it's too late. In a daring departure, he argues that the key to each person's freedom is a business community free of government favor and interference. Only a reassertion of the principles of constitutional democracy will really speak to the people's deeply felt need to 'get the government off our backs.' This book goes beyond a tough, objective delineation of our economic malaise. It provides a hard-hitting, multifaceted program that includes a free market constitutional amendment, an enforceable way to limit the government's ability to levy taxes and print money, and a novel procedure to eliminate the control of Congress by special interests. The result is a message of hope and freedom for all Americans." -- Cyril J. Barber
Mill, John Stuart, On Liberty and Other Essays, ISBN: 019282208X 9780192822086.
*Morey, Robert, The new Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom, ISBN: 0875523625 9780875523620.
"Exposes the godless suppression of religious freedom today and presents effective ways to convert atheists to Christ. In case you have not noticed atheism/secular humanism is gaining ground. Are you grounded in what these philosophies teach? Can you refute them? Dr. Morey will show you how." -- GCB
The American Atheist Union has said this is the most dangerous book ever written about religion.
Includes bibliography.
*Price, Greg L., Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience, 3 audio files. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Demonstrates from Scripture what Christian liberty is and what it isn't. Shows why this liberty is not a license to sin or an excuse to place man's independent conscience above the word of God (a common mistake in a democratic, egalitarian, atomistic age). Samuel Rutherford battled this error in the mid-seventeenth century in his classic FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. Price not only applies these teachings to the individual, but to the church and state also; asking the question regarding the latter: 'How can a moral wrong be a civil right?' (which applies to many areas of present pagan civil juridical ineptitude -- not the least of which is the abortion holocaust). Uses the alcohol issue to show how fundamentalists and others misuse (and misunderstand), this doctrine; with a lengthy and detailed treatment of this subject defending the believer's freedom to moderately partake of alcohol." -- Publisher
Richardson, Peter, Paul's Ethic of Freedom, ISBN: 0664242618 9780664242619.
Richman, Sheldon, Richard M. Ebeling (introduction), and Walter E. Williams, Your Money or Your Life: Why we Must Abolish the Income Tax, ISBN: 0964044781 9780964044784.
"Sheldon Richman's concise and informative book, YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE, explains how the income tax is one of the greatest threats to the liberty of the American people ever devised. By making our employers surrogate federal tax collectors, most Americans don't feel the pain because they really don't know what they're losing. But even worse, as Richman points out, by having access to our paychecks, the government can tap into an almost limitless pool of money to expand its size and scope. We need to scrap the income tax and replace it with a tax on consumption." -- Reader's Comment
Consider this the essential argument of the anti-income tax movement." -- Reader's Comment
Rockwell, Llewellyn H. Jr., Speaking of Liberty, ISBN: 0945466382 9780945466383.
"Ludwig von Mises said that teaching the public was just as important as addressing scholars -- maybe more so. That is what Lew Rockwell specializes in: history and theory and analysis in defense of the free society, written in clear prose to reach a broad audience. Rockwell's new book is as pro-liberty as it is brutally critical of government. It is relentlessly forthright yet hopeful about the prospects for liberty. It is rigorous enough to withstand the enemy's closest scrutiny, and chock full of the energy and enthusiasm that will keep you reading.
"SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is a collection of speeches delivered by Rockwell over a period of ten years. The book begins with economics, and explains why Austrian economics matters, how the Federal Reserve brings on the business cycle, why we need private property and free enterprise, the unrecognized glories of the capitalist economy, and why the gold standard is still the best monetary system. Other sections deal with war, Mises and his work, other important thinkers in the libertarian tradition, and the culture and morality of liberty.
"The book is united by a set of fixed principles: the corruption of politics, the universality and immutability of the ideas of freedom, the centrality of sound money and free enterprise, the moral imperative of peace and trade, the importance of hope and tenacity in the struggle for liberty, and the need for everyone to join the intellectual fight. We all have searched for the book we could give to friends and neighbors, business associates and family members, to explain why we believe in the cause of liberty. SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is that book." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
Russell, Letty M., Human Liberation in a Feminist Perspective: A Theology, ISBN: 0664249914 9780664249915.
Includes bibliography.
Sandoz, Ellis, The Politics of Truth and Other Untimely Essays: The Crisis of Civic Consciousness, ISBN: 0826212131 9780826212139.
"THE POLITICS OF TRUTH AND OTHER UNTIMELY ESSAYS explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of personal liberty and free government and provides a trenchant analysis of the crisis of civic consciousness endangering both of them today. The book addresses a range of issues in contemporary political philosophy and constitutional theory. These are seen to be all the more urgent in importance because of the surging aspirations for liberty in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire and the post-Cold War anomaly of crisis, malaise, and disarray in free government itself in America and in other bastions of modern democracy." -- Publisher
Schaff, Philip (1819-1893), Church and State in the United States; or, The American Idea of Religious Liberty and its Practical Effects, ISBN: 0405040830 9780405040832.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture, the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
"This monograph, written during the centennial celebration of the United States Constitution, charts the historical relationship between church and state. Schaff writes from the unique position of a theologian and a historian who has lived on both sides of the Atlantic. Citing examples from Presidential addresses, court cases, and European observers such as Alexis de Tocqueville, Philip Schaff describes the genesis and growth of American Christianity and the unique historical context from which it sprang. He also outlines its historical connection with the church in Europe, and offers possibilities for the American church's future mission within this unique political climate." -- Publisher
Schaff, Church and State in the United States
https://archive.org/details/churchstateinuni00scharich
Schaff, Philip, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church, 1845, ISBN: 1177859289 9781177859288.
"Distinctly unimpressed by this peculiar current in the stream of American culture [American religious freedom -- compiler], the immigrant theologian and church-state historian Philip Schaff commented that in the United States 'every theological vagabond and peddler may drive here his bungling trade, without passport or license, and sell his false ware at pleasure'." -- Philip Schaff, The Principle of Protestantism as Related to the Present State of the Church
The social consequences of the "American Idea of Religious Liberty," can be likened to the "idea of permissiveness in child rearing" in the minds of unregenerate, indifferent parents. The result is rebellious children who have no respect for authority, and leave home early with no wisdom about how to live in a cold, cruel world, destined for self-destruction. See: Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, 'religious freedom,' and neutrality.
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
See, in particularly, the Foreword.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Schuettinger, Robert, Lord Acton: Historian of Liberty, ISBN: 0875482945 9780875482941.
Includes appendix, bibliography, and index.
Sibbes, Richard (1577-1635), Glorious Freedom, ISBN: 0851517919. Alternate title: THE EXCELLENCY OF THE GOSPEL ABOVE THE LAW, 1639. Available (THE WORKS OF RICHARD SIBBES), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich (1918-2008), One Word of Truth: The Nobel Speech on Literature 1970, ISBN: 0060139439 9780060139438. A Christian classic.
The author saw the Christian faith as "the only force capable of undertaking the spiritual healing of Russia."
Translated from the Russian by the members of the BBC Russian Service.
One Word of Truth . . .
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html
*Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr (1918-2008), A World Split Apart, his Harvard University commencement address, delivered 8 June 1978.
"It is feasible and easy everywhere to undermine administrative power and in fact it has been drastically weakened in all Western countries. The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals. It's time, in the West -- It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations. . . .
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic disease of the 20th century and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. Such as it is, however, the press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislative power, the executive, and the judiciary. And one would then like to ask: By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? In the communist East a journalist is frankly appointed as a state official. But who has granted Western journalists their power, for how long a time, and with what prerogatives?"
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm
*Swindoll, Charles, The Grace Awakening, ISBN: 9780849911880 0849911885.
"This is a book about the wonderful fact that Christianity faithfully lived will bring blessedness to our earthly existence, if we ignore the unholy 'grace-killers' among us. Jesus said, If therefore the Son shall make your free, you shall be free indeed. . . ." -- Publisher
"More and more Christians are realizing that the man-made restrictions and legalistic regulations under which they have been living have not come from the God of grace, but have been enforced by people who do not want others to be free. . . . Scarcely a day passes when I am not reminded of the need for a book emphasizing the full extent of grace, giving people permission to be free, absolutely free in Christ. Why? Because so few are!" -- Charles Swindoll
The author believes this is the most important book he has written. The message of Christian freedom is as repressed as the Gospel itself. This book will bless the hearts of the many who have never read a presentation of the message of our freedom in Christ and its wonderful practical implications for the individual, the church, and the nation. A study guide by the same name is available.
"The God of the universe has given us an amazing, revolutionary gift of grace and freedom. This freedom and grace set us apart from every other 'religion' on the face of the earth.
"In this bestselling classic, Charles Swindoll urges you not to miss living a grace-filled life. Freedom and joy -- not lists and demands and duties -- await all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. -- Publisher
*Weaver, Henry Grady, Mainspring of Human Progress.
A monograph on the history of freedom.
Includes bibliography.
Woodson, William (editor), Freedom: Heritage, Accomplishments and Prospects in Christ.
Freed-Hardeman College Lectures, 1976. Includes bibliographical references.
Zacharias, Ravi (1946-2020), The Christian Privilege, a series of five audio files [audio file].
"Do you think your life is random, or do you believe that you are unique, having been designed by a loving God?
"Why do we turn away from God when we have a better alternative? Instead, we can enjoy a rich connection with Him in the fullness of our humanity.
"Why are we here on earth? Is there some higher purpose that we might not have guessed? Our purpose on earth is completely intertwined with the One who created us.
"What is the goal of your life? Where do you expect to be 20 years from now? These are hard questions, but important ones for those who want to finish life well.
"Do you need God? There's never been a better day to find Him, especially since He wants to be found." -- Publisher
https://www.christianbook.com/the-christian-privilege-ravi-zacharias/pd/DA21164-CP?event=ESRCG
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Taxation, property, and liberty, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The one and the many, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, and so forth, and so on.
*Biblical Slavery: It's Meaning and Necessity, a sermon [audio file], by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=74101315272
Christian Liberty
"Many of the Lord's own people are being taught that legal restrictions are incompatible with true Christian liberty, and this in the face of the words of the Saviour -- teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:20)
"1. Christian liberty is deliverance from the Wrath of God. . . .
2. Christian liberty is deliverance from the Power of the Devil. . . .
3. Christian liberty is deliverance from the Bondage of Sin. . . .
4. Christian liberty is deliverance from the Authority of Man. . . .
5. Christian liberty is deliverance unto the Service of God. . . ." -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), Christian Liberty
https://www.facebook.com/ArthurPinkQuotes/posts/2263932050390059?__tn__=K-R0.g
Mantle Ministries (Elsie Dinsmore Series and Mildred Series)
http://www.mantlemin.com
The Official Flat Tax Homepage
http://flattax.house.gov/
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Classic Christian Fiction by Martha Finley
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr11ch.html#cfbmf
There is no counsel, nor prudence, nor strength against the Lord." (Proverbs 21:30)
Unless the blessing of God be present, from which alone we may expect a prosperous issue, all that we attempt will necessarily perish. Since, then, God declares that he is at perpetual war with the unmeasured audacity of men; anything we undertake without his approval will end miserably, even though all creatures above and beneath should earnestly offer us their assistance. -- John Calvin commenting on Genesis 11:7They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. (Hosea 7:3)
The Prophet now arraigns all the citizens of Samaria, and in their persons the whole people, because they rendered obedience to the king by flattery, and to the princes in wicked things, respecting which their own conscience convicted them. He had already in the fifth chapter mentioned the defection of the people in this respect, that they had obeyed the royal edict. It might indeed have appeared a matter worthy of praise, that the people had quietly embraced what the king commanded. This is the case with many at this day, who bring forward a pretext of this kind. Under the papacy they dare not withdraw themselves from their impious superstitions, and they adduce this excuse, that they ought to obey their princes. But, as I have already said, the Prophet has before condemned this sort of obedience, and now he shows that the defection which then reigned through all Israel, ought not to be ascribed to the king or to few men, but that it was a common evil, which involved all in one and the same guilt, without exception. How so? "By their wickedness," he says, "they have exhilarated the king, and by their lies the princes"; that is, If they wish to cast the blame on their governors, it will be done in vain; for whence came then such a promptitude? As soon as Jeroboam formed the calves, as soon as he built temples, religion instantly collapsed, and whatever was before pure, degenerated; how was the change so sudden? Even because the people had inwardly concocted their wickedness, which, when an occasion was offered, showed itself; for hypocrisy did lie hid in all, and was then discovered. We now perceive what the Prophet had in view. And this place ought to be carefully noticed: for it often happens that some vice creeps in, which proceeds from one man or from a few; but when all readily embrace what a few introduce, it is quite evident that they have no living root of piety or of the fear of God. They then who are so prone to adopt vices were before hypocrites; and we daily find this to be the case. When pious men have the government of a city, and act prudently, then the whole people will give some hope that they will fear the Lord; and when any king, influenced by a desire of advancing the glory of God, endeavors to preserve all his subjects in the pure worship of God, then the same feeling of piety will be seen in all: but when an ungodly king succeeds him, the greater part will immediately fall back again; and when a magistrate neglects his duty, the greater portion of the people will break out into open impiety. I wish there were no proofs of these things; but throughout the world the Lord has designed that there should exist examples of them. This purpose of God ought therefore to be noticed; for he accuses the people of having made themselves too obsequious and pliant. When king Jeroboam set up vicious worship, the people immediately offered themselves as ready to obey: hence impiety became quite open. They then "delighted the king by their wickedness, and the princes by their lies"; as though he said, "They cannot transfer the blame to the king and princes. Why? Because they delighted them by their wickedness; that is, they haltered the king by their wickedness and delighted the princes by their lies." -- John Calvin in a sermon on Hosea 7:3 in Calvin's Commentary on HoseaTo open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. (Isaiah 42:7)
The work of the Messiah, according to the text, is to bring out the prisoners from the prison. I think this relates to the bondage under which a man lies to his sins. Habits of sin, like iron nets, surround the sinner, and he cannot escape their meshes. The man sins, and imagines that he cannot help sinning. How often do the ungodly tell us that they cannot renounce the world, cannot break off their sins by righteousness, and cannot believe in Jesus? Let all men know that the Savior has come on purpose to remove every bond of sin from the captive, and to set him free from every chain of evil. I have known men to strive against the habit of blasphemy, others against unchaste passions, and many more against a haughty spirit, or an angry temper. And when they have striven manfully, but unsuccessfully, in their own strength, they have been filled with bitter chagrin that they should have been so betrayed by themselves. When a man believes in Jesus his resolve to become a free man is to a great extent accomplished at once. Some sins die the moment we believe in Jesus, and these trouble us no more. Others hang on to us, and these die by slow degrees; but they are overcome so as never again to get the mastery over us. O struggler after mental, moral, spiritual liberty, if you would be free, your only possible freedom is in Christ. If you desire to shake off evil habits, or any other mental bondage, I shall prescribe no remedy to you but this, to commit yourself to Christ the Liberator. Love Him and you will hate sin. Trust Him, and you will no more trust yourself. Submit yourself to the sway of the incarnate God, and He will break the dragon's head within you, and hurl Satan beneath your feet. Nothing else can do it. Christ must have the glory." -- C.H. Spurgeon commenting on Isaiah in Devotional Classics of C.H. Spurgeon, p. 69It does no good to blame society or the church for our deficiencies before the Lord because Christ holds men, not churches and states, accountable. In the words of Hugh Miller, "Churches, however false and detestable, are never to be summoned to the bar of judgment. . . . To Christ, as his head and king, must every man render an account."
Let us pray that God's kingdom come, and let us covenant to fulfill our obligations to be his people. . . . When persecution comes, let us pray that we would stand as firm as did the Scottish Covenanters. When covenanting comes, let us praise the Lord, for only in him will we stand firm. . . ." -- Edwin Nisbet Moore in Our Covenant Heritage: The Covenanters' Struggle for Unity in Truth as Revealed in the Memoir of James Nisbet (1667-1728), and Sermons of John Nevay (d. 1672)See the Theological Notes: "The Freedom and Bondage of the Will," at Jeremiah 17:9 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites, -- in proportion as their love to justice is above their rapacity . . . in proportion as their soundness and sobriety of understanding is above their vanity and presumption . . . in proportion as they are more disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good, in preference to the flattery of knaves. Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters. -- Sir Edmund Burke in Letter to a Member of the National Assembly (1791)
How can God be sovereign and man still be free?
Responsibility and voluntary choice are not the same thing as free will. We affirm that man is indeed responsible for the choices he makes, yet we deny that the Bible teaches that man has a free will since it is no where taught in the pages of Scripture. The Bible teaches, rather, that God ordains all things that come to pass (Ephesians 1:11) and it also teaches that man is culpable for his choices (Ezekiel 18:20, Matthew 12:37, John 9:41). Since the Scripture is our ultimate authority and highest presuppsosition, the multitude of clear scriptural declarations on this matter outweigh all unaided human logic. We find that almost always the objections to God's meticulous providence over all things are moral and philosophical rather than exegetical. This means we must strive to consciously affirm what the Scripture declares over all our finite understanding and sinful inner drive for independence. -- Brian Osisek
*Baxter, Richard (1615-1691), A Christian Directory: Baxter's Practical Works, Vol. 1. Full title: A Christian Directory: or A Sum of Practical Theology, and Cases of Conscience. Directing Christians how to use Their Knowledge and Faith; How to Improve all Helps and Means, and to Perform all Duties; How to Overcome Temptations, and to Escape or Mortify Every Sin. In Four Parts.
I. Christian Ethics (or Private Duties)
II. Christian Economics (or Family Duties)
III. Christian Ecclesiastics (or Church Duties)
IV. Christian Politics (or Duties to Our Rulers and Neighbours) (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997, 1990, 1838, 1707, 1678, 1673), ISBN: 1877611131 9781877611131. Foreword by J.I. Packer (Soli Deo Gloria edition only). The Soli Deo Gloria publication is a facsimile reprint of the 19th century reprint by George Virtue, London, 1846. The original 1673 edition and the 1678 edition, both printed by Robert White for Nevill Simmons. Bibliographic and scriptural footnotes. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (less the J.I. Packer's Foreword, but searchable with an OCR-based index), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
This work is available in many editions, and in many formats.
Reformation Heritage Books has new copies of the Soli Deo Gloria edition (including the J.I. Packer Introduction), as of March 2008, even though it is generally thought to be out of print. They acquired Soli Deo Gloria from Ligonier Ministries in late 2007.
The best digital format of the reprint by George Virtue is included on the Puritan Hard Drive. It has an OCR scan in the background, meaning one can search the entire volume and copy text into another document. It also has a computer generated indexed from the OCR scan which is, of course, in Baxter's vocabulary.
A PDF image scan only of the same edition is available on the Reformation Bookshelf CD #21.
The reprint by George Virtue is available online and may be downloaded in PDF format at Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
The reprint by George Virtue appears in full preview in Google Books but may not be downloaded. So it is useful if the reader wants to become acquainted with the book. Text can be searched, but can not be copied into another document. This particular Google Books scan includes the contents in detail on pages iii-xix which is not included in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library PDF files. About five other editions from libraries are available in Google Books, and may be downloaded (August 2008).
Notice that the e-text in Google Books has the advantage of being searchable. Searching an image-based PDF file (without an OCR scan in the background), is not possible, unless the user owns software such as Abode Acrobat Pro or Kirtas BookScan Editor. They both have an OCR (optical character recognition), feature that will search an image-based PDFs (bit-map scans). Searches appear to be perfect in this work, although one must know Baxter's vocabulary. Text can be cut and pasted from image-based PDF format to OCR (character) format. This particular Google Books scan can not be cut and pasted or downloaded.
One of the older, multi-volume editions of THE WORKS OF RICHARD BAXTER is available at Monergism.com in the "Puritan Library," "Richard Baxter." A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, volume 23. It can be downloaded.
http://www.puritanlibrary.com/
Another older edition is available on microfilm (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1970), 1 microfilm reel, 35 mm (Early English books, 1641-1700; 343:11).
"The complete practical works of Richard Baxter are in print in four volumes entitled BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS. This volume (about 1 1/4 million words, 1028 pages), is volume one of the set. The editor's preface (1707), p. xiii, stated that the works of Richard Baxter are 'perhaps the best body of practical divinity that is extent in our own or any other tongue.' Richard Baxter lived from 1615-1691. The DIRECTORY was completed in 1665. Its scope was intended to cover all of practical theology, a summa of casuistry . . ." -- Don Kistler
"Baxter's series, which grew in range and scope as it proceeded . . . is a peak point in Puritan devotional writing, and remains a precious resource for all, in this or any age, who want to know what is involved in Biblical godliness. . . . A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY may justly be described as a landmark. It is the fullest, most thorough, and in this writer's judgment, most profound treatment of Christian spirituality and standards that has ever been attempted by an English-speaking Evangelical author. The fact that it embraces both spirituality and standards (the principles of communion with God plus the specifics of obedience to God), merits approving comment in itself; nowadays spirituality and ethics have become two distinct disciplines in the schools, and books written on either say virtually nothing about the other . . ." -- J.I. Packer
Timothy Keller calls it the greatest manual on Biblical counseling ever produced.
"There are many Puritan classics on this subject. Thomas Brooks' PRECIOUS REMEDIES FOR SATAN'S DEVICES, Thomas Goodwin's A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DARKNESS, William Bridge's A LIFTING UP FOR THE DOWNCAST, and many other similar works give evidence that the Puritans were. . . . masters at applying Biblical answers and principles to problems that can only be solved by spiritual means. No Puritan work, however, has ever approached the popularity, the scope, or the depth of Baxter's classic treatise. With the widespread interest in counseling in today's church, this reprint of Baxter's work should be a welcome addition to every pastor's library, or to anyone else who wishes to give solid Biblical answers to man's questions." -- Don Kistler
"We have long waited for a purely Biblical treatment of the spiritual ills and cures of men which is untainted by the views of psychology. Since Baxter lived about 200 years before psychology arrived, his deep work is completely void of its encroachment -- thankfully!" -- John MacArthur
"The kings men sought to arrest Richard Baxter, but he traveled ceaselessly from place to place, writing his sermons and his books even on horseback (he had an inkwell in his saddle), and preached over a wide area." -- Brian H. Edwards
"Baxter was a wonder of his age. His writings total 72 large volumes, much of it written on horseback as he traveled in his widespread preaching efforts. He seldom, if ever, edited anything he wrote. Knowing this any reader will be amazed at how well he communicated his deep love for his Savior. For 26 years he was public enemy No. 1 to the king, yet he lived to see the flight of the king in 1688." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
POOR MAN'S FAMILY BOOK (1674) and THE CATECHIZING OF FAMILIES (1683), are less detailed works and are found in THE REFORMED PASTOR: BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 4. They are more suitable for family instruction than are the detailed presentation in A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY.
"Ptacek in FAMILY WORSHIP: BIBLICAL BASIS, HISTORICAL REALITY, CURRENT NEED (pp. 51-52), supplies the following information in regard to Baxter and this book. He notes that after the Episcopalians ejected numerous 'nonconformists,' in what is know as the 'great ejection,' in 1662, 'Baxter pastored from house to house, visiting families of his parish in their homes. These visits contributed to Baxter's A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, a large and still very relevant manual of pastoral care.' Focusing on just one area of great importance, Ptacek demonstrates how this book's relevance is not limited by time or culture, though sometimes the use of specific words are. 'Published in 1673, but written 1664-65, a large book-length part of Baxter's CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY is devoted to the family. It is entitled 'Christian Economics' based on the archaic usage of the word, which reflects the proper sense of the Greek root oikonomos as the manager of a household, in the Christian case, the spiritual leader of the family. The family head is essential to Baxter's view of family worship and instruction. Baxter asserts that it is God's will that this instruction be carried out by the rulers of the families.' For a male head of the household to fail to do so, or to have another instruct in the family, is contrary to his position of authority.' This is the kind of book that can be passed on from generation to generation and still find much use in the service of the kingdom of God.
"Though relatively weak on corporate sanctification, corporate faithfulness and some important areas of doctrine (such as justification), Baxter's work on subjects related to personal piety can be of good practical use to the Christian -- if one is careful to separate out his aberrant doctrinal views and any practical errors they may lead to." -- Publisher
The following three excerpts are included as bonus free books on Reformation Bookshelf CD #28.
1. "The Duties of Parents for Their Children" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. X., pp. 449-454.
2. "The Special Duties of Children Towards Their Parents" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. XI., pp. 454-457.
3. "The Special Duties of Children and Youth Towards God" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. XII., pp. 457-458).
A summary of currently (2012) available publications.
http://www.lettermen2.com/pwrbcd.html
Richard Baxter, from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baxter
*Baxter, Richard, The Reformed Pastor: Baxter's Practical Works, Vol. 4, ISBN: 1877611360. A Christian classic.
"This is the fourth and final volume in this great set. Includes, 'Compassionate Counsel to all Young men,' 'The Reformed Pastor,' 'Poor Man's Family Book,' 'The Catechizing of Families,' and 'The Mother's Catechism,' in all 25 sermons, treatises, and catechisms. Dr. J.I. Packer says, 'For me, the great joy of this year is that it see the completion of Soli Deo Gloria's reprint of Baxter's incomparable PRACTICAL WORKS'." -- GCB
Richard Baxter, from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baxter
Compassionate Counsel to all Young men (1681), by Richard Baxter
http://www.lettermen2.com/ccaym.html
*Bonar, Horatius (1808-1889), Free-will A Christian classic.
Calvin, John, Calvin's Commentary on Hosea
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/m.sion/calvhose.htm
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0664220207 9780664220204. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. A Christian classic.
"Edited by John McNeill and translated by Ford Lewis Battles, this is the definitive English language edition of one of the monumental works of the Christian church -- Calvin's INSTITUTES.
"Still considered by many to be the finest explanation and defense of the Protestant Reformation available.
"The work is divided into four books: I. The Knowledge of God the Creator, II. The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, III. The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ, IV. The External Means or Helps by Which God Allures us Into Fellowship With Christ and Keeps us in it. . . . THE INSTITUTES is praised by the secular philosopher, Will Durant, as one of the ten books that shook the world." -- GCB
Calvin spent a lifetime writing and perfecting INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. His Prefatory Address makes it clear that he intended the work to be a defense of Christianity to the King of France.
Therefore, plainly stated, one of the most influential works ever published in the English language is a defense of Christianity to leaders of State.
Prefatory Address to His Most Christian Majesty, The Most Mighty and Illustrious Monarch, Francis, King of the French, His Sovereign, John Calvin. Available in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
"Indeed, this consideration makes a true king: to recognize himself a minister of God in governing his kingdom. Now, that king, who in ruling over his realm does not serve God's glory, exercises not kingly rule but brigandage. [Footnote: 'Nec iam regnum ille sed latrocinium exercet.' An echo of Augustine's famous phrase: 'When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms [[regna]] but a vast banditry [[magna latocinia]]?' City of God, IV. iv (MPL [[Migne, J.P., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina]], 41. 115; tr. NPNF [[A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series]], II. 66)]. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God's scepter, that is, his Holy Word; for the heavenly oracle that proclaims that where prophecy fails the people are scattered [Prov. 29:18 (Proverbs 29:18)], cannot lie." (Battles translation)
"The characteristic of a true sovereign is, to acknowledge that, in the administration of his kingdom, he is a minister of God. He who does not make his reign subservient to the divine glory, acts the part not of a king, but a robber. He, moreover, deceives himself who anticipates long prosperity to any kingdom which is not ruled by the sceptre of God, that is, by his divine word. For the heavenly oracle is infallible which has declared, that where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18), (Beveridge translation)."
See the entire Prefatory Address, Beveridge translation. Considered to be one of the greatest prefaces ever written.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.ii.viii.html
"The doctrines of covenant liberty were rediscovered in the Reformation. John Calvin went further than anyone else in defining liberty and what Christians need to do to maintain it. Includes bibliographies."
It is recommended that INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION be used for daily devotions and may be used in combination with Ford Lewis Battles and John Walchenbach, AN ANALYSIS OF THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION OF JOHN CALVIN and with CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES.
Calvin's Commentaries at BibleStudyGuide.org
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_index.htm
Calvin's Commentaries, complete
From the Calvin Translation Society edition.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/commentaries.i.html
One Hundred Aphorisms, Containing, Within a Narrow Compass, the Substance and Order of the Four Books of The Institutes of the Christian Religion
http://www.lettermen2.com/pringle.html
Contents and Chapter Sections for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559 (McNeill/Battles)
http://www.lettermen2.com/icrcont.html
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 1
http://archive.org/details/instituteschrist01calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 2
http://archive.org/details/institutesofreli02calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Beveridge translation
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.vii.html
Monergism: Commentaries
From Mongergism.com search "commentaries."
http://www.monergism.com
*Carson, Donald A., Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension, ISBN: 0804237077 9780804237079.
"A masterful treatment of all the doctrinal issues (e.g., Biblical anthropology, the providence and government of God, the history of doctrine, etc.), that comprise the study of free will and determinism." -- Cyril J. Barber
Kesler, Jay, Raising Responsible Kids: Ten Things you can do now to Prepare Your Child for a Lifetime of Independence, ISBN: 1561210528 9781561210527 0380719762 9780380719761. Alternate title: RAISING RESPONSIBLE KIDS: HOW TO GUIDE YOUR CHILD TOWARD INDEPENDENT ADULTHOOD.
"If you wait until your child is ready for his diploma before you teach him/her responsible independence, you have waited too long. The teaching of responsibility comes gradually through specific lessons and experience. Here is help for parents in accomplishing this task -- by starting right now." -- GCB
*Guinness, Os, A Free People's Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future, ISBN: 9780830834655, 0830834656.
" 'If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.'-- Abraham Lincoln
"Nothing is more daring in the American experiment than the founders' belief that the American republic could remain free forever. But how was this to be done, and are Americans doing it today? It is not enough for freedom to be won. It must also be sustained. Cultural observer Os Guinness argues that the American experiment in freedom is at risk. Summoning historical evidence on how democracies evolve, Guinness shows that contemporary views of freedom -- most typically, a negative freedom from constraint -- are unsustainable because they undermine the conditions necessary for freedom to thrive. He calls us to reconsider the audacity of sustainable freedom and what it would take to restore it. 'In the end,' Guinness writes, 'the ultimate threat to the American republic will be Americans. The problem is not wolves at the door but termites in the floor.' The future of the republic depends on whether Americans will rise to the challenge of living up to America's unfulfilled potential for freedom, both for itself and for the world.
"Os Guinness (Ph.D., Oxford) is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including FOOL'S TALK, RENAISSANCE, THE GLOBAL PUBLIC SQUARE, A FREE PEOPLE'S SUICIDE, UNSPEAKABLE, THE CALL, TIME FOR TRUTH and THE CASE FOR CIVILITY. A frequent speaker and prominent social critic, he has addressed audiences worldwide from the British House of Commons to the U.S. Congress to the St. Petersburg Parliament. He founded the Trinity Forum and served as senior fellow there for fifteen years. Born in China to missionary parents, he is the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. After witnessing the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to England where he was educated and served as a freelance reporter with the BBC. Since coming to the U.S. in 1984, he has been a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was the lead drafter of the Williamsburg Charter, celebrating the First Amendment, and has also been senior fellow at the EastWest Institute in New York, where he drafted the Charter for Religious Freedom. He also co-authored the public school curriculum Living With Our Deepest Differences. Guinness has had a lifelong passion to make sense of our extraordinary modern world and to stand between the worlds of scholarship and ordinary life, helping each to understand the other -- particularly when advanced modern life touches on the profound issues of faith. He lives with his wife, Jenny, in McLean, Virginia, near Washington, D.C." -- Publisher
Lennox, John C., Determined to Believe: The Sovereignty of God, Freedom, Faith, and Human Responsibility, ISBN: 9780310589808 0310589800.
"DETERMINED TO BELIEVE is written for those who are interested in or even troubled by questions about God's sovereignty and human freedom and responsibility. John Lennox writes in the spirit of helping people to come to grips with the biblical treatment of this issue for themselves. In this comprehensive review of the topic of theological determinism, Lennox seeks firstly to define the problem, looking at the concepts of freedom, the different kinds of determinism, and the moral problems these pose. He then equips the reader with biblical teaching on the topic and explores the spectrum of theological opinion on it. Following this, Lennox delves deeper into the Gospels and then investigates what we can learn regarding determinism and responsibility from Paul's discussion in Romans on God's dealings with Israel. Finally Lennox tackles the issue of Christian assurance. This nuanced and detailed study challenges some of the widely held assumptions in the area of theological determinism and brings a fresh perspective to the debate." -- Publisher
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
Protestantism, the Parent and Guardian of Civil and Religious Liberty. A lecture, Delivered, March 26, 1843, Under Appointment of the N.Y. Protestant Reformation Society (1843), John Niel McLeod
http://archive.org/details/protestantismpar00mcle
*Moore, Edwin Nisbet, Our Covenant Heritage: The Covenanters' Struggle for Unity in Truth as Revealed in the Memoir of James Nisbet (1667-1728), and Sermons of John Nevay (d. 1672), ISBN: 1857926188. Includes bibliographical references and index.
"A new book, OUR COVENANT HERITAGE, examines the rise and fall of the Scottish Church. It rose when men placed the rights of God above the rights of man. It fell when men abandoned unity in truth. It is written by Ed Moore, who spent several years examining why the Covenanters, particularly those who lived near Loudoun Castle, were willing to die for their understanding of God's truth. The answer is found in the sermons of their minister John Nevay on God's Covenant of Grace and in the Memoirs of James Nisbet, one of their number who survived their epic battle for truth only to face the age-old struggle of Christ's church for unity in truth." -- Publisher
Our Covenant Heritage, Edwin Nisbet Moore
http://www.covenanters.com/
Rice, N.L., God Sovereign and man Free: or the Doctrine of Divine Foreordination and Man's Free Moral Agency, Stated, Illustrated, and Proved From Scriptures (1850), ISBN: 9781425513054 1425513050. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #19.
"Dealing with this perplexing question, Rice shows the Scriptural, historic, and creedal warrants for this truth. Exposing the errors and contradictions of Arminianism he also sets forth the practical aspects of this doctrine." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The One and the Many: Studies in the Philosophy of Order and Ultimacy. Available through Exodus Books.
"The author deals with an age-old problem: the question of the one and the many and their relationship. As you might guess, the way one answers (or avoids), this question will affect views of justice, government, taxes, welfare, war, property, and freedom in general." -- GCB
See also: The Question of the One and the Many
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#onemany
Zagzebski, Linda Trinkaus, and Abrol Fairweather, Virtue Epistemology: Essays on Epistemic Virtue and Responsibility, ISBN: 019514077X 9780195140774.
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Christian liberty, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The question of the one and the many, The covenanted reformation, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Discipleship, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Sex ethics, sex education, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, The teaching of our lord jesus christ, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Christ's influence on western civilization, Gambling, and so forth, and so on.
See the Theological Notes: "The Image of God," at Genesis 1:27 in The Reformation Study Bible.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
The roots of liberty and limited government are in the Protestant Reformation. We believe the key to the maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish covenanting struggle. -- James A. Dodson
See the Theological Notes: "Christians and Civil Government," at Romans 13:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
What the Reformation's return to Biblical teaching gave society was the opportunity for tremendous freedom, but without chaos. That is, an individual had freedom because there was a consensus based upon the absolutes given in the Bible, and therefore real values within which to have freedom, without these freedoms leading to chaos. The world had not known anything like this before. -- Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984)
Martin Luther's doctrine of the The Priesthood of all Believers lead to the doctrine of the equality of all men. This is the basis of the declaration that "all men are created equal" and the belief that men are capable of self-government under God. Teaching the doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers was part of Martin Luther's Reformation.
Having learnt from the Holy Scriptures that wise, brave, and virtuous men were always friends to liberty -- that God gave the Israelites a king in His anger, because they had not the sense and virtue enough to like a free commonwealth [1 Samuel 8:4-22] -- and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty [2 Corinthians 3:17] -- this made me conclude that freedom was a great blessing. -- Jonathan Mayhew
Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants. . . . Those who are willing to trade their essential liberties for a little temporary safety, deserve neither safety nor liberty. -- Benjamin Franklin
Those unwilling to take part in the struggle for liberty are mere slaves, and are practically worthless to men fighting to keep a free democratic republic.
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0664220207 9780664220204. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. A Christian classic.
"Edited by John McNeill and translated by Ford Lewis Battles, this is the definitive English language edition of one of the monumental works of the Christian church -- Calvin's INSTITUTES.
"Still considered by many to be the finest explanation and defense of the Protestant Reformation available.
"The work is divided into four books: I. The Knowledge of God the Creator, II. The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, III. The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ, IV. The External Means or Helps by Which God Allures us Into Fellowship With Christ and Keeps us in it. . . . THE INSTITUTES is praised by the secular philosopher, Will Durant, as one of the ten books that shook the world." -- GCB
Calvin spent a lifetime writing and perfecting INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. His Prefatory Address makes it clear that he intended the work to be a defense of Christianity to the King of France.
Therefore, plainly stated, one of the most influential works ever published in the English language is a defense of Christianity to leaders of State.
Prefatory Address to His Most Christian Majesty, The Most Mighty and Illustrious Monarch, Francis, King of the French, His Sovereign, John Calvin. Available in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
"Indeed, this consideration makes a true king: to recognize himself a minister of God in governing his kingdom. Now, that king, who in ruling over his realm does not serve God's glory, exercises not kingly rule but brigandage. [Footnote: 'Nec iam regnum ille sed latrocinium exercet.' An echo of Augustine's famous phrase: 'When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms [[regna]] but a vast banditry [[magna latocinia]]?' City of God, IV. iv (MPL [[Migne, J.P., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina]], 41. 115; tr. NPNF [[A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series]], II. 66)]. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God's scepter, that is, his Holy Word; for the heavenly oracle that proclaims that where prophecy fails the people are scattered [Prov. 29:18 (Proverbs 29:18)], cannot lie." (Battles translation)
"The characteristic of a true sovereign is, to acknowledge that, in the administration of his kingdom, he is a minister of God. He who does not make his reign subservient to the divine glory, acts the part not of a king, but a robber. He, moreover, deceives himself who anticipates long prosperity to any kingdom which is not ruled by the sceptre of God, that is, by his divine word. For the heavenly oracle is infallible which has declared, that where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18), (Beveridge translation)."
See the entire Prefatory Address, Beveridge translation. Considered to be one of the greatest prefaces ever written.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.ii.viii.html
"The doctrines of covenant liberty were rediscovered in the Reformation. John Calvin went further than anyone else in defining liberty and what Christians need to do to maintain it. Includes bibliographies."
It is recommended that INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION be used for daily devotions and may be used in combination with Ford Lewis Battles and John Walchenbach, AN ANALYSIS OF THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION OF JOHN CALVIN and with CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES.
Calvin's Commentaries at BibleStudyGuide.org
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_index.htm
Calvin's Commentaries, complete
From the Calvin Translation Society edition.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/commentaries.i.html
One Hundred Aphorisms, Containing, Within a Narrow Compass, the Substance and Order of the Four Books of The Institutes of the Christian Religion
http://www.lettermen2.com/pringle.html
Contents and Chapter Sections for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559 (McNeill/Battles)
http://www.lettermen2.com/icrcont.html
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 1
http://archive.org/details/instituteschrist01calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 2
http://archive.org/details/institutesofreli02calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Beveridge translation
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.vii.html
Monergism: Commentaries
From Mongergism.com search "commentaries."
http://www.monergism.com
*Cole, Franklin P. (introductory essay and biographical sketches), They Preached Liberty, ISBN: 0913966169 9780913966167.
"An anthology of timely quotations from New England ministers of the American Revolution on the subject of liberty: its source, nature, obligations, types, and blessings." -- Publisher
*Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), The Politics of God and the Politics of Man, ISBN: 0802814425 9780802814425.
"Basing his political theory on the fact that the problems of our times are theological and not sociological, the writer shows from a study of 2 Kings how God has provided a blueprint for self-government in the Bible. Rewarding reading." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Fertig, Lawrence, Prosperity Through Freedom.
Friedman, Milton, Capitalism and Freedom.
Includes bibliographical references.
Guthrie, William D., Magna Carta and Other Addresses.
Hammon, T.C., Perfect Freedom: An Introduction to Christian Ethics.
Heath, Charles C., The Blessing of Liberty: Restoring the City on the Hill, ISBN: 1563840057 9781563840050.
"Presents a case for limited government, decentralized and self-governing communities, and the return to traditional values." -- GCB
Includes bibliography.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), David Laing (editor), The Works of John Knox, 6 volumes. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"Here is a chance to touch the flame that ignited whole nations for covenanted Reformation. John Knox is considered by many to have been the most biblically consistent and thoroughgoing of all the great Reformers of the sixteenth century. 'John Knox was in fact the embodiment of the Scottish Reformation as its preacher, theologian, liturgist, historian, and catalyst for reform.' (Hall and Hall [editors], Paradigms in Polity: Classic Readings in Reformed and Presbyterian Church Government [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994], p. 219). 'With this concern for purity of worship,' notes Kevin Reed regarding Knox, 'it is no wonder that the Scottish Reformation was the most thorough among any of the Protestant nations.' (from the introduction to John Knox, True and False Worship: A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry [Dallas, TX: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1550 reprinted 1994], p. 14). 'I know not,' states George Smeaton, 'if ever so much piety and genius were lodged in such a frail and weak body. Certain I am, that it will be difficult to find one in whom the gifts of the Holy Spirit shone so bright to the comfort of the church.' (cited in Thomas M'Crie, The Life of John Knox [1831], p. 272). THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX listed here is the complete six volume set collected by David Laing, 1895. Concerning this 6 volume collection, Kyle, in THE MIND OF JOHN KNOX (p. 14), notes, 'The only real basis for a study of Knox's thought must be the writings of the reformer himself. From 1846 to 1864, David Laing collected and edited nearly all of Knox's extant writings. This remarkable collection, which scholars regard highly, is indispensable for any serious study of John Knox.' Contains much that is related to worship questions and the blessings that God pours out upon Churches that keep the second commandment -- as well as the curses that follow those who reject the regulative principle of worship." -- Publisher
*Loane, Marcus L., Makers of Religious Freedom in the Seventeenth Century: Henderson, Rutherford, Bunyan, Baxter.Knox, John, Unedited History of the Reformation in Scotland Vol. 1 of 6.
"Reid, in his TRUMPETER OF GOD, notes that Knox 'wrote history as a prophet' and that, wherever he could, he used original sources, many of which he reproduced. Furthermore, he proclaims that this 'is still a work that no one interested in this area can afford to neglect.' As W.C. Dickinson has commented, 'it is his monument, for in it he puts flesh and blood on the whole Reformation movement.' Innes (JOHN KNOX, p. 45), says of this work, 'the author who has enabled us to see his own confused and changing age under 'the broad clear light of that wonderful book' the History of the Reformation in Scotland, and who outside that book was the utterer of many an armed and winged word which pursues and smites us to this day, must have been born with nothing less than genius -- genius to observe, to narrate, and to judge. Even had he written as a mere recluse and critic, looking out upon his world from a monk's cell or from the corner of a housetop, the vividness, the tenderness, the sarcasm and the humour would still have been there.' Moreover, Burton writes, 'there certainly is in the English language no other parallel to it in clearness, vigour, and picturesqueness with which it renders the history of a stirring period.' (cited in Innes, John Knox, p. 45). This photocopy edition far surpasses the edited down version that is available in paperback. Over 600 pages of stirring Reformation history." -- Publisher
The Works of John Knox (1846), vol. 1 of 6.
http://archive.org/details/worksofjohnkn01knox
Knox, John, Unedited History of the Reformation in Scotland Vol. 2 of 6.
"Knox portrayed the origins and development of a movement and not a mere chronology of events . . . Knox based his arguments on original sources and he often cited the documents in full. When Knox's History is compared to the contemporary vernacular narratives of Bishop Leslie and Sir James Melville, the superiority of Knox's work becomes evident. For the most part, these writers were preoccupied with petty details and had no conception of the momentous issues that hung on the events they recorded . . . Knox used history to demonstrate his single-track philosophy. And his philosophy said: 'The hearts of men, their thoughts, and their actions are but in the hands of God.' Lee said Knox's History was a sermon without an audience, a preaching book, one long inflammatory speech in behalf of God's truth as the reformer saw it.' (Kyle, The Mind of John Knox, p. 13). Our editions of volumes one and two of Knox's Works contain the only full, unedited version of Knox's massive History of the Reformation in Scotland available today." -- Publisher
Knox, John, Epistles, Admonitions, etc., Vol. 3 of 6
"Includes 'That the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry.' Also, writings on justification by faith, prayer, the Lord's supper, obedience to magistrates, an exposition of the sixth Psalm, letters of warning, comfort and more." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 4 of 6
"Includes 'The Appellation . . . to the Scottish Nobility,' 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women,' Answers Concerning Baptism, Form of Prayers/Sacraments in Geneva 1556, 'Letter to the Queen,' 'Summary of the Proposed Second Blast of the Trumpet,' and much more." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 5 of 6
"Includes 'On Predestination, in Answer to the Cavillations by an Anabaptist' (462 pp.), which Boettner, in his REFORMED DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION, calls Knox's 'chief theological work.' Also, A Letter to John Foxe, Names of Martyrs, etc. . . .
"Includes the Life of Knox, Letters Relating to Reformation in Scotland, The Book of Common Order, A Debate Concerning the Mass, Fasting, 'The Order of Excommunication and Public Repentance,' indices of names, places and the general index, etc. 755 pages." -- Publisher
Knox, John, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 6 of 6
"Includes 'The Life of Knox,' 'John Knox Debates God's Law, Idolatry and Civil Resistance in the General Assembly of 1564,' 'The Scottish Confession of Faith (1560),' 'John Knox's Only Written Sermon - A Sermon on Isaiah 23:13-21, Preached in St. Giles's Church, Edinburgh, 19th August 1565,' 'A Letter of Wholesome Counsel Addressed to His Brethren in Scotland Or "What to do When There is no Faithful Church to Attend in Your Local Area" originally published in 1556,' 'Select Practical Writings of John Knox,' 'Against Romish Rites and Political and Ecclesiastical Tyranny, A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth in England (1554),' 'An Admonition to Flee Idolatry, Romanism and all False Worship (1554),' 'An Answer to a Jesuit: The Marks of a True Church and Ministry: An Answer to a Letter Written by James Tyrie, A Scottish Jesuit, 1572,' 'Against an Anabaptist: In Defense of Predestination,' 'Against Apostasy and Indifference (An Epistle to the Inhabitants of New Castle and Berwick, 1558),' 'On Justification by Faith Alone,' 'National Repentance and Reformation (A Brief Exhortation to England for the Speedy Embracing of the Gospel, 1559),' 'Reformation, Revolution and Romanism: An Appeal to the Scottish Nobility (1558),' 'The Pulpit of the Reformation: "The Last Judgment," by John Welch,' "The Parable of the Householders," and "The Parable of the Tares," by Hugh Latimer.' 'John Knox to the King,' 'The Execution of Servetus for Blasphemy, Heresy, Obstinate Anabaptism,' 'Defended (excerpted from his Treatise on Predestination),' 'A Debate Between John Knox and Secretary Lethington on the Duty of Christian Subjects to Execute Judgement Upon Criminal Magistrates,' 'The Execution of Servetus for Blasphemy, Heresy, Obstinate Anabaptism, Defended (excerpted from John Knox's Treatise on Predestination),' 'It Is I Be Not Afraid,' 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558),' and 'Sermon on Isaiah 26.'(sic, all of volume 6)
*Marshall, Walter (1628-1680), The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union With Christ, ISBN: 189277724X. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Reformation Heritage Books edition is a reprint of the 1954 edition set by Oliphants and includes an introduction by Joel R. Beeke. Also includes the author's famous sermon on "The Doctrine of Justification Opened and Applied."
See the WorldCat record for various foreign language editions.
Other editions:
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1597520543 9781597520546.
"This is by far the best book on the doctrine of Sanctification in print. It was originally written in the 17th century, but has been put into modern English with this edition. This book will help you better understand the Gospel and its power not only for our Justification, but our Sanctification as well." -- Reader's Comment
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1589600630 9781589600638.
"Here you will read the most closely reasoned defense of scriptural sanctification to be found anywhere. . . . Fourteen directions are given to the reader, all perfected with the aim of explaining to sincere souls what sanctification is, what it is not, and how to attain a holy walk before God. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-mystery of Sanctification, Opened, in Sundry Practical Directions: Suited Especially to the Case of Those who Labor Under the Guilt and Power of Indwelling Sin. To Which is Added a Sermon on Justification (1859)
http://archive.org/details/gospelmysteryofs02mars
Mayhew, Jonathan, A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers, Jonathan Mayhew
http://www.founding.com/library/lbody.cfm?id=230&parent=52
*McFetridge, N.S., Calvinism in History. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A splendid book." -- Loraine Boettner
"The rich Reformation heritage of truth and freedom is set forth in four chapters: 1. Calvinism as a Political Force, 2. Calvinism as a Political Force in the History of the USA, 3. Calvinism as a Moral Force, 4. Calvinism as an Evangelizing Force." -- Publisher
"Arminianism, taking to an aristocratic form of church government, tend toward a monarchy in civil affairs, while Calvinism, taking to a republican form of church government, tends toward a democracy in civil affairs."
Morecraft III, Joe, With Liberty and Justice for All, 2nd edition.
"Joe Morecraft III was the pastor of the late Senator Larry McDonald, who was killed when the Russians shot down his plane. This is Christian politics made simple. A very readable book that will help you to think through the place of the government in our lives, namely, the government's authority and limitations. All this is done with many passages quoted from Scripture. There is a chapter on the life of Larry McDonald. . . ." -- FSP
"What are Christians to do when the civil government is evil? Must they always obey the authorities? What are the origins of civil government? Does the Bible authorize the government to execute criminals? Is abortion murder if it is legal? Shouldn't Christians stay out of politics? This book answers these questions and many more. Dr. Morecraft, pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, seeks Biblical answers to these questions. An instructive book for today." -- GCB
*Morey, Robert, The new Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom, ISBN: 0875523625 9780875523620.
"Exposes the godless suppression of religious freedom today and presents effective ways to convert atheists to Christ. In case you have not noticed atheism/secular humanism is gaining ground. Are you grounded in what these philosophies teach? Can you refute them? Dr. Morey will show you how." -- GCB
The American Atheist Union has said this is the most dangerous book ever written about religion.
Includes bibliography.
*Owen, John (1616-1683), Hebrews, 7 volume set, volumes 17-23 of Owen's WORKS (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1999). Alternate title: EXPOSITION OF HEBREWS and AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
Reed, Kevin, Presbyterian Government in Extraordinary Times. Available in LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY.
Presbyterian Government in Extraordinary Times
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PGET_ch0.htm
Ridley, Jasper, John Knox, 1968.
"The theory of the justification of revolution is Knox's special contribution to theological and political thought." -- Jasper Ridley
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Money, Freedom and the Bible.
"Paul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers." A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation Conference, August 1989.
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Law and Liberty. Available through Exodus Books.
"With a small but growing voice Christians everywhere in our country are questioning old ideas that have been entrenched in our system for the last 100 years. He discusses the law and morality, liberty, pornography, the family, abortion, justice, and many other topics." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), The Nature of the American System. Available through Exodus Books.
"Originally published in 1965, these essays were a continuation of the author's previous work, THIS INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC, and examine the interpretations and concepts which have attempted to remake and rewrite America's past and present. 'The writing of history then, because man is neither autonomous, objective or ultimately creative, is always in terms of a framework, a philosophical and ultimately religious framework in the mind of the historian.' To the orthodox Christian, the shabby incarnations of the reigning historiographies are both absurd and offensive. They are idols, and he is forbidden to bow down to them and must indeed wage war against them." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), This Independent Republic: Studies in the Nature and Meaning of American History. Available through Exodus Books.
"First published in 1964 and out of print for many years, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction.
"These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence; Sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution; The desire for land as a consequence of the belief in 'inheriting the land' as a future blessing, not an immediate economic asset; Federalism's localism as an inheritance of feudalism; The local control of property as a guarantee of liberty; Why federal elections were long considered of less importance than local politics; How early American ideas attributed to democratic thought were based on religious ideals of communion and community; and The absurdity of a mathematical concept of equality being applied to people. With index." -- Publisher
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, 1649. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9, #25, and #26.
"Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, though scarce, is still one of his most important works with maybe only a few copies of the actual book left in existence. Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. A sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment and an affront to the holy God of Scripture). He also deals with conscience, toleration, penology (punishment), and the judicial laws, as related to both the civil and ecclesiastical realms. Excellent sections are also included which address questions related to determining the fundamentals of religion, how covenants bind us, the perpetual obligation of social covenants (with direct application to the Solemn League and Covenant and the covenant-breaking of Cromwell and his sectarian supporters), whether the punishing of seducing teachers be persecution of conscience, and much more. Walker adds these comments and context regarding Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, 'The principle of toleration was beginning to be broached in England, and in a modified shape to find acceptance there. Samuel Rutherford was alarmed, or rather, I should say, he was horrified, for he neither feared the face of man or argument. He rushed to the rescue of the good old view . . . It is not so easy to find a theoretical ground for toleration; and Rutherford has many plausible things to say against it. With the most perfect confidence, he argues that it is alike against Scripture and common sense that you should have two religions side by side. It is outrageous ecclesiastically, it is sinful civilly. He does not, however, take what I call the essentially persecuting ground. He does not hold that the magistrate is to punish religion as religion. Nay, he strongly maintains that the civil magistrate never aims at the conscience. The magistrate, he urges, does not send anyone, whether a heretic (who is a soul murderer -- RB), or a murderer, to the scaffold with the idea of producing conversion or other spiritual result, but to strengthen the foundations of civil order. But if he gives so much power to the king, he is no lover of despotism withal: the king himself must be under law. To vindicate this great doctrine is the object of another book, the celebrated LEX, REX; of which it has been said by one competent to judge, that it first clearly developed the constitutionalism which all men now accept.' (Theology and Theologians . . . pp. 11-12). In our day Francis Schaeffer, and numerous others, have critiqued many of the problems found in modern society, but most have spent little time developing explicitly Biblical solutions especially regarding the theoretical foundations that Rutherford addresses here. Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION provides a detailed blueprint for laying the foundations that must be laid before any lasting, God-honoring solutions will be found. Furthermore, Rutherford and his writings were the enemies of all governments not covenanted with Christ. This book will give you a very clear picture as to why 'the beast' (civil and ecclesiastical), has reserved his special hatred for such teaching. As Samuel Wylie noted 'the dispute, then, will not turn upon the point whether religion should be civilly established . . . but it is concerning what religion ought to be civilly established and protected, -- whether the religion of Jesus alone should be countenanced by civil authority, or every blasphemous, heretical, and idolatrous abomination which the subtle malignity of the old serpent and a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, can frame and devise, should be put on an equal footing therewith." -- The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis. Can our generation swallow Rutherford's hard, anti-pluralistic, Covenanter medicine, poured forth from the bottle of the first commandment, without choking on their carnal dreams of a free and righteous society divorced from God (and His absolute claims upon everyone and everything)? Not without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit -- that is for sure! In summary, this book answers all the hardest questions theonomists (and their wisest and best opponents), have been asking for the last 20-30 years (and these answers are much more in depth than any we have seen in the last couple of millennia. [less about a century to account for the apostles]). As the reader will discover, Rutherford was a wealthy man when it came to wisdom (and much advanced theologically), and those who take the time to gaze into the King's treasure house, as exhibited in this book, will find that they are greatly rewarded. Furthermore, because of its uncompromising stand upon the Word of God, this book is sure to be unpopular among a wicked and adulterous generation. However, on the other hand, it is sure to be popular among the covenanted servants of King Jesus! This is one of the best books (in the top five anyway), for advanced study of the Christian faith. We have now obtained an easy-to-read, amazingly clear copy of this very rare, old treasure. Great price too, considering that a copy of the 1649 edition, containing this quality of print, would likely cost upwards of $1000 on the rare book market -- though it is unlikely you would ever see a copy for sale!" -- Publisher
A Brotherly and Free Epistle to the Patrons and Friends of Pretended Liberty of Conscience, Samuel Rutherford
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/rutherfurd_epistle_against_pretendedlibertyofconscience.html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
Schutz, John Howard, and Wayne A. Meeks (introduction), Paul and the Anatomy of Apostolic Authority, ISBN: 9780664228125 0664228127.
"Investigates the nature of authority as applied to the Apostles, particularly to Paul, and discusses the ramifications of that in terms of man's need for structures and his tendency to abuse power." -- Cyril J. Barber
Sibbes, Richard (1577-1635), Glorious Freedom, ISBN: 0851517919. Alternate title: THE EXCELLENCY OF THE GOSPEL ABOVE THE LAW. Available (THE WORKS OF RICHARD SIBBES), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Written Law: or, The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures by Christ as Mediator: The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations in Civil Institutions.
Willson, James Renwick, The Written Law, or The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures, by Christ as Mediator; The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations to Civil Institutions
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-the-written-law
Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets
http://www.covenanter.org/pamphlets/
Woods, David Walker, John Witherspoon, ISBN: 9781432672799 1432672797.
"A republic once equally poised must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty. . . . He is the best friend of American liberty who is most sincere and active in promoting pure and undefiled religion." -- John Witherspoon
"John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister and president of what is now Princeton University, was the only pastor to sign the Declaration of Independence." -- Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984)
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Freedom: a gift of the grace of God, Christian liberty, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Civil government, Covenant theology and covenanting, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, and so forth, and so on.
Corporate Faithfulness and Sanctification (part 2)
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chb.html
The Mayflower Compact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Sprinkle Publications
http://www.sprinklepub.com/aboutus.htm
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible. (Jeremiah 15:20,21)But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. (Daniel 11:32b)
We all and every one of us under-written, protest, That, after long and due examination of our own consciences in matters of true and false religion, we are now thoroughly resolved in the truth by the word and Spirit of God: and therefore we believe with our hearts, confess with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and constantly affirm, before God and the whole world, that this only is the true Christian faith and religion, pleasing God, and bringing salvation to man, which now is, by the mercy of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the blessed evangel; and is received, believed, and defended by many and sundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the kirk of Scotland, the King's Majesty, and three estates of this realm, as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our salvation; as more particularly is expressed in the Confession of our Faith, established and publickly confirmed by sundry acts of Parliaments, and now of a long time hath been openly professed by the King's Majesty, and whole body of this realm both in burgh and land. To the which Confession and Form of Religion we willingly agree in our conscience in all points, as unto God's undoubted truth and verity, grounded only upon his written word. . . . And therefore we abhor and detest all contrary religion and doctrine. . . . -- The National Covenant of Scotland, subscribed at different times: 1580, 1581, 1590, 1638, 1639, 1640, 1650, 1651, in The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), p. 347
Anonymous, An Order That the Solemn League and Covenant be Read in Church on Every Fast Day, and That Every Congregation Have a Copy Printed in a Faire Letter, Hung up in the Church. The Covenant bears the signatures (244) of the House of Commons. Alternate title: WE SHALL ALSO ACCORDING TO OUR PLACES AND CALLINGS IN THIS COMMON CAUSE OF RELIGION, LIBERTY AND PEACE OF KINGDOMES, ASSIST AND DEFEND ALL THOSE THAT ENTER INTO LEAGUE AND COVENANT.
Anonymous, Ministers of Perth and Fife, A Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ to the Doctrine, Worship, Discipline and Government of the Kirk of Scotland and to the National Covenant of Scotland and to the Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Nations, England, Scotland and Ireland and to the Work of Uniformity in Religion and against the errors, heresies, blasphemies and diverse practices of the times, especially against the vast toleration now on foot in these nations / by sundry ministers of the Gospel in the provinces of Perth and Fife, Ephes. 6:14,15; 2 Tim. 1:7,8 [Ephesians 6:14,15; 2 Timothy 1:7,8], 1648. Alternate title: A TESTIMONY TO THE TRUETH OF JESUS CHRIST, AND TO OUR SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT, 1660. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
A Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/testimony_against_cromwells_toleration.html
A Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ and to our Solemn League and Covenant
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/a-testimony-to-the-truth-of-jesus-christ
*Associate Synod of Scotland (1733-1820), A Solemn Warning . . . Wherein the Great Sin, Danger, and Duty of the Present Generation in These Lands, are Pointed out and Declared (1758). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A stinging rebuke against personal, ecclesiastical and national sins; with the intent to turn the readers of this title from these sins and thus avoid God's wrath: for the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation." (Jer. 10:10 [Jeremiah 10:10]) -- Publisher
*Barrow, Gregory, The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1, #19, #23, #27.
"A primer for the Covenanted Reformation, this is the best starting point for the new reader. It organizes the hundreds of Covenanted Reformation reprints into a logical defense of the theological landmarks established by our forefathers, with copious bibliographic references, many to e-text. An extraordinary document.
"Unsurpassed on points related to the Lord's supper and covenanting (as set forth by the best Reformers and best Reformed churches). Especially strong on citations from Calvin and the Westminster Assembly. Deals with many foundational aspects of the Covenanted Reformation (which gave us the Westminster Standards and the Solemn League and Covenant), from numerous original source documents (from the Westminster Assembly's advice to the English Parliament on the Lord's Supper to the official records of Calvin's Covenanting in Geneva). Comprehensive and compelling, this is a shocking (and sometimes advanced), look at what really took place during both the first and second Reformations -- with extensive quotations from the writings of the major Reformers (not just quotes from what others have written about them). It conclusively and irrefutably demonstrates that those churches which today call themselves Presbyterian (and even many which claim a more general Reformed heritage), have seriously departed from the Scriptural standards, principles and worship of these previous Spirit-led Reformations. It is written in an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand format and is an unsurpassed work that should not be missed by anyone interested in real Reformation in our day. This is without a doubt the best book to read if you want to understand what it means to be a Covenanter and to walk in the blood-stained footsteps of the witnessing church (Christ's Covenanted and Reformed flock), (Song of Solomon 1:8)!" -- Publisher
Publisher's Preface to The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/pub_pref.htm
Eschewing Ecclesiastical Tyranny (Protestant Biblical Separation)
"1 Corinthians 2:15. The classic Reformation position on biblical separation, Protestant private judgment, the visible church, etc. -- contra Antichrist (the Papacy), and wayward liberal Protestants. This is Appendix G from THE COVENANTED REFORMATION DEFENDED: 'A brief examination of Mr. Bacon's principles regarding the visible church and the use of private judgment. Also, some observations regarding his ignoble attack upon Mr. Kevin Reed in his book entitled The Visible Church in the Outer Darkness'." -- Publisher
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, e-text
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovRefGB.htm
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, audio files
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=7702201426
The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics: A Response and Antidote Primarily to the Neopresbyterian Malignancy and Misrepresentations and the Manufactured 'Steelite' Controversy, Found in Richard Bacon's "A Defense Departed . . ."
http://books.google.com/books?id=LG5EHQAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Barrow, Gregory, Eschewing Ecclesiastical Tyranny (Protestant Biblical Separation), (debate with Richard Bacon), 1 Corinthians 2:15, narrated by Larry Burger. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"The classic Reformation position on biblical separation, Protestant private judgment, the visible church, etc. -- contra Antichrist (the Papacy), and wayward liberal Protestants. This is Appendix G from THE COVENANTED REFORMATION DEFENDED: 'A brief examination of Mr. Bacon's principles regarding the visible church and the use of private judgment. Also, some observations regarding his ignoble attack upon Mr. Kevin Reed in his book entitled THE VISIBLE CHURCH IN THE OUTER DARKNESS'." -- Publisher
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, e-text
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovRefGB.htm
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, audio files
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=7702201426
The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics: A Response and Antidote Primarily to the Neopresbyterian Malignancy and Misrepresentations and the Manufactured 'Steelite' Controversy, Found in Richard Bacon's "A Defense Departed . . ."
http://books.google.com/books?id=LG5EHQAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Brinsley, John, The Saints Solemn Covenant With Their God: As it was Opened in a Sermon Preached at Beccles in the Countie of Suffolk, at the Taking of the Nationall Covenant There, by the Ministers and Other Officers of That Division. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Clarkson, Andrew, Plain Reasons for Presbyterians Dissenting From the Revolution-Church in Scotland: As Also, Their Principles Concerning Civil Government, and the difference betwixt the reformation and revolution principles. Published for confirming the weak, and informing of the misinformed in those matters. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #6, #24, #26.
"An exceedingly rare and important book now back in print after 265 years! The Contending Witness magazine (May, 1841), described PLAIN REASONS as 'the single best volume penned defending the principles of the Second Reformation.' It sets forth 'the grounds why Presbyterian Dissenters refused to hold communion with the revolution church and state.' (Reformed Presbytery, Act Declaration and Testimony for the Whole of our Covenanted Reformation, p. 154). These principles still apply today and this still remains one of the best books explaining why and when an individual (our church), should separate itself from those (in church or state), who do not hold fast to all the attainments of our covenanted forefathers." -- Publisher
Clarkson, Andrew, Plain Reasons for Presbyterians Dissenting from the Revolution Church of Scotland. Also, Their Principles Concerning Civil Government, and the Difference Betwixt the Reformation and Revolution Principles, 1731.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PlainTOC.htm
Plain Reasons for Presbyterians Dissenting From the Revolution Church of Scotland (A Short Article Holding Forth the Principles of the Book by the Same Name) excerpted from The Contending Witness, Vol. I., No. 1, April, 1841.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/magazine/contending_witness_plain_reasons_of_dissent.html
Cook, Thomas (pastor of Drayton Magna), A Testimony of the Ministers in the Province of Salop, to the Truth of Jesus Christ, and to the Solemn League and Covenant: as Also Against the Errors, heresies, and blasphemies of these times, and the toleration of them. Sent up to the ministers within the province of London, subscribers of the first testimony, 1648.
*Covenanted General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and OTHERS, Official Acts, Declarations, Protestations, etc., Concerning the Covenanted Reformation, 686 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Contains 24 rare documents from the period 1638-1650. One document, 'The Act of Covenant Renovation' (1880) by the Reformed Presbytery (which was a faithful renewal of the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant [adapted to the present time], with a confession of public sins), is added from outside this period to illustrate the continuing obligations that rest upon the moral person (civilly and ecclesiastically). Among the seventeenth century documents we find much (from both the church and the state), that relates to the central place that covenanting played in the Second Reformation. We also find various authoritative international testimonies against Popery, Prelacy and Schism (i.e. Independency, Cromwell, etc.), and for biblical covenanted uniformity, divine right Presbyterian church government, and apostolic worship.
"Military documents related to the Second Reformation are also added. One proclamation by Charles I is even included, to illustrate Royalist opposition to Reformation." -- Publisher
Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), The Reasons of Mr. Alexander Craighead's Receding From the Present Judicatories of This Church, Together With its Constitution; To Which is Annexed a Preface to the Reader, to Discover the Basis or Foundation on Which the Reasons are Built (Philadelphia, PA: B. Franklin, 1743). Presbyterian Historical Society Microcard Evans no. 4.
"Craighead adhered to the Reformed Presbyterians from 1742 to 1749, but was never actually received as an RP minister. John Cuthbertson, who was sent out by the Reformed Presbytery in Scotland in 1751, was the first RP minister to serve in the New World. It fell to him, together with Matthew Linn and Alexander Dobbin, to organize the Reformed Presbytery, on March 10, 1774, at Paxtang, Pennsylvania. The printer was Benjamin Franklin!" -- Gordon J. Keddie "Bring the Book: A Bibliography of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1743 -- 1992" in REFORMED PRESBYTERIANS IN THE NEW WORLD, a special issue of Semper Reformanda, Vol. 1, No. 3, Fall 1992, ISSN: 1065-3783.
Craighead, The Reasons of Mr. Alexander Craighead's Receding From the Present Judicatories of This Church . . . 1743
http://www.truecovenanter.com/kirkgovt/creaghead_reasons_of_receding_1743.html
*Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), Renewal of the Covenants, National and Solemn League; A Confession of Sins; An Engagement to Duties; and a Testimony; as They Were Carried on at Middle Octorara in Pennsylvania, November 11, 1743. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27. A microform copy is held at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Presbyterian Historical Society.
"A fascinating Covenanter document proclaiming that 'to the Calvinistic system of principles, and the Presbyterian form of government, this nation (the United States), is largely indebted for its civil independence and republican polity. John Calvin and John Knox are the real founders of American liberties. Their teachings, plainly deducible from the Word of God, were disseminated by the persecuted remnant of the Church of Scotland, and were generally incorporated in the structure of American independence.' Furthermore, Glasgow, in his introduction, points out that Craighead's covenanting work formed a basis for the national Declaration of Independence, which followed shorter thereafter. 'For seven years Mr. Craighead labored among the Covenanter societies; but failing to receive assistance from Scotland, he removed, in 1749, to Virginia, thence to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. There he became identified with the Presbytery in connection with the Presbyterian Church. Being thoroughly imbued, however, with the principles of the Scotch Covenanters, Mr. Craighead taught them to his people around Charlotte. They in turn formulated them into the First Declaration of Independence, emitted at Charlotte, NC, May, 1775. According to a reliable author (Wheeler's REMINISCENCES, p. 278), Thomas Jefferson says in his autobiography that when he was engaged in preparing the National Declaration of Independence, that he and his colleagues searched everywhere for formulas, and that the printed proceedings of Octorara, as well as the Mecklenburg Declaration, were before him, and that he freely used ideas therein contained. It is difficult to determine, therefore, the real author of American Independence. Undoubtedly the principles of the Covenanters at Octarara in 1743, the sentiments of the Presbyterians at Charlotte in 1775, and the Declaration submitted by Jefferson in 1776, contain one and the same great principles. 'Honor to whom honor is due.' However, Glasgow also reports, 'hence the Declaration of American Independence was justifiable. But when the newly-born nation ignored the God of battles, rejected the authority of the Prince of the kings of the earth, and refused to administer the government in accordance with the requirements of the Divine Law, then the same loyal Covenanters, faithful to their principles and consistent with their history through all the struggles of the centuries, dissented from the Constitution of the United States, and are justifiable in the continuance of this position of political dissent so long as the government retains its character of political atheism. We may rightfully declare our independence of wicked men and rebellious nations, but we cannot declare our independence of God, and set up a government regardless of His authority, without incurring His wrath and suffering from His desolating judgements. 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' This rare book contains much that is exceedingly valuable and the section titled 'The Declaration, Protestation, and Testimony of a Suffering Remnant of the Anti-Popish, Anti-Lutheran, Anti-Prelatic, Anti-Erastian, Anti-Latitudinarian, Anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ, in America,' is well worth the price of the book itself. With Glasgow, we set this book forth 'trusting that his work will be of historical value to all Covenanters, and interesting to all other readers,' with the hope of 'enkindling a flame of love for the glorious principles of the Word of God, and arousing an interest in the great work of National Reformation'." -- Publisher
"The first RP church in America was established at Paxtang, Pa., in 1721, and the second at Middle Octorara, Pa., in 1732, both by immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. A third edition was published in 1895 in Beaver Falls, PA." -- Gordon J. Keddie
Craighead, Renewal of the Covenants at Middle Octorara, Pennsylvania
http://www.truecovenanter.com/covenants/octorara_covenant_renewal.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Dick, John (d. 1684), A Testimony to the Doctrine, Worship, Discipline, and Government of the Church of Scotland, and the Covenanted Work of Reformation as it was Profess'd in the Three Kingdoms: Together With an Account of the Persecution of Some of the Most Eminent in our Days for Their Adherence to the Same, 1684. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Erskine, Ralph (1685-1752), Covenanted Grace for Covenanting Work: A Sermon Preached at Stirling, December 28, 1743, in the Evening of That day, on Which the Ministers of the Associate Presbytery did, With Uplifted Hands, Solemnly Renew the National Covenants, 1865 Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
Erskine, Ralph, The Sermons and Other Practical Works of the Late Reverend Ralph Erskine, Dunfermline (1865), vol. 1
http://archive.org/details/sermonsotherpr01ersk
*Howie, John (1735-1793, collector and transcriber), Michael Shields, James Guthrie, John Kid, John King, et al., Faithful Contendings Displayed: Being an Historical Relation of the State and Actings of the Suffering Remnant in the Church of Scotland Subsisted in Select Societies, and Were United in General Correspondencies During the Hottest Time of the Late Persecution, viz. From the Year 1681 to 1691: Together with an account of the State of the land in general, and of the society people in particular, in the intervals betwixt each of their general meetings, with some pertinent remarks upon these historical occurrences, and many letters to and from the general correspondent meetings, 1780, ISBN: 1171237324 9781171237327 0548345945 9780548345948. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The long title continues: "Collected and kept in record by Mr. Michael Shields, who was clerk unto these general societies, and personally present at most of their meetings. To which is added, ten considerations on the danger of apostacy and defection from a covenanted work of reformation. By Mr. James Guthrie, sometime minister of the Gospel at Stirling. As also, a collection of very valuable sermons, preached by these faithful and eminent servants of Jesus Christ, Messrs. John Kid, John King, John Welch, John Blackadder, John Dickson, and Gabriel Semple. Collected and transcribed by John Howie, and published at the desire of some of those who desire to own the same testimony that some of those authors owned and sealed with their blood." -- long title continued
"Howie is famous for his BIOGRAPHIA SCOTICANA: OR, A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE LIVES, CHARACTERS, AND MEMORABLE TRANSACTIONS OF THE MOST EMINENT SCOTS WORTHIES (often just called SCOTS WORTHIES), but this work is just as valuable. A massive, rare classic, in which Howie aims at 'the gaining of friends unto, or confirming them in the covenanted interest, in a subserviency to God's glory and the good of His church' (preface, p. xxiv). Contains much information on the Reformation and the sufferings of the Covenanters which is found nowhere else (to our knowledge)." -- Publisher
*Kerr, James (1847-1905, editor), and et al., The Covenants and the Covenanters: Covenants, Sermons, and Documents of the Covenanted Reformation, 1895, ISBN: 9781406876109 1406876100. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"The Reformed Presbytery (in 1879), has well noted the following incongruity that is still with us today, 'We heard from various quarters the cry, 'maintain the truth, stand up for the principles of the Second Reformation:' and yet many of those who are the most loud in uttering this cry, appear desirous to bury in oblivion those imperishable national and ecclesiastical deeds, by which the church and kingdom of Scotland became 'married to the Lord.' (A Short Vindication of Our Covenanted Reformation, p. 20). This book should go a long way to remedying the above noted ignorance and hypocrisy among those who now call upon the name of the Lord especially those who claim a Reformation heritage and are still open to further growth as it spells out in no uncertain terms what lay at the heart of the Second Reformation. Moreover, these covenants (landmarks of the Lord), stand as beacons to all nations of their continuing moral duty to bind themselves to Christ (First Commandment), or suffer His avenging wrath. (Ps. 2 [Psalm 2]). And make no mistake about it, the Lord will utterly destroy all those who quarrel with His covenant bonds, whether individuals, churches or nations the mystery of iniquity will fall! The prefatory note to this magnificent volume well describes its value: The Covenants, Sermons, and Papers in this volume carry the readers back to some of the brightest periods in Scottish history. They mark important events in that great struggle by which these three kingdoms (England, Scotland and Ireland -- RB), were emancipated from the despotisms of Pope, Prince, and Prelate, and an inheritance of liberty secured for these Islands of the Sea. The whole achievements of the heroes of the battlefields are comprehended under that phrase of Reformers and Martyrs, 'The Covenanted Work of Reformation.' The attainments of those stirring times were bound together by the Covenants, as by rings of gold. The Sermons here were the product of the ripe thought of the main actors in the various scenes -- men of piety, learning, and renown. Hence, the nature, objects, and benefits of personal and national Covenanting are exhibited in a manner fitted to attract to that ordinance the minds and hearts of men. The readers can well believe the statements of Livingstone, who was present at several ceremonies of covenant-renovation: 'I never saw such motions from the Spirit of God. I have seen more than a thousand persons all at once lifting up their hands, and the tears falling down from their eyes.' In the presence of the defences of the Covenants as deeds, by these preachers, the baseless aspersions of novelists and theologians fade out into oblivion. True Christians must, as they ponder these productions, be convinced that the Covenanters were men of intense faith and seraphic fervour, and their own hearts will burn as they catch the heavenly flame. Members of the Church of Christ will be stirred to nobler efforts for the Kingdom of their Lord as they meditate on the heroism of those who were the 'chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof;' and they will behold with wonder that 'to the woman were given two wings of And Statesman will discover how princes, parliaments, and peoples united in the hearty surrender of themselves to the Prince of the kings and kingdoms of the earth; and will be aroused to promote that policy of Christian Statesmanship which, illustrating the purpose and will of God, the Father, shall liberate Parliaments and nations from the bonds of false religions, and assert for them those liberties and honours which spring from the enthronement of the Son of man, and King of kings and Lord of lords. This volume of documents of olden times is sent out on a mission of Revival of Religion, personal and national, in the present times. It would do a noble work if it helped to humble classes and masses, and led them to return as one man to that God in covenant from Whom all have gone so far away. A national movement, in penitence and faith, for the repeal of the Acts Recissory and the recognition of the National Covenants would be as life from the dead throughout the British Empire. The people and rulers of these dominions shall yet behold the brilliancy of the Redeemer's crowns; and shall, by universal consent, exalt Him who rules in imperial majesty over the entire universe of God. For, 'The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.' Here we have some of the most moving sermons ever addressed to a people and their nations, given before the most solemn of occasions national covenant renewal! Alexander Henderson, Andrew Cant, Joseph Caryl, Edmond Calamy and a host of other Puritan Covenanters (even the turncoat Independent Philip Nye), are included here in easy to read modern (1895) type. Anyone interested in seeing the royal prerogatives of King Jesus once again trumpeted throughout the nations, on a national and international scale, needs this book for these men 'were setting up landmarks by which the city of God will be known at the dawn of the millennial day'." (Thomas Sproull cited in the Reformed Presbytery's Short Vindication, p. 38) -- Publisher
"Contents: The national covenants: Introduction [Part One]. | The national covenant, or confession of faith | Exhortation to the Lords of Council | Sermon at St. Andrews / Alexander Henderson | Exhortation at Inverness / Andrew Cant | Sermon at Glasgow / Andrew Cant | Sermon at Edinburgh / Andrew Cant [Part Two]. | The solemn league and covenant | Act of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland | Exhortation at Westminster / Philip Nye | Address at Westminster / Alexander Henderson | Sermon at Westminster / Thomas Coleman | Sermon at Westminster / Joseph Caryl | Sermon at London [the first, of Sat., 30th Sept., 1643] / Thomas Case | Sermon at London [the second, of Sun., 1st Oct., 1643] / Thomas Case | An ordinance of the Lords and Commons | Exhortation by the Westminster Assembly | Sermon at London / Edmund Calamy [Part Three]. | The national covenants. Coronation sermon at Scone / Robert Douglas | Charles II, taking the covenants | The acts rescissory | The Torwood excommunication | Act against conventicles | The Sanquhar Declaration | Protestation against the Union | Secession from the revolution church."
The Covenants and the Covenanters: Covenants, Sermons, and Documents of the Covenanted Reformation. Introduction on the National Covenants by James Kerr, 1895
http://archive.org/details/covenantscovenan00kerr
The Covenants and the Covenanters
Project Gutenberg free e-text online.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19100
Lee, Francis Nigel, Westminster Confession and Modern Society. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"How may we confess Christ, to a changing and hostile society, in the twentieth century? Dr. Lee leads us to the teaching of the WCF (1646), showing how it addresses every area of life with its comprehensive and Biblically faithful testimony to the Truth!" -- Publisher
Mackmillan (sic) [McMillan], John, Church of Scotland. Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, A True Narrative of the Proceedings of the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright Against one of Their Number.
A True Narrative of the Proceedings of the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright Against one of Their Number; And That to the Sentence of Deposition; To Which is Added the Grievances
http://www.covenanter.org/JMcmillan1/narrative.htm
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), Christian Citizenship, No. 1: The Reformer Endued With Power.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), Christian Citizenship: Manual of Reforms, Illustrated, 1895.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), Covenanters in America: The Voice of Their Testimony on Present Moral Issues, Reasons for the Hope and Work of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1892. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"This books gives some historical information, but the bulk of it sets forth the distinctive beliefs of a branch of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Some topics covered include public social covenanting, political dissent, divine psalmody, the Sabbath, national reform and evangelism, education and more. We note that the chapter on temperance is clearly in error and that a much stronger and more vital Covenanter testimony is set forth in the ACT, DECLARATION AND TESTIMONY FOR THE WHOLE OF OUR COVENANTED REFORMATION . . . EMITTED BY THE REFORMED PRESBYTERY AT PLOUGHLANDHEAD, SCOTLAND, 1761; TOGETHER WITH THE SUPPLEMENTS ADOPTED BY THE REFORMED PRESBYTERY AT THIS DATE, JUNE 2D, 1876." -- Publisher
*Mitchell, Alexander F., (1822-1899), Minutes of the Sessions of the Westminster Assembly of Divines While Engaged in Preparing Their Directory for Church Government, Confession of Faith, and Catechisms (November 1644 to March 1649), 1874, ISBN: 0921148291 9780921148296. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Warfield states, 'The fundamental authority for the study of the work of the Assembly for the period covered by it is, of course, the volume of its Minutes edited by Drs. A.F. Mitchell and John Struthers.' This work was also called the best book concerning the Assembly by Gregg Singer. It was compiled from transcripts originally procured by a committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. An invaluable aid for all those who love creedal Christianity, as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. A very rare resource that should contribute much to the ongoing Reformation. Indexed." -- Publisher
*Parliament, The First Parliament During the Reign of James VI of Scotland, Christ's Triumphant Entry Into Scotland; Or, The Subjugation of the People, Laws, Liberties, and Crown of Scotland to His Supreme Majesty Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; Being, The Complete Text of all of the Acts of the First Parliament During the Reign of James VI of Scotland.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4)
The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. (Psalm 97:1)
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. (Psalm 37:6)
http://truecovenanter.com/official/acts_of_parliament_scotland_james_vi_p01.phtml
See: Skene, John, THE LAVVES AND ACTES OF PARLIAMENT, MAID BE KING IAMES THE FIRST, AND HIS SUCCESSOURS KINGES OF SCOTLAND.
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland, Historical Part of the Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Britain and Ireland, Containing an Account of the Faithful Contendings of the Witnesses of Christ . . . (In overture), 1863. Available (REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN TESTIMONY) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available in REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN TESTIMONY, 1842.
Reformed Presbyterian Church (Scotland), Historical Part of the Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Containing a Brief Sketch of the Contendings of the Witnesses, From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1841.
*Reformed Presbyterian Church (Scotland), Reformed Presbyterian Testimony, 1842. Alternate title: TESTIMONY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SCOTLAND: HISTORICAL AND DOCTRINAL, over 400 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Keddie describes this as 'a doctrinal and historical statement, explaining and expanding upon the RPC's commitment to the Westminster Standards, the National Covenant, and the Solemn League and Covenant.' (Nigel Cameron, editor, Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, p. 699). It contains the historical part of the testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland including a brief sketch of the contending of the witnesses from the earliest period to the present time. The doctrinal section of the Church's testimony follows, covering everything from 'Divine Revelation' to 'Covenanting'." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (RPCNA), Reformation Principles Exhibited, 1806-07, 260 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Although this document was unfaithfully adopted by the RPCNA (when they decried faithful historical testimony as an article of faith in the preface), this book still contains much useful doctrinal and historical information. Part one is 'A Brief Historical View of the Church, As a Visible Society in Covenant with God. In Two Books. The First Exhibiting the Church Universal; and the Second the Reformed Presbyterian Church.'
"Part two contains the 'Declaration and Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America (RPCNA).'
"Furthermore, notwithstanding the unfaithfulness of the adopting body, REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED testifies to real attainments. Examples include testifying against the immoral U.S. constitution, against jury duty, against the use of the elective franchise (voting) and against swearing an oath of allegiance under this immoral constitution. Close communion is upheld and occasional hearing is denounced as a sinful, schismatic practice. Interestingly, this earlier edition can be compared with later editions to exhibit the continuing defection of the RPCNA -- even from what was good (and part of her own terms of communion), in her own earlier standards. For example, in part two, chapter 21, point 5, 'Of Church Fellowship,' we read, 'We therefore condemn the following errors, and testify against all who maintain them: . . . 5. That it is lawful for the Church to be without any terms of communion. 6. That any person may be admitted to communion, who opposes any of the terms of Church fellowship. 7. That occasional communion may be extended to persons who should not be received to constant fellowship.' (p. 75). Also, 'We therefore condemn the following errors, and testify against all who maintain them . . . 1. That the Bible is the only proper testimony of the church (which takes into account that the Bible is the only divine testimony, but also recognizes human testimony, agreeable to Scripture, as binding [or else why preach, for example, if no one is bound to obey any human testimony, even if the human testimony is agreeable to the divine testimony found in the Bible? (Cf. Various places in Samuel Rutherford's DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES and A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE for further explanation) -- RB]. 2. That a Christian is under no obligation to follow Christ's witnesses in their faithful contendings. 3. That it is lawful, in order to enlarge the church, to open a wider door of communion, by declining from a more pointed testimony, to one which is more loose and general.' (p. 120, part 2, emphases added). How sad that these faithful testimonies are no longer upheld (as points of discipline), in the modern RPCNA." -- Publisher
"The introduction is particularly helpful in understanding Covenanter history in America.
"A final caveat must likewise be observed, and it is this: that, while (1) the History related herein forms so much of the ground for presenting the document below, and while (2) as Covenanters we defend the use of Historical Testimony as a Term of Communion, and find the Historical Testimony of the ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY competent to this end, yet -- We do not pretend that the History contained in REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED, either the first edition, or any later edition, is approvable for this purpose. Besides matters related which are not to be approved, the fact is, that the historical part of this work contains a number of inaccuracies and uncertain speculations that make it many ways inferior in nature to the ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY. In the original testimony from Scotland, no attempt is made to account for the entire history of the Church of Jesus Christ, nor even to present full details concerning the history of the Church of Scotland. Instead, the authors set in order necessary and important historical facts that were well attested, and creditably related, and testified as to their morality or immorality. REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED, on the other hand, presents a Narrative of History, more and less certain, useful for the reader's instruction in ecclesiastical history, but not competent to form a Historical Testimony." -- True Covenanter
Reformation Principles Exhibited
http://truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/rpe.html
*Reformed Presbytery, Auchensaugh Renovation of the National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant; With the Acknowledgement of sins and Engagement to Duties as They Were Renewed at Auchensaugh in 1712 . . . Also the Renovation of These Public Federal Deeds Ordained at Philadelphia, Oct. 8, 1880, by the Reformed Presbytery, With Accommodation of the Original Covenants, in Both Transactions, to Their Times and Positions Respectively, 1880 edition. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #2, #25, #30.
" 'In 1712, at Auchensaugh, the Covenants, National and Solemn League, were renewed . . . At the renewal the covenant bonds were recognized as binding the descendants of those who first entered into those bonds. The Covenanters, however, sought to display the true intent of those Covenants with marginal notes. These notes explained that the Church of Jesus Christ, in Scotland (and around the world), must not join hands with any political power in rebellion to the crown rights of King Jesus. The Covenanters pledged the Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Church to the support of lawful magistracy (i.e. magistracy which conformed itself to the precepts of God's Word), and declared themselves and their posterity against support of any power, in Church or State, which lacked biblical authority.' (From 'About the Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Church' P.O. Box 131, Pottstown, PA 19464). An excellent introduction (historical and moral), regarding the reasons, motives and manner of fulfilling the duty of covenanting with God. Especially helpful concerning the Biblical view of the blessings (for covenant-keepers), and cursings (for covenant breakers), related to covenanting. As noted on page 37, 'the godly usually in times of great defection from the purity and power of religion, and corruption of the ordinances of God's worship, set about renewing their covenant, thereby to prevent covenant curses, and procure covenant blessing; as we find both in scripture record, 2 Chron. 15:12-13 [2 Chronicles 15:12-13]; 29:10 [2 Chronicles 29:10]; 34:30-31 [2 Chronicles 34:30-31]; Ezra 10:3, and in our own ecclesiastical history.' Times like ours certainly call for a revival of the Scriptural ordinance of covenanting, for 'the nations throughout Christendom, continue in league with Antichrist and give their strength to the beast. They still refuse to profess and defend the true religion in doctrine, worship, government and discipline, contrary to the example of the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland in the seventeenth century'." -- Publisher
McMillan, John, I (1669?-1753), Renovation of Covenants, Auchensaugh
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/19/renovation-of-covenants-auchensaugh-1712
Price, Greg L., The Auchensaugh Renovation, 2 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"This is the story of the renewal of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, which took place under the leadership of John Macmillan (cf. The Cameronian Apostle by Reid), at Auchensaugh, July 24, 1712. Events leading up to this renewal are especially pertinent, as they expose the Satanic tactics which often become most useful to the devil in attacking all revivals and those seeking to return to covenanted attainments. Price notes how Cromwell's tolerationism opened the floodgates of iniquity and helped pave the way (though not intended by the covenant breaking Cromwellians), for the tyranny of Charles II. This set the stage for the corrupted and defective revolution of 1688 and the malignant Revolution church, which left the Covenanted Reformation buried under the debris of William's Erastianism, Prelacy (in England and Ireland), and the compromised Presbyterianism of the Revolution Church in Scotland (cf. Clarkson's Plain Reasons for Presbyterians Dissenting from the Revolution Church of Scotland; this Revolution church was the root of much modern day Presbyterian defection and this book still eloquently denounces this defection). The Auchensaugh Renovation cleared away all the Reformation denying rubbish that had accumulated from 1649 to 1712, and 'being agreeable to the Word of God' became part of the terms of communion of the Reformed Presbyterian church on Nov. 3, 1712 (cf. Terms of Ministerial and Christian Communion in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, point 4 of 6). It is also interesting to note that at the Lord's Supper (on July 27, 1712), following this covenant renewal, Macmillan, in 'fencing the tables' proclaimed, 'I excommunicate and debar from this Holy Table of the Lord, all devisers, commanders, users, or approvers, of any religious worship not instituted by God in His Word, all tolerators and countenancers thereof; and by consequence I debar and excommunicate from this Holy Table of the Lord, Queen and Parliament, and all under them, who spread and propagate or tolerate a false and superstitious worship, ay, and until they repent.' Furthermore, concerning those who opposed the covenants and the work of reformation, Macmillan trumpeted these faithful words, 'I excommunicate and debar all who are opposers of our Covenants and Covenanted Reformation, and all that have taken oaths contrary to our covenants, and such particularly as are takers of the Oath of Abjuration, whether Ministers or others, until they repent.' (Reformed Presbytery, The Auchensaugh Renovation . . . p. 55). Beyond the fascinating and detailed story of the history and reasons for the Auchensaugh renovation of the covenants, these studies also clearly and biblically explain the continuing obligation to renew lawful covenants, makes application to our day, and demonstrates how covenanting was foundational to the Second Reformation. A fine (and unique), set of tapes defending the attainments of our Covenanted Reformation! For more information see our bound photocopy The Auchensaugh Renovation . . . by the Reformed Presbytery." -- Publisher
The Reformed Presbytery, The Auchensaugh Renovation of the National Covenant and: Solemn League and Covenant With the Acknowledgment of Sins and Engagement to Duties, as They Were Renewed at Auchensaugh, Near Douglas, July 24, 1712. (Compared With the Editions of Paisley, 1820, and Belfast, 1835). Also, The Renovation of These Public Federal Deeds Ordained at Philadelphia, October 8, 1880, by the Reformed Presbytery, with Accommodation of the Original Covenants, in Both Transactions, to Their Times and Positions Respectively
http://archive.org/details/theauchensaughre12381gut
Reformed Presbytery, The Auchensaugh Renovation of the National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant With the Acknowledgment of Sins and Engagement to Duties, as They Were Renewed at Auchensaugh, Near Douglas, July 24, 1712. (Compared with the editions of Paisley, 1820, and Belfast, 1835). Also, The Renovation of These Public Federal Deeds Ordained at Philadelphia, October 8, 1880, by the Reformed Presbytery, with Accommodation of the Original Covenants, in Both Transactions, to Their Times and Positions Respectively.
McMillan, John, I (1669?-1753), Renovation of Covenants, Auchensaugh
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/19/renovation-of-covenants-auchensaugh-1712
Reformed Presbytery, Minutes of the Reformed Presbytery (America) [of North America "Steelite"]
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/minutes_rp.htm
Reformed Presbytery, The "Preamble and Resolutions" and The Reformed Presbytery's "Deed of Constitution" of 1840
http://www.truecovenanter.com/deedcons.html
*Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," David Steele (1803-1887), John Thorburn (1730?-1788), John Courtass (d. 1795), et al., Act, Declaration, and Testimony, for the Whole of the Covenanted Reformation, as Attained to, and Established in, Britain and Ireland; Particularly Betwixt the Years 1638 and 1649, Inclusive. As, Also, Against all the Steps of Defection From Said Reformation, Whether in Former or Later Times, Since the Overthrow of that Glorious Work, Down to This Present day (1876), (Philadelphia, PA: Printed by Rue and Jones, 1876), a new edition of the Ploughlandhead Testimony of 1761, the subordinate standard of the original "Steelite" Reformed Presbytery that was constitutes in 1840. Available (the 1850 edition only) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (the 1850 edition only) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"And now, when time has proved that more recent Testimonies, Terms, and Covenants, have failed to preserve either unity or uniformity among those who framed them; it cannot be unseasonable to re-exhibit the original ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY, which has been justly characterized as 'the most profoundly reasoned document ever emitted by the Reformed Presbyterian Church'." -- The Reformation Advocate Magazine, Vol. I, No. 8, December, 1875, page 267
"Upholds the original work of the Westminster Assembly and testifies to the abiding worth and truth formulated in the Westminster family of documents. Upholds and defends the Crown Rights of King Jesus in Church and State, denouncing those who would remove the crown from Christ's head by denying His right to rule (by His law), in both the civil and ecclesiastical spheres. Testifies to the received doctrine, government, worship, and discipline of the Church of Scotland in her purest (reforming) periods. Applies God's Word to the Church's corporate attainments 'with a judicial approbation of the earnest contendings and attainments of the faithful, and a strong and pointed judicial condemnation of error and the promoters thereof.' (The Contending Witness magazine, Dec. 17/93, p. 558). Shows the church's great historical victories (such as the National and Solemn League and Covenant, leading to the Westminster Assembly), and exposes her enemies actions (e.g. the Prelacy of Laud; the Independency, sectarianism, covenant breaking and ungodly toleration set forth by the likes of Cromwell [and the Independents that conspired with him]; the Erastianism and civil sectarianism of William of Orange, etc.). It is not likely that you will find a more consistent working out of the principles of Calvinism anywhere. Deals with the most important matters relating to the individual, the family, the church and the state. Sets forth a faithful historical testimony of God's dealings with men during some of the most important days of church history. A basic text that should be mastered by all Christians." -- Publisher
Act, Declaration, and Testimony (1876)
https://archive.org/details/actdeclarationte00refo
Act, Declaration and Testimony, 1761 (edition of 1876)
"Compared with the 1777 edition, Philadelphia. We hereby certify that this is a true edition of the ORIGINAL JUDICIAL TESTIMONY, emitted by the Reformed Presbytery at Ploughlandhead, Scotland, 1761; together with the Supplements adopted by the Reformed Presbytery at this date, June 2d, 1876. [Signed -- compiler] David Steele, James Campbell, Robert Clyde, Robert Alexander, Committee.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/
*Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite" (David Steele [1803-1887], James Campbell, Thomas Sproull, James Fulton), A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, 2nd Edition, Revised, and Enlarged by a Committee of the Reformed Presbytery ("Circular" and "Review" prefixed), 1879, 50 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Also available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #2 (also #1, #25, and #30).
"Until the church comes to terms with what is written in this book it will remain weak and divided. Covenant breakers will not prosper, as this rare item demonstrates from both Scripture and history. The power packed ordinance of covenanting (the National and Solemn League and Covenant in particular), was foundational to the Second Reformation and the work of the Westminster Assembly. 'By the National Covenant our fathers laid Popery prostrate. By the Solemn League and Covenant they were successful in resisting prelatic encroachments and civil tyranny. By it they were enabled to achieve the Second Reformation . . . They were setting up landmarks by which the location and limits of the city of God will be known at the dawn of the millennial day . . . How can they be said to go forth by the footsteps of the flock, who have declined from the attainments, renounced the covenants and contradicted the testimony of 'the cloud of witnesses. . . . All the schisms (separations) that disfigure the body mystical of Christ . . . are the legitimate consequences of the abandonment of reformation attainments, the violation of covenant engagements.' If you are interested in knowing how to recognize a faithful church (or state), when and why to separate from unfaithful institutions, who has held up the standard of Covenanted Reformation attainments and who has backslidden (and why), what it means to subscribe to the Westminster Confession (1646), (and why most that say they do so today do not have any idea of what that means), and much more concerning individual, family, church and civil, individual, family, church and civil duties, this is one of the best books you will ever lay your hands on. It chronicles 'some instances of worldly conformity and mark(s) some steps of defection from our 'covenanted unity and uniformity,' noting how 'it is necessary to take a retrospect of our history for many years; for we did not all at once reach our present condition of sinful ignorance and manifold apostasy.' Presbyterian and the Reformed churches lay under the heavy hand of God's judgement in our day, because of the very defections noted throughout this fine work. 'We heard (hear) from various quarters the cry, "maintain the truth, stand up for the principles of the Second Reformation"; and yet many of those who are the most loud in uttering this cry, appear desirous to bury in oblivion those imperishable national and ecclesiastical deeds, by which the church and kingdom of Scotland became 'married to the Lord.' Are we married to the Lord, or have we thrown off the covenants of our forefathers; are we the chaste bride of Christ, or a harlot who is found in the bedchambers of every devilish suitor (whether ecclesiastical or civil), who tempts us with the favors of this world? Let us cry out, as with 'the noble Marquis of Argyle, upon the scaffold,' when he said, 'God hath tied us by covenants to religion and reformation. These that were then unborn are yet engaged, and it passeth the power of all the magistrates under heaven to absolve them from the oath of God. They deceive themselves, and it may be, would deceive others, who think otherwise.' Not for the weak of heart." -- Publisher
A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, Reformed Presbytery
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-short-vindication-of-our-covenanted-reformation
Reformed Presbytery [Reformed Presbytery of North America of David Steele, 1803-1887], "Steelite," Minutes and Proceedings of General Meetings and Presbytery (1840-1929)
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/minutes-of-presbytery
Minutes of Proceedings of the Reformed Presbytery at Brush Creek, Adams County, Ohio, 1840
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1840
1841
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1841
1842, April
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1842april
1842, October
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1842october
1843 | 1844, May | 1844, October | 1844, November | 1845, With the death of Rev. Robert Lusk, Presbytery was dissolved. | 1846, General Correspondence
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/rp_general_correspondence_minutes_1846.html
1847-53, General Correspondence, Missing. With the accession of Rev. James J. Peoples, Presbytery was re-constituted. | 1854, June
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1854june
1854, October
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1854october
1855
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1855
1856
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1856
1857, June
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1857june
1857, October
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1857october
1858, May
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1858may.htm
1858, August
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1858aug.htm
1859
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1859.htm
1860
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1860.htm
1861
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1861.htm
1862, Missing | 1863, Missing, Part of a report is found with Minutes of 1864 | 1864
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1864.htm
1865
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1865.htm
1866 | 1867 | 1868 | 1869
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1869.htm
1870, Missing. | 1871, Missing | 1872, Presbytery did not meet | 1873
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1873.htm
1874, Presbytery did not meet | 1875, June | 1875, September | 1876 | 1877
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1877.htm
1878 | 1879 | 1880, May | 1880, October | 1881
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1881
1882 | 1883
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1883
1884 | 1885 | Outline of proceedings in the Reformed Presbytery since June 4, 1884
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/outlineofproceedings.htm
1886
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/1886
1887
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/30/1887
With the death of Rev. David Steele, Presbytery was dissolved. Hereafter follows the Minutes of the General Meetings of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. | 1888
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/30/1888
1889
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/30/1889
1890
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/30/1890
1891
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/30/1891
1892
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1892.htm
1893
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1893.htm
1894
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/29/1894
1895
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/29/1895?rq=McAuley
1896
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/29/1896
1897
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/29/1897
1898
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/29/1898
1899, Missing. | 1900, Missing. | 1901, Missing. | 1902, Missing. 1903
http://www.covenanter.org/Minutes/min1903.htm
1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/27/1920
1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | From 1930 to the present no Minutes are available.
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. Committee on Public Morals and National Righteousness, The Christian and Gambling.
Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," A Statement of our Reasons for Maintaining our Separate Standing (1888)
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/reasons_for_maintaining_separate_standing.html
Reid, H.M.B. (Henry Martyn Beckwith), The Kirk Above Dee Water, 1895. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
" 'This little book (128 pages) . . . embodies a few scattered notices of the Balmaghie Church since the year 1615 . . . The dominating figure in the following pages is, of course, the great Macmillan' (Preface). Here 'they went to hear the word of God properly preached' in the Kirk of the Hill Folk, which had never fyled its hands with 'an Erastian Establishment!' (Introduction). An interesting look at a Covenanter congregation." -- Publisher
*Schwertley, Brian M., and Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. Publications Committee, National Covenanting and Christ's Victory Over the Nations. Available at Reformed Online.
"This is the first book-length, scholarly exposition and defense of national covenanting since 1843. This comprehensive treatment includes the binding nature of covenants, covenant renewals under the godly kings of Israel, objections to covenanting answered, the unbiblical nature of the U.S. Constitution, the unscriptural alteration of the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1789, the necessity of the Old Testament moral law for a Christian nation and the biblical requirements for civil office. In the book, Rev. Schwertley not only sets forth the biblical case for social or national covenanting in a simple and organized manner but also critiques the modern pluralistic alternatives to the original Presbyterian teaching on this topic." -- Publisher
It was preceded by 'Social Covenanting,' a series of 31 sermons in MP3 format, given by the author starting in the summer of 2012.
Social Covenanting series of 31 sermons [audio files] by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=ccc&keyword=National+Covenanting&keyworddesc=National+Covenanting
*Shaw, J.W., Hephzibah Beulah. Our Covenants the National and Solemn League; and Covenanting by the Reformed Presbyterian Synod in America: Considered, 1872. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"A very useful, easy-to-read, introductory work (by an RPCNA minister), to the topics it deals with. General Scriptural principles upon which this book is based are:
1. Departure from former laudable attainments, is a great evil, severely threatened in the Holy Scriptures; and that for which every one, who is guilty, must be accountable to the Righteous Judge of all the earth."Chapters include: The National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant reviewed; Their Binding Obligations Shown; The Possibility That Adherence to Them may be Professed, While They are Virtually Abandoned; The Covenant Sworn and Subscribed by Synod at Pittsburgh, May 27th, 1871; Is it a Renovation or a new Covenant?; The Covenant Does not Contain all That the Church is Bound to in America; Charges Against the Covenant; Reason why Some who do not Like it, Swear it; The Covenants National and Solemn League Must Be Maintained." -- Publisher
2. They who consent unto the unrighteous deeds of others, are chargeable with guilt, as well as the principal actors.
3. Societies, or individuals, having once publicly and solemnly vowed unto the Most High God; and still, after the strictest enquiry, remain satisfied in their own mind, that their vows were scriptural; should seriously endeavor to act up to the true spirit and intention of these vows; and no power upon earth, nor any class of men, whether majority or minority, in a nation, can ever possibly dissolve the obligation.
Smyth, Thomas (1808-1873), John William Flinn, and Jean Adger Flinn, Complete Works of Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D. 10 volumes.
Complete Works of Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D., vol. 1 of 10.
http://archive.org/details/completeworks01smytuoft
*Sproull, Thomas (1803-1892), The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced: A Sermon Preached March 14th, 1841, in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Allegheny. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced, Thomas Sproull
http://www.covenanter.org/TSproull/dutyofsocialcovenanting.htm
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Circular No. 3: A Concise History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church From the Middle of the Sixteenth Century and of the Reformed Presbytery From 1840 Till the Present Time, 1886. Alternate title: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ISBN: 092114816X 9780921148166. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
Steele, Circular No. 3. A Concise History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church from the Middle of the Sixteenth Century and of the Reformed Presbytery From 1840 Till the Present Time
"A sketch of Reformed Presbyterian Church history with special emphasis on the formation of the Reformed Presbytery (i.e., "Steelite"), in 1840, and its 19th century contendings."
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/25/circular-no3-a-concise-history-of-the-reformed-presbyterian-church-from-the-middle-of-the-sixteenth-century-and-of-the-reformed-presbytery-from-1840-till-the-present-time
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Historical Testimony.
"An article explaining what historical testimony is, how it is applicable to the church and why it needs to be part of the terms of communion of the Reformed Presbyterian, or Covenanter, church." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/historical-testimony
Historical Testimony, an excerpt from The Original Covenanter, Vol. II, December, 1879, No. 12
He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. (Psalm 78:5)
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/magazine/orig_cov_historical_testimony.html
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Reminiscences: Historical and Biographical of a Ministry in the Reformed Presbyterian Church During Fifty Three Years, 1883. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
David Steele, was the pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, Philadelphia.
"Since Steele forms a continuing theological link with the faithful General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland (1638-1649), this book is of great importance. Steele held to the attainments of the second (or covenanted), Reformation which gave us the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards -- and other Covenanters who follow in this train (along with the British Covenanters, like Rutherford and Gillespie), are sometimes derisively branded as 'Steelites' or 'Cameronians'." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/reminiscences-historical-and-biographical-of-a-ministry-in-the-refd-presbyterian-church-during-fifty-three-years
Steele, David (1803-1887), Daughters of the American Revolution. Colonel John Donelson Chapter (D.C.), Presbyterian Church Records of Adams County, Ohio, 1831-1861; Hill Prairie, Illinois; And a few Butler County, Pennsylvania, Records, 1861-1884.
"The Reverend David Steele was ordained and installed as a third pastor of the Brush Creek Presbyterian Church community of Adams County, Ohio, on June 24, 1831. He served in this congregation for twenty nine years, and travelled thousands of miles yearly. He also took care of several other community churches, one being Mill Creek, Kentucky. After leaving Ohio, he spent several years near Sparta, Illinois, and ministered to the Paint Creek Society, Walnut Ridge Congregation, Illinois, and the Hill Prairie, Illinois, Congregation. He retired to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1887. During the time in Philadelphia, he performed marriages and some baptisms; in Butler County he performed some baptisms." -- Publisher
Steele, David (1803-1887), Presbyterian Church Records of Adams County, Ohio, 1831-1861: Hill Prairie, Ill. and a few Butler County, Pennsylvania Records, 1861-1884.
"Notes: Includes the personal records of Rev. Dr. David Steele who served as Presbyterian minister of Adams County (Ohio), Paint Creek Society, Walnut Ridge Congregation (Illinois) and the Hill Prairie Illinois Congregation -- p. 1."
Identical to above of the same title (OCLC 865991321), but two pages longer.
*Steele, David (1803-1887, editor), Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," The Contending Witness (vol. 1:1 -- 2:6, Apr. 1841 to Feb. 1843), The Reformation Advocate (vol. 1:1 -- 1:12, March 1874 to Dec. 1876), The Original Covenanter (vol. 2:1 -- 2:16, March 1877 to Dec. 1880), and The Original Covenanter (vol. 3:1 -- 3:16, March 1881 to Dec. 1884). Available (all four volumes, a complete set of this continuous periodical under its various names) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (all four volumes, a complete set of this continuous periodical under its various names) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
"The following list [complete and found above -- compiler] of [continuous issues under various names -- compiler] magazines, edited by David Steele, comprise what is likely the best compilation of Christian periodicals ever amassed under one set of bindings. Nothing we know of (before or since), authored as magazine articles related to full-orbed nation shaking biblical Reformation, even comes close to the consistent quality of writing found in these short works on various subjects. Steele himself should probably be considered the best theologian of the nineteenth century, and the other contributors to these magazines were all approaching the same class. A healthy portion of Steele's writing is found in these magazines, as he only wrote a few other books, so the reader is encouraged to sample for himself some of the best writing (defending the Covenanted Reformation), you will find anywhere!" -- Publisher
Various excerpted articles may be found elsewhere in the topical listing for David Steele.
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, September 1874, no. 3, "Has the Government of the United States a Christian Character?"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/5_Has%20the%20US%20a%20Christian%20Character.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, December 1874, no. 4, Signs of the Times
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/6_Signs%20of%20The%20Times.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, March 1874, no. 1, "To our Patrons"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/1_To%20Our%20Patrons.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, June 1874, no. 2, "Christmas Trees"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/4_Christmas%20Trees.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, March 1874, no. 1, "Are Hymns Idols"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/3_Are%20Hymns%20Idols.pdf
The Contending Witness magazine, Vol. 1:1-2:6, Apr. 1841 to Feb. 1843. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.See also: Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing, The Best of The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness Magazine. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing.
The Reformation Advocate magazine, Vol. 1:1-1:12, March 1874 to Dec. 1876. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Original Covenanter magazine, Vol. 2:1-2:16, March 1877 to Dec. 1880. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Original Covenanter magazine, Vol. 3:1-3:16, March 1881 to Dec. 1884. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Steele, David (1803-1887), and Thomas Hannay, Declaration and Testimony for the Present Truth, 1864. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"On diligent searching the several Testimonies emitted since the overthrow of the work of reformation in the year 1650, the reader will doubtless find that none of them exhibits a platform so near the holy Scriptures, or presents so fully the position occupied by our church from 1638 to 1649, as that which was adopted at Ploughlandhead, Scotland, 1761. Surely we may adopt and apply the language of Nehemiah: -- Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." [Nehemiah 2:17]
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/declaration-and-testimony-for-the-present-truth
*Steele, David (1803-1887), The Two Witnesses: Their Cause, Number, Character, Furniture and Special Work, 1859. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"This is a great companion volume to Steele's NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE. Here Steele zeros in on and works primarily from the text of Revelation 11:13, I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy. Steele deals with Testimony-bearing, Antichrist, Popery, The beasts of revelation, The mark of the beast, 666, The image of the beast, Civil and ecclesiastical apostasy, Reformation, Covenanting, Heresy, Schism, Terms of communion, Slavery, Sectarianism, Mormonism, Independency, Freemasonry, History, Worship, Idolatry, Britain, The united states, Canada, Mystical babylon, The last days, The ultimate victory of the church, and a host of other subjects!
"As is usually the case with Steele, he makes the doctrines of Scripture eminently practical. For example, note how the faithful witnesses are continually called to testify against open opposition to the Lord's Covenanted Zion and the attainments of biblical Reformation in (the faith which was once delivered unto the saints); and against whom this testimony is directed:
'These witnesses are called and commissioned to testify especially against Antichrist -- a false christ, and therefore an opposing christ. But Christ is to be considered either personally or mystically; either abstractly in his personal rights and prerogatives, or in the concrete, in the rights and immunities of his church. There is this prejudice, too prevalent, against Christians testifying against Christians! This we are often told, is contrary to the law of charity. We have not so learned Christ. They are not all Israel which are of Israel. Much of the business of these two prophets is to oppose prophets -- to prophesy against the shepherds, Ezekiel 34:2. Moses with his miracles must confront the magicians with their enchantments, Exodus 8:19. Elijah must confront the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:25. Paul must counteract false apostles, 2 Corinthians 11:13. In short, the direct object of these witnesses' testimony is apostate christendom -- those who depart from the faith, 1 Timothy 4:1 -- who have gone out from fellowship and renounced the doctrines of the apostolic church, 1 John 2:19. Their special work is to testify against error and its propagators and abettors, together with ungodliness, the natural fruit of error, rather than against pagans.' -- The Two Witnesses, p. 14"Moreover, having taken his own place 'in the wilderness' (i.e. having separated himself from, and having been ostracized by the 'civilization' of the obstinately defecting RPCNA and other unfaithful denominations of his day [2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; Revelation 12:6, Revelation 17:3]), it was given to Steele to see and expound those grand old principles of our covenanted forefathers (who sat at Westminster and in the best Reformed churches during both the first and second Reformations -- the Scottish Presbyterians being granted the greatest measure of light as a settled body from 1638-1649).
'These two witnesses have always testified -- not formally against pagans or infidels as such; but -- against apostate Christians, as comprising an organized and complex system of opposition to the Lord and his Anointed. And just here, the witnesses have detected the secret of Antichrist's successful enterprise among the human family . . .' Many false prophets are gone out into the world. . . this is a deceiver and an Antichrist, (2 John 7). The combination is ostensibly on the side and in the interest of Christ, and the elements of which Antichrist is composed were obviously professing Christians, They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:19). Here is the apostasy, and so the witnesses are fully borne out in asserting that Antichrist is a great Christian apostasy! To trace the origin and development, in the organization and modifications of this enemy of all righteousness, is the special work of Christ's witnesses.' -- (The Two Witnesses, pp. 17-18)
Steele, David (1826-1906), and Robert Hunter, In Memory of the Rev. David Steele, D.D., LL.D. (1826-1906), 66 pages. Alternate title: IN MEMORY OF THE REV. DAVID STEELE, D.D., LL.D, FOR FORTY-FIVE YEARS PASTOR OF THE FOURTH REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION OF PHILADELPHIA AND PROFESSOR IN THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN SEMINARY AT PHILADELPHIA FOR FORTY-THREE YEARS . . .
The author and subject is David Steele (1826-1906), who was a nephew of David Steele (1803-1887).
"In 1853 the Rev. Dr. David Steele, Sr., an uncle of Dr. Steele, then residing in Adams Co., Ohio, and one of the foremost exponents of the Covenanter faith in the United States, visited Ireland, the result of which was that there was deepened in the mind of the nephew an intense longing to enter the ministry.
"He spent his first Sabbath in Philadelphia, worshiping in the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church (O.S.) located on 17th Street below Race Street, of which the Rev. Dr. S.O. Wylie was pastor. Shortly afterwards, he went to Adams Co., Ohio, and made his home with his uncle, Rev. David Steele, Sr., who had been instrumental in bringing him to a final decision to study for the ministry. Under his uncle's tuition, who was a proficient classical scholar, he made his final preparation for college, entering the Junior class in Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1857, taking the classical honors in a graduating class which numbered thirty-six. Chancellor Henry M. McCraken of the New York University, and Dr. John S. Billings, Librarian of the New York Public Library were among his classmates, and President Harrison and the Hon. Whitelaw Reid were students in the college at that time though not classmates.
"He entered upon the formal study of theology in 1859 in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church (General Synod) in Philadelphia, having for his preceptors the Rev. Dr. John Niel McLeod and the Rev. Dr. Theodore W. J. Wylie."
In Memory of the Rev. David Steele, D.D., LL.D.: For Forty-Five Years Pastor of the Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Congregation of Philadelphia and Professor in the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary at Philadelphia for Forty-three Years. (1907)
"For forty-five years pastor of the Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Congregation of Philadelphia and professor in the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary at Philadelphia for forty-three years . . ."
http://books.google.com/books?id=bcAEAAAAYAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
In Memory of the Rev. David Steele, D.D., LL.D. (1826-1906)
http://www.archive.org/details/inmemoryofrevdav00stee
David Steele (minister, 1803-1887)
"In 2010, the David Steele Reformed Presbyterian Library was formed to preserve and archive his documents and other documents relating to the broader Covenanting and Reformed Dissenting traditions." See also the Puritan Hard Drive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Steele_(minister)
Stewart, Reid W., Covenanting in America.
"Tenth in a series of monographs on Scottish dissenting Presbyterianism in Pennsylvania.
"History of Scottish dissenting Presbyterianism in the Pennsylvania counties of Carbon, Centre, Lycoming, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Union, and Luzerne: Being an account of Associate Presbyterian, Associate Reformed, Reformed Presbyterian Synod, Reformed Presbyterian General Synod, Gailey's Safety League, and United Presbyterian Church of North America Clergy and Congregations." -- Publisher
*Sundry Ministers of London, A Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ, And to our Solemn League and Covenant; As Also Against the Errours, Heresies and Blasphemies of These Times, and the Toleration of Them. Wherein is Inserted a Catalogue of Divers of the Said Errours &c. All of them being collected out of their authors own books alleadged in the margin, and laid down in their own words; except one that was maintained in a dispute in Oxford, December 11, 1646, and six or seven which were asserted before a Committee of the Honourable House of Commons in the Star-Chamber, and reported to the House, Sept. 12, 1643. Subscribed by the Ministers of Christ Within the Province of London, December 14 &c., 1647.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/a-testimony-to-the-truth-of-jesus-christ
Sundry Ministers of London, Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ and our Solemn League and Covenant
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/testimony_truth.html
United Societies, The Apologetic Declaration, Admonitory Vindication -- October 28, 1684
http://www.truecovenanter.com/apologeticdeclaration.html
United Societies, The Declaration published at Glasgow,
June 13, 1679
http://www.truecovenanter.com/GlasgowDeclaration.html
United Societies, Declaration Published at Lanerk, January 12, 1682
http://www.truecovenanter.com/LanerkDeclaration.html
United Societies, The Declaration of the True Presbyterian Church of Christ, in Scotland -- 1692
http://www.truecovenanter.com/sanquhar1692.html
United Societies, Preface to the Following Declarations From 1692 to 1707
http://www.truecovenanter.com/prefacetodeclarations.html
United Societies, The Protestation, Apologetic Admonitory Declaration -- Sanquhar, May 28, 1685
http://www.truecovenanter.com/Sanquharadmonitorydeclaration.html
United Societies, The Protestation, Apologetic Declaration, Admonitory Vindication -- 1695
http://www.truecovenanter.com/protestation1695.html
United Societies, The Protestation, Apologetic Declaration, Admonitory Vindication of a Poor, Wasted, Misrepresented Remnant of the Suffering Antipopish, Antiprelatic, Antierastian, Antisectarian, True Presbyterian Church in Scotland, United Together in a General Correspondence, &c.-- 1703
http://www.truecovenanter.com/protestation1703.html
United Societies, The Protestation and Testimony of the United Societies -- 1707. Alternate title: A PROTESTATION AND TESTIMONY AGAINST THE INCORPORATING UNION WITH ENGLAND and THE PROTESTATION AND TESTIMONY OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF THE WITNESSING REMNANT OF THE ANTI-POPISH, ANTI-PRELATIC, ANTI-ERASTIAN, ANTI-SECTARIAN, TRUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CHRIST IN SCOTLAND, AGAINST THE SINFUL INCORPORATING UNION WITH ENGLAND AND THEIR BRITISH PARLIAMENT, CONCLUDED AND ESTABLISHED, MAY, 1707.
The Land shall not be Sold for ever. (Leviticus 25:23)
Ephraim also is like a silly Dove, without Heart, they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. (Hosea 7:11)
http://www.truecovenanter.com/societies/united_societies_protestation_against_union_1707.html
United Societies, The Protestation and Testimony of the United Societies of the Witnessing Remnant of the anti-Popish, anti-Prelatic, anti-Erastian, anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland, Against the Sinful Incorporating Union With England and Their British Parliament, Concluded and Established, May, 1707
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/5/3/a-protestation-and-testimony-against-the-incorporating-union-with-england
United Societies, The Queensferry Paper, 1680. Available as an appendix to A CLOUD OF WITNESSES. Available (A CLOUD OF WITNESSES) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/qferry.htm
A Cloud of Witnesses
http://archive.org/details/acloudwitnesses00thomgoog
United Societies, Sanquhar Declaration. Alternate title: THE DECLARATION AND TESTIMONY OF THE TRUE PRESBYTERIAN, ANTI-PRELATICK, ANTI-ERASTIAN, PERSECUTED PARTY IN SCOTLAND. PUBLISHED AT SANQUHAR, JUNE 22, 1680. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available in James Brown, THE TESTIMONY PUBLISHED AT RUTHERGLEN, MAY 29. 1679.
The Declaration and Testimony of the True Presbyterian, Anti-Prelatick, Anti-Erastian, persecuted party in Scotland. Published at Sanquhar, June 22, 1680
http://www.truecovenanter.com/sanquhar.html
United Societies, The Sanquhar Declaration of War -- 1680
http://www.truecovenanter.com/sanquhar.html
United Societies, The Testimony Published at Rutherglen, May 29, 1679
http://www.truecovenanter.com/Rutherglen.html
Various, Fifty Years of Covenanter History: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Reorganization of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa., a reprint of the Semi-Centennial Number of Our Banner, January, 1884.
"This historical document contains: An engraving of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Cherry St., Philadelphia, 1833-1867; An engraving of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church and Parsonage, Seventeenth and Bainbridge St., Philadelphia, 1879; A discourse, "Fifty Years of Covenanter History" by Rev. T.P. Stevenson; A discourse, "Fifty Years of Foreign Missions" by Rev. James Kennedy; A discourse, "Covenanters and the Anti-Slavery Struggle" by Rev. A.M. Milligan; A discourse, "The Christian Principles of Civil Government" by Rev. David M'Allister; and a list of "Officers of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Phila., Since 1833." -- Publisher
Various, Renewal of the Covenants, National and Solemn League; A Confession of Sins; and Engagement to Duties; And a Testimony, as they were carried on at Middle Octarara in Pensylvania, November 11, 1743, together with an Introductory Preface, 1748.
Psalm lxxvi. 11 [Psalm 76:11]. Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God. Jeremiah l. 5 [Jeremiah 1:5] Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant that shall not be forgotten, &c.
Willard, Samuel (1639-1707), and Increase Mather, Covenant-keeping the way to Blessedness, or, A brief Discourse wherein is shewn the connexion which there is between the promise, on God's part; and duty, on our part, in the covenant of grace as it was delivered in several sermons, preached in order to solemn renewing of covenant. By Samuel Willard teacher of a church in Boston in New-England.
Samuel Willard was pastor of a Church of Christ in Boston and Vice-President of Harvard College. See his other works.
Winston, John, et al., The Testimony of our Reverend Brethren, Ministers of the Province of London. To the Truth of Jesus Christ, and our Solemne League and Covenant, &c. Attested by other ministers of Christ in the county of Northampton, 1648.
Notes: Signed at end: John Winston [and 68 others].
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, God's deliverance of nations, Covenanting in america, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, Testimony, testimony-bearing, The covenant of redemption, The covenant faithfulness of god, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, The national covenant, The solemn league and covenant, The covenanted reformation of scotland author/title listing, The reformed presbytery of america, and other smaller reformed associations, Biography of covenanters, Acts of faithful assemblies, Covenanting in america, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, Confession of national sin and covenant renewal, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Sermons preached before governing bodies, and so forth, and so on.
The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. A Sermon, Preached at the Opening of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Glasgow, May 1, 1816, by John Fairley, Minister of the Gospel
http://www.truecovenanter.com/kirkgovt/fairley_keys_of_the_kingdom.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Speaking on Calvinism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 53 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8110391415
See the Theological Notes: "Christians in the World," at Colossians 2:20 in The Reformation Study Bible.Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? (Psalm 94:20)
The contrariety there is between man and God appears in an unwillingness that His Law should be observed by any. Not satisfied with being a rebel himself, he would have God left without any loyal subjects in the world, and therefore does he employ both temptations and threats to induce his fellows to follow his evil example -- now painting the pleasures of sin in glowing colors, then sneering at and boycotting those who have any scruples.
Ordinarily the workers of iniquity consider such as walk with God to be freaks and fools, and take delight in railing at them (1 Peter 4:4). Yet it is not because the righteous have wronged them in any way, but that the wicked hate them because they refuse to have fellowship with them in defying God. What proof is this of their awful enmity. Not only are they themselves angry at God's laws, but they cannot bear to see anyone else respecting them. Thus the apostle, after enumerating some of the vilest abominations, brought this indictment against the Gentiles, that they not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them (Romans 1:32) -- delighting in accomplishing the downfall of their fellows. -- Arthur Pink, The Doctrine of Human DepravityWherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. (2 Corinthians 6:17)
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)
Encouragement from John Calvin for persons who, to some degree, find it necessary to stand alone in order to be obediently to God's calling.
Here Jeremiah confesses that he had departed from the people; but he did so, because he could not have otherwise obeyed God . . . . On account of thy hand; that is, because I attended to what thou [God] hast commanded, nor had I any other object but to obey thee. Hence, On account of thine hand, because I regarded thee and wished wholly to submit to thy will, I sat apart . . . . We see that there is a rule here prescribed to us by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Jeremiah. To refute then the calumnies of those who object to us our separation, this very passage [Jeremiah 15:17] is sufficient. -- John Calvin commenting on Jeremiah 15:17 and contextIn them [Exodus 34:11,12,15,16 -- compiler] God applied a remedy to all external and manifest superstitions, which might easily have insinuated themselves had they not been anticipated in good time. All will run eagerly into idolatry, even though there be none to impel us from without; but where the ungodly act upon us also like fans, and this must needs be the case, when the people of God entangle themselves in their society, this disease is increasingly inflamed. And truly the closer our familiarity is with them, it is like a yoke, whereby they draw others with them. In order then that the people, when they entered the land, might preserve themselves pure and thoroughly devoted to God, care must be taken lest they should contract pollution from other nations; . . . All will run eagerly into idolatry, even though there be none to impel us from without; but where the ungodly act upon us also like fans, and this must needs be the case, when the people of God entangle themselves in their society, this disease is increasingly inflamed. And truly the closer our familiarity is with them, it is like a yoke, whereby they draw others with them. . . . care must be taken lest they should contract pollution from other nations; . . .
We must carefully remark what I lately adverted to, that those, who voluntarily unite themselves with the ungodly, impose as it were a yoke on themselves to draw them to destruction. And in fact Paul embraced in this comparison all the grounds upon which unbelievers insinuate themselves into familiarity with us, to ensnare us by their corrupting influence. (2 Corinthians 6:14) As much as possible, therefore, must all ties of connection be rather broken, than that by union with God's enemies we should allow ourselves to be drawn away from Him by their allurements; for they will always be attempting, by all the artifices they can, to make a divorce between us and God. Besides, if we desire faithfully to serve God, there ought to be a perpetual quarrel between us and them. God then would have us not only separate ourselves from open communion with them, but since we are too much given to depravity, He also commands us to fly from all the snares which might gradually induce us to participate in their sins. But inasmuch as Paul justly reminds us, that if we are not permitted to have any dealings with unbelievers, we must needs go out of the world, (1 Corinthians 5:10,) it is proper for us to distinguish between the contracts which associate us with them and those which do not at all diminish our liberty. . . . .
As long as we live among unbelievers, we cannot escape those dealings with them which relate to the ordinary affairs of life; but if we approach nearer, so that a greater intimacy should arise, we open the door as it were to Satan. Such are alliances between kings and nations, and marriages amongst private persons; . . . But that they may cleave more earnestly to their duty, the danger I have spoken of is declared; otherwise such rejoinders as these would have been straightway in their mouths: "Although my wife is altogether averse from true piety, still I will stand firm; although my husband is not subject to God, yet I will never decline from the true course; although religion is not dear to our allies, still it shall not cease to be sacredly held in honor amongst ourselves. . . ." -- John Calvin commenting on Exodus 34:11,12,15,16 and contextChoosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:25-26)
This clause ought to be carefully noticed; for we here learn that we ought to shun as a deadly poison whatever cannot be enjoyed without offending God; for the pleasures of sin he calls all the allurements of the world which draw us away from God and our calling. But the comforts of our earthly life, which we are allowed by pure conscience, and God's permission to enjoy, are not included here. Let us then ever remember that we ought to know and understand what God allows us. There are indeed some things in themselves lawful, but the use of which is prohibited to us, owing to circumstances as to time, place, or other things. Hence as to all the blessings connected with the present life, what is ever to be regarded is, that they should be to us helps and aids to follow God and not hindrances. And he calls these pleasures of sin temporary or for a time, because they soon vanish away together with life itself.
"In opposition to these he sets the reproach of Christ, which all the godly ought willingly to undergo. For those whom God has chosen, he has also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his own son; not that he exercises them all by the same kind of reproaches or by the same cross, but that they are all to be so minded as not to decline to undertake the cross in common with Christ. Let every one then bear in mind, that as he is called to this fellowship he is to throw off all hindrances. Nor must we omit to say, that he reckons among the reproaches of Christ all the ignominious trials which the faithful have had to endure from the beginning of the world; for as they were the member of the same body, so they had nothing different from what we have. As all sorrows are indeed the rewards of sin, so they are also the fruits of the curse pronounced on the first man: but whatever wrongs we endure from the ungodly on account of Christ, these he regards as his own. Hence Paul gloried that he made up what was wanting as to the sufferings of Christ. Were we rightly to consider this, it would not be so grievous and bitter for us to suffer for Christ.
"He also explains more fully what he means in this clause by the reproach of Christ, by what he has previously declared when he said, that Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. He could not have otherwise avowed himself as one of God's people, except he had made himself a companion to his own nation in their miseries. Since, then, this is the end, let us not separate ourselves from the body of the Church: whatever we suffer, let us know that it is consecrated on account of the head. So on the other hand he calls those things the treasures of Egypt, which no one can otherwise possess than by renouncing and forsaking the Church. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward, or for he looked to the remuneration. He proves by the description he gives, that the magnanimity of Moses' mind was owing to faith; for he had his eyes fixed on the promise of God. For he could not have hoped that it would be better for him to be with the people of Israel than with the Egyptians, had he not trusted in the promise and in nothing else.
By faith he forsook Egypt, etc.
This may be said of his first as well as of his second departure, that is, when he brought out the people with him. He then indeed left Egypt when he fled from the house of Pharaoh. Add to this, that his going out is recorded by the Apostle before he mentions the celebration of the Passover. He seems then to speak of the flight of Moses; nor is what he adds, that he feared not the wrath of the king, any objection to this, though Moses himself relates that he was constrained to do so by fear. For if we look at the beginning of his course he did not fear, that is, when he avowed himself to be the avenger of his people. However, when I consider all the circumstances, I am inclined to regard this as his second departure; for it was then that he bravely disregarded the fierce wrath of the king, being armed with such power by God's Spirit, that he often of his own accord defied the fury of that wild beast. It was doubtless an instance of the wonderful strength of faith, that he brought out a multitude untrained for war and burdened with many encumbrances, and yet hoped that a way would be opened to him by God's hand through innumerable difficulties. He saw a most powerful king in a furious rage, and he knew that he would not cease till he had tried his utmost. But as he knew that God had commanded him to depart, he committed the event to him, nor did he doubt but that he would in dug time restrain all the assaults of the Egyptians.
As seeing him who is invisible. Nay, but he had seen God in the midst of the burning bush: this then seems to have been said improperly, and not very suitable to the present subject. I indeed allow, that Moses was strengthened in his faith by that vision, before he took in hand the glorious work of delivering the people; but I do not admit that it was such a view of God, as divested him of his bodily senses, and transferred him beyond the trials of this world. God at that time only showed him a certain symbol of his presence; but he was far from seeing God as he is. Now, the Apostle means, that Moses so endured, as though he was taken up to heaven, and had God only before his eyes; and as though he had nothing to do with men, was not exposed to the perils of this world and had no contests with Pharaoh. And yet, it is certain, that he was surrounded with so many difficulties, that he could not but think sometimes that God was far away from him, or at least, that the obstinacy of the king, furnished as it was with so many means of resistance, would at length overcome him. In short, God appeared to Moses in such a way, as still to leave room for faith; and Moses, when beset by terrors on every side, turned all his thoughts to God. He was indeed assisted to do this, by the vision which we have mentioned; but yet he saw more in God than what that symbol intimated: for he understood his power, and that absorbed all his fears and dangers. Relying on God's promise, he felt assured that the people, though then oppressed by the tyranny of the Egyptians, were already, as it were, the lords of the promised land.
We hence learn, that the true character of faith is to set God always before our eyes; secondly, that faith beholds higher and more hidden things in God than what our senses can perceive; and thirdly, that a view of God alone is sufficient to strengthen our weakness, so that we may become firmer than rocks to withstand all the assaults of Satan. It hence follows, that the weaker and the less resolute any one is, the less faith he has. -- John Calvin commenting on Hebrew 11:25-27Nothing perhaps affects man's character more than the company he keeps. We catch the ways and tone of those we live and talk with, and unhappily get harm far more easily than good. Disease is infectious, but health is not.
Now if a professing Christian deliberately chooses to be intimate with those who are not friends of God and who cling to the world, his soul is sure to take harm. It is hard enough to serve Christ under any circumstances in such a world as this. But it is doubly hard to do it if we are friends of the thoughtless and ungodly. Mistakes in friendship or marriage engagements are the whole reason why some have entirely ceased to grow. Evil communications corrupt good manners. (1 Corinthians 15:33) The friendship of the world is enmity with God. (James 4:4) -- J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)As there was no face of a church for forty years, and, although the Lord had some seed, yet it was in a state so disordered and so ruinous that there was no visible people of God, he now restores the Church its name, when he has assembled it by the word of the Gospel. This majestic work of God, therefore, ought to confirm us on this point, that we may know that he will never forsake his Church; and although wicked men tear us by their slanders, and beat and spit upon us, and in every way endeavour to make us universally loathed, let us remember that God is not deprived of his right to vindicate us in the world, whose names he has deigned to write in heaven. -- John Calvin, commenting on Isaiah 62:2
Now upon this very comprehensive ground, we withdraw not only from gross heretics, and sectarians, and malignant prelatists. . . . But in this broken and declining state, even from many Presbyterian Ministers who have overturned a great part of our testimony . . . which has been signally sealed by the blood of many Martyrs who laying down their lives for this Testimony have been singularly countenanced of the Lord: yet we say, by many of our ministers this in a great measure has been deserted and perverted, by their condemning the Martyrs that died for it, as well as us who have desired to witness for it . . . -- James Renwick, An Informatory Vindication, 1687, p. 75-76
irenic: adj, FORMAL, aiming or aimed at peace. -- Oxford Dictionary of English
"The Christian with a clear witness has an irenic effect on those he associates with.
"not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
"conducive to peace
"an irenic attitude toward former antagonists"Is it not dangerous to be found amongst idolaters? Doth not judgment sometimes sweep away the whole community and neighbourhood, of such sinners? Read 1 Samuel 6:19,20, 1 Chronicles 15:13. And hath not God given thee timely warning of the danger before it come? Revelation 18:4. And is it not more than ordinary dangerous, to be found among them now, when God is preparing his troops to invade Babylon; I mean ready to pour forth the vials of his wrath upon her? -- John Flavel (1627-1691)
*Adams, Jay E. (1929-2020), The Practical Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling, 202 pages, ISBN: 1889032468 9781889032467.
See the subject "Associations," and so forth, and so on.
"THE PRACTICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIAN COUNSELING is designed to afford Christian counselors quick reference as well as comprehensive access to the chief principles and practices of biblical counseling. It is called an 'encyclopedia' because a counselor interested in surveying the gamut of those principles and practices will find in this volume a wider variety of subjects than may be located in any other book of biblical counseling. The counseling described here is truly 'Christian' with method and content firmly rooted in careful biblical exegesis. At the same time it is 'practical' because articles consist not merely of definitions and descriptions, but also of application of the material useful to Christian counselors. Although not necessarily the only way these biblical principles can be applied, they are the fruit of years of study and experience in biblical counseling. In short, the book is designed as an aid to the working counselor who needs a quick reference guide. We trust that God will use it to His glory and to the blessing of His people." -- Preface
Some subject include: Abortion | Abuse | Admonition | Adultery | Adversity | Affliction | Aggravation | Anger | Answers | Apology | Assurance | Attitude | Authority | Balance | Behavior | Bizarre behaviour | Breakdown | Christ | Church | Commandments | Confession | Confidentiality | Contentment | Correction | Corruption | Counseling | Crises | Data gathering | Deceit | Dependence | Discipling | Divorce | Doctrine | Drugs | Education | Empathy | Evangelism | Example | Foolishness | Forgetfulness | Forgiveness | Godliness | Gospel | Gossip | Habit | Heresy | Hope | Hostility | How-to | Idolatry | Jesus | Joy | Justification | Legal matters | Legalism | Lying | Marriage | Promises of god | Put on/put off dynamic | Quickening | Radical amputation | Rage | Reconciliation | Referral | Rejuvenation | Repentance | Sanctification | Scripture | Sex | Sin | Teaching | Temptation | Testing | Think list | Thought | Training.
*Anonymous, Protesters Vindicated: Or, A Just and Necessary Defence of Protesting Against, and Withdrawing from This National Church of Scotland on Account of her Many Gross and Continued Defections, 1716. Alternate title: PROTESTERS VINDICATED: OR, A JUST AND NECESSARY DEFENCE OF PROTESTING AGAINST, AND WITHDRAWING FROM THIS NATIONAL CHURCH OF SCOTLAND; ON ACCOUNT OF HER MANY GROSS AND CONTINUED DEFECTIONS. . . 1716. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"The title continues: 'More particularly, her approving of, and going into the legal establishment of the Prelatic constitutions of England. The generality of ministers swearing, in the Oath of Abjuration, to maintain Erastianism, Prelacy, and English Popish Ceremonies. Non-Jurants joining with Jurants, judicially approving that practice to be free of scandal. The Church's establishing tyranny in government, against all who will not join in communion with her, and approve her practices without redress of grievances. Wherein these and several other causes of withdrawing are proven to be justly chargeable on the Church, demonstrated to be contrary to the Word of God and Reformed principles of this Church, and just grounds of withdrawing, and setting up judicatures distinct from her; and the objections of Jurants and others fully answered.' This is a classic, detailed statement of the old covenanted principles and the biblical attainments of the Second Reformation (like the Solemn League and Covenant, the Westminster Standards, etc.). It is also an excellent defense against the modern malignants who counsel Christ's children to remain in the backsliding and covenant breaking denominations that abound in our day. Very Rare!" -- Publisher
Bacon, Richard, The Visible Church and the Outer Darkness: A Reply Against Those Claiming to be True Presbyterians Separating in Extraordinary Times.
Barrow, Reg, Reformation Worship and Separation From Idolatry Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #19 and #27. Available (PSALM SINGING IN SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1-30.
"In two parts: 1. 'The Regulative Principle of Worship in History' and 2. 'Psalm Singing in Scripture and History.' Part one explains, defends and chronicles the Reformation use of the regulative principle as the basis of all faithful public worship. Part two defends exclusive Psalmody, demonstrating that this position is nothing less than our Reformation heritage, based on the second commandment. It argues, on the foundation of a biblically close communion, that Christians should separate themselves ecclesiastically from those who do not practice exclusive Psalmody. Hard teaching, but faithful to Scriptures and the original intent of the Westminster Standards." -- Publisher
The Regulative Principle of Worship in History, Reg Barrow (refutes Arminianism in worship)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CRTPWors.htm
Psalm Singing in Scripture and History. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1-30.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CRTPsSing.htm
Bredenhof, Wes, A Book Review of John Calvin's Shunning the Unlawful Rites of the Ungodly and Preserving the Purity of the Christian Religion. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18. Available in Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library
"Herein Calvin maintains the sinfulness of outward conformity to false worship. Dealing with a major problem of his day, Calvin shows that false worship should never be tolerated or participated in (even by your bodily presence), no matter what the cost -- whether it be persecution, exile, or death. For his faithfulness in this matter, Calvin was greatly scorned. Obvious parallels to our day abound, not the least of which include the Lordship controversy, false ecumenism, rampant idolatry in the false rites maintained in the public worship of backslidden Protestantism, and in the rise of the influence Roman Catholic harlot (once again in our day)." -- Publisher
A Book Review of John Calvin's Shunning the Unlawful Rites of the Ungodly and Preserving the Purity of the Christian Religion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/ShunRev.htm
Brown, David, Samuel Chidley, Mr. Burton, and John Goodwin, Two Conferences Between Some of Those That are Called Separatists and Independents, Concerning Their Different Tenents: One Whereof, was appointed with Mr. Burton and a number of his church, and the other with Mr. John Goodwin and some of his church. Alternate title: TWO CONFERENCES BETWEEN SOME OF THOSE WHO ARE CALLED SEPARATISTS AND INDEPENDENTS.
Calvin, John (1509-1564), Separation From False Worship, Idolatry, and Popish Principles. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #5.
Clarkson, Andrew, The Reformed View of Schism
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Schism.htm
Elazar, Daniel Judah, Covenant and Commonwealth: From Christian Separation Through the Protestant Reformation, ISBN: 1560002085 9781560002086.
Fergusson, James (1621-1667), Refutation of the Errors of Toleration, Independency, Erastianism, and Separation, 1692. Alternate title: A BRIEF REFUTATION OF THE ERRORS OF TOLLERATION, ERASTIANISM, INDEPENDENCY AND SEPARATION. DELIVERED IN SOME SERMONS FROM I JOH. 4. I [1 John 4:1]. PREACH'D IN THE YEAR 1652. TO WHICH ARE ADDED FOUR SERMONS PREACH'D ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS (1692). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
http://archive.org/details/briefrefutationo00ferg
See also: Johannes G. Vos, THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF THE SEPARATED LIFE: A STUDY OF BASIC PRINCIPLES.
Fraser, James (of Brea, 1639-1698), The Lawfulness and Duty of Separation From Corrupt Ministers and Churches Explained and Vindicated, 1744. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27. A Christian classic.
"This is one of the most comprehensive treatises dealing with the lawfulness and duty of separation. It does not shy away from the hard biblical questions, but rather meets them head on. Fraser covers all the major biblical reasons for separation, both in general and in particular. Some of these Scriptural reasons for separation include (examples in parentheses are selected to fit our contemporary situation in accord with the general headings found in the book -- though a number of these specific errors are also dealt with in the book itself): 1. Heresy, or error in doctrine (e.g. Arminianism, Pelagianism, Romanism, the denial of the regulative principle of worship, antinomianism, legalism, etc.); 2. Idolatry in public worship (e.g. singing hymns of human composition, paedocommunion and open communion, the use of musical instruments, women speaking or preaching, anti-paedobaptism, Charismatic [or anabaptistic], folly and excesses, malignancy [anti-covenanting], etc.); 3. Tyranny in government (e.g. Popery, Prelacy, Independency, etc.); 4. Sinful terms of communion (e.g. any terms which deny or ignore the attainments of the Covenanted Reformation or in any way contravene Scripture); 5. Tolerationism (e.g. refusing to discipline the scandalous, open communion and countenancing false ministers or false governments or false doctrine, etc.). Many other areas are also dealt with, not the least of which include a strong testimony against the Prelatical Priest George Whitefield (who, as the preface notes, is 'a person leavened with gross errors, enthusiastic delusions, etc.'). In the publisher's original reasons for publication we read, 'In this book the case and nature of schism and separation is cleared, and the true scriptural terms of church-communion, and grounds of separation from corrupt churches and ministers, carrying on backsliding courses from the Covenanted Reformation principles . . . are clearly handled, and the same proven to be just and warrantable grounds of separation, and many useful cases of conscience concerning separation; and what are just and warrantable grounds of separation and what are not, are solidly, learnedly, and accurately discussed and resolved, and the case of separation clearly stated, handled and determined; and separation from corrupt ministers and churches is fully vindicated; and the true Scripture marks of time-servers and hirelings, who should be separated from, are given from the Word of God.' Calvin, Knox, Rutherford, Gillespie, Durham, Owen (who repented of his Independency and embraced Presbyterianism just before he died), and a host of other notable Reformers are cited throughout. Occasional hearing and occasional communion are also exposed and rebuked from Scripture. Appended to the book is, 'The Reasons agreed upon by the Reformers of the Church of Scotland, For which the Book of Common Prayer, urged upon Scotland, Anno 1637 was refused. As also the Reasons agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, for laying aside the English Book of Common Prayer. Together with Mr. George Graham's Renunciation and Abjuration of Episcopacy.' This is an almost flawless photocopy of this exceedingly rare and valuable book (which was obtained at great expense from the Bodleian Library [Oxford University], in England). It is one of the major Reformed classics concerning the topics that it addresses and it answers many common questions which Christians raise today regarding church affiliation. It is also a much needed landmark of Reformation testimony against the white devils of Independency and sectarianism and the black devils of Popery and Prelacy -- which can be seen to be covering the land once again -- contrary to the teaching of the Word of God and the attainments fought (and died), for during the Second Reformation." -- Publisher
Gillespie, George (1613-1648), The Testimony of a Dying Minister of Jesus Christ Against the Sinful and Scandalous Associations With Men of Corrupt Religion and no Religion. Available [THE WORKS OF GEORGE GILLESPIE], on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Gillespie, George, Dying Testimony Against Unlawful Associations
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gillespie/ggilles-ua.html
MacPherson, John, Unity of the Church: The Sin of Schism in DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH IN SCOTTISH THEOLOGY: THE SIXTH SERIES OF THE CHALMERS LECTURES, ISBN: 1331600987 9781331600985.
*Renwick, James (1662-1688), and Alexander Shields, and other "Society People," An Informatory Vindication of a poor, wasted, misrepresented remnant of the suffering, anti-prelatic, anti-Erastian . . . 1744. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"INFORMATORY VINDICATION (1687), a statement of principles issued by the Society People (see Societies, United), during James VII's reign. Prepared mainly by James Renwick, latterly in consultation with Alexander Shields, it was published in Utrecht. Its full title reflects something of the contents: AN INFORMATORY VINDICATION OF A POOR WASTED MISREPRESENTED REMNANT OF THE SUFFERING ANTI-POPISH ANTI-PRELATIC ANTI-ERASTIAN ANTI-SECTARIAN TRUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CHRIST IN SCOTLAND UNITED TOGETHER IN A GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE. BY WAY OF REPLY TO VARIOUS ACCUSATIONS IN LETTERS INFORMATIONS AND CONFERENCES GIVEN FORTH AGAINST THEM. It refuted charges brought against the 'Remnant' of schism (in their eyes a great evil) . . . The VINDICATION mourned the estrangement from other Presbyterians who had accepted the government's INDULGENCES OR EDICTS OF TOLERATION, and expressed love for them as fellow ministers 'with whom again we would desire to have communion in ordinances'. The separation had been forced upon the Society People by the tyranny and temper of the times, but it did not affect their position as being in the succession of the historic Kirk of Scotland. The document aimed to clear away the hostility and misunderstanding about them that had grown up in Scotland and Holland. (Nigel Cameron, editor, Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, p. 429)
"In proof of the catholic, unsectarian, Christian spirit of Renwick and his followers, the clear statements of the INFORMATORY VINDICATION, the work which most fully and clearly defines their position, may be referred to . . . In these noble utterances, we have strikingly exemplified the true spirit of Christian brotherhood . . . This is the genuine import of the vow of the Solemn League and Covenant, which binds Covenanters to regard whatever is done to the least of them, as done to all and to every one in particular. While firmly holding fast all Scriptural attainments, and contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, we should cordially rejoice in the evidences of grace in Christ's servants wherever we find them. We should love them as brethren, fulfill the law of Christ by bearing their burdens, wish them God speed in all that they are doing for the advancement of His glory, and fervently labour and pray for the coming of the happy period when divisions and animosities shall cease, and when there shall be one King, and His name one in all the earth. The testimony of Renwick and his associates is of permanent value and of special importance in our day, as it was directed against systems of error and idolatry, which serve to corrupt the Church and enslave the State. Against Popery in every form Renwick was a heroic and uncompromising witness. At the peril of life, he publicly testified against the usurpation of the papist James, and rejected him as having no claim to be regarded as a constitutional sovereign, and as utterly disqualified to reign in a Protestant reformed land. This was the main ground of his objection against James' toleration, for which the Indulged ministers tendered obsequious thanks to the usurper. Yet this edict of toleration was issued for the purpose of opening the way for the practice of Rome's abominations, and for the advancement of papists to places of power and trust in the nation. None of the Cameronians would, for any earthly consideration, even to save their lives, for a moment admit that a papist had any right to exercise political power in a reformed land. Our martyred forefathers we regard as worthy of high respect and imitation, for their deeply cherished dread of the growing influence of Popery, and for their determined resistance to its exclusive and extravagant claims. The system of Popery is the abnegation of all precious gospel truth; and is a complete politico-religious confederacy against the best interests of a Protestant nation. The boast of its abettors is that it is semper eadem, ever the same. Rome cannot reform herself from within, and she is incapable of reformation from external influences and agencies. The Bible never speaks of Antichrist as to be reformed, but as waxing worse and worse till the time when he shall be completely subverted and irrecoverably destroyed. Whatever changes may be going on in some Popish countries, whereby the power of the Papacy is weakened, it is evident that the principles and spirit of the Romish priesthood, and of those who are under their influence, remain unchanged. The errors of the anti-Christian system, instead of being diminished, have of late years increased. Creature worship has become more marked and general. The Immaculate Conception has been proclaimed by Papal authority as the creed of Romanism. In these countries, and some other Protestant lands, the influence of Popery in government and education, and so on the whole social system, has been greatly on the increase. Among those who have most deeply studied inspired prophecy, there is a general expectation that the period of Babylon's downfall is hastening on, and is not far distant. There is a general presentiment too, that the Man of Sin, prior to his downfall, will make some dire and violent attempt through his infatuated followers against the truth, and against such as faithfully maintain it. The 'Slaying of the Witnesses,' which we are disposed to regard as yet future may take place, not so much by the actual shedding of blood, though it is plain that Jesuit policy and violence will not hesitate to re-enact former persecution and massacre, to accomplish a desired purpose. It may mainly be effected, as Scott, the expositor, suggests, by silencing the voice of a public testimony in behalf of fundamental truths throughout Christendom; and of this there are at present unmistakable signs not a few, throughout the churches in various countries. The Protestant church in all its sections should be thoroughly awake to its danger from the destructive errors, idolatry and power of its ancient irreconcilable enemy; and should, by all legitimate means, labour to counteract and nullify its political influence. The ministry and the rising youth of the church should study carefully the Popish controversy, and should be intimately acquainted with the history of the rise and progress of the Papacy its assumed blasphemous power its accumulated errors and delusions, and its plots, varied persecutions and cruel butcheries of Christ's faithful witnesses. Above all, they should set themselves earnestly, prayerfully and perseveringly to diffuse the Bible and Gospel light in the dark parts of their native country, and among Romanists in other lands. By embracing fully and holding fast, in their practical application, the principles of the British Covenants, and by imbibing the spirit of covenanted martyrs men like Renwick and the Cameronians, we will be prepared for the last conflict with Antichrist. The firm and faithful maintenance of a martyr-testimony will be a principle instrument of the victory of truth over the error and idolatry of Rome. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Rev. 12:11 [Revelation 12:11]). Finally, the testimony of Renwick is valuable, as throwing light on great evils connected with systems of civil government, and with Protestant churches, and as pointing out clearly the duty of faithful witnesses in relation to them. Two great principles, the one doctrinal, and the other practical, were essential to it, or rather constituted its whole specialty. These were, first, that, according to the national vows, and the reformation attainments, the whole civil polity of the nation should be conformed to the Scriptures, and secondly, the positive duty of distinct separation from whatever systems in the state and church that are opposed to entire allegiance to Messiah the Prince." (Houston, The Life of James Renwick, pp. 52-55)
"Some of them, particularly in Scotland, loved not their lives unto death for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. Rev. vi. 9 [Revelation 6:9]. These refused to have communion in public ordinances not only with prelatical ministers, but even with the acceptors of indulgences or licenses from the civil power, to exercise their ministry under certain limitations. The INFORMATORY VINDICATION, which certainly contains the genuine principles of church communion, held by the sufferers for the cause of Christ in that period, declares, that they could by no means own or countenance the administrations of the indulged ministers; because they considered the indulgence, in any of the forms in which it was granted by the civil power, as derived from the supremacy claimed by that power in ecclesiastical matters; as laying the office of the ministry under unwarrantable restriction; and as tending, in a great measure, to suppress and bury the covenanted reformation, cf. INFORMATORY VINDICATION, Head iv." (Anderson, Alexander and Rufus; or a Series of Dialogues on Church Communion [1862], p. 294)
"To the friends of evangelical truth, and the faithful witnesses for the redeemer's royal prerogatives, the services of Renwick, at the crisis in which he exercised his public ministry, were invaluable. He was eminently the man for the time. Through the influence of the unhappy Indulgence, the strict Covenanters were reduced to what they style themselves in the Informatory Vindication, a 'wasted, suffering, anti-popish, anti-prelatic, anti-erastian, anti-sectarian remnant.' By the death of Cargill and Cameron, they were left as 'sheep without a shepherd,' broken and scattered. Through the fierceness of persecution, and the machinations of enemies, they were in danger of falling into confusion, and of being entirely wasted and destroyed. We admire the gracious providence of God in preparing, at this particular crisis, an instrument of such rare and suitable endowments for feeding 'the flock in the wilderness,' and for unfurling and upholding so nobly the 'Banner of Truth' amidst hosts of infuriated enemies. James Renwick, though a very youth when he entered on his arduous work, and trained under great outward disadvantages, had a powerful and well-cultivated mind. He was endowed with singular administrative talent, and had great tact and skill in managing men. He was an acute and logical thinker, an eloquent and attractive public speaker, and was distinguished by fertility and force as a writer. The INFORMATORY VINDICATION his testimony against King James' 'toleration, with his 'Letters,' and 'Sermons and Lectures,' bear ample evidence of his sound judgment, comprehensive mind, and ability as an author. His prudence, meekness and loving disposition, combined with his sanctified zeal, and heroic courage, deservedly gave him great influence among those to whom he ministered. He was eminently fitted to be 'a first man among men.' The Lord held him in the hollow of his hand, and made him a 'polished shaft in his quiver.' The services which Renwick rendered to the Protestant cause were invaluable. He organized the scattered remnant, and imparted new life and ardour to their proceedings. He set forth clearly the principles of the 'Society people;' and in a number of able and logical papers, clearly defined their plans of action. He rendered it, in a great measure, impossible for enemies to misrepresent and accuse them falsely to the Government. He was their Secretary in their correspondence with foreign churches; and he did much to evoke the prayerful sympathy of Protestants in other lands in behalf of the victims of persecution in Scotland. The presence and influence of Renwick among the suffering Presbyterians were of the highest importance in his own day; and not to them alone, but also to the whole church of Christ in these lands, and to the constitutional liberties of the nation. So far as we can see, but for the singular power and devoted spirit of Renwick, and the firm and unyielding position which the Cameronians through him were led to assume, the cause of truth would have been completely borne down, and Erastianism, and Popery, and Despotism had triumphed. Renwick and his followers were the vanguard 'in the struggle for Britain's liberties, and for the Church's spiritual independence.' Though, like other patriots born before their time, they were doomed to fall, yet posterity owes to them a large part of the goodly heritage which they enjoy. (Houston, The Life of James Renwick [1865], pp. 36-37). Emphases added throughout the preceding quotations. This is a very rare and valuable specimen of Paleopresbyterian (Covenanter) thought don't miss it! 142 pages, plus new material added by the present publisher." -- Publisher
An Informatory Vindication, 1687, James, Renwick, Alexander Shields and Other "Society People"
http://www.truecovenanter.com/societies/informatory_vindication.html
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), The due Right of Presbyteries or a Peaceable Plea for the Government of the Church of Scotland . . . 1644. Alternate title: THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CHURCH-GOVERNMENT AND EXCOMMUNICATION: OR A PEACABLE DISPUTE FOR THE PERFECTION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE IN POINT OF CEREMONIES AND CHURCH GOVERNMENT; IN WHICH THE REMOVAL OF THE SERVICE-BOOK IS JUSTIFI'D, THE SIX BOOKS OF THO: ERASTUS AGAINST EXCOMMUNICATION ARE BRIEFLY EXAMIN'D; WITH A VINDICATION OF THAT EMINENT DIVINE THEOD: BEZA AGAINST THE ASPERSIONS OF ERASTUS, THE ARGUMENTS OF MR. WILLIAM PRYN, RICH: HOOKER, DR. MORTON, DR. JACKSON, DR. JOHN FORBES, AND THE DOCTORS OF ABERDEEN; TOUCHING WILL-WORSHIP, CEREMONIES, IMAGERY, IDOLATRY, THINGS INDIFFERENT, AN AMBULATORY GOVERNMENT; THE DUE AND JUST POWERS OF THE MAGISTRATE IN MATTERS OF RELIGION, AND THE ARGUMENTS OF MR. PRYN, IN SO FAR AS THEY SIDE WITH ERASTUS, ARE MODESTLY DISCUSSED. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A BRIEF TRACTATE OF SCANDAL; . . . BY SAMUEL RUTHERFURD (sic), PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS IN SCOTLAND. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9 and #24.
"Almost 800 pages long, Rutherford here deals with church membership, separation from the visible church, the civil magistrate and religion, communion among churches, the errors of the independents (specifically in New England), and much more. This could be considered the LEX, REX of church government -- another exceedingly rare masterpiece of Presbyterianism! Characterized by Walker as sweeping 'over a wider field than most. Most essential points which Gillespie has barely touched, Rutherford carefully considers; as, for instance, the nature of the visible church as such, and its constituent elements. Even in the Erastian controversy he is a necessary supplement to his great contemporary. It is something to me altogether amazing, the mass of thinking about Church questions you have in those writings.' Bannerman, in his CHURCH OF CHRIST calls this a 'very learned and elaborate treatise.' Here is a sample of Mr. Rutherford's writing: 'A private subtraction and separation from the Ministry of a known wolf and seducer, . . . this the Law of nature will warrant . . . as Parker saith from Saravia, 'it is lawful to use that blameless and just defence, if the bad church-guide cannot be deposed.' So the son may save himself by a just defence in fleeing from his mad father, or his distracted friend coming to kill him. Now this defence is not an authoritative act, nor a judicial act of authority, but a natural act that is common to any private person, yea to all without the true Church as well as within to take that care in extreme necessity, for the safety of their souls, that they would do for the safety of their bodies' (1642), cited in The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness Magazine." -- Publisher
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), False Unity and Biblical Separation From the Act, Declaration, and Testimony for the Whole of our Covenanted Reformation. Cited in the Act, Declaration, and Testimony for the Whole of our Covenanted Reformation . . . by the Reformed Presbytery, 1876 edition. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/FalseUnity.htm
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
Sibbes, Richard (1577-1635), The Church's Visitation. In THE WORKS OF RICHARD SIBBES, (1:371-84). Available (THE WORKS OF RICHARD SIBBES), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Tract, Against Backsliding Modern Denominations, Nations and Individuals (Separation)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/FREEBOOK/backslid.htm
Tract, Against the "Baconites" of Rowlett, Regarding the So-called "Steelite" Controversy (Paleocovenanters vs. Neocovenanters), a tract
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/FREEBOOK/bacon.htm
Vinke, Peter, Protestants Separated for Christ's Name's Sake, sermon on Luke 6:22, 1675. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #15.
*Vos, Johannes G., The Bible Doctrine of the Separated Life: A Study of Basic Principles.
An essay against binding the conscience with regard to practices which cannot be proved from Scripture to be sinful.
Wagner, Michael G., Paleopresbyterianism Versus Neopresbyterianism, False Unity and Biblical Separation, 1996. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"Defines the major differences between "paleo" or old Presbyterianism (the position held at the Westminster Assembly, 1648) and "neo" or new (modern) Presbyterianism."
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Paleo.htm
Walker, James, The Theology and Theologians of Scotland, 1560-1750. Treats the Doctrine of Ecclesiology, Church Government.
Willison, John, A Defence of National Churches: And Particularly of the National Constitution of the Church of Scotland, and the Conduct of our Reforming Ancestors, Against the Cavils of Independents. With a Confutation of Independency, and several new opinions vented in some late pamphlets, intituled, A narrative of the rise and progress, &c. An explication of a proposition, &c. A letter from a lover of zion, &c. By a Minister of the Church of Scotland.
" 'A narrative of the rise and progress of the controversy about the natural covenants' and 'A letter from a lover of Zion' are by John Glas; 'An explication of that proposition contain'd in Mr. Glass's answers to the Synod's queries' was published anonymously."
Wilson, David, A Modest Apology for the Conduct of Seceders: In Refusing to Join in Christian Communion With Sectarians, Latitudinarians, etc., who Have Departed From the Purity of the Reformation Once Attained to in These Kingdoms. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"An exceedingly rare work published in 1773. Sets forth a strong case for separation from all bodies that are backslidden from the work of covenanted reformation, as it was attained during the days of the Westminster Assembly, and as set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] and its related documents (regarding the government, worship, doctrine and discipline of Christ's church). Denounces the 'detestable indifference or neutrality' of not maintaining covenant obligations, which bind all reformers, 'to endeavour the extirpation of all superstition, heresy, schism, and whatsoever should be found contrary to sound doctrine.' Also proves that there is no liberty or love that is contrary to God's Word. Maintains Christian charity throughout by distinguishing between loving the persons in error, and taking part with, or encouraging them in their sinful confederacies or actions. A great work on the subjects of purity, faithfulness and separation. It is in keeping with the sentiments expressed in the Reformed Presbytery's ACT, DECLARATION AND TESTIMONY which states: 'The first cry against the presbytery and its members was 'schism, schismatics.' This charge was promptly and publicly met and refuted, by showing from the Scriptures, that schism 'is in the body,' 1 Cor. 12:26 [1 Corinthians 12:26]; and from the approved writings of our covenanting fathers, that 'sometimes to avoid schism, we must separate.' Our worthy ancestors knew better than to adopt the vocabulary of papal Rome. Besides, 'the majority making defection are the real separatists.' -- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)" -- Publisher
Wood, James (1608-1664), A Declaration of the Brethren who are for the Established Government and Judicatories of This Church, Expressing Their Earnest Desires of Union and Peace With Their Dissenting Brethren, 1658.
Wood, James (1608-1664), A Little Stone, Pretended to be out of the Mountain, Tried, and Found to be a Counterfeit, [refutation of an Independent] or, An Examination and Refutation of Mr. Lockyers lecture, preached at Edinburgh, anno 1651, concerning the mater of the visible church: and afterwards printed with an appendix for popular government of single congregations: together with an examination, in two appendices, of what is said on these same purposes in a letter of some in Aberdene, who lately have departed from the communion and government of this church, 1654.
Separation From Corrupt Churches
"Extracts From James Wood, A LITTLE STONE PRETENDED TO BE OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN, TRIED AND FOUND TO BE A COUNTERFEIT."
http://www.naphtali.com/wood.htm
Wood, James (1608-1664), and George Hutcheson, A Review and Examination of a Pamphlet Lately Published, Bearing the Title of Protesters no Subverters, and Presbyterie no Papacy, etc., 1659.
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Justice, judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, "religious freedom," and neutrality, Theater, sports, and entertainment, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Hell, Unfaithful reformed ministries, Bad relationships a cause of disease and death, Reform of the church, Carnality and flesh pleasing, Menpleasing, Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 276-297, 1272, 2991, 3072, 3353, 3916, 3918
MGTP: Judgment (Last), Judgment (or Purging), of the Church, Judgment (or Purging), of the Nation
Calvin, John, Chapter 2: Comparison Between the False Church and the True in Institutes of the Christian Religion (translated by Henry Beveridge), Book Fourth, Of The Holy Catholic Church
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.vi.iii.html
The Dangerous Dark Side of a Shared Belief System, Rick Thomas
"The dangerous dark side of these communities is when the benefits, e.g., finding approval, become more crucial to you than whatever the group believes. The temptation is to compromise what you believe because the benefits of connecting with a relational community are more vital."
https://rickthomas.net/the-dangerous-dark-side-of-a-shared-belief-system/
And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. (Psalm 119:45). Saints find no bondage in sanctity. The Spirit of holiness is a free spirit; he sets men at liberty and enables them to resist every effort to bring them under subjection. The way of holiness is not a track for slaves, but the King's highway for freemen, who are joyfully journeying from the Egypt of bandage to the Canaan of rest. God's mercies and his salvation, by teaching us to love the precepts of the word, set us at a happy rest; and the more we seek after the perfection of our obedience the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery. . . . -- C.H. Spurgeon commenting on Psalm 119:45 in The Treasury of David, p. 228A religious doctrine involves practical consequences so important, and its effects upon individual and social life are so infallible and so profound, that it can never be contemplated with indifference by the mass of society, and much less by their rulers. We pray you to observe, amongst other things, that the stronger the feeling of dependence to which religion reduces the individual, the more she invests him, on the other hand, with a lofty independence. All religion is freedom. By introducing us into the service of one master, she emancipates us from the dominion of all others. If she does not altogether do away with dependencies of another order, she transforms them from absolute into relative ones. We still belong to society, we are perhaps linked to it by closer ties than before; but it is in a mediate manner, for man cannot serve two masters. It is this independence which exasperates the rulers of this world, and indeed, for the most part, all those who do not share in it. It is this sacred retreat of liberty which they would invade -- this freedom, of which they would deprive us; as if the numerous sacrifices which from time to time liberty has made for the common weal were insufficient, as if it were not enough, or rather as if it were nothing, for us to have devoted all our bodily powers and all our worldly goods to the service of society, so long as this offering is not completed by the sacrifice of the soul. It is spiritual domination, dominion over the soul, of which despotism, whether of princes or of the people, is especially desirous. Thus, when a tyrant has bereft a nation of all its liberties, until throughout the realm his will has become law, his ambition having nothing else wherewith to satiate its appetite, directs itself against religion. Thenceforward, having subjugated the bodies of men, he directs his attacks against their souls. It is because he cannot but be sensible that dominion over souls -- what do you say? -- over one single soul, is as much superior to that over bodies, as the soul itself is superior to its envelope of clay. He cannot endure the humiliation of knowing that there is a sphere in which the most obscure man, by the force of sympathy alone, wields a greater power than his own. A deep-rooted and bitter feeling of envy takes possession of him; he can enjoy no more repose, until moral force shall have yielded to the pressure of physical force -- until the second Mordecai shall have bowed down to this second Haman -- until the soul, by dethroning itself, shall have delivered him from this odious rivalry. And should he encounter in this enterprise an unlooked-for resistance, his impatience becomes fury, and he destroys those whom he cannot subdue. This has been the origin of many religious persecutions, and it discloses the secret motives of those atrocities by which some have been distinguished.
It does not follow, however, that all the evils with which the world has been inundated in the name of religion, are to be referred to this cause alone. They have originated in that preeminently just idea, that religion gives the true signification of every man, and of the whole of society; that there is nothing more deeply seated in us, nothing which more decisively determines what we are; and that to declare what we believe, is at the same time, and as a matter of necessity, to declare what we wish to be. The influence of a lordly spirit apart, it is not astonishing that the social power has everywhere, more or less, attempted to regulate the faith of the citizens and the instructions of the priesthood. Nor is it surprising that the priesthood, in aid of the state, have themselves attempted to dictate in a matter of this importance. For the suppression of this evil, the assistance of ages has been necessary, and this has not proved sufficient; the veto of public opinion has been also needed. Perhaps in certain countries something further has been required -- the progress of religious indifference. But nowhere is the fire extinguished, because nowhere is man changed; he will never witness unmoved, the energetic manifestation of religious principle; he may be indulgent to philosophical religions, or to religious philosophy, which penetrates not to the very sources of will and of action; but he will be, with his own full knowledge and consent, severe upon genuine faith. And why? because man possessing genuine faith, rises to his highest elevation; an elevation to which it is necessary that others should rise also, not indeed to rule over him (for this is impossible), but to treat with him, and to be at peace together. This is the true position and individuality of each renewed man, and everything is put in requisition to annul, subdue, and modify it.
We dwell no longer upon these different attempts, but return to the principle. We find that in the judgment of the community, the religious conviction of a man moulds his character, estimates his worth, and foretells his life. It is the invisible source of many efforts, and often of much violence. Well, then, we infer [sic] unhesitatingly, that the faith of a member of society cannot remain either a mystery or a matter of doubt to those who surround him. If, as we have sought to establish a former part of this work, the spiritual unity of society, its reality in the elevated sense of that word, depends on the mutual interchange of sentiments; and if that individual only can be said to belong to the community, with whose character she is acquainted, it must be especially in the sphere of religious convictions that this truth is apparent; we may even go further, and say, that although we might keep our sentiments on other subjects to ourselves, those that we entertain respecting religion could not be concealed. For our religious convictions imbue us so thoroughly and practically, that society knows not what she possesses in us, except as she knows what we are with respect to God.
This fact is more conspicuous, we admit, with reference to the Christian religion than to any other. In comparison with it, all other systems of faith are superficial; and we may remark in passing, that this is the reason why Christianity has drawn upon itself, and even excited among its followers, more intolerance than any other religion. The experimental character of its doctrines, coming in contact with the diverse passions of the human heart, has enkindled in the midst of society an active and devouring flame; and its profession has occasioned a host of outrages and calamities. Christianity is radical in the highest degree; radical in morals. It uproots one life, it implants another. Of all religions, it alone is in direct hostility with human nature in its fallen condition, as it is also the only religion which coincides with that same nature in all that sin has not polluted; at once the most human, and the least human of all systems; appearing to grant us everything, and to refuse us everything, but, in reality, granting everything to humanity, and refusing everything to sin. No religion consequently so effectually reforms the moral being; in such a manner, that the complexion of our life and conduct depends on whether we are or are not Christians, and upon what sort of Christians we are.
We should find it impracticable to attempt to distinguish between the doctrines of Christianity and its morals; between what is called its natural and universal morality, and its peculiar and arbitrary doctrines. Christian doctrine is morality -- Christian morality; to wish to distinguish between the two is to desire to divide a stream from its source. Christian doctrine is no sooner received than it regulates the conduct; the character of God becomes a model for man; what God is, man ought to be; and inasmuch as God in the Scriptures is invested with attributes which belong not to human nature, so also man, by means of the Gospel, is invested with a character which nature had not impressed upon him; it makes him a new man in every sense of the term: a man peculiar and extraordinary in the eyes of nature, but in every case a man, who, by the judgment of that very nature, is approved and esteemed. To declare our opinion upon Christian doctrine avails much; it is in fact to profess certain principle of conduct, and to attach ourselves to one or another system of morality; it is to reveal our inward man, to publish the operations of conscience; it is to give the standard of our judgments, and the rule of our actions.
We do well to avow it: whenever we revert to the considerations which most forcibly recommend a duty, we revert to the greatest difficulties in the way of its accomplishment; indeed, in most cases, to point out the motive, is to recognize the difficulty. In the present case, for example, nothing can render candour more difficult than that which enforces its obligation. It is just because such a religious doctrine, of necessity involves such a principle of morality, and such a rule of conduct; it is precisely because it is a disclosure of inward man, that so many persons are averse to declare to what doctrine they adhere. And it is sometimes because their opinion condemns them, sometimes because it elevates them, not so much in itself as in the characteristics and practical consequences with which public opinion has invested it. It is painful to excite repugnance or aversion, and it is sometimes still more painful to excite expectations which we feel but too conscious we cannot fulfill. If it were not so, why should we make a secret of our religious opinions, when we are at no pains to conceal any other? Why, when we are open and unreserved upon all the rest, should we not allow free expression to our thoughts upon this, the noblest of subjects? Why should communications of this nature be so generally regarded as the acme of candour and the pledge of intimacy? Why is there no real union, no true communion of soul, until both parties have expressed what they think, and above all, what they feel upon invisible and infinite subjects? Why do beings long united by the closest ties of affection, as soon as spiritual communion is formed between them, discover with surprise, that up to that period they had really never known, understood, or loved each other? -- that, as Montaigne expresses it, there was wanting to their friendship 'a certain inexplicable, yet essential power, the mediatrix of that union;' or that (as is really the fact), 'God is the true medium of true friendship?' All such instance go to confirm the truth of what we have said. A great effect supposes a powerful force -- a powerful force is employed only against a formidable resistance, and a formidable resistance has no place but in opposition to an urgent necessity. Here the necessity is a moral one -- it is a duty; an evident, and urgent, but a painful duty; for the consequences, even limiting them to their narrowest range, and considering none but those which are developed in the bosom of private relations, these consequences are, it must be confessed, of a startling character.
Nevertheless, if regarded only in the light of morality and natural reason, this candour, which appears so difficult and dangerous, would be found to possess real advantages, whilst reserve would have none but what are false and deceptive. Candour would break the ice which dissimulation thickens and consolidates from day to day; it would procure a more lasting peace; it would put the seal to confidence and friendship. You dread a storm: any storm would be preferable to the dead calm in which you live, -- a calm without peace and without security; for since no one can suppose that you are altogether destitute of religious prepossessions, that you have not some inward conviction to disclose, it will become a matter either of dread or of desire that you should disclose it. This very feeling of anxiety will be an evil in your social relations; if your connexions are desirous of it, when you are averse to making it, their importunity will disturb your peace; on the contrary, if they are averse to its manifestation, when you yourself desire it, they will avoid your company; there will of necessity be in your social relations something painful, constrained, and, in the end, insupportable. If they neither desire nor fear it, it must be because they are not acquainted with your character, and have no desire to become so, because they are not solicitous about your most important interests -- in other words, because they do not love you. And as between a mind occupied with spiritual things and one that is not, there is a wide gulf fixed, as true intimacy between two persons so different is altogether impossible, it is the duty of the more serious of the two, to sound the mind of his friend by disclosing his own, to provide a declaration by declaring himself. Every connexion founded upon a voluntary and designedly prolonged misunderstanding, every factitious union between minds pursuing directly opposite courses, is contrary to human dignity. . . . -- Alexander Vinet (1797-1847), and Charles Theodore Jones (translator), An Essay on the Profession of Personal Religious Conviction, pp. 73-81, and Vinet on FreedomThe powerful and wealthy conceal theft, of course, by economic and legal games, the game rules being of their own making.
For example, (1) A ten percent capitalization rate on residential rental property results in a profit of 100 percent over a ten year period, based on the current market price of the property. In other words, after ten years of renting the owner has recovered the entire cost of the property, and he still owns the property at an appreciated market value, making residential rental property one of the most lucrative investments possible. (2) The cost of building a new home is just a fraction of the market value of the property, the balance is a windfall profit to the developer. Some of the reasons for the inflated market value follow. (3) The Federal Government of the United States of America is the largest business enterprise in the world. It is run by politicians who, for the most part, are businessmen and lawyers, not scholars and statesmen. They can sit down at a table together for 20 minutes and write a multi-million dollar budget. They are accountable to practically no one. (4) The cost of living is high in big cities because, among other reasons, after the multi-million dollar budget is written by the politicians, then taxes and assessments are increased to pay for it. By raising property assessments to generate revenue, the cost of real estate simultaneously increases, and it follows that the cost of all goods go up. (5) All these changes, increasing taxes, assessments, market values of real estate, costs of goods, and the resulting inflation, all these changes profit the wealthy property owners and business owners who simply pass on tax increases and higher costs to the consumer. (6) The banking system, money, is controlled by The Federal Reserve System, which in turn is run by unelected officials, veteran leaders of corporate investment banks, who control the amount of money in the economy and interest costs. Generally speaking, this amounts to a complete monopoly over the economy and value of the dollar. (7) The principles of accounting being used today have generally remained essentially unchanged since the Feudal Age, 600 years ago, principles of accounting which allowed a few wealthy noblemen to live in luxury at the expense of the masses. (8) And so forth, and so on. This is just a very, very brief and general overview of some of the games being played, and how the powerful and wealthy game the system. For more details on things you may not have learned in the public education system see other book-length works in this topical listing.
The middle and lower classes are, for the most part, uneducated and ignorant of the extent of the games, therefore, they do not fully understand how they are being fleeced by the "Aristocracy of Wealth."
Meanwhile, many of the unregenerate members of society, who by their human nature are unable to trust in The Triune God to "place a table before them." That is to say, they are unable to trust in God to provide for all their needs, just, as recorded in Genesis and Exodus, he set his people free from bondage, fought against their enemies and gave them victory, guided them through the Wilderness, daily feed them with manna from heaven, and then gave them the Promised Land of Canaan.
Regrettably, unregenerate men, not able to trust in the Faithfulness of a Covenant God, become "flesh-pleasers." They are all too willing to trust in man, all too ready to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, welcoming them and their "games" with open arms, and with great enthusiasm, in hopes of securing their fleshly desires.
Regrettably, these unregenerate men, these "Cains," are all too often both incompetent and corrupt, are all too often in the majority, and all too often seize political and economic power.
All to often unregenerate men are willing to submit to the influence of the powerful and the wealthy, as opposed to submitting to the influence of the Faithful, Triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has covenanted to be their God, to redeem them from their rebellious, Fallen State, and to show them "The Way, the Truth, and the Life," both temporal and eternal.
The Ten Commandments are, of course, the "constitution" of that covenant between God and man. Notice that all Ten Commandments speak to covetousness, and the tenth summarizes all that is not to be coveted in the second table, commandments four through ten.
Consequently the world is subject to repeating economic depression and collapse caused by immoral rule, the covetousness, incompetence, and corruption of the Cains in political and economic power.The concept of freedom does not explain sin. While sin is not unrelated to freedom, the latter does not explain the rise of the former. God has authentic freedom and cannot sin, and God created man with a freedom that was morally qualified and whose continuance depended on a refraining from sin. Man as created possessed the ability not to sin, and the man recreated in Christ, and begotten of God, does not sin. (1 John 5:18) ["The present tense of the Greek suggests behavior that is characteristic or usual. In this way John acknowledges, but does not excuse, the possibility of occasional sin."] True freedom is constituted by man's created, and later recreated, ability to do the good, not by a morally unqualified faculty to do either the one or the other. Freedom belongs to the essence of man as created by God and as restored by Christ; in neither instance is it a morally neutral and unqualified aspect of humanity. The effect of human sin upon freedom is defined in Biblical thought, therefore, not as another form of freedom, but rather as slavery and bondage (Romans 6). Man as created was no more free to sin than, having sinned and fallen into moral bondage, he is free again to become what he once was. Sin constitutes a loss, not an exercise of freedom. Sin is a mystery, immoral and irrational, whose denouement is not found in the concept of human freedom. Freedom as an explanation of sin leads invariably into some form of Pelagianism and Arminianism.
If in freedom man could sin against his Maker, freedom by the same definition would contain the possibility of man's self-propelled return to his Maker. If sin is a true exercise of freedom, such freedom, even after sin, remains also free both to act in Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, or Arminianistic fashion to undo its sin and to return to God -- or to refuse to return to God.
According to the Genesis account of man's fall into sin, man was not free to sin, but under divine command not to sin, on threat of death. Adam and Eve were under the restrictive divine command not to do what they in fact did. Freedom, as authority, is comprised of the components: might plus right. An authority which exercises a might without right is a totalitarian perversion of authority; a freedom which does that which it has no right to do is an anarchistic perversion of true freedom.
The theological tenet that God created man free, that is, with a freedom that was free to sin (posse peccare), is an explanation of sin in terms of sin. If God had endowed man with such freedom, God could not in justice allow man's freedom to suffer that bondage which sin inflicts upon freedom.
In Biblical thought, however, man's act of sin is regarded as a loss of freedom. According to the Genesis account of the Fall, man loses his right to existence in the Garden of Eden, his right to life, and his right to be himself -- naked and not ashamed. In the continuing Biblical account, man as sinner is exhibited as no longer free to be himself. He is either a slave to sin and under the power of death, a devotee of idols -- who in this devotion to idols becomes sub-human and like his idols (Psalm 115:8), or he becomes a captive to grace and through this captivity again receives his true freedom as a gift from God, a freedom permitting him to enjoy release from, and forgiveness for, his sinful past and the gift of grace that justifies his right to live in an open and unending future. -- James DaaneAbsolute claims of authority over creation are an insult to God's prerogatives. -- Annotation to Isaiah 37:25 in The Reformation Study Bible
The man is truly free who is most truly a slave to Jesus Christ. -- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord. (Hosea 2:19-20)
Betrothment unto the Lord! What an honor and a joy! My soul, is Jesus indeed thine by His own condescending betrothal? Then, mark it is forever. He will never break His engagement, much less sue out a divorce against a soul joined to Himself in marriage bonds.
Three times the Lord says, "I will betroth thee." What words He heaps together to set forth the betrothal! Righteousness comes in to make the covenant legal; none can forbid these lawful bans. Judgment sanctions the alliance with its decree: none can see folly or error in the match. Lovingkindness warrants that this is a love union, for without love betrothal is bondage and not blessedness. Meanwhile, mercy smiles and even sings; yea, she multiplies herself into "mercies" because of the abounding grace of this holy union.
Faithfulness is the registrar and records the marriage, and the Holy Spirit says "Amen" to it as He promises to teach the betrothal heart all the sacred knowledge needful for its high destiny, What a promise! -- C.H. Spurgeon in Faith's CheckbookThe wealthy stand as magistrates in the economic arena and have the same duty of stewardship as do those who hold political office. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
If the American people ever wish to regain control of the government, we must understand the monetary system and materially alter the banking system so as to replace our debt based money-out-of-thin air economy with an economy based on production, savings, capitalism, and competition. Only then, can true prosperity return. If we ever get to audit the Fed and its money lenders, the demand to End the Fed will become overwhelming. -- Andrew Napolitano
In the early 18th century, slavery was outlawed in Georgia. In 1749, George Whitefield campaigned for its legalization, claiming that the territory would never be prosperous unless farms were able to use slave labour[10]; through his efforts, it was re-legalized in 1751. Whitefield became a slave owner, using them to work at his Bethesda Orphanage; to help raise money for the orphanage; he also put slaves to work at a plantation called Providence. Whitefield was known to treat his slaves well; they were reputed to be devoted to him, and he was critical of the abuse and neglect of their slaves by other owners[11]. When Whitefield died, he bequeathed his slaves to Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon[12]. -- Wikipedia article
The real value of an object is that which one who knows its worth will give for it. He who made the soul, knew its worth, and gave His life for it. -- Arthur Jackson
Barnard, Henry, Slavery, A Bibliography and Union List of the Microform Collection, ISBN: 0667006133 9780667006133.
Barnard, Henry, and Microfilming Corporation of America, Slavery, A Bibliographic Guide to the Microfiche Collection, ISBN: 0667006729 9780667006720 0667006133 9780667006133.
Black, John (1768-1849), Slavery Contrary to the Bible: An Address Delivered to the Students at the Theological Hall, Canonsburg.
Black, John (1768-1849), et al., The Bible Against Slavery: With Replies to the Bible View of Slavery, by John H. Hopkins, Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont: And to A Northern Presbyter's Second Letter to Ministers of the Gospel, by Nathan Lord, Late President of Dartmouth College: And to "X," of the New-Hampshire Patriot.
Contributors: Stephen Montford Vail, John Henry Hopkins, Nathan Lord, and New Hampshire Patriot.
The Bible Against Slavery
http://www.covenanter.org/JBlack/johnblack.htm
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
Brooks, Pat, Dale Crowley, Jr., and Des Griffin, Freedom or Slavery?
"A profoundly disturbing book . . . exposes the hidden agenda to de-Christianize and destroy her [the United States], through dispensational 'Christian Zionism' and 'JudeoChristianity'."
*Brown, E. Richard, Rockefeller Medicine Men: Medicine and Capitalism in America, ISBN: 0520038177 9780520038172.
This book is as relevant today (2015) as it was in 1979. The players are still the same: foundations, corporations, and government. If anything the political-economic process of healthcare reform is even more complex today.
"This book explains how controlled the medicine industry is, how it became that way, and why America has the highest costs in the world for less than adequate medical care." -- Reader's Comment
"Historical epidemiological evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that medical science has played a relatively small role in reducing morbidity and mortality." (p. 219)
"Medical science rescued the medical profession, in particular the practitioners, from the widespread lack of confidence in their effectiveness." (p. 77)
Capitalists and corporate managers "embraced scientific medicine as an ideological weapon in their struggle to formulate a new culture appropriate to and supportive of industrial capitalism." (p. 10)
"For members of the corporate class, technological medicine has legitimized their economic and political dominance by diverting attention from the consequences of their control -- that is, from such 'social costs' as class inequalities, domination based on race or sex, occupational hazards, and environmental degradation. For the medical profession, the knowledge generated by medical science and the techniques of medical technology provided the basis for physicians' claims to a monopoly of authority over the practice of medicine." (p. 239)
"As medical science won public and professional credibility, it also solved the second and fundamentally more serious problem facing the profession in the nineteenth century: competition. . . . The overall impact of scientific medicine within the profession was to legitimize control by elite practitioners and medical school faculty." (p. 80)
"Health care could be more effective in improving health if its research and action were directed at environmental conditions in about the same proportion that those conditions contribute to sickness and death." (p. 240)
"If you have read and 'got' anything by Noam Chomsky, or Howard Zinn, you will 'get' this book.
"After being awarded an MBA from Stanford (hence, I can confidently say I very well understand the 'business' of medicine), and practicing medicine for 20 years in both the public and private sector, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Brown's thesis is on the money. -- Reader's Comment
Burin, Eric, Slavery and the Peculiar Solution: A History of the American Colonization Society, ISBN: 9780813037028 0813037026.
"An examination of the ACS's activities in America and Africa; Eric Burin assesses the organization's impact on slavery and race relations." -- Publisher
Calvin, John (1509-1564), The Bondage and Liberation of the Will: A Defense of the Orthodox Doctrine of Human Choice Against Pighius, 1543, ISBN: 9781441207012 1441207015. Available [CALVIN'S SELECTED WORKS, TRACTS AND LETTERS, 7 volumes], on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Carson, Thomas, and Mary Bonk, Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, ISBN: 0787677264 9780787677268 0787638889 9780787638887 0787638897 9780787638894 0787638900 9780787638900.
Clarkson, Thomas, Nathaniel Wiley, and John Welwood Scott, An Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, Particularly the African: In Three Parts.
*Coit, Margaret L. (1919-2003), John C. Calhoun: American Portrait, ISBN: 0877971854, 9780877971856.
"This heavily documented 593-page biography is a fascinating glimpse into secular American life in the times of John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), including southern plantation life, and the intricacies of political diplomacy in Washington, D.C.
For any reader who has been immersed in the Reformed Presbyterian Church History of this period, this biography offers a fresh and rewarding diversion into the parallel secular and political history.
"There is a lot to learn here. Human nature was the same in Calhoun's day as it is today. The selfishness of men in power was creating a serious imbalance in the economy. Calhoun understood this, and he fought heroically for political solutions to prevent a split in the union (Ecclesiastes 1:9,10). It informs about much of what was going on in the South prior to 'The War Between the States: The War of Northern Aggression, The War for Southern Independence,' information that revisionist historians often leave out of textbooks.
"The book has been criticized as a weak analysis of Calhoun as a political theorist, but this is probably an unfair criticism. Much is discussed about Calhoun's political position. The politician or the scholar of political science should read John C. Calhoun, et al., A DISQUISITION ON GOVERNMENT AND A DISCOURSE ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, PAPERS, 28. Both his works and his correspondence also have been published.
"The biography does discuss the various causes of the split in the union: the decline of the federal character of our government with the resulting dominance of Northern industrial majority over the minority interests of the South, tariff regulations favoring the North, economic exploitation of the South, unbalanced growth, states rights, slavery, and so forth, and so on.
"The issue of Southern slavery is not as 'cut and dried' as abolitionists and the Northern sympathizers would have the public believe. For example, the similarities between Southern slavery and the 'wage slavery' of Northern industrialists is mentioned." -- Reader's Comment
The question of slavery has perplexed this writer for years. This biography, and the lecture, "Biblical Slavery: Its Meaning and Necessity," have helped clear up questions about the position of pro-unreconstructed Southern Evangelicals, the apparent "paradox" of the social benefits of Biblical slavery, conflicting motives for the Civil War, Robert L. Dabney's (1820-1898) "unbelievable blind spot" in the midst of excellent theology, and Dabney being branded a "racist."
Calhoun is said to be one of the most able statesmen and politicians ever to serve in Washington. This work by Margaret Coit received the Pulitzer Prize in biography in 1951. It accounts for why Calhoun is held in such high esteem in the South, even today. He has been praised as a politician by C. Gregg Singer, the church historian.
There is scant mention of Calhoun's religious convictions, and their influence on his politics. See: A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
"The former Vice-President [under John Quincy Adams and the first term of Andrew Jackson -- compiler], was able to become the spokesman of the minority within that era. In doing so, he offered a vigorous justification of why the majority should be limited in what they can do to the minority. His explanation is as sound today for any minority as it was for defending the South in his time." -- Reader's Comment
"His influence during four decades of national life cannot be denied, which is one of the reasons why scholars to this day argue over whether there are two distinct periods to Calhoun's career: his earlier years when he seemed more inclined to support national-oriented legislation, and his later years when he appears as an early 'states rights' man.
"Coit, who clearly admires him and is determined to unearth the person behind the stony legend, argues that Calhoun's devotion to nation and state were as one, and that in his view only through a determined affirmation of the rights of the states could the larger national confederation succeed. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"Coit hints at a distant personal connection to John C. Calhoun on page 306, saying the Reverend John C. Coit, a Presbyterian clergyman, was a friend of Calhoun's.
"Coit has a very vivid style and sometimes she comes dangerously close to crossing the line into writing fiction (such as when she enters the mind of a dying Calhoun and offers a series of flashback sketches)." -- Reader's Comment
Davies, Samuel (1723-1761), Letters From the Rev. Samuel Davies, &c. Shewing the State of Religion in Virginia, Particularly Among the Negroes. Likewise an extract of a letter from a gentleman in London to his friend in the country, containing some observations on the same, 1757.
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), The Injustice and Impolicy of the Slave Trade, and of the Slavery of the Africans: Illustrated in a Sermon Preached Before the Connecticut Society for the Promotion of Freedom, and for the Relief of Persons Unlawfully Holden in Bondage, at their annual meeting in New-Haven, September 15, 1791. By Jonathan Edwards, D.D. Pastor of a church in New-Haven. Alternate title: DR. EDWARDS'S SERMON ON THE SLAVE-TRADE.
*Faria, Miguel A., America, Guns, and Freedom: A Journey Into Politics and the Public Health and Gun Control Movements, ISBN: 9781643072173 164307217X.
"AMERICA, GUNS, AND FREEDOM outlines why the Second Amendment and armed self-defense are still needed in modern society, debunks the arguments that the U.S. should follow the path of European social democracies by enforcing draconian gun control, and expounds on how civilian disarmament in Australia and Great Britain, despite media hype, has not decreased violent crime in those countries. In AMERICA, GUNS, AND FREEDOM, the author warns us of the five essential ingredients required for the creation and sustenance of tyrannical governments, one of which has been civilian disarmament via gun registration followed by gun bans and confiscation. Faria discusses mass shooting incidents and the role of mental illness. Special attention is given to the problem of how media sensationalism may encourage deranged individuals and madmen to become mass shooters seeking celebrity status, even in death. While gun control advocates decry America's 'gun culture,' Faria informs us of the significant role that this 'gun culture' played in saving England during World War II. American traditions have been and remain beacons of liberty, and this is most evident in AMERICA, GUNS, AND FREEDOM. Totalitarian governments that deny their citizens the right to keep and bear arms are a threat to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness." -- Amazon.com
Finkelman, Paul, Joseph Calder Miller, Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery, ISBN: 002864607X 9780028646077 0028647807 9780028647807 0028647815 9780028647814.
Fooshee, George, Jr., You can be Financially Free, ISBN: 0800707907 9780800707903.
"A practical, and in may respects excellent, book on financial management with an emphasis on being a good steward of the resources God has entrusted to us." -- Cyril J. Barber
Gentleman in Edinburgh, Popery and Slavery Reviving: or, An Account of the Growth of Popery, and the Insolence of Papists and Jacobites in Scotland. In a letter from a gentleman in Edinburgh, to his friend in London. . . .
*Goodson, Stephen Mitford, A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind, ISBN: 1912759217 9781912759217.
"Economist, Stephen Mitford Goodson, once Director of the South African Reserve Bank, catalogues the 'hidden hand' of moneylenders throughout history in fomenting wars, revolutions, depressions, recessions and other social upheavals to retain and extend their power and profits." -- Publisher
"This is one book I highly recommend to anyone on planet Earth! The author explains throughout his work the evil of the practice of usury. He also reveals the dangers of trying or actually ending the practice in their country, be it Libya, Iraq, Tsarist Russia, National Socialist Germany, et al. One success story of doing this can be pointed directly at the State of North Dakota in the United States of America! And in that case of North Dakota the usurers haven't yet thrown in the towel, i.e., they ain't done yet! Time will tell if the Dakota experience will be allowed to succeed on a long-term basis.
"How do the usurers take total control over the people of a nation? One example is explained in note 14 at the bottom of page 112: 'The deliberate collapse of the American agricultural sector may be compared to the destruction of agricultural production in the 1930s in the Ukraine (Russian for borderland) by Stalin and the subsequent Holodomor (Russian for death by starvation) in which an estimated six million Kulaks (Russian for fist) were either executed or died of hunger. . . .'
"Chapter Five, "The Great Depression," includes some very interesting topics like that of the work of Congressman Louis T. McFadden (R-Pennsylvania) who exposed the Federal Reserve System as the diabolical monster that it is. And his speeches delivered on the floor of the U.S. Congress in 1932 lead to his elimination (murder) in 1936. I have a book of his speeches which this author, Goodson, references in note 24 on page 115 of this book. In 208 pages you will not be disappointed in the wealth of knowledge gained by reading this book. All the evil described in this book is taking place in many countries around the entire planet Earth today! Check it out! Then educate your friends and relatives and try to put together a plan to take back what is rightfully the planet bequeathed to us by God Almighty!" -- Reader's Comment
Without Central Banking, the massive Overreaching Federal Government Wouldn't be Possible, Michael Maharrey
"The Federal Reserve serves as the engine that makes all of the U.S. government's unconstitutional spending possible. Without The Fed, the entire system would collapse. . . .
"In March and April [2020], the U.S. Treasury Department issued $1.56 trillion in debt securities to fund Uncle Sam's massive coronavirus spending spree. Meanwhile, in March, The Fed bought $1.2 trillion in Treasury bonds. The central bank slowed its roll a bit in April, but till purchased $526 billion in U.S. bonds. That brought the two-month total to $1.56 trillion.
"In effect, the Federal Reserve bought all of the debt issued by the U.S. government in March and April with money created out of thin air."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2020/06/17/the-federal-reserve-the-engine-that-powers-the-most-powerful-government-in-history/
Himmelfarb, Gertrude, The Idea of Poverty: England in the Early Industrial Age, ISBN: 0394530624 9780394530628.
Hopkins, Henry J., A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery From Abraham to the 19th Century.
Hummel, Jeffrey Rogers, Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War, ISBN: 0812693116 9780812693119 0812693124 9780812693126.
"The main thing I got out of this book was just how damaging Lincoln was to the cause of freedom in America. Lincoln trampled individual rights, jailing people indefinitely on his whim, initiating the draft, even assaulting freedom of speech (which I think is one of the few freedoms left). From Hummel's Libertarian perspective, Lincoln was probably the worst president in history. The one thing that should be pointed out in Lincoln's defense is that war always involves curtailments of liberty and requires an essentially fascistic operation of the government. The problem is that the increased governmental power doesn't go away after the war ends. I think this book is very timely at this moment in history, as our current president is about to lead us into yet another war. The Constitution says that only Congress can declare war. That means that the United States cannot engage in any military action with another country unless two-thirds of Congress approves it. Yet, look at all the presidents who have committed U.S. troops to war without a Congressional declaration. Why isn't this seen as unconstitutional? Why aren't they talking about it on Face the Nation? What gave Truman the right to commit U.S. forces to fight in Korea? Why does everyone in the media assume that George Bush has the right to start a war with Iraq when he has no such constitutional authority? What gave Clinton the power to bomb an aspirin factory in the Sudan to divert attention from his sex scandals? I'll tell you who: it was Lincoln. He started the whole trend." -- Reader's Comment
"In this insightful treatment of the Civil War (addressing the causes, the war itself and Reconstruction), Hummel's text argues against the thesis that armed confrontation was inevitable. 'As an excuse for civil war,' he says, 'maintaining the States territorial integrity is bankrupt and reprehensible. Slavery's elimination is the only morally worthy justification.' But slavery, he suggests, was on its way out in any case. Not only was it a political liability, but the institution's many-faceted costs (social cost, enforcement, uprisings, mistreatment), outweighed any profits. If, after decades of unsuccessful compromise, the North had recognized the South's revolutionary right to self-determination and had let the Gulf states secede, slavery would have succumbed in the border states. Hummel goes on to argue, as have many others before, that after a devastating war and the disappointment of Reconstruction, a federal government that once interfered only a little in the affairs of individual states 'had been transformed into an overbearing bureaucracy that intruded into daily life with taxes, drafts, surveillance, subsidies and regulations.' Hummel, a professor of history and economics at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, quotes David H. Donald, saying, 'Before the Civil War, many politicians and writers referred to the United States in the plural' -- i.e., the United States are, a grammatical agreement no longer used after 1865. With its insightful analysis (not to mention the extensive bibliographical essays that elaborate each chapter), EMANCIPATING SLAVES, ENSLAVING FREE MEN will supply both the academic and Civil War buff with an added perspective on the causes and consequences of the Civil War." -- Publishers Weekly
*Jones, E. Michael, Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation and Political Control, ISBN: 189031837X 9781890318376.
"Thus, a good man, though a slave, is free; but a wicked man, though a king, is a slave. For he serves, not one man alone, but, what is worse, as many masters as he has vices." -- St. Augustine, City of God
"Writing at the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, St. Augustine both revolutionized and brought to a close antiquity's idea of freedom. A man was not a slave by nature or by law, as Aristotle claimed. His freedom was a function of his moral state. A man had as many masters as he had vices. This insight would provide the basis for the most sophisticated form of social control known to man.
"Fourteen hundred years later, a decadent French aristocrat turned that tradition on its head when he wrote that 'the freest of people are they who are most friendly to murder.' Like St. Augustine, the Marquis de Sade would agree that freedom was a function of morals. Unlike St. Augustine, Sade proposed a revolution in sexual morals to accompany the political revolution then taking place in France. LIBIDO DOMINANDI -- the term is taken from Book I of Augustine's CITY OF GOD -- is the definitive history of that sexual revolution, from 1773 to the present.
"Unlike the standard version of the sexual revolution, LIBIDO DOMINANDI shows how sexual liberation was from its inception a form of control. Those who wished to liberate man from the moral order needed to impose social controls as soon as they succeeded because liberated libido led inevitably to anarchy. Aldous Huxley wrote in his preface to the 1946 edition of BRAVE NEW WORLD that 'as political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends compensatingly to increase.' This book is about the converse of that statement. It explains how the rhetoric of sexual freedom was used to engineer a system of covert political and social control. Over the course of the two-hundred-year span covered by this book, the development of technologies of communication, reproduction, and psychic control -- including psychotherapy, behaviorism, advertising, sensitivity training, pornography, and plain old blackmail -- allowed the Enlightenment and its heirs to turn Augustine's insight on its head and create masters out of men's vices. LIBIDO DOMINANDI is the story of how that happened." -- Publisher
"E. Michael Jones ['a Roman Catholic polemicist of the old-fashioned type, for whom no Roman prelate (at least before Vatican II) ever did wrong, and no Protestant ever did right. He writes with the vehemence of a pamphleteer in the time of the sixteenth-century French wars of religion.' -- Reader's Comment], is editor of Culture Wars Magazine, and author of many books, including THE SLAUGHTER OF CITIES: URBAN RENEWAL AS ETHNIC CLEANSING." -- Publisher
Jordan, Don, and Michael Walsh, White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America, ISBN: 9780814742723 0814742726 9780814742969 0814742963.
Harrill, James Albert, Slaves in the New Testament: Literary, Social, and Moral Dimensions, ISBN: 0800637720 9780800637729 080063781X 9780800637811.
"Provides an analysis of slaves and slavery in the New Testament. This book uses Greco-Roman evidence, discussion of hermeneutics, and treatment of the use of the New Testament in antebellum US slavery debates. It examines Philemon, 1 Corinthians, Romans, Luke, Acts, and the household codes." -- Publisher
*Howard-Browne, Rodney, and Paul L. Williams, The Killing of Uncle Sam: The Demise of the United States of America, ISBN: 1640070974 978-1640070974.
"Pride, greed, and power have driven men to do the unthinkable -- including selling out their nations and unsuspected citizens to the most corrupt and destructive 'invisible' global leaders on Earth. But how did this happen on American soil? How did the downfall begin and who were the predators that the 'land of the free and home of the brave' fell victim to? And is all hope lost?
"This book captures details of the last 200 years of American history that mainstream media does not want you to know. It dissects the 'legalized' system of the private central banks that has gone unchecked, and delivers gut-wrenching truths about the real domestic and foreign enemies of the United States. With over 1000 footnotes and quotes from former presidents, prime ministers, and state officials, it will equip you with the facts that the elites have covered up for centuries and empower you to stand up for the truth. -- Publisher
"This book is so well-documented that fact-checking proves an arduous and ultimately fruitless venture. Finally, someone has the courage to expose this corrupted government and financial system citing each wicked malpractice from America's inception to present day. The theme is simple yet highly logical . . . follow the money. We have been saying things like 'follow the money' to one another for years! In downtrodden conversations, we have attempted to identify the root of the injustice that has since thrived in America, and hurts each one of us to witness. But we typically fail to reach a verdict free of conjecture. With this book, we are armed with genuine facts that follow the timeline of our nation. Now we know exactly how our government and economy have been repeatedly perverted by tyrannical greed. On this knowledge, we citizens of America, all of us together, can finally build a viable solution." -- Reader's Comment
"What the book is about? The Money Trail. Money doesn't lie. People lie, but the money exposes their true intentions. And from what I've read so far in the pre-release, it's much worse than any of us could have imagined. The book shows that the 'select' few who actually control the money, these men and women are the ones who determine how we live, or who doesn't. They are the ones who make the laws and decide who will be in power. They control and own the media outlets. They control the information, the money and the military complex. They start wars in places like Iraq and Kosovo to control their natural resources. They puppeteer government agencies like the CIA, and even the Office of the President. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"This book is a must-read for every American citizen. It is extremely eye-opening to what has gone on in our country for last 200 years. It walks you through how things were set in place many, many years ago by very powerful people and how it effects everything today in our current society. It is incredible the cabal of people that have planned and strategised for decades to pillage the American people of their wealth and to erode American Christian values and morality. The footnotes were also very helpful to be able to go and verify all of the information and see it for myself. -- Reader's Comment
"Lays out clearly what would require dozens of other books to connect all the dots. Outrageous, yet global-deep-state conspiracies we've heard about for years, that used to seem far-fetched, are finally laid out in logical progression and substantially supported. . . .
"The timing of this book [2018] cannot be overstated. . . . for the current U.S. political environment, and for what is happening on the world stage. . . . it really exposes what Trump is up against, and why the establishment hates him so. . . .
"Financial systems and banking are at the core of what is exposed. . . . America has been deceived for very long time, and many people have no idea what has happened. This book reveals the secret hidden agendas of the money system in our country. No other book explains it the way this does. . . . Line by line, Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne and Dr. Paul Williams unveil the corruption and wickedness that starts and ends with money. . . . See the history and the outright greed of individuals who have woven their influence and control over our country by controlling the money. . . .
"It amazed me to learn that the Federal Reserve is a PRIVATE Bank that is NOT answerable to Congress, the Judicial branch nor the White House. . . . There is no question left in my mind as to the utter and total corruption of our banking system. . . ." -- Excerpts from various readers comments
Chapter 38, "War Without End," in THE KILLING OF UNCLE SAM
https://revival.lpages.co/killingunclesambook/
*Kennedy, Walter Donald, Myths of American Slavery, ISBN: 1589800478 9781589800472.
"I agree. The Civil War created the foundation for the New Slavery, called Federal Slavery. Modern American slaves are victims to more confiscation than 19th century slaves.
"I do not agree with all author Kennedy's points. Slavery was certainly a partial cause shown by reading Jefferson Davis's first inaugural speech in the 'new' confederate union. It had slavery all over it. But, agreed, the primary cause was taxation, likewise with most wars. The history of the world is one group living off the labor of another. I love how Kennedy speaks the truth here.
"Even today, we are forced to choose between being a slave or a master. Parents, teach your children not to be the slave. Books like this give profound historical insight. The game never ends.
"This book further highlights that the master and slave relationship has not, and will not go away until people, black and white, have the courage to leave the modern Federal plantation. When forced, like in the USA, choose the master but embrace liberty. Great book!" -- Reader's Comment
Lean, Garth, God's Politician: William Wilberforce's Struggle, ISBN: 0939443031 9780939443031.
*Levitt, Steven, and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, ISBN: 9780062132345 0062132342 9788466645775 8466645772.
"Nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused. . . .
"Though extraordinarily diverse, these crimes all have a common trait: they were sins of information. Most of them involved an expert, or a gang of experts, promoting false information or hiding true information; in each case the experts were trying to keep the information asymmetry as asymmetrical as possible.
"The practitioners of such acts, especially in the realm of high finance, inevitably offer this defense: 'Everybody else was doing it.' Which may be largely true. One characteristic of information crimes is that very few of them are detected." -- Levitt and Dubner
"More than 4 million copies sold worldwide. Published in 35 languages. . . . Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life 'from cheating and crime to parenting and sports' and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. FREAKONOMICS is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more." -- Publisher
Lewis, Gordon, Slavery, Imperialism and Freedom: Studies in English Radical Thought, ISBN: 0853454477 9780853454472 0853455015 9780853455011.
McKivigan, John R., The War Against Proslavery Religion: Abolitionism and the Northern Churches, 1830-1865, ISBN: 0801415896 9780801415890.
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), Negro Slavery Unjustifiable, 1802. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
Negro Slavery Unjustifiable
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/14/alexander-mcleods-sermon-on-negro-slavery-unjustifiable
*Moore, Joseph S., Founding Sins: How a Group of Antislavery Radicals Fought to put Christ Into the Constitution, ISBN: 9780190269241 0190269243. Alternate title: THE FAILURE TO FOUND A CHRISTIAN NATION: COVENANTERS AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, TRACES THE COVENANTERS' POLITICAL ROOTS FROM SCOTLAND TO THE NEW WORLD.
"The Covenanters, now mostly forgotten, were America's first Christian nationalists. For two centuries they decried the fact that, in their view, the United States was not a Christian nation because slavery was in the Constitution but Jesus was not. Having once ruled Scotland as a part of a Presbyterian coalition, they longed to convert America to a holy Calvinist vision in which church and state united to form a godly body politic. Their unique story has largely been submerged beneath the histories of the events in which they participated and the famous figures with whom they interacted, making them the most important religious movement in American history that no one remembers.
"Despite being one of North America's smallest religious sects, the Covenanters found their way into every major revolt. They were God's rebels -- just as likely to be Patriots against Britain as they were to be Whiskey Rebels against the federal government. As the nation's earliest and most avowed abolitionists, they had a significant influence on the fight for emancipation. In Founding Sins, Joseph S. Moore examines this forgotten history, and explores how Covenanters profoundly shaped American's understandings of the separation of church and state.
"While modern arguments about America's Christian founding usually come from the right, the Covenanters have a more complicated legacy. They fought for an explicitly Christian America in the midst of what they saw as a secular state that failed the test of Christian nationhood. But they did so on behalf of a cause -- abolition -- that is traditionally associated with the left. Though their attempts to insert God into the Constitution ultimately failed, Covenanters set the acceptable limits for religion in politics for generations to come. . . .
"Joseph S. Moore is Assistant Professor of History at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. His work has appeared in The New York Times and various scholarly journals." -- Publisher
"The facts recorded in this book should have been common knowledge in our schools. The book helps complete the history of early colonial America, which has been censored in public education. Christians should be familiar with the names of Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie. Their followers, Alexander McLeod and James R. Willson, though less known, did repeat the same Christian message, to wit: Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and, per Isaiah 60:12, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. So, it is imperative for any nation's survival to recognize Jesus Christ, as did many of the Colonial Charters and State Constitutions.
"This books traces that struggle and attempt by Christians to do just that. In a way, our current situation is a big 'I told you so' for the early colonial Christians. In the name of toleration, sin is tolerated. We are committing national suicide, slowly. The people discussed in this book point out a better alternative." -- Reader's Comment
Napolitano, Andrew P., and Ron Paul (foreword), Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History, ISBN: 9781595552662 1595552669.
"Centuries of government deception have suspended our freedom and replaced it with a mythology rich in the ideals we are promised but do not actually experience.
"The government's lies have become our country's heritage, passed down generationally and accepted over time as status quo. We allow our leaders to regulate, under false pretenses, every area of our supposedly free lives: What we eat, how our money is spent, how we protect ourselves. The basic tenets of living in a free society -- the primacy of the individual and limited government -- are violated routinely and with little objection from those most affected.
"Judge Napolitano traces the deterioration of American freedom year by year, event by event, from the birth of the U.S. government to the economic and military crises of today. He illustrates how this distorted interpretation of government translates to loss for Americans -- loss of life, loss of property, loss of freedom. The cost is staggering.
"Amid the bleak revelation is a call to action. Judge Napolitano offers a blueprint to salvage our freedom and restore the government to its intended role as an instrument to protect the freedoms of the people." -- Publisher
Newell, John, and John C. Lord, "The Higher law," in its Application to the Fugitive Slave Bill: Review of Dr. John C. Lord's Sermon, on the Duties men owe to God and to Governments, 1851.
Newton, John (1725-1807), John Newton.
Newton, John (1725-1807), Out of the Depths, 2nd edition, ISBN: 0825433193 9780825433191.
"The original and unvarnished account of one of Christianity's most dramatic conversions -- the autobiography of John Newton, the author of 'Amazing Grace.' This is the ultimate, full-length hymn story, as spectacular and compelling today as when it was first written.
"Newton, and at age eleven went to sea with his father, a shipmaster on the Mediterranean. Disregarding his mother's prayer that he enter the ministry, he engaged in the lucrative but brutal African slave trade for a number of years. After his conversion he served in the Church of England as pastor of Olney parish and later of the combined church of St. Mary's in London.
"In addition to the words of 'Amazing Grace,' Newton was a prolific songwriter whose other well-known hymns include 'Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken' and 'How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds'." -- Publisher
North, Gary, The Biblical View of Slavery (Fort Worth, TX: Dominion Press).
"Most people fail to recognize that the 19th and 20th century concept of slavery is entirely different from the slavery in the ancient world. Dr. North surveys and contrasts the pagan view of slavery with the humanistic and the Biblical view. He discusses the Old Testament concept and how it changed in the New Testament." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Palmer, B.M., Slavery a Divine Trust. The Duty of the South to Preserve and Perpetuate the Institution as it now Exists.
Paul, John (1777-1848), Persecution and the Slave Trade, 1844. Alternate title: PERSECUTION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. DR. PAUL'S SPEECH WHEN A TESTIMONIAL WAS PRESENTED TO HIM BY HIS FRIENDS IN BALLYMONEY, 9TH DECEMBER, 1844. Available in WORKS OF THE LATE REV. JOHN PAUL.
Pollock, John, Wilberforce, ISBN: 0312879423 9780312879426.
"Today Christians are on the front-lines in the battles against abortion, drugs, and pornography. Sometimes they wonder if they can win. Read the story of one brave Englishman who labored long against slavery in the British Empire and won." -- GCB
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Presbytery of Edinburgh, Deliverance of the Reformed Presbytery of Edinburgh on American Slavery and Church-fellowship with Slave-holders.
Reformed Presbyterian Synod, Scotland, An Expostulation With Those Christians and Christian Churches, in the United States of America, That are Implicated in the Sin of Slaveholding 1848. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
Ritchie, Daniel, Radical Orthodoxy: Irish Covenanters and American Slavery, Circa 1830-1865.
"This article analyzes the views of Reformed Presbyterians (Covenanters) in relation to the subject of American slavery. Popular mythology, especially that propagated by the exponents of Neo-Confederacy, would have us believe that all those who criticized the system of chattel slavery that existed in antebellum America were either secularists or adherents to heterodox religious opinions. In order to debunk this myth, this article seeks to demonstrate the solid antislavery credentials of this theologically conservative group of Presbyterians by examining the writings of various Covenanters on chattel slavery. As this agitation against slavery took place in a context of significant internal strife between the Covenanters over the issue of the civil magistrate's power circa sacra, this paper will consider how the antislavery arguments of Thomas Houston and John Paul diverged in order to suit their respective positions on civil magistracy. Related to this is the Covenanters' critique of the U.S. Constitution, which Reformed Presbyterians rejected owing to its proslavery sentiments. Hence this article provides us with an important insight into antislavery ideology and developments within Reformed theology in relation to the state during the nineteenth century. Finally, consideration will be given to understanding the complex response of the Reformed Presbyterians to the American Civil War and to debates between the Irish Covenanters and their American brethren on the proper reaction to the conflict." -- Abstract
Orthodoxy Irish Covenanters and American Slavery Circa 1830-1865
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/div-classtitleradical-orthodoxy-irish-covenanters-and-american-slavery-circa-18301865div/D9F62AE7BF67992995DA1C012466322E
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest."
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Slavery Christianity: Paul's Letter to Philemon, an article (Unicoi, TN: The Trinity Foundation, November, 2005), ISBN: 1891777173 9781891777172.
"Slavery. Racism. Rebellion. Civil disobedience. The problems are as pressing today as they were 1900 years ago when the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a slave-owner, Philemon, about his runaway slave -- and the runaway slave carried Paul's letter back to his legal owner.
"What did the letter say? Did Paul -- does Christianity -- approve of slavery? Does Christianity condone slavery? Or does the Gospel abolish slavery and establish freedom wherever it is believed? Jesus said, If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31,32)
"Paul's letter to Philemon is a masterpiece of divinely inspired political philosophy. It provides the basis for the non-violent abolition of slavery wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and believed.
"Dr. John W. Robbins holds the Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University. His most recent book is FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS." -- Publisher
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, ISBN: 0524065543 9780524065549. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from ATLA 1991-2638.
A magnificent catechism that sets forth the Crown Rights of The King of Glory and Lord of Lords. It also presents incontrovertible evidence that the United States Constitution is not a Christian document, and that it is, in fact, a slavery document.
"A manual of instruction, drawing from such notable authors as William Symington and J.R. Willson, presenting arguments and facts confirming and illustrating the 'Distinctive Principles' of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Chapters deal with: 'Christ's Mediatorial Dominion in General;' Christ's Exclusive Headship Over the Church;' 'The Supreme and Ultimate Authority of the Word of God in the Church;' Civil Government, the Moral Ordinance of God;' Christ's Headship Over the Nations;' 'The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ;' The Word, or Revealed Will of God, the Supreme Law in the State;' 'The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion:' 'The Spiritual Independence of the Church of Christ:' 'The Right and Duty of Dissent From an Immoral Constitution of Civil Government;' 'The Duty of Covenanting, and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants;' 'The Application of These Principles to the Governments, Where Reformed Presbyterians Reside, in the Form of a Practical Testimony;' and finally 'Application of the Testimony to the British Empire. . . '." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
On the Mediatorial Dominion of The Lord Jesus Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_01_mediatorial_dominion.html
The Exclusive Headship of The Lord Jesus Christ Over the Church of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_02_christs_headship_over_the_church.html
Civil Government the Moral Ordinance of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_04_civil_government.html
On Christ's Headship Over the Nations, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_05_christs_headship_over_nations.html
The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_06_subjection_of_nations_to_christ.html
See also: The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; CONSPIRACY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, and A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
Sauer, Richard, Selling America Short: The SEC and Market Contrarians in the Age of Absurdity, ISBN: 9780470582114 0470582111.
"An industry insider reveals the inner workings of our financial system and the agencies who attempt to control it. During his dozen years as an SEC attorney, author Richard Sauer opened and supervised some of its most notable financial cases-investigations that took him to a dozen countries and returned hundreds of millions of dollars to American investors. While a partner at a major law firm and, later, a hedge fund manager, he saw firsthand the follies and failures of our system. Now, in SELLING AMERICA SHORT, he shares his extraordinary experiences with you. SELLING AMERICA SHORT is a gripp. -- Publisher
"Mr. Sauer shares a fascinating professional biography with us. First, he shares his experiences about working at the SEC enforcement division -- breaking down a couple of corporate fraud stories. He then gives us a perspective on municipal bond disclosures and politics. Finally, he walks through his time at a short-focused fund Copper River. This multi-faceted experience weaves together some hard learned conclusions:
1. "It's difficult to count on the SEC to stop financial crooks in a timely manner. Even worse, if you become a vocal critic of these corporate abusers, you run into the financial, legal, and reputational risks yourself. And the government may not always be on your side!
2. "From the fund management perspective, another takeaway is to diversify your investment banking relationships. When the crunch time comes, a hedge fund may run into partner risks that can become existential.
3. "Bottom line, when you become a public critic of the bad guys, do not be surprised to get some rocks be thrown your way. Your own house better be made of steel, or better yet, be a bunker." -- Reader's Comment
Skinner, E. Benjamin, A Crime so Monstrous: A Shocking Exposé of Modern-day Sex Slavery, Human Trafficking and Urban Child Markets, ISBN: 9781845963460 1845963466.
"Today there are more slaves than at any time in history, according to journalist Skinner's report on current and former slaves and slave dealers." -- Publisher
Sommerville, William (1800-1878), Southern Slavery not Founded on Scripture, 1864, ISBN: 066590830X 9780665908309.
*Sowell, Thomas, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, ISBN: 1594030863 9781594030864.
"This book challenges many assumptions about blacks, Jews, Germans, slavery, and education. Plainly written and backed with documented facts, it takes on not only the trendy intellectuals of our times but also such historic interpreters of American life as Alexis de Tocqueville and Frederick Law Olmsted. In a series of long essays, Sowell presents an in-depth look at key beliefs behind many mistaken and dangerous actions, policies, and trends, and presents insights into the historical development of the ghetto culture that is today wrongly seen as a unique black identity -- a culture cheered on toward self-destruction by white liberals who consider themselves 'friends' of blacks. One essay presents a jolting re-examination of the tragic institution of slavery and the narrow and distorted way it is too often seen today. Another explores the reasons for the venomous hatred of Jews, and of other groups like them in countries around the world. . . .
"BLACK REDNECKS AND WHITE LIBERALS is the capstone of decades of outstanding research and writing on racial and cultural issues by Thomas Sowell.
"Dr. Sowell is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the recipient of many awards and prizes. His previous books include ETHNIC AMERICA, BASIC ECONOMICS, A CONFLICT OF VISIONS and THE QUEST FOR COSMIC JUSTICE." -- Publisher
*Steele, David (1803-1887), A Case of Conscience. Alternate title: THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY, ANTICHRIST, CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND THE COVENANTERS and CIRCULAR NO. 2. Available (THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY . . .) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY . . .) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18, #26.
Circular No. 2, David Steele
"On Covenanter identity, the American 'civil' war and matters of taxation." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/25/circular-no-2
Steele, David (1803-1887), A Case of Conscience
"An short article on the question of covenanters and taxation." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-case-of-conscience
Tise, Larry E., Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in America, 1701-1840, ISBN: 0820309273 9780820309279 0820312282 9780820312286 0820323969 9780820323961.
"Probing at the very core of the American political consciousness from the colonial period through the early republic, this thorough and unprecedented study by Larry E. Tise suggests that American proslavery thought, far from being an invention of the slave-holding South, had its origins in the crucible of conservative New England. Proslavery rhetoric, Tise shows, came late to the South, where the heritage of Jefferson's ideals was strongest and where, as late as the 1830s, most slave owners would have agreed that slavery was an evil to be removed as soon as possible. When the rhetoric did come, it was often in the portmanteau [large traveling bag -- compiler] of ministers who moved south from New England, and it arrived as part of a full-blown ideology. When the South finally did embrace proslavery, the region was placed not at the periphery of American thought but in its mainstream." -- Publisher
*VanderKemp (Van der Kemp), Johannes, The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ, in Life and Death: Exhibited in Fifty-three Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, ISBN: 9781142354152 1142354156. See: "all editions" in WorldCat.org.
The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ in Life and Death (Free download, Kindle format)
http://archive.org/details/christianentire00kempgoog
Vision Video, The Better Hour: The Legacy of William Wilberforce, DVD (Vision Video, March 18, 2008), ISBN: 0793694124 9780793694129, 60 minutes.
A new documentary about William Wilberforce, subject of the film "Amazing Grace."
" 'The Better Hour' is the story of a man who, inspired by faith, used his political and social influence to change the world for the better. At the beginning of the 19th century, almost a third of the British economy depended on the trade of human beings. William Wilberforce was determined to end this horrific practice, by persuading both Parliament and British society to abolish slavery in the British Empire.
"Once, everyone knew the name William Wilberforce. Frederick Douglas said, 'Let no man forget the name of William Wilberforce.' A quarter century after Wilberforce's death, Abraham Lincoln said, 'Every school boy knows the name of William Wilberforce.' Yet 'few Americans today understand why, or even know Wilberforce's name,' explains 'The Better Hour' executive producer Cullen Schippe.
"Shot in high definition, 'The Better Hour: The Legacy Of William Wilberforce' is an engaging documentary, rich with content and commentary, that can inspire people with the remarkable story of William Wilberforce. He used his position as a British parliamentarian to launch 69 organizations for the betterment of society and end the trans-Atlantic slave trade -- a business that was key to the country's economic strength.
"The film focuses on a politician who, over time, developed strength of character in the service of high and seemingly unattainable goals. This film highlights William Wilberforce's drive and love for humanity and reveals how he and his colleagues worked tirelessly to end the slave trade, even as it represented a large portion of the British economy. In Wilberforce, we see character and a sense of justice for all join together to bring into the world what the English poet William Cowper described as 'the better hour'." -- Publisher
*Von Mises, Ludwig, Liberty and Property, ISBN: 9781579703783 157970378X.
"Originally delivered as a lecture at Princeton University, October 1958, at the 9th meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society." Includes bibliographical references.
Webster, Chauncey, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.
*Weiss, Gary, Wall Street Versus America: The Rampant Greed and Dishonesty That Imperil Your Investments, ISBN: 1591840945 9781591840947.
"For several years high-profile corporate wrongdoers have been vilified by the media. Yet the problem, according to investigative journalist Weiss, is not just a few isolated instances of malfeasance. The problem is in the very fabric of Wall Street and its practices that enable and even encourage corruption -- practices that are so pervasive and so difficult to combat that they are in effect perfect crimes, with the small investor left holding the bag. Weiss describes how the ethos of Mafia chophouses, boiler rooms, and penny stock peddlers now permeates all of Wall Street. Protected from investor lawsuits by laughably corrupt arbitration systems, Wall Street firms are free to fleece unsuspecting clients with little or no risk. But as this book shows, ordinary investors can fight back and come out on top -- if they learn to recognize warning signs, filter media chatter, and spot looming corporate meltdowns in advance." -- Publisher
"One more book about how scamster's on Wall Street rip-off the rest of America. For more than a quarter of a century Wall Street has had one scam after another. Portfolio insurance that led to the 509 point drop in October 1987, IPO's (Initial Public Offerings) of rotten companies in the 1990's, companies the insiders called POS (pile of shit) when talking to each other.
"Long-term capital making a Trillion dollar bet, heads they win tails America loses. Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Adelphia, and all the other accounting frauds in the early 00's. And right after them the prime slime mortgage mess.
"With each scam the stakes get higher and risk that financial disaster will ruin the American economy grows greater. Wall Street criminal's get MILLION dollar a year bonuses, America gets 10 percent unemployment." -- Reader's Comment
White, John H., From Slavery to Servanthood -- Tracing the Exodus Throughout Scripture, 1987, ISBN: 0934688419 9780934688413.
*Wilberforce, William (1759-1833), Real Christianity. Alternate title: A PRACTICAL VIEW OF THE PREVAILING RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANS IN THE HIGHER AND MIDDLE CLASSES IN THIS COUNTRY, CONTRASTED WITH REAL CHRISTIANITY. PUBLISHED IN 1797 BY WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE COUNTY OF YORK, ISBN: 157748584X.
"Wilberforce (1759-1833), was a member of the English Parliament for 45 years, a politician by calling, but a Christian in his faith and practice.
"He was a prime mover in the abolition of slavery in England. This book was printed in 1797, and has gone through many printings since, in English and five other languages.
"The book is highly abridged, being originally 450 pages. . . . The main thrust of the book is on practical Christianity. . . . Wilberforce teaches the importance of a God-centered life. Any life that is not centered on our Creator is not life at all, but such persons are dead while living (1 Timothy 5:6) . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Wilcox, D. Ray, The Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Antislavery Movement. (Unpublished MA thesis, Colorado State College of Education, 1948).
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Address on the Subject of African Slavery: Delivered in Fayetteville, September 14, 1837.
Yates, Robert, John Lansing, and Luther Martin, Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention, 1787. Alternate title: SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION ASSEMBLED AT PHILADELPHIA, IN THE YEAR 1787, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISBN: 1410203638 9781410203632.
"One of the most important collections of documents pertaining to the formation of the Constitution of the United States. Notes on the convention taken by Robert Yates, Chief Justice of New York, and copied by John Lansing, Jun. Esquire, late chancellor of that state, members of that convention. Including 'The Genuine Information,' laid before the Legislature of Maryland, by Luther Martin, Esquire, then attorney-general of that state, and member of the same convention. James Madison thought that Yates and Martin 'appear to have reported in angry terms what they observed with jaundiced eyes.' It must be added that in many particulars Yates' notes were fuller than Madison's own. Luther Martin's GENUINE INFORMATION is a general summary of the course of the Debates, with a running criticism on the provisions of the Constitution. Also contains an appendix with documents by Edmund Randolf, and others." -- Publisher
"The delegates, of the free states (in the national convention), in their extreme anxiety to conciliate the ascendancy of the Southern slaveholders, did listen to a compromise between right and wrong -- between FREEDOM and SLAVERY, of the ultimate fruits of which they had no conception, but which already, even now, is urging the Union to its inevitable ruin and depopulation, by a civil, servile, foreign, and Indian war, all combined in one; a war, the essential issue of which will be between freedom and slavery, and in which the unhallowed standard of slavery will be the desecrated banner of the North American Union -- that banner first unfurled to the breeze inscribed with the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence." -- John Quincy Adams, commenting on proceeding in the Constitutional Convention and prophetic of the War Between the States
Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention, Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Origins of the U.S. Constitution
http://garynorth.com/phildelphia.pdf
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, The inspiration and infallibility of scripture (the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of plenary inspiration, the doctrine of divine inspiration, the doctrine of verbal inspiration, theopneustia, sufficiency of scripture), The ten commandments: the moral law, Trusting god, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, The civil war of the united states, the war for southern independence, the war between the states: the war of northern aggression, Socialism, communism, marxism, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Idolatry, syncretism, Sexual wholeness, Rebellion and lawlessness: wickedness, demonic possession, substance abuse, abnormal behavior, insanity, mental illness, mental retardation, Repentance the key to salvation and change, Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Justifying faith, Forgiveness, Sanctification, The covenant faithfulness of god, The all-sufficiency of christ, Lordship of jesus christ, Christ's kingdom, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, The covenanted reformation, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, Covenanted reformation short title listing, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The one and the many, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Unfaithful reformed ministries, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Politics, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, The theology of freedom, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Political and economic freedom, Biblical economics, Christian liberty, Freedom with responsibility to god, Christian self-government, Acts of faithful assemblies, The aristocracy of wealth, Feudalism, Anarchy, Tyranny, Biblical civil government and the basis for civil resistance, The christian foundation of america, Colonial history, Covenanting in america, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, The civil war of the united states, the war for southern independence, the war between the states: the war of northern aggression, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 2138
Biblical Slavery vs. Roman and American Slavery, Matt Trewhella
Exodus 21:16; 1 Corinthians 7:21-23.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1024181717180&fbclid=IwAR3T8H_VPSYw43bxm7IXuTCjGWAfToWGhp8L4-8O_iFuriCza8VqhKPEZ9g
Exposing and Opposing Slavery Today, a video, Peter Hammond
"The abolition of slavery was a fruit of Christianity. However, those who believe that the days of slavery are over are mistaken.
"As Christians have retreated from social and political arenas, and as nations, which had once been considered Christian, now move into what they term: 'The post-Christian era,' we are seeing a resurgence of all those evils.
"Those who reject Christianity will in time embrace all of the vices outlawed by Christianity. So we are seeing in this apostate age a resurgence of legalized child killing through abortion, the killing of the aged and infirm through euthanasia, the legalization of adultery and polygamy, the legalization of perversion and prostitution, and a massive resurgence in slavery.
"The films, 'Taken, The Whistle-blower, Trade of Innocents' and 'Nefarious' shockingly expose the kidnapping, human trafficking and slavery that is going on at this very time."
https://vimeo.com/352204696
Slavery Today and Setting the Captives Free, a sermon, Peter Hammond
Isaiah 60:1-11 and 2 Corinthians 3:17
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7301981036205
How Government Budget Deficits Make us Poorer
"According to some commentators the US federal budget deficit still remains a major economic problem, notwithstanding that it draws less attention than in the past."
https://mises.org/blog/how-government-budget-deficits-make-us-poorer
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Monetary_Theory
Negro Slavery Unjustifiable Homepage
http://www.covenanter.org/Slavery/slaveryhome.htm
Philemon
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#phlmn
The Real Story of Slavery and war Crimes, Peter Hammond and Michael Walsh
"Peter Hammond and Mike Walsh discuss: the secret history of the slave trade; why many of the prisoners in American prisons today are technically slaves; the White slaves mainstream historians never seem to talk about; the forgotten slaves of Eastern Europe; the 28 million Africans who were transported across the Sahara & East Africa to be slaves in The Muslim Middle East; the tireless work that European missionaries did in order to bring an end to the slave trade; the slave trade that still goes on in the world today, that president Obama chose to ignore on his tour of Africa; the war crimes committed against German and Japanese civilians in World War II; the NATO war crimes committed against Serbia in 1999 and in the Middle East during this century; how control of the mainstream media is in the hands of perpetrators; the international boycotts against Rhodesia and South Africa; why sanctions don't work; and many other important topics."
https://soundcloud.com/user-779428885/the-real-story-of-slavery-and-war-crimes
Reject Draft Slavery, Rep. Ron Paul, MD
"Without conscription, unpopular wars are difficult to fight. Once the draft was undermined in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Vietnam War came to an end. But most importantly, liberty cannot be preserved by tyranny. A free society must always resort to volunteers. Tyrants think nothing of forcing men to fight and serve in wrongheaded wars. A true fight for survival and defense of America would elicit, I am sure, the assistance of every able-bodied man and woman. This is not the case with wars of mischief far away from home, which we have experienced often in the past century.
"A government that is willing to enslave some of its people can never be trusted to protect the liberties of its own citizens. I hope all my colleagues to join me in standing up for individual liberty by rejecting HR 163 and all attempts to bring back the draft."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul209.html
Slavery Today and Setting the Captives Free, a sermon, Peter Hammond
Isaiah 60:1-11 and 2 Corinthians 3:17
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7301981036205
Stop Human Trafficking 2021
https://vimeo.com/579344090
*Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the Union 2021.
*The National Debt is Worse Than Advertised
"When you include unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, that actual US debt stands at $123.11 trillion, according to the 'Financial State of the Union 2021' published by Truth in Accounting.
"In order to pay off all of Uncle Sam's liabilities, every taxpayer in the US would have to write a check for $796,000. . . .
"The federal government has $5.95 trillion in assets and $129.06 trillion in liabilities. If it were a private company, the US government would be bankrupt."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2021/04/23/the-national-debt-is-worse-than-advertised/
About our National Debt
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/about/our_national_debt
U.S. National Debt Clock: Real Time
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Many issues in the secular world reduce down to a dollars and cents consideration.
Beard, Charles Austin (1874-1948), and Forrest McDonald (introduction), An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, ISBN: 0029024803.
"In this classic and controversial interpretation of the economic conditions of the United States between 1783-1787, Beard proposes the thesis that the Framers were motivated by economic concerns. In his landmark work, THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN LAW, Hurst describes AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION . . . as 'one of "the basic works" on the Federal Convention of 1787.' (Hurst, The Growth of American Law: 458). Beard [1874-1948], was a founder of The New School for Social Research." -- Publisher
Clouse, Robert G., William E. Diehl, et al., Wealth and Poverty: Four Christian Views of Economics, ISBN: 0877843473 9780877843474.
*Kelly, Marjorie, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, ISBN: 1576752372 9781576752371.
First published just prior to the Enron debacle, the new paperback edition, includes new material on Enron.
"Wealth inequality, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are symptoms -- the fevers and chills of the economy. The underlying illness, says Business Ethics magazine founder Marjorie Kelly, is shareholder primacy: the corporate drive to make profits for shareholders, no matter who pays the cost. In THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly argues that focusing on the interests of stockholders to the exclusion of everyone else's interests is a form of discrimination based on property or wealth. She shows how this bias is held by our institutional structures, much as they once held biases against blacks and women. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL exposes six aristocratic principles that corporations are built on, principles that we would never accept in our modern democratic society but which we accept unquestioningly in our economy. Wealth bias is a holdover from our pre-democratic past. It has enabled shareholders to become a kind of economic aristocracy. Kelly shows how to design more equitable alternatives -- new property rights, new forms of corporate governance, new ways of looking at corporate performance -- that build on both free-market and democratic principles. We think of shareholder primacy as the natural law of the free market, much as our forebears thought of monarchy as the most natural form of government. But in THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly brilliantly demonstrates that it is no more 'natural' than any other human creation. People designed this system and people can change it. We need a change of mind as profound as that of the American Revolution. We must question the legitimacy of a system that gives the wealthy few -- the ten percent of Americans who own ninety percent of all stock -- a disproportionate power over the many. In so doing, we can fulfill the democratic principles of our nation not only in the political sphere, but in the economic sphere as well." -- Publisher
"Brilliant. So simple. So direct. And so beautifully written. I think we have found our Thomas Paine for the new millennium." -- David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Marjorie Kelly is the cofounder and editor of Business Ethics, a national publication on corporate social responsibility. Kelly's writing has appeared in publications such as The Utne Reader, The Progressive Populist, Tikkun, Earth Island Journal, Hope Magazine, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Her work has been anthologized in a half-dozen books, including THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS and THE NEW PARADIGM IN BUSINESS. Kelly is a regular speaker and commentator on business ethics and corporate social responsibility featured in The Wall Street Journal, quoted in the New York Times, and interviewed frequently on NPR and other radio networks." -- Publisher
Divine Right of Capital
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/
Business Ethics Magazine
http://www.business-ethics.com/
An Opening for Change: Understanding the Enron Crisis
Excerpted from THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL: DETHRONING THE CORPORATE ARISTOCRACY, by Marjorie Kelly, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, paperback edition 2003
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/new_agenda.htm
Corporate Accountability Project
http://www.corporations.org/
Corporate Governance
http://corpgov.net/
Code for Corporate Responsibility
http://www.c4cr.org/
*Levitt, Steven, and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, ISBN: 9780062132345 0062132342 9788466645775 8466645772.
"Nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused. . . .
"Though extraordinarily diverse, these crimes all have a common trait: they were sins of information. Most of them involved an expert, or a gang of experts, promoting false information or hiding true information; in each case the experts were trying to keep the information asymmetry as asymmetrical as possible.
"The practitioners of such acts, especially in the realm of high finance, inevitably offer this defense: 'Everybody else was doing it.' Which may be largely true. One characteristic of information crimes is that very few of them are detected." -- Levitt and Dubner
"More than 4 million copies sold worldwide. Published in 35 languages. . . . Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life 'from cheating and crime to parenting and sports' and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. FREAKONOMICS is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more." -- Publisher
McDonald, Forrest, and Russell Kirk, We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution, ISBN: 1560005742 9781560005742.
"Few vices are easier to arouse than envy. Politicians and ideologues have had great success exploiting the resentment that arises when pitting rich against the poor.
"From the time of its publication in 1913 until the 1960s, Charles Beard's thesis dominated discussion of the founders' motives. In the mode of the Marxist interpretation of history as class struggle, Beard argued that economic self-interest, rather than concern for the general good, determined the writing and outcome of the Constitution.
"Interestingly, Beard asserted his system of alignment without actually proving it, admitting that his work was fragmentary because it failed to fill in the blanks. The real legwork of research wasn't done until over fifty years later, when historian Forrest McDonald put Beard's thesis to the test. McDonald dug through numerous public records to write economic biographies of the delegates (the 55 who attended the Constitutional Convention and the 1,750 members at the state conventions), analyzing their occupations, income, and assets. By comparing these to how the delegates voted, he found that Beard's thesis was incompatible with the facts.
"In We the People McDonald analyzed the geographical and political factions represented by delegates, their property holdings and occupations, their voting patterns, if any, and whether they benefited directly from the proposed Constitution. For the state conventions he divided chapters into states favorable, divided, and opposed to the Constitution. At the end he re-evaluated Beard's thesis and discussed whether any economic interpretation could be applied to our founding given the complexity and variety of occupations and opinions that existed.
"The result was a remarkable, though at times necessarily tedious, bit of historical detective work. Very likely it came as a great relief to many Americans to learn that the founders had something other than their own economic gain at heart. Probably few were surprised that the founders were a much more diverse group than Beard had realized.
"We may find that independence difficult to believe today, when the forces of selfishness, materialism, and special interest seem so dominant, not merely among political and business leaders but among the general populace. Today propagandists still want to align people into absolutes, much like trial lawyers who portray their clients as angels and their opponents as devils. Our shallow political debates revolve around false dichotomies such as the Party of Business and the Party of the Common Man. But I imagine this adversarial, intellectually dishonest approach will continue to be used as an effective tool as long as there is envy to be harvested in the heart of man. -- Reader's Comment
See also: The ten commandments: the moral law, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, Biblical economics, Political and economic freedom, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Monopoly and anti-trust law enforcement, Carnality and flesh pleasing: lust, desires, ambition, pleasure, Wealth and prosperity, the snare of, Taxation and war, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, and so forth, and so on.
Feudalism is still alive and well in today's modern corporate world, in spirit and intent. -- Bizshifts Trends.com.The Corporate worldview we are operating under today remains rooted in the Feudal Age, a system in which a few wealthy noblemen lived in luxury at the expense of the masses. The capital of corporations is distributed by an accounting system that was constituted to serve the wishes of an aristocracy of wealth under a 16th century monarchy. The principles of accounting have remained essentially unchanged since that Feudal Age, 600 years ago. -- Vladimir Shlapentokh and Daniel Martinez, Feudal America: Elements of the Middle Ages in Contemporary Society
Cheyney, Edward Potts, Documents Illustrative of Feudalism, ISBN: 0404089747 9780404089740.
Ghent, William J., Oliver Wendell Holmes Collection (Library of Congress), Our Benevolent Feudalism.
Himmelfarb, Gertrude, The Idea of Poverty: England in the Early Industrial Age, ISBN: 0394530624 9780394530628.
Kerr, Robert L., The Corporate Free-speech Movement: Cognitive Feudalism and the Endangered Marketplace of Ideas, ISBN: 9781593323592 159332359X.
Lederer, Emma, Feudalism as a Structure and Form of Society.
Martinez, Daniel, Self, Absurdity, and Feudalism in 21st Century America, ISBN 0988267772 9780988267770.
"America is noted around the world as the premier example of democracy and productive capitalism. But the reality is that an elite class, working in conjunction with a self-serving cooperative government, exploits America's middle- and lower-class workers, creating a covert feudalist system which produces enormous wealth principally for the benefit of the ruling class. In the general population, social, moral, and political truth are distorted by a massive system of lies, propaganda, and popular delusions, making it even more difficult for the exploited workers to see through the blinding social fog. Those who confront the truth must face an unavoidable question: Do I want to continue living my life as a mindless worker ant? -- Publisher
Orren, Karen, Belated Feudalism: Labor, the law, and Liberal Development in the United States.
Painter, Sidney, Feudalism and Liberty; Articles and Addresses.
Rader, Trout, The Economics of Feudalism, ISBN: 0677032803 9780677032801 0677032854 9780677032856.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)"As the world focuses it attention on the papacy, we ought to recall Lord Acton, the great Roman Catholic historian of the 19th century. Many have heard the aphorism, 'Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,' though it is usually misquoted as 'Power corrupts.' Few who have heard it, however, know who its author was: John Emerich Edward Dalberg, better known as Lord Acton. Fewer still realize that Acton used the aphorism in opposing the papacy, the absolute monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
The object of the Inquisition [was] not to combat sin -- for the sin was not judged by it unless accompanied by [theological] error. Nor even to put down error. For it punished untimely and unseemly remarks the same as blasphemy. Only unity. This became an outward, fictitious, hypocritical unity. The gravest sin was pardoned, but it was death to deny the donation of Constantine. [The Donation of Constantine was a document forged in the eighth century in which the Roman Emperor Constantine willed the Western Roman Empire to the Pope. The Roman Church taught that the Donation was genuine, and the legal basis for the pope's civil authority, for centuries. -- JR]. So men learnt that outward submission must be given. All this [was] to promote authority more than faith. When ideas were punished more severely than actions -- for all this time the Church was softening the criminal law, and saving men from the consequences of crime: -- and the Donation was put on a level with God's own law -- men understood that authority went before sincerity."Acton believed that the Inquisition was the institution by which the medieval papacy had to be condemned or acquitted. Just as a man charged with murder is judged for a single act, though be may be kind to his mother and a great philanthropist, so the papacy must be judged for the Inquisition. To Mandell Creighton, an Anglican priest, Acton wrote:
I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. . . . For many years my view of Catholic controversy has been governed by the following chain of reasoning: 1. A crime does not become a good deed by being committed for the good of a church. 2. The theorist who approves the act is no better than the culprit who commits it. 3. The divine or historian who defends the theorist incurs the same blame. . . . To commit murder is the mark of a moment, exceptional. To defend it is constant, and shows a more perverted conscience."Acton turned his attention to other crimes of the Roman Church as well. Beginning on Sunday, August 24, 1572, tens of thousands of French Huguenots were massacred by the Catholics. Overnight, thousands were murdered, and the murders continued for several months. The massacre began in Paris. The sign of the cross was everywhere, and the murders took on the air of a crusade, a holy war against the infidels. The banks of the Seine became a slaughterhouse. Men, women, children, and infants were stabbed or dragged by a rope around the neck to be thrown into the river. The murder, looting, and rape went on for days in Paris.
The story is much more abominable than we all believed. . . . S.B. [St. Bartholomew's], is the greatest crime of modern times. It was committed on principles professed by Rome. It was approved, sanctioned, and praised by the papacy. The Holy See went out of its way to signify to the world, by permanent and solemn acts, how entirely it admired a king who slaughtered his subjects treacherously, because they were Protestants. To proclaim forever that because a man is a Protestant it is a pious deed to cut his throat in the night. . . ."For three centuries the Roman church's canon law had affirmed that the killing of an excommunicated person was not murder, and that allegiance need not be kept with heretical rulers. Murder and treason were part of the Roman church's official teachings. Charles IX was acting as a good Catholic, and he was highly praised by the pope for his murders.
A man is not honest who accepts all the Papal decisions in questions of morality, for they have often been distinctly immoral; or who approves the conduct of the Popes in engrossing power, for it was stained with perfidy and falsehood; or who is ready to alter his convictions at their command, for his conscience is guided by no principle."After studying the history of the popes, Acton wrote:
The papacy contrived murder and massacre on the largest and also on the most cruel and inhuman scale. They were not only wholesale assassins but they made the principle of assassination a law of the Christian Church and a condition of salvation. . . . [The Papacy], is the fiend skulking behind the Crucifix.Massachusetts Attorney General, The Sexual Abuse of Children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, Thomas F. Reilly, Massachusetts Attorney General.
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), This Independent Republic: Studies in the Nature and Meaning of American History. Available through Exodus Books.
"First published in 1964 and out of print for many years, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction.
"These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence; Sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution; The desire for land as a consequence of the belief in 'inheriting the land' as a future blessing, not an immediate economic asset; Federalism's localism as an inheritance of feudalism; The local control of property as a guarantee of liberty; Why federal elections were long considered of less importance than local politics; How early American ideas attributed to democratic thought were based on religious ideals of communion and community; and The absurdity of a mathematical concept of equality being applied to people. With index." -- Publisher
Shlapentokh, Vladimir, and Joshua Woods, Feudal America: Elements of the Middle Ages in Contemporary Society, ISBN: 0271037822 9780271037820.
"Do Americans live in a liberal capitalist society, where evenhanded competition rules the day, or a society in which big money, private security, and personal relations determine key social outcomes? Vladimir Shlapentokh and Joshua Woods argue that the answer to these questions cannot be found among the conventional models used to describe the nation. Offering a new analytical tool, the authors present a provocative explanation of the nature of contemporary society by comparing its essential characteristics to those of medieval European societies.
"Their feudal model emphasizes five elements: the weakness of the state and its inability to protect its territory, guarantee the security of its citizens, and enforce laws; conflicts and collusions between and within organizations that involve corruption and other forms of illegal or semilegal actions; the dominance of personal relations in political and economic life; the prevalence of an elitist ideology; and the use of private agents and organizations for the provision of safety and security. FEUDAL AMERICA urges readers to suspend their forward-thinking and futurist orientations, question linear notions of social and historical progression, and look for explanations of contemporary social problems in medieval European history." -- Publisher
Sweezy, Paul M., The Transition From Feudalism to Capitalism, ISBN: 0902308211 9780902308213 0902308513 9780902308510.
See also: The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, The question of the one and the many, Carnality and flesh pleasing: lust, desires, ambition, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Taxation and war, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, Power, Glory in iniquity, the temptation of vainglory, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism, and corporatism, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, The ten commandments: the moral law, Ethics, Medical ethics, Healthcare reform, Monopoly and anti-trust law enforcement, Casuistry, The commandments of christ, Cases of conscience, Will and recalcitrance, and so forth, and so on.
Mutation of Medieval Feudalism Into Modern Corporate Capitalism: The Rise of Neofeudalism in Corporate Governance
"Feudalism is still alive and well in today's modern corporate world, in spirit and intent -- Question: What is the most enduring and stable system of economic and social order the world has ever known? It's not capitalism, or socialism, or dictatorship: It's feudalism. . . .
"Though brilliant in its conception, feudalism was a biased hierarchy of authority, rights, power -- that extended from monarchs downward, creating an intricate network of obligatory situations that infringed on almost every basic human right . . . ."
http://bizshifts-trends.com/mutation-medieval-feudalism-modern-business-capitalism-rise-neofeudalism-corporate-governance/
Neo-feudalism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-feudalism
The "law of God" expresses the mind of the Creator, and is binding upon all rational creatures. It is God's unchanging moral standard for regulating the conduct of all men . . . The law was impressed on man's moral nature from the beginning, and though now fallen, he still shows the work of it written on his heart. This law has never been repealed, and, in the very nature of things, cannot be. For God to abrogate the moral law would be to plunge the whole universe into anarchy. Obedience to the law of God is man's first duty. . . . That is why in the first discourse of Christ recorded in the New Testament, he declared, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17), and then proceeded to expound and enforce the moral law. -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), Life of FaithJohn Cotton, writing in 1629, 1630, he and his Puritan colleagues, issued a very interesting question, and the question which he said was this, 'if the people govern, who shall be governed?' Democracy produces anarchy, and anarchy produces Totalitarianism. It is a very simple triad formula, and it has never failed to work. And I would have you think throughout these hours of this political question, if the people govern, who shall be governed? -- C. Gregg Singer in his lecture Decline of American Culture #02: Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 1
Begg, James (1808-1883), Anarchy in Worship or Recent Innovation Contrasted with the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church and the Vows of Her Office-Bearers (1875). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #4 and #24.
"The principles upheld in this book are extremely important today, for as the title page notes 'When nations are to perish in their sins, 'Tis in the Church the leprosy begins.' Begg lays his foundations in the second commandment and deals with all man-made innovations in the worship of God. The four types of innovators exposed are especially interesting, being: 1. the presumptuous and blasphemous innovator; 2. the popularity-hunting innovator; 3. the politic and scheming innovator; 4. the aesthetic innovator. Women preachers, drama, dance and numerous other modern inventions in public worship would all be rejected outright if these Biblical principles were faithfully followed. Herein we also see why those holding to the Scriptural law of worship and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) must reject musical instruments in public worship as just another Popish and Judaizing innovation -- a resurrecting of the abrogated ceremonial law -- and thus a denial of the finished work of Christ. The discussion of vows taken by office holders to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), as they relate to worship, is also extremely important and should be read not only by all elders who have bound themselves to uphold the WCF [1646], but also by all Christians who love the truth and want to maintain the church in purity." -- Publisher
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
*Elliott, Paul M., Christianity and Neo-liberalism: The Spiritual Crisis in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Beyond, ISBN: 0940931680 9780940931688.
"Paul M. Elliott, a former Ruling Elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, carefully traces the origin of the spiritual crisis in the OPC and similar denominations to the pernicious teaching of Westminster Theological Seminary. That teaching is that God is unknowable, that Scripture is contradictory, and that salvation is by faith-plus-works. Elliott provides copious quotations from faculty members, from the Westminster Theological Journal, and from pastors in OPC congregations to document his analysis. This book is must reading for all Presbyterians.
"Elliott's book is a massive documentation of Liberalism at Westminster Seminary (Philadelphia) and in the OPC on the doctrines of Scripture, God, salvation, and hermeneutics. Officers of the OPC should not even begin to think, 'We are the children of Machen,' for if they were, they would do the deeds of Machen." -- The Trinity Foundation
" 'The Marks of Neo-liberalism' is taken from chapter 2 of . . . CHRISTIANITY AND NEO-LIBERALISM: THE SPIRITUAL CRISIS IN THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND BEYOND.
"In this chapter Mr. Elliot lists the marks of Neo-liberalism -- they are the principles of the Liberalism that Machen opposed -- and shows how the OPC displays those marks, even while claiming that 'there's no one here but us Reformed folks.'
The Marks of Neo-liberalism, Paul M. Elliott
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=219
"I would like to recommend Paul Elliot's new book, CHRISTIANITY AND NEO-LIBERALISM. This is a book that everyone who loves Jesus Christ, loves the truth, and loves the Gospel must read.
"It is a riveting and horrifying story. Elliot explains in great detail how the enemies of the faith have been able to surreptitiously supplant the true Gospel with a clever fraud and, more importantly, how they were able to succeed in the OPC. The track Elliot outlines in the OPC is mirrored in many respects in the PCA as well. Further, the politics involved and how these enemies of Christ have positioned themselves in places of power and influence over the years and their success in neutralizing their opposition is a lesson all of us need to learn, but I'm afraid few of us have. The incredible gullibility and complacency of countless churchmen recounted in this book is frightening. The comparison to Machen's CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALISM is more than fitting. I would argue Elliot's book is considerably better on a number of counts. His account of the Kinnaird affair alone is worth the price of the book. Yet, there is so much I haven't even considered, like the "hermeneutic of trust" which has supplanted the Reformed hermeneutic yin many circles is an eye-opener. This is simply an amazing book." -- Sean Gerety
Contents:
Part One: Liberalism and Neo-liberalism: A Little Leaven; The Marks of Neo-liberalism.
Part Two: Historical Background: Those Who Ignore the Errors of History; Embracing the Principles of the Auburn Affirmation.
Part Three: The Growth of Neo-liberalism: The Shepherd Controversy: Entry of Another Gospel; Richard Gaffin's New Perspective on Paul; The Kinnaird Case and its Aftermath; The Hermeneutic of Trust: Prescription for Doctrinal Anarchy; How Did It Happen?
Part Four: How Shall We Respond?: The Biblical Imperative.
Appendices: The Auburn Affirmation; Kinnaird Memorandum; Proposed (Rejected) Overture to the 2004 OPC General Assembly; Scripture Index; Index.
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Anarchy and Christianity, 1991, ISBN: 0802804950 9780802804952.
Kaplan, Robert, The Coming Anarchy: How Scarcity, Crime, Overpopulation, Tribalism, and Disease are Rapidly Destroying the Social Fabric of Our Planet, an article.
"In 1994, Robert Kaplan wrote an article Now, twenty years later, with a few minor tweaks, he's saying, "See I told you so!"
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), From Rationalism to Irrationality: The Decline of the Western Mind From the Renaissance to the Present, ISBN: 0875524281 9780875524283 and a reprint of the P&R Publishing edition of 1979 (Wipf and Stock, 2006), 479 pp.
"Now, frankly students, this course is presented from obviously the Reformed Theology. I hold unabashedly, unashamedly to the whole of Reformed Theology as we find it specifically in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
"At the same time I hold to a position in regard to Apologetics generally known as Presuppositionalism, and particularly that view held by Cornelius Van Til.
"This book is an attempt to enlarge and to broaden the scope of Van Til's own Apologetical system, and also his Epistemology. By that I mean, and I worked this book with him, so anything that I say is not to be construed as a criticism of Cornelius Van Til. I might add he wrote me a letter. He is delighted with this book. But what I did was to take his principles, both of Apologetics and of Epistemology, and apply them to all realms of modern thought.
"Dr. Van Til, for good and sufficient reason, sought to limit to the main stream of what we might call pure Philosophy, that is from Saint Thomas, well even before them, back to the Greeks, but particularly in the more modern period, from Saint Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham (Occam), down through Descartes, the Rationalists, the Empiricists, down to Kant and Hegel, and of course Modern Philosophy and Modern Theology. Very seldom has he gone into what we might call the arena of Political Philosophy, or the arena of Social Thought, or the arena of Psychology and Psychiatry, the realm of Educational Philosophy, and into Art, Music, and so on, to the Fine Arts.
"This book is an attempt to apply his system, and show what happens when the Western mind has forsaken his principles, or the principles which he has espoused, and turned into its own way. And thus the book called FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY. The thesis being that the Rationalism inherent in Saint Thomas and the post-Thomists, and more particularly, and more openly, in the Philosophy of the Renaissance, and Descartes, and Spinosa, and Leibniz has, as it's gained momentum in the modern world, brought Western Culture to its knees. We are living, as I would think, in the death throws of the Western Cultures, the Western Civilization." -- Dr. C. Gregg Singer, in the introductory address to his course in Apologetics soon after FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY came off the press in 1979
Apologetics: #01: Classical and Medieval Thought #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 56 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453
"Locke endeavored to set forth a political philosophy which would anchor his democratic political thought on what he felt were the firm foundations of his empiricism. However, his insistence that nature has bestowed upon mankind certain basic and inalienable rights was an assumption quite contrary to his empiricism. His denial of conscience as an innate possession or quality makes it impossible for men to know that they possess the rights of life, liberty, and property. The very concept of a human right is moral in nature and has its basis of authority in the human conscience. It is thus impossible for men to know through the senses that they have these cherished human rights. Granted that it was far from Locke's intention to undermine or destroy the traditional English concept of personal rights, his empiricism removed from his political thought the necessary foundations on which a government could be built for the protection of these rights. His empiricism supported neither the idea that men have such rights nor that they are inalienable. (p. 61)
"Underlying the secular and naturalistic assumptions of the thought of the Enlightenment was a related and equally serious problem. In their political and economic thought the leaders of this era were passionately devoted to the pursuit of freedom, and yet they seemed to be completely unaware of this incompatibility between their quest for freedom on the one hand and their reliance upon natural law on the other. How can an impersonal and deterministic concept of law produce and sustain a meaningful concept of freedom? Blindly convinced that there was no problem involved in the contradiction, the leaders of the Enlightenment pushed boldly ahead in the quest for political and economic liberty. However, their failure to recognize the issues involved in this quest led not only to the disaster of the French Revolution but to the growth of the totalitarian political and economic philosophies which first appeared in Hegel and Marx during the nineteenth century and reached their culmination in the totalitarianism of the twentieth century." (p. 73) -- quoted at the blog, Imago Veritatis: Post-modern Reformed Paleo-orthodoxy
Singer used this as textbook for his course in Apologetics. Epistemology is a recurring theme throughout the textbook and the course. The series of 24 addresses on Apologetics is available free online. See: "Apologetics" under:
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Christ our example, The commandments of christ, The teaching of our lord jesus christ, Affliction, adversity, trials, suffering, chastisement, The mediatorial reign of christ: the crown rights of christ, Christ's kingdom, Duties of the christian, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Idolatry, syncretism, and so forth and so on.
TCRB5: 2551
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19)Calvinism is the most formidable enemy which socialism and communism face today because it opposes every one of their basic presuppositions and purposes. It is a generally recognized truism that most supporters of these movement are the avowed enemies of Calvinism and historic evangelical doctrine. Their theological rebellion has been the vestibule for their rejection of the Biblical postulates for economic activity. -- C. Gregg Singer, John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 48
All socialist and all communist governments in the past have failed because they do not take into account the sin nature of man, The Doctrine of Man (Human Nature, Total Depravity).
The names for the society whereby men can covet everything that is their neighbor's may vary: socialism, communism, a welfare economy, rugged individualism, fascism, and national socialism are a few of the names common to history. Their goal is the same: under a facade of morality, a system is created to seize what is properly our neighbor's. Not surprisingly, such a system shows a general decline in morality. Theft, murder, adultery, and false witness all increase, because man is a unity. If he can legalize and 'justify' seizing his neighbor's wealth or property, he will then legalize and justify taking his neighbor's wife. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), The Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 649
Covetousness
The Bible is clearly against oppression of the poor by the rich. It is also very clear about the right to own land and property: You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife . . . nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour's (Exodus 20:17); While it (the land) remained, was it not your own? (Acts 5:4; Matthew. 20:15).
How to Destroy an Economy
Based on the Commandments Thou shall not steal and Thou shall not covet, we must reject any form of "nationalisation" and forced redistribution of wealth and land. It is an observable fact that wherever this Biblical Law has been violated, as in socialist countries, the result has been starvation, wastage, and death for millions. One only needs to compare the austere North Korea under socialism and atheism, with the productive and prosperous South Korea, where free enterprise and Christianity flourish. -- William Carey Bible InstituteModern society is hypnotized by socialism. It is prevented by socialism from seeing the mortal danger it is in. One of the greatest dangers of all is that you have lost all sense of danger. You cannot even see where it is coming from as it moves swiftly towards you. Socialism of any type leads to a total destruction of the human spirit -- to destroy a people, you must first sever their roots. -- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
The world has never before known a godlessness as organized, militarized, and tenaciously malevolent as that preached by Marxism. Within the philosophical system of Marx and Lenin, and at the heart of their psychology, Hatred of God is the principle driving force, more fundamental than all their political and economic pretensions. Militant atheism is not merely incidental, or marginal, to Communist policy; it is not a side effect, but the central pivot. To achieve its diabolical ends, Communism needs to control a population devoid of religious and national feeling, and this entails a destruction of faith and nationhood. Communists proclaim both of these objectives openly, and just as openly put them into practice." -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
Socialism is legalized theft.
Like it or not, we are becoming a communist country. That's what's happening. We are beyond socialism. -- Donald Trump, July 2021
Greedy Democracy and the Thief Called Socialism
"Ironically, Socialism and it's more extreme expressions in various forms of Communism have a natural connection to Democracy. Throughout history Socialism has been the result of the democratic process. With the exception of African and South American tribal wars there are few instances of Socialism from some Dictator's fiat decree. From the Bolshevik Revolution to Maoism, to Nazism (German National Socialism), Italian Fascism (Mussolini's Socialism), along with the rise of other Socialist governments throughout Western Europe and England, etc., all came into being through the Democratic process. In short, the proletariat (the people) in a fit of greed if not avarice vote themselves the coercive redistribution of other's wealth, all of which is wrapped in the pseudo-morality of slogans like 'Social Justice,' 'Economic Justice' and endless appeals to a perverted sense of egalitarian fairness.
"Democracy always degenerates into the tyranny of the majority and Socialism in any of its forms is that tyranny. Socialism leverages the greed of the human heart and institutionalizes avarice. Redistribution of another's wealth is the practical expression of this vice. Whenever one group democratically coerces wealth from another group, that transfer of wealth is the moral equivalent of theft. Margaret Thatcher famously said: 'The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.' Mrs. Thatcher's quip identifies the key structural problem with Socialism but God speaks to its essential moral defect. To all men, in all cultures, across all time He commands: Thou shalt not steal." (Exodus 20:15) -- Thomas FortneyTheir throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:13-18)Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16)
More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people [a peasant he heard as a boy -- compiler] offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened. . . . But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some sixty million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened. . . . And if I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too, I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: Men have forgotten God. -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), from Men Have Forgotten God, his speech upon receiving the Templeton Award, May 10, 1983
In too many churchmen we find the exemption of the state from the law, and from judgment in terms of the law. The roots of this position go back to pagan divinization of the state. (See: Rushdoony, Christianity and the State). Practically, where men exempt the state from the law of God, they make it an instrument of Satan.
The law is the law for everyone. If the citizen has no moral right to steal, neither does the state. If the citizen cannot expropriate his neighbor's property, neither can the state. Thou shalt not steal applies to corporations, governments, and men equally. It forbids socialism, communism, [fascism], inflation, bad checks, and every other form of theft. It forbids false advertising, and dishonest processing and adulteration of foods. It forbids featherbedding by workers' associations, and it forbids the cheating of workers. All men, their institutions, corporations, and forms of government, are equally under the law of God. The reduction of the Ten Commandments to the status of a moral code only [from that of a Biblical criminal code], is the destruction of the law.
If all authority is not under God, then, instead of a universe, we have a multiverse; instead of one Creator and Law-giver, we have many gods acting as creators and law-givers in their realms. If all authority comes from God, then all authority is plainly under God's law-word, and entirely subject to it. Thou shalt not steal cannot then be restricted to the individual man, but must be applied to every area of life. . . .
In the 20th century, educators have spoken of the university at times as a multiversity, having room for a variety of ideas and faiths. The teaching of witchcraft, astrology [Astrology is being considered as a college major in California state colleges. (September 2003)], and related concepts by some schools is related to this concept of the multiversity. High schools in a major city have introduced yoga and palmistry. If the world is a multiverse, then all things are permissible except a sovereign God and a universal law-order. Hence our polytheistic world is tolerant of almost every kind of belief except orthodox Christianity. A universal law-order and a sovereign God rule out the possibility of a polytheistic multiverse. But, because the sovereign and triune God of Scripture rules, there is no multiverse, but rather a universe and a unified law-order.
The law, Thou shalt not steal, applies therefore not only to the state but to the church as well. Where the church does not faithfully teach the whole counsel of God, His entire law-word, it is then plainly guilty of theft. It is robbing the people and the social order of its vital nerve; it is undercutting all authority when it limits the law on which all authority rests.
As Nymeyer has observed "What gold is to money, the law of God is to liberty." (Frederick Nymeyer, Progressive Calvinism [South Holland, IL: Libertarian Press, 1957], III, 209). Without the law of God, men, unions, corporations, and states feel free to be a law unto themselves, to play god. Failure to teach the law of God is thus to pave the way for tyranny.
James Madison said of God's law:We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God. -- James Madison, "The father of our Constitution"The above quote is from Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, pp. 539-541Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. (2 Chronicles 19:2b)
For none are more bold in arrogating everything to themselves, than those that have nothing. -- John Calvin commenting on 1 Corinthians 5:11
Take all the property in England by force this day, and divide it equally among the inhabitants. Give every man above twenty years old an equal portion. Let all take share and share alike, and begin the world over again. Do this, and see where you would be at the end of fifty years. You would just have come round to the point where you began: you would just find things as unequal as before. Some would have worked and some would have been idle: some would have been always careless and some always scheming; some would have sold and others would have bought; some would have wasted and others would have saved. And the end would be, that some would be rich and others poor. -- J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), Practical Religion, 1878, pp. 314-316.
One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. -- Ronald Reagan
What will finally destroy us is not communism or fascism, but man acting like God. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)
The goal of socialism is communism. -- Vladimir Lenin
Democracy is indispensable to socialism. -- Vladimir Lenin
The press should be not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective organizer of the masses. -- Vladimir Lenin
Sixty years ago, Venezuela was 4th on the world economic freedom index. Today, they are 179th and their citizens are dying of starvation. In only 10 years, Venezuela was destroyed by democratic socialism.
And we have our privately owned autocratic central bank to thank for the death of "free market capitalism" as there can be nothing more detrimental to sustaining a free market than having a privately owned unaccountable cartel monopolize our monetary system.
End the unconstitutional tyranny of the Federal Reserve and IRS over our money supply and hard earned income, put monetary creation back in the hands of a duly elected congress, and allow independent banks to compete in a free market, and the ideals proffered by socialism will soon be a distant forgotten memory as socialism cannot exist without an autocratic oligarchical monopoly controlling the money supply. -- A Comment on Social MediaThe choice in 2020 couldn't be more clear. You can choose Freedom and Prosperity or go down the dark road of Big Government Socialism and Failure. We can't let that happen to our country! -- Donald J. Trump
*Bowers, Curtis, Agenda 2: Masters of Deceit, DVD documenatry.
"This is an important documentary with an important message for all. If you're looking for a film that will tell the truth about the state of our country unashamedly, then you need to see AGENDA 2: MASTERS OF DECEIT. This film will wake you up and expose the truth about communism in our government. If this is a subject simply to blow off or make fun of, we are only allowing those in power to win and continue pushing their agenda. This is a critical film to watch and discuss. And more importantly, we must take action, fighting for what we believe in. If we watch this film and vow to help Curtis Bowers on his quest to help America again, we can turn our country back. AGENDA 2: MASTERS OF DECEIT is a must-see film for all American Christians." -- Publisher
https://www.fishflix.com/products/agenda-2-masters-of-deceit-dvd-christian-movies?variant=34362795473
*Bowers, Curtis, Agenda: Grinding America Down, DVD documentary (2010).
"When Idaho Legislator Curtis Bowers wrote a 'letter to the editor' about the drastic changes in America's culture, it became the feature story on the evening news, people protested at the Capitol, and for weeks the local newspapers were filled with responses. He realized then . . . he'd hit on something. Ask almost anyone and you'll hear, 'Communism is dead! The Berlin Wall came down.' Thought the word communism isn't used anymore, this film will show the ideas behind it are alive and well. Join Bowers for a fascinating look at the people and groups that have successfully targeted America's morality and freedom in their effort to grind America down. It's a well documented AGENDA." -- Publisher
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2360880/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
*Chambers, Claire, The SIECUS Circle: A Humanist Revolution, ISBN: 0882791192 9780882791197.
THE SIECUS CIRCLE: A HUMANIST REVOLUTION established a clear connection between the socialist agenda and sexual immorality of the general population.
"THE SIECUS CIRCLE said, in the 1960s, that the population control crowd targeted the RCC [Roman Catholic Church], the LCMS [Lutheran Church Missouri Synod], and the SBC [Southern Baptist Church], as they all had leaders in charge of major publishing operations who could easily be 'bought off.' I remember as a child, my father coming home one day from Rotary Club livid that the local LCMS pastor had spoken on the need for classroom sex talk (sex ed) in the local schools. It worked. . . . setting up the foundations for abortion." -- Reader's Comment
"This book was an eye opener, written years ago, and relevant and prophetic for today. I am glad I re-read it again. If you want to know where the culture is headed, read this . . ." -- Reader's Comment
*Chambers, Whittaker, Witness, ISBN: 0895267896 9780895267894.
This is the book that directed D. James Kennedy's attention to the problem of International Communism. It is the story of the governments cooperation with Communism.
"First published in 1952, WITNESS was at once a literary effort, a philosophical treatise, and a bestseller. Whittaker Chambers had just participated in America's trial of the century in which Chambers claimed that Alger Hiss, a full-standing member of the political establishment, was a spy for the Soviet Union. This poetic autobiography recounts the famous case, but also reveals much more. . . -- went on to help make political conservatism a national force." -- Editorial Review
"Whittaker Chambers has written one of the really significant American autobiographies . . . penetrating and terrible insights into America in the early twentieth century." -- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Coral Ridge Ministries, Economic Manifesto. A Call to America's Leaders: Reverse our Nation's Disastrous Economic Policies!
"You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15 NKJV) applies to government, just as it does to private individuals. Tax policy to redistribute income, to take from the rich and give to the poor, and economic policy to steal from everyone to bail out the rich, amounts to 'legalized theft' and violates God's law.
"Socialism threatens freedom.
"Man is sinful (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23), and any system that places economic and political power in the hands of a few is a threat to liberty. Socialism concentrates economic authority in government and empowers politicians to impose their will and 'wisdom' on the marketplace by force of law.
"Government should not play favorites.
"The proper role of government is to ensure a level playing field by providing equal justice to all. Federal policy should favor neither poor nor rich: You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. (Leviticus 19:15 NKJV) . . . ."
*Courtois, Stephane, Nicolas Werth, and Jean-Louis Panne, The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, ISBN: 0674076087 9780674076082.
"Already famous throughout Europe, this international bestseller plumbs recently opened archives in the former Soviet bloc to reveal the actual, practical accomplishments of Communism around the world: terror, torture, famine, mass deportations, and massacres. Astonishing in the sheer detail it amasses, the book is the first comprehensive attempt to catalogue and analyze the crimes of Communism over seventy years. 'Revolutions, like trees, must be judged by their fruit,' Ignazio Silone wrote, and this is the standard the authors apply to the Communist experience-in the China of 'the Great Helmsman,' Kim Il Sung's Korea, Vietnam under 'Uncle Ho' and Cuba under Castro, Ethiopia under Mengistu, Angola under Neto, and Afghanistan under Najibullah. The authors, all distinguished scholars based in Europe, document Communist crimes against humanity, but also crimes against national and universal culture, from Stalin's destruction of hundreds of churches in Moscow to Ceausescu's leveling of the historic heart of Bucharest to the widescale devastation visited on Chinese culture by Mao's Red Guards. As the death toll mounts -- as many as 25 million in the former Soviet Union, 65 million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia, and on and on -- the authors systematically show how and why, wherever the millenarian ideology of Communism was established, it quickly led to crime, terror, and repression. An extraordinary accounting, this book amply documents the unparalleled position and significance of Communism in the hierarchy of violence that is the history of the twentieth century." -- Publisher
D'Souza, Dinesh, United States of Socialism: Who's Behind it. Why it's Evil. How to Stop it, ISBN: 9781250163783 1250163781.
"For those who witnessed the global collapse of socialism, its resurrection in the twenty-first century comes as a surprise, even a shock. How can socialism work now when it has never worked before? In this pathbreaking book, bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza argues that the socialism advanced today by the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar and Elizabeth Warren is very different from the socialism of Lenin, Mao and Castro. It is 'identity socialism,' a marriage between classic socialism and identity politics. America's typical socialist is not a working-class union man but a Black Lives Matter activist, a transgender militant or a prophet of environmental apocalypse. Today's socialists claim to model themselves not on Mao's Great Leap Forward or even Venezuelan socialism but rather on the "socialism that works" in Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden. This is the new face of socialism that D'Souza confronts and decisively refutes with his trademark incisiveness, wit and originality. He shows how socialism abandoned the working class and found new recruits by drawing on the resentments of race, gender, and sexual orientation. He reveals how it uses the Venezuelan, not the Scandinavian, formula. D'Souza chillingly documents the full range of lawless, gangster, and authoritarian tendencies that they have adopted. United States of Socialism is an informative, provocative and thrilling exposé not merely of the ideas but also the tactics of the socialist Left. In making the moral case for entrepreneurs and the free market, the author portrays President Trump as the exemplar of capitalism and also the most effective political leader of the battle against socialism. He shows how we can help Trump defeat the socialist menace"-- Publisher
"A brilliant exposé on the radical agenda of the left and the true evils of socialism. This author is brilliant and well-researched. I have watched him speak on you tube and I was impressed with his wit and eloquence. I loved his analogy about walking into your neighbors house and helping yourself to what is in his fridge. You just wouldn't do that and yet the left wants in our pocketbooks for everything! Take it from a Canadian living with a far-left, communist loving, investment scaring Liberal government. You do not want this in America!" -- Reader's Comment
Davidson, Martin, The Perfect Nazi: Uncovering my Grandfather's Secret Past, ISBN: 9780425245446 0425245446.
"Using archival material in Germany, the United States, and the Czech Republic, Davidson reconstructed as best he could the facts of his grandfather's life, but went farther, and using contemporary materials, paints a portrait of a generation of Germans who enabled the rise of Hitler and embraced his ideology." -- Reader's Comment
"All the pieces of Hitler's Nazi regime from the SA to the SS had a larger goal than the narrow definition of their particular mission. Their greater mission was to use the Nazi Weltanschauung as a tool to build a new Germany." -- Reader's Comment
*Dickens, Charles (1812-1870), and A.B. De Mille (notes and study aids), A Tale of two Cities: Charles Dickens, didactic, historical fiction, ISBN: 9781411469662 1411469666.
"Published in 1859, A TALE OF TWO CITIES contrasts Paris before and during the French Revolution and London affected by the Great Evangelical Awakening. With sales of over 200 million copies, A TALE OF TWO CITIES is one of the most successful bestselling novels of all time. The clash between Humanism and Christianity is so clear in this novel, that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, presented a copy of this book to French President Francois Mitterand." -- Frontline Fellowship
"This novel traces the private lives of a group of people caught up in the cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. Dickens based his historical detail on Carlyle's THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, and his own observations and investigations during his numerous visits to Paris." -- Publisher
Christianity and Communism, Peter Hammond
"The contrast between Christianity and communism is dramatically presented throughout A TALE OF TWO CITIES. The fruit of the Protestant Reformation and the Great Evangelical Awakening was wisdom, faith, light, hope, and joy. The fruit of anti-God, radical secular humanism and the revolutionary fanaticism that triumphed in France in 1789, produced the worst of times and an age of foolishness, unbelief, darkness, despair and misery.
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity (2 Peter 2:19) -- Peter Hammond
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=111317552421
Margaret Thatcher and Charles Dickens on the French Revolution, Frontline Fellowship
"Dickens' famous opening sentence summarizes the drama of A TALE OF TWO CITIES:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." -- Peter Hammondhttps://vimeo.com/242042901
Dima, Nicholas, Journey to Freedom, ISBN: 0944273041 9780944273043.
"This book is Dima's autobiographical description of the effects of communism on a nation, a family, and an individual. His description will haunt you. Communism loses any pretension of benevolence when you see the child hungry and hear his mother crying. The grandfatherly veil drops when you look in the prisons and labor camps and see the life of the people beaten, starved, and murdered. . . . We highly recommend this book. It is beautifully written. Like the Holocaust, it teaches lessons we must never forget." -- Susan Alder
Goodson, Stephen Mitford, Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, ISBN: 9780981808512 0981808514.
*Goodson, Stephen Mitford, A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind, ISBN: 1912759217 9781912759217.
"Economist, Stephen Mitford Goodson, once Director of the South African Reserve Bank, catalogues the 'hidden hand' of moneylenders throughout history in fomenting wars, revolutions, depressions, recessions and other social upheavals to retain and extend their power and profits." -- Publisher
"This is one book I highly recommend to anyone on planet Earth! The author explains throughout his work the evil of the practice of usury. He also reveals the dangers of trying or actually ending the practice in their country, be it Libya, Iraq, Tsarist Russia, National Socialist Germany, et al. One success story of doing this can be pointed directly at the State of North Dakota in the United States of America! And in that case of North Dakota the usurers haven't yet thrown in the towel, i.e., they ain't done yet! Time will tell if the Dakota experience will be allowed to succeed on a long-term basis.
"How do the usurers take total control over the people of a nation? One example is explained in note 14 at the bottom of page 112: 'The deliberate collapse of the American agricultural sector may be compared to the destruction of agricultural production in the 1930s in the Ukraine (Russian for borderland) by Stalin and the subsequent Holodomor (Russian for death by starvation) in which an estimated six million Kulaks (Russian for fist) were either executed or died of hunger. . . .'
"Chapter Five, "The Great Depression," includes some very interesting topics like that of the work of Congressman Louis T. McFadden (R-Pennsylvania) who exposed the Federal Reserve System as the diabolical monster that it is. And his speeches delivered on the floor of the U.S. Congress in 1932 lead to his elimination (murder) in 1936. I have a book of his speeches which this author, Goodson, references in note 24 on page 115 of this book. In 208 pages you will not be disappointed in the wealth of knowledge gained by reading this book. All the evil described in this book is taking place in many countries around the entire planet Earth today! Check it out! Then educate your friends and relatives and try to put together a plan to take back what is rightfully the planet bequeathed to us by God Almighty!" -- Reader's Comment
Without Central Banking, the massive Overreaching Federal Government Wouldn't be Possible, Michael Maharrey
"The Federal Reserve serves as the engine that makes all of the U.S. government's unconstitutional spending possible. Without The Fed, the entire system would collapse. . . .
"In March and April [2020], the U.S. Treasury Department issued $1.56 trillion in debt securities to fund Uncle Sam's massive coronavirus spending spree. Meanwhile, in March, The Fed bought $1.2 trillion in Treasury bonds. The central bank slowed its roll a bit in April, but till purchased $526 billion in U.S. bonds. That brought the two-month total to $1.56 trillion.
"In effect, the Federal Reserve bought all of the debt issued by the U.S. government in March and April with money created out of thin air."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2020/06/17/the-federal-reserve-the-engine-that-powers-the-most-powerful-government-in-history/
Griffin, G. Edward, More Deadly Than war -- The Communist Revolution in America, 1969, DVD.
"A lecture by G. Edward Griffin on the Communist theory and practice of revolution, particularly as applied to the United States." -- Publisher
*Hannity, Sean, Live Free or die: America (and the World) on the Brink, ISBN: 9781982149994 198214999X.
Available as a book, e-book, and audiobook.
The Trump Campaign is using this book as a gift offer in its fund raising, August 2020.
"America's top rated cable news host and New York Times bestselling author offers his first book in ten years, a rousing look at contemporary politics in his trademark take-no-prisoners style." -- Publisher
Contents:
Intro | Title Page | Dedication | Introduction: A Warning | Chapter One: "A Republic -- If You Can Keep It" | Chapter Two: Rise of the Radicals | Chapter Three: Welcome to Fantasyland: The Democrats' 2020 Agenda | Chapter Four: Socialism: A History of Failure | Chapter Five: Deep State I: Russian Collusion -- The Hoax of the Century | Chapter Six: Deep State II: Impeachment -- The Failed Attempt to Decapitate the Trump Presidency | Chapter Seven: Enemy of the People: The Hate-Trump Media Mob | Chapter Eight: "Organized Destruction": The Left's Assault on Free Speech | Chapter Nine: Trump Triumphs | Chapter Ten: Trump's Response to the Coronavirus and America's Great Comeback | Conclusion | Acknowledgments | About the Author | Notes.
*Horowitz, David, Dark Agenda: The war to Destroy Christian America, ISBN: 1630061131 9781630061135.
"In DARK AGENDA, New York Times bestselling author David Horowitz exposes not only the progressive war against Christianity, but also a war against America and its founding principles, which are Christian in their origin. DARK AGENDA is about an embattled religion, but most of all, it is about our imperiled nation. Tackling a broad range of issues from prayer in the schools to the globalist mindset, Horowitz traces the anti-Christian movement to its roots in communism. When the communist empire fell, progressives did not want to give up their utopian anti-God illusions, so instead they merely changed the name of their dream. Instead of 'communism,' progressives have re-branded their movement as 'social justice.' DARK AGENDA shows how the progressives are prepared to use any means necessary to stifle their opponents who support the concepts of religious liberty that America was founded on, and how the battle to destroy Christianity is really the battle to destroy America." -- Publisher
*Howard-Browne, Rodney, and Paul L. Williams, The Killing of Uncle Sam: The Demise of the United States of America, ISBN: 1640070974 978-1640070974.
"Pride, greed, and power have driven men to do the unthinkable -- including selling out their nations and unsuspected citizens to the most corrupt and destructive 'invisible' global leaders on Earth. But how did this happen on American soil? How did the downfall begin and who were the predators that the 'land of the free and home of the brave' fell victim to? And is all hope lost?
"This book captures details of the last 200 years of American history that mainstream media does not want you to know. It dissects the 'legalized' system of the private central banks that has gone unchecked, and delivers gut-wrenching truths about the real domestic and foreign enemies of the United States. With over 1000 footnotes and quotes from former presidents, prime ministers, and state officials, it will equip you with the facts that the elites have covered up for centuries and empower you to stand up for the truth. -- Publisher
"This book is so well-documented that fact-checking proves an arduous and ultimately fruitless venture. Finally, someone has the courage to expose this corrupted government and financial system citing each wicked malpractice from America's inception to present day. The theme is simple yet highly logical . . . follow the money. We have been saying things like 'follow the money' to one another for years! In downtrodden conversations, we have attempted to identify the root of the injustice that has since thrived in America, and hurts each one of us to witness. But we typically fail to reach a verdict free of conjecture. With this book, we are armed with genuine facts that follow the timeline of our nation. Now we know exactly how our government and economy have been repeatedly perverted by tyrannical greed. On this knowledge, we citizens of America, all of us together, can finally build a viable solution." -- Reader's Comment
"What the book is about? The Money Trail. Money doesn't lie. People lie, but the money exposes their true intentions. And from what I've read so far in the pre-release, it's much worse than any of us could have imagined. The book shows that the 'select' few who actually control the money, these men and women are the ones who determine how we live, or who doesn't. They are the ones who make the laws and decide who will be in power. They control and own the media outlets. They control the information, the money and the military complex. They start wars in places like Iraq and Kosovo to control their natural resources. They puppeteer government agencies like the CIA, and even the Office of the President. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"This book is a must-read for every American citizen. It is extremely eye-opening to what has gone on in our country for last 200 years. It walks you through how things were set in place many, many years ago by very powerful people and how it effects everything today in our current society. It is incredible the cabal of people that have planned and strategised for decades to pillage the American people of their wealth and to erode American Christian values and morality. The footnotes were also very helpful to be able to go and verify all of the information and see it for myself. -- Reader's Comment
"Lays out clearly what would require dozens of other books to connect all the dots. Outrageous, yet global-deep-state conspiracies we've heard about for years, that used to seem far-fetched, are finally laid out in logical progression and substantially supported. . . .
"The timing of this book [2018] cannot be overstated. . . . for the current U.S. political environment, and for what is happening on the world stage. . . . it really exposes what Trump is up against, and why the establishment hates him so. . . .
"Financial systems and banking are at the core of what is exposed. . . . America has been deceived for very long time, and many people have no idea what has happened. This book reveals the secret hidden agendas of the money system in our country. No other book explains it the way this does. . . . Line by line, Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne and Dr. Paul Williams unveil the corruption and wickedness that starts and ends with money. . . . See the history and the outright greed of individuals who have woven their influence and control over our country by controlling the money. . . .
"It amazed me to learn that the Federal Reserve is a PRIVATE Bank that is NOT answerable to Congress, the Judicial branch nor the White House. . . . There is no question left in my mind as to the utter and total corruption of our banking system. . . ." -- Excerpts from various readers comments
Chapter 38, "War Without End," in THE KILLING OF UNCLE SAM
https://revival.lpages.co/killingunclesambook/
Jaeger, James, Henrietta M. Jaeger, Ted Baehr, Pat Buchanan, Edward G. Griffin, et. al., Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America.
"CULTURAL MARXISM explores the love affair with collectivist ideologies that has lead to ever bigger government and welfare-warfare state. Find out how the Frankfurt School, a Marxist splinter group, established itself at Columbia University and began 'the long march through the institutions.' The idea was, and still is, to infiltrate every corner of Western culture and pervert traditional Christian values with 'political correctness' and Marxist ideologies. The ultimate goal is to destroy American free-enterprise capitalism by undermining its economic engine, the Middle Class, and the basic building block of society: the family unit." -- Publisher
*Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), Humanism vs. Communism (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
"As someone has put it very well, Communism is nothing other than Humanism in political garb. Or, let's put it another way. Humanism which is being taught from kindergarten through graduate school, and in all the public schools of this country, is nothing other than Communism waiting to be crowned with its political rights." -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007)
Kilduff, Marshall, and Ron Javers, The Suicide Cult: Inside Story of the People's Temple Sect and the Massacre in Guyana, ISBN: 0553129201 978-0553129205.
"Why do all of the documentaries, television and book, leave out all the critical information? For example, why is Jones painted as a Christian reverend when in fact he was a socialist and atheist? That's why they called it the People's Temple. Why do they ignore the CIA connection? The only person I know who addressed this was Bill Curtis from American Justice. Why do they ignore the fact Jones himself revealed he was going to take off with all of the money and go to Castro's Cuba? He had no intention of dying (is he dead today)? Curtis also is the only one to address this. Why do they ignore the origin of Jones' own thinking? For example, when Father Divine told him 'Jones, You are god,' Jones went hog wild. Why do most of the documentaries ignore the fact that Jones used to jump up and down on the Holy Bible and kept reports in his file cabinets on the resulting effect on his congregation -- files which were confiscated by the CIA after the tragedy occurred, as reported by Bill Curtis' documentary. For information on Jim Jones, I recommend the Bill Curtis documentary on American Justice and the tape by Walter R. Martin. What is interesting about the forced suicide (oxymoron) is the statements Jones made. For example, Jones talked about death with dignity. And similar to the tricks governments play on people, he said armed men were coming, and that they had to act fast. It reminds you of 911. What is also interesting is the common theme of Gnosticism and Socialism as one package: Eric Voegelin explains that socialism IS Gnostic in his famous book SCIENCE, POLITICS AND GNOSTICISM. So, it is not a coincidence that communist leaders are usually merciless dictators because, like Father Divine said, they think they are a god. Think of the tens of millions of lives taken in the name of socialism: Pol Pot, Jim Jones, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, the Ukrainian forced famines, and so on. Today, we call socialism 'liberalism.' It reminds me of the woman who approached Bill Clinton and said, (get ready to barf) 'Lead us.' It reminds me of Tom Hanks crying at Obama's election. It reminds me of Charlize Theron (beautiful babe that she is) crying in the presence of Nelson Mandela (a well known member of the communist group that African National Congress). It reminds me of the millions of people who responded to the empty rhetoric of 'change' espoused by Obama. So, why is the Jonestown story always left incomplete in everybody's report? It is because he espoused the same philosophy that is espoused today by the liberal establishment. For example, the tapes of the massacre is filled with famous slogans you hear today: death with dignity, gender equality, racial equality, and so on. All he really cared about was joining as many people as possible under his control. His racial rhetoric, like modern liberal slogans today, only operates to win your affections in order to gain more votes and hence more power. Jones also preached same sex unions (Jones was caught by a police officer soliciting a purported male prostitute in a movie theater bathroom). Jones wanted everyone to learn Russian so that they could move to communist Russia. This book leaves out all of the information I noted here and for that reason I cannot give it more than three stars. -- Reader's Comment
Knight, Robert, Radical Rulers: The White House Elites who are Pushing America Toward Socialism, updated edition (Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries, 2010).
"After reading Robert Knight's RADICAL RULERS, I just had to pause, take a deep breath and say -- WOW!" -- Tim Wildmon, President, American Family Association
"President Obama has brought more radicals into his administration than any president in history. This administration has more czars than the Romanovs. Fortunately, Robert Knight helps you sort them out." -- Kerby Anderson, Host, Point of View Radio Talk Show
"As I read it, I found myself thinking: How can one U.S. President surround himself with so many radicals?" -- Dr. Jerry Newcombe, author and host of The Coral Ridge Hour
"Robert Knight is Senior Writer and Washington, D.C. Correspondent for Coral Ridge Ministries. A widely quoted journalist and family policy expert, Mr. Knight formerly directed the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute, and is currently a Senior Fellow for the American Civil Rights Union. He is the author of THE SILENCERS: HOW LIBERALS ARE TRYING TO SHUT DOWN MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE U.S. and FIGHTING FOR AMERICA'S SOUL: HOW SWEEPING CHANGE THREATENS OUR NATION AND WHAT WE MUST DO." -- Publisher
Lee, Francis Nigel, Communism Versus Creation.
*Levin, Mark R., American Marxism, ISBN: 9781501135972 150113597X.
"The six-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, Fox News star, and radio host Mark R. Levin explains how the dangers he warned against in the 'timely yet timeless' (David Limbaugh, author of JESUS IS RISEN) bestseller LIBERTY AND TYRANNY have come to pass.
"In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto LIBERTY AND TYRANNY, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism's threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we're fully over that precipice and paying the price.
"In AMERICAN MARXISM, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture -- from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency -- and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like 'progressivism,' 'democratic socialism,' 'social activism,' and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them.
"As Levin writes: 'The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.' And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty." -- Publisher
"This is a must-read for anyone who values freedoms. Levin scrutinizes the Marxist practices in place, and anyone with half a brain can see what is happening to our Republic. He is detailed and documented in his examples. The last chapter outlines some ways to retaliate and to work to regain our freedom and our Republic. I highly recommend this book that is a necessary blueprint for our future." -- Reader's Comment
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, ISBN: 9780717802418 0717802418.
"In late 1847, Marx and Engels began writing what was to become their most famous work -- a program of action for the Communist League. Written jointly by Marx and Engels from December 1847 to January 1848, THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO was first published on 21 February 1848.[116] The Communist Manifesto laid out the beliefs of the new Communist League. No longer a secret society, the Communist League wanted to make aims and intentions clear to the general public rather than hiding its beliefs as the League of the Just had been doing.[117] The opening lines of the pamphlet set forth the principal basis of Marxism: 'The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles'.[118] It goes on to examine the antagonisms that Marx claimed were arising in the clashes of interest between the bourgeoisie (the wealthy capitalist class) and the proletariat (the industrial working class). Proceeding on from this, THE MANIFESTO presents the argument for why the Communist League, as opposed to other socialist and liberal political parties and groups at the time, was truly acting in the interests of the proletariat to overthrow capitalist society and to replace it with socialism.[119]" --
Wikipedia on Karl Marx
Napolitano, Andrew P., Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom, ISBN: 9781595553515 1595553517.
"Either the Constitution means what it says, or it doesn't." -- Judge Napolitano
"America's founding fathers saw freedom as a part of our nature to be protected -- not to be usurped by the federal government -- and so enshrined separation of powers and guarantees of freedom in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But a little over a hundred years after America's founding, those God-given rights were laid siege by two presidents caring more about the advancement of progressive, redistributionist ideology than the principles on which America was founded.
"THEODORE AND WOODROW is Judge Andrew P. Napolitano's shocking historical account of how a Republican and a Democratic president oversaw the greatest shift in power in American history, from a land built on the belief that authority should be left to the individuals and the states, to a bloated, far-reaching federal bureaucracy, continuing to grow and consume power each day.
"With lessons rooted in history, Judge Napolitano shows the intellectually arrogant, anti-personal freedom, even racist progressive philosophy driving these men to poison the American system of government.
"And Americans still pay for their legacy -- in the federal income, in state-prescribed compulsory education, in the Federal Reserve, in perpetual wars, and in the constant encroachment of a government that coddles special interests and discourages true competition in the marketplace.
"With his attention to detail, deep constitutional knowledge, and unwavering adherence to truth telling, Judge Napolitano moves through the history of these men and their times in office to show how American values and the Constitution were sadly set aside, leaving personal freedom as a shadow of its former self, in the grip of an insidious, Nanny state, progressive ideology." -- Publisher
"Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is Fox News Channel's senior judicial analyst, currently seen by millions of viewers weeknights on "The Big Story" and "The O'Reilly Factor." Napolitano is the youngest person in New Jersey history to receive a lifetime judgeship. He is bright (graduate of Princeton and Notre Dame Law School), articulate (four times voted most outstanding professor at the two law schools at which he taught), and broadcast-experienced (as a daily fixture on Fox News Channel since 1998). He is the author of CONSTITUTIONAL CHAOS and THE CONSTITUTION IN EXILE." -- Publisher
"This book is an important contribution to the historian who would connect the dots from the early Progressive era to today, in figuring out how and why there was a silent revolution by the radical Left to destroy the Constitution and replace it with a Marxist platform. One can well argue that the Marxists captured the White House BEFORE they captured the Kremlin! Wilson and T. Roosevelt implemented radical ideas that were subsequently built upon by almost every administration since. One can see this Red Thread running through the entire fabric of the national government for more than a century now. So many planks of Karl Marx were accomplished by Wilson and Col. Mandel House that historians of the future will be compelled to ask how such a paradigm shift could occur without a guiding hand behind it (and I do not refer to a Divine Hand). It took two world wars to keep the American People diverted away from what amounted to a coup d'etat. Thanks to Judge Napolitano for this expose. Napolitano should be sitting on the Supreme Court. But then, what SHOULD be, rarely is." -- Reader's Comment
North, Gary, An Economic Commentary on the Bible, 20 volumes.
"The Bible mandates free market capitalism. It is anti-socialist. The proof is here: over 8,000 pages of exposition, verse by verse.
"The essence of democratic socialism is this re-written version of God's commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal,' except by majority vote.
" 'Economic democracy' is the system whereby two wolves and a sheep vote on what to have for dinner." -- Publisher
http://www.garynorth.com/public/department57.cfm
North, Gary, Marx's Religion of Revolution: Regeneration Through Chaos, ISBN: 093046415X 9780930464158.
"Primarily Karl Marx was a man filled with the hatred for God and for humanity and only secondarily an economic theorist, according to Dr. North. This book, first published in 1968, returns to print in our day of 'liberation theology' which is gaining support in surprising areas of Christendom." -- GCB
Includes bibliography.
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, The Sinai Strategy: Economics and the Ten Commandments, ISBN: 0930464079 9780930464073.
"A detailed exploration of the Ten Commandments and their social, political and especially, economic implications for all of mankind. Nations in which the Bible is freely preached tend to adopt a free market economy. The capitalism vs. socialism controversy is really God vs. Satan." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
*Paul, Ran, The Case Against Socialism, ISBN: 9780062954862 0062954865.
"Socialism has killed millions, but it's now the ideology du jour on American college campuses and among many leftists. Reintroduced by leaders such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the ideology manifests itself in starry-eyed calls for free-spending policies like Medicare-for-all and student loan forgiveness.
"In THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM, Senator Rand Paul outlines the history of socialism, from Stalin's gulags to the current famine in Venezuela. He tackles common misconceptions about the 'utopia' of socialist Europe. As it turns out, Scandinavian countries love capitalism as much as Americans, and have, for decades, been cutting back on the things Bernie loves the most.
Socialism's return is only possible because many Americans have forgotten the true dangers of the twentieth-century's deadliest ideology. Paul reveals the devastating truth: for every college student sporting a Che Guevara T-shirt, there's a Venezuelan child dying of starvation. Desperate refugees flee communist Cuba to escape oppressive censorship, rationed food and squalid hospitals, not 'free' healthcare. Socialist dictatorships like the People's Republic of China crush freedom of speech and run massive surveillance states while masquerading as enlightened modern nations. Far from providing economic freedom, socialist governments enslave their citizens. They offer illusory promises of safety and equality while restricting personal liberty, tightening state power, sapping human enterprise and making citizens dependent on the dole.
"If socialism takes hold in America, it will imperil the fate of the world's freest nation, unleashing a plague of oppressive government control. THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM is a timely response to that threat and a call to action against the forces menacing American liberty." -- Publisher
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
See, in particularly, the Foreword.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-First Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
Scott, Otto, Robespierre, the Fool as Revolutionary: Inside the French Revolution, ISBN: 9781887690058 1887690050
"The appalling thing in the French Revolution is not the tumult, but the design. Through all the fire and smoke we perceive the evidence of calculating organization. The managers remain studiously concealed and masked; but there is no doubt about their presence from the first." -- Lord Acton (1834-1902) in Lectures on the French Revolution
" 'French intellectuals, middle and upper classes had grown ashamed of their country, history and institutions. Such a phenomenon had never before arisen in any nation or race throughout the long history of mankind. A great loosening began; the country slowly came apart for the first time since the decadent days of Rome, pornography emerged from its caves and circulated openly in a civilized nation. The Catholic Church in France was intellectually gutted; the priests lost their faith along with the congregations. Strange cults appeared; sex rituals, black magic, satanism. Perversion became not only acceptable, but fashionable. Homosexuals held public balls to which heterosexuals were invited and the police guarded their carriages -- the air grew thick with plans to restructure and reconstruct all traditional French society and institutions'." -- Otto Scott, Robespierre -- Inside the French Revolution
The French Revolution, [audio file], Peter Hammond
"The French Revolution has been the inspiration and model for all socialist and communist revolutions in modern history. The French Revolution was the prototype, which was followed by the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, the Cambodian Revolution, the Vietnamese Revolution, the Ethiopian Revolution, the Mozambique Revolution, the Angolan Revolution, the Zimbabwe Revolution and many others. In every case they proved that yesterday's revolutionaries become tomorrow's tyrants and dictators."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7131855273
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing that if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society . . . . Calvinism is the most formidable enemy which socialism and communism face today because it opposes every one of their basic presuppositions and purposes. It is a generally recognized truism that most supporters of these movement are the avowed enemies of Calvinism and historic evangelical doctrine. Their theological rebellion has been the vestibule for their rejection of the Biblical postulates for economic activity." -- C. Gregg Singer, p. 48
*Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich (1918-2008), One Word of Truth: The Nobel Speech on Literature 1970, ISBN: 0060139439 9780060139438. A Christian classic.
The author saw the Christian faith as "the only force capable of undertaking the spiritual healing of Russia."
Translated from the Russian by the members of the BBC Russian Service.
One Word of Truth . . .
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html
*Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr (1918-2008), A World Split Apart, his Harvard University commencement address, delivered 8 June 1978.
"It is feasible and easy everywhere to undermine administrative power and in fact it has been drastically weakened in all Western countries. The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals. It's time, in the West -- It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations. . . .
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic disease of the 20th century and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. Such as it is, however, the press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislative power, the executive, and the judiciary. And one would then like to ask: By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? In the communist East a journalist is frankly appointed as a state official. But who has granted Western journalists their power, for how long a time, and with what prerogatives?"
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm
Starnes, Todd, Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left from Killing a Nation, ISBN: 1642931667 9781642931662.
"Todd Starnes has an important message for America in his new book that released today, CULTURE JIHAD: HOW TO STOP THE LEFT FROM KILLING A NATION. Todd is warning about radical fringe groups on the left that are trying to dismantle America's freedoms. He said in an interview with Fox News, 'For socialism to rise and really take root, they've got to get rid of religious liberty.' Todd is right, and that's what the progressive left is trying to do. I'm thankful that Todd stands up for religious liberty and pushes back against the godless socialist agenda. I hope his boldness defending freedom inspires us all." -- Reader's Comment
Stormer, John A., None Dare Call it Treason: The Carefully Documented Story of America's Retreat From Victory.
"The thoroughly documented warnings concerning the inroads of communism in America should have been enough to stir millions of Americans to action. Many of us were so awakened and stirred that we recognized that we needed to be involved as never before. We will never forget this reading and how it answered so many questions that had plagued us. My main question was why we had allowed communism to take control of Cuba, a nation just 90 miles from our shores. Answer: The American press was already sufficiently leftist that this action was condoned and accepted by the media. Fidel Castro was promoted as an 'agrarian reformer,' not a communist. Our State Department covered his communist connections.
"Stormer is a dedicated man who spent four years researching his 236-page book. It was not to be discredited. He was unbiased, as a former editor and general manager of a leading electrical engineering magazine, enriching his conclusions through some 800 references from a multitude of sources including major newspapers, Congressional documents, speeches, hearings of Department of Justice, National Review, Time magazine, Senate reports, Newsweek, Human Events, House Committee on UnAmerican Activities, Sports Afield, The Worker, Reece Committee, and dozens more." -- Jack McLain
None Dare Call it Treason
https://archive.org/details/NoneDareCallItTreasonJohnStormer
Tinker, Melvin, That Hideous Strength: How the West was Lost: The Cancer of Cultural Marxism in the Church and the World, and the Gospel of Change, ISBN: 9781783972401 1783972408.
"Tinker borrows from the story of Babel in Genesis 11 and C.S. Lewis' book THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH to make the case that the church today is involved in a spiritual battle of monumental proportion. The culprit is what Tinker calls 'cultural Marxism,' which he says is seeking a 'redefining and reconfiguring of reality.' (p. 62)
"Many Christians today are dismissing the notion of a 'culture war,' apparently because they don't want the reputation of being people who are always looking for a fight, but through numerous examples, Tinker shows that a concentrated effort is afoot that is seeking to erect a new Babel through higher education, media, sitcoms, indoctrination of children, social media and advertising. Too many Christians, in a desire to 'shun controversy' and maintain an 'easy-going manner' (p. 109), are shirking their responsibility to stand for truth, and the results will be catastrophic.
"As Lewis says: 'Emphasize only the natural fit between the Gospel and the spirit of the age and we will have an easy, comfortable gospel that is closer to our age then to the Gospel.' (101). Tinker says, 'those in the past who have made the greatest impact for the cause of truth have also been those who have engaged with the culture, exposing and refuting it and being willing to pay the price in terms of attracting the culture's reproach.' (104)" -- Reader's Comment
*Wurmbrand, Richard, Marx and Satan, ISBN: 0891073795 9780891073796.
"While Communism portrays itself as a noble endeavor for the good of mankind, and claims an Atheistic view, Wurmbrand exposes its true roots, revealing that Karl Marx and the fathers of the modern Communist/Socialist movements were inspired by the powers of darkness.
"By examining the confessions, writings, and poetry of Marx and his followers, the author demonstrates how the 'prince of darkness' gave these men the 'sword' by which they have terrorized the nations. Wurmbrand proves that this movement is not simply the work of greedy men, hungry for wealth and power, but is 'after the working of Satan' with the intent of destroying mankind. . . .
"The late Reverend Richard Wurmbrand spent 14 years as a prisoner of the Communist government in Rumania, where he was persecuted for his faith in Jesus Christ. His experience led him to spend further years researching Karl Marx and the Communist doctrines he developed. While Communism portrays itself as a noble endeavor for the good of mankind, and claims an Atheistic view, Wurmbrand exposes its true roots, revealing that Karl Marx and the fathers of the modern Communist/Socialist movements were inspired by the powers of darkness." -- Publisher
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The ten commandments: the moral law, The theology of freedom, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Political and economic freedom, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Sex ethics, sex education, Medical ethics, Healthcare reform, Friendly fascism, Taxation, liberty, and property rights, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Idolatry, syncretism, Feudalism, The religion of secular humanism: man as god, human autonomy, Tyranny, Islam (muslim/moslim), muhammadanism/mohammadanism, The person and work of jesus christ the Lord (christology), The commandments of christ, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Carnality and flesh pleasing: lust, desires, ambition, Will and recalcitrance, The question of the one and the many, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism, and corporatism, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Computer crime, Taxation and war, The government role of punishing wrongdoers, Monopoly and anti-trust law enforcement, Antinomianism, Church government, Civil government, Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, "religious freedom," and neutrality, The destruction of american liberty, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, God's deliverance of nations, Repentance the key to salvation and change, Christ our example, Manhood, A theological interpretation of american history, Church and state, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Treason and impeachment, Idolatry, Cowardice, Feminism, Effeminacy, the effeminate, The civil war of the united states, The Biblical Solution to terrorism, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Sexual wholeness, and so forth, and so on.
Anarchy Leads to Tyranny, [audio file] Peter Hammond
"Amongst the many lessons we can learn from the French Revolution, is that economic bankruptcy prepares the way for riots and revolution.
"Anarchy in the streets inevitably leads to tyranny in government.
"As we witness the rise of regurgitated revolution and a new generation of cultural commissars for communism, we need to understand how atheism, economic determinism and dialectical materialism guide revolutions to this day.
"What role does Social Darwinism play in revolution?
"In what way are all revolutions related to the French Revolution of 1789?
"Do these revolutions ever produce what they promise?
"What attracts so many people to support revolutionary movements?
"How can we best reach those who are caught up in these movements?
"What Biblical teachings would help us to understand the proper role of government?
"What can we practically do to be part of the solution, rather than the problem?
"What hope is there for the future?"
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19)
https://fromthefrontline.podbean.com/e/from-the-frontline-episode-126-anarchy-leads-to-tyranny/
Black Lives Matter -- A new Religious Cult, Henry Morton Stanley School of Christian Journalism
"We are involved in a battle for hearts, minds and souls. This social justice revolution is changing the focus and content of the Gospel message. It is offering another gospel, a false gospel and a false mission, plainly derived from Liberation theology (which is nothing more than Marxism wrapped up in religious terminology), Black theology (which is also Marxism, with racism added in), along with Animism (which depersonalizes evil and sees evil in things and systems, rather than personal responsibility). None of this is Biblical Theology. Race politics is not Biblical. The problem is not skin, it is sin. It is not race, but grace that is the solution."
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Peter Hammond
"Devastation, Destruction and Degradation
By 1921, the Bolsheviks had ruined the economy. Inflation was astronomical. Hundreds-of-thousands of workers had fled the city in the hope of finding food in the countryside. The entire economy collapsed as iron detachments of Bolsheviks forcibly confiscated, or requisitioned, all the food they could get their hands on in the villages, to feed workers in the city. Thousands of orphan children roamed the streets, prey to disease and cruelty. Millions starved to death.
"Mass Murder and Massive Oppression
"50,000 Red troops were mobilized to execute whole villages, exile millions to the waste areas of Siberia and violently put down strikes. Strikes were forbidden. All opposition was outlawed. Criticism of the government or its policies was outlawed. The independent countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Armenia were forcibly enslaved into the Soviet Union."
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19) -- Frontline Fellowship
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=71720826362558&fbclid=IwAR1Dz7VfGVxMIxjCdrE71CPVxf79BCV3JYNT50ar5k201LGvgspP0paaPKA
Bolsheviks
"The Bolsheviks, also known in English as the Bolshevists, were a radical far-left Marxist faction founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov that split from the Menshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898, at its Second Party Congress in 1903."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsheviks
Central Banking is Socialism, Ron Paul, March 9, 2020
"Mr. Rosengren's proposal to allow the central bank to 'invest,' in private companies seems like something one would hear from democratic socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders. This is not surprising since the entire Federal Reserve system is a textbook example of socialism.
"The essence of socialist economics is government allocation of resources either by seizing direct control of the 'means of production' or by setting prices business can charge. Federal Reserve manipulation of interest rates is an attempt to set the price of money. Federal Reserve attempts to set interest rates distort the signals sent by the rates to investors and business. This results in a Fed-created boom, which is inevitably followed by a Fed-created bust."
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/march/09/central-banking-is-socialism/
A Christian Response to the Catastrophic Criminality and Communist Chaos, Peter Hammond
https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/a-christian-response-to-the-catastrophic-criminality-and-communist-chaos
https://vimeo.com/578463712
Christian Socialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_socialism
Christianity vs. Communism, Peter Hammond
"In Charles Dickens' classic novel, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, he contrasts London with Paris, the fruit of the Great Evangelical Awakening of Whitefield and Wesley with the Renaissance Humanism that led to the French Revolution and The Reign of Terror. Dickens' famous opening sentence summarizes the drama of A TALE OF TWO CITIES:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.Christianity and communism
The Creation of the Second Great Depression, Ron Paul
"Financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made America more communist than China! 'This is welfare for the rich,' he said. 'This is socialism for the rich. It's bailing out the financiers, the banks, the Wall Streeters'."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul479.html
Democratic Socialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism#Notable_democratic_socialists
Democrat is the new Communism
https://www.facebook.com/groups/223736611020974/
The Devil is Using the Democratic Party to Destroy America, Larry Tomczak
"They believe man is not sinful but basically good and that by wealth distribution, freedom from repressive religion, and by 'progressive' education, we'll enjoy utopia. They dismiss the wisdom of Nobel laureate Frederick Hayek, author of THE FATAL CONCEIT: 'The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to man how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.'
"21 areas reveal Democratic Party positions. . . ."
https://www.wnd.com/2019/01/the-devil-is-using-the-democratic-party-to-destroy-america/
The Heart and Soul of Marx and Communism, Peter Hammond [audio file]
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92719120381588&fbclid=IwAR3-S8sAYe_JZC0Dz57bPt4dvDQi07GHG4sifwIk2szZMNMH1y-EPp24tbk
How Civilizations Commit Suicide, [audio file] Reformation Society, July 30, 2020
"What builds up civilizations and what breaks them down.
"Western Christian civilization is not only under siege, it has been systematically sabotaged and undermined for most of the last century. We often need historic perspective to understand our times and to know what the Word of God requires us to do."
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:12)
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=11221912158656
How Marxists Subvert Churches and Society, [audio file], Peter Hammond
"Freedom and property ownership; taxation is a form of confiscation; inflation is a hidden tax; graduated income tax; inheritance tax (death tax); centralization of the banking system; government control of the money supply; state ownership of production; state ownership of land; expropriation without compensation; compulsory public education; abolition of religion; violence and deception together, without violence nothing can be accomplished; Marx a true Satanist, comfortable in hating everyone; feminism traces its beginnings to Leninism; Trotsky came from the Bronx; hatred of god the principle tenet of Marxism;, socialism is the path to communism; truth is hate, truth is the new hate speech; propaganda, media controls the people; Edward Bernays; invisible government; Orwell; mind control, and so forth and so on."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2119745448080
How Marxists Subvert Churches and Society, video, Frontline Fellowship
"The Frankfurt School of Cultural Marxism utilized the Gramsci Strategy, otherwise known as the Termite Strategy of eating the heart out of every pillar of Western civilization until the entire edifice rots and collapses. Their goal is the secularization of society -- to side line Christianity and deal with all issues without reference to the Bible. . . .
" 'The simple truth of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world. You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your Credo be this: let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.' -- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" -- Frontline Fellowship
https://vimeo.com/2911050453
Is Socialism the Solution? [audio file], a podcast
Abstract: "A surprising number of people believe that concern for the poor should lead one to supporting socialist policies. Considering the consistent catastrophic failures of socialist policies worldwide, one would have thought that this humanist ideology was thoroughly discredited. However, it would appear that the lessons of history have either not been learned, or have been forgotten.
"Also, very disturbing is the rise of what many claim to be: 'Christian socialism.'
"The Bible warns us that There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are death. (Proverbs 14:12)
"Sincerity is no proof of truth, nor effectiveness.
"Socialism has proved to be counterproductive. Instead of aiding the poor, it greatly aggravates any crisis and makes it much, much worse. Zimbabwe is a classic example of how socialism destroys initiative, incentive and productivity.
"Socialism chases away employers and investors and always leads to greater unemployment, increased consumer costs, stagnation, lower standards of living and vastly more poverty. A return to Biblical Economics is essential.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-urviq-c0b019…
Mutation of Medieval Feudalism Into Modern Corporate Capitalism: The Rise of Neofeudalism in Corporate Governance
"Feudalism is still alive and well in today's modern corporate world, in spirit and intent -- Question: What is the most enduring and stable system of economic and social order the world has ever known? It's not capitalism, or socialism, or dictatorship: It's feudalism. . . .
"Though brilliant in its conception, feudalism was a biased hierarchy of authority, rights, power -- that extended from monarchs downward, creating an intricate network of obligatory situations that infringed on almost every basic human right . . . ."
http://bizshifts-trends.com/mutation-medieval-feudalism-modern-business-capitalism-rise-neofeudalism-corporate-governance/
A Partial Timeline of U.S. History Showing how Liberalization in the Church and Liberalization in the State, has Been Paralleled by Advances in the Feminist Movement, and the Overall Decline of American Society
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#ptushlcs
The Real Story Behind Downton Abbey and What it Teaches us About the Crisis we Face Today [audio file], an interview with Peter Hammond, May 28, 2020
"We discussed: how 'Downton Abbey' is one of the most successful television series in history; how Socialism has actually lowered the standard of living for Working Class people; how in the Bible it is forbidden to tax inheritance and it is forbidden to tax land; the Marxist plan to make everyone dependent on the State; the abortion versus adoption debate; how the main outcome of World War I was the rise of Communism; how the music and art of 100 years ago compares to what we have today; how our standards have drastically declined over the last 60 years; what destroyed our societies and why we should not be satisfied with the situation we have today; the importance of self-sufficiency outside of the State; how in the high Middle Ages the average person only worked 140 days a year, and how this changed due to the implementation of usury by bankers and escalating inflation and taxation; what the Cathedrals testify to, and why the 20th Century has been the worst century of persecution, state oppression and massacres in the history of mankind."
https://andrewcarringtonhitchcock.com/2020/05/28/ach-1264-dr-peter-hammond-the-real-story-behind-downton-abbey-and-what-it-teaches-us-about-the-crisis-we-face-today/
The Real Story of Demonic Possession and its Role in the Revolutionary Movement, Frontline Fellowship
"The world has never before known a godlessness as organized, militarized and tenaciously malevolent as that preached by Marxism. Within the philosophical system of Marx and Lenin, and at the heart of their psychology, Hatred of God is the principle driving force, more fundamental than all their political and economic pretensions. Militant atheism is not merely incidental, or marginal, to Communist policy; it is not a side effect, but the central pivot. To achieve its diabolical ends, Communism needs to control a population devoid of religious and national feeling, and this entails a destruction of faith and nationhood. Communists proclaim both of these objectives openly, and just as openly put them into practice." -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
https://soundcloud.com/user-779428885/the-real-story-of-demonic-possession-and-its-role-in-the-revolutionary-movement
The Real war Against History, [audio file] Peter Hammond
"Karl Marx's declared that the first battlefield is the rewriting of history; you shouldn't trust school textbooks; our historical monuments are being pulled down; understand the way revolutions work; the word Slave comes from the root word Slav and the significance of this refutes the leftist narrative; 42 million people are enslaved today; the significance of the recent vandalizing of the Rhodes Memorial; Nelson Mandela praised Cecil John Rhodes; quoting Martin Luther King on content of character rather than colour of skin today could get you arrested for hate speech; Demonic possession of the mob; protests are peaceful, violent riots are not protests!; BLM could actually stand for Baal, Lucifer, and Molech; the significance of defunding or replacing the police in Communist Revolutions throughout history. . . ." -- Peter Hammond
https://soundcloud.com/user-779428885/the-real-war-against-history
The Relationship Between Justice and Truth, John Prothro, September 16, 2009
"Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) was a British born journalist popular in the nineteen hundreds. Initially attracted by Communism, Muggeridge and his wife lived in Moscow in the 1930's where he acted as a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. Increasingly, Muggeridge recognized the failings of Communism and Stalin's regime, but his writings exposing the widespread famine in the Soviet Union were censored by his editors and refuted by other journalists and publications (most notably, the New York Times). Below is an excerpt from CHRONICLES OF WASTED TIME, a collection of Muggeridge's publications. In it, Muggeridge rebukes immoral policies enacted under the 'false face' of justice and provides a chilling example of the cynicism that can exist in government."
http://lastingliberty.com/timeless/2009/9/16/feature-topic-the-relationship-between-justice-and-truth.html
*Resisting Islamization, [audio file] Peter Hammond
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=108158119
How Civilizations Commit Suicide, Frontline Fellowship
https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/how-civilizations-commit-suicide
Thirty Years ago the Fall of the Iron Curtain, DVD, Henry Morton Stanley School of Christian Journalism
https://vimeo.com/channels/1483603/366202786
Thou Shalt not Steal, [audio file], Peter Hammond
"Our politicians certainly know how to destroy an economy. Based on the Commandments Thou shall not steal and Thou shall not covet, we must reject any form of 'nationalization' and forced redistribution of wealth and land. It is an observable fact that wherever this Biblical Law has been violated, as in socialist countries, the result has been starvation, wastage and death for millions. One only needs to compare the austere North Korea under socialism and atheism, with the productive and prosperous South Korea, where free enterprise and Christianity flourish."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72417555374
*Trevor Loudon's 2019 List of Socialists and Communists in Congress
"Altogether, if you add in Islamist connections I think about 100 members of the House of Representatives would struggle to pass a low-level background security check. But guess what? There are no security checks in Congress.
Here's my list of 50 of the most obvious socialists in the House
"For more information on socialists and communists in the US Congress watch my acclaimed 90-minute documentary the Enemies Within, or read my book ENEMIES WITHIN: COMMUNISTS, SOCIALISTS AND PROGRESSIVES IN THE US CONGRESS.
https://www.trevorloudon.com/2019/02/trevor-loudons-2019-list-of-socialists-and-communists-in-congress/
*Understanding Economics can Cure an Obsession With Socialism, Emily Marsh and Tori K. Smith, July 12, 2021
"For example, students would learn that socialism not only requires drastic government control over the economy, it has failed everywhere it has been tried. By examining the components of economic growth, students would learn that capitalism has been the single biggest driver of heightened standards of living throughout human history. . . . A recent report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni found that only about 3 percent of American colleges require students to take a course in economics. Ten times as many schools require a literature course in their core curriculum. Similarly, a class in economics isn't a high school graduation requirement in half of the states."
https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/07/12/understanding-economics-can-cure-an-obsession-with-socialism
*Understanding Revolution and Revolutionaries, Peter Hammond, 7/9/2020
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19)
"The French Revolution was the prototype, which was followed by the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, the Cambodian Revolution, the Vietnamese Revolution, the Ethiopian Revolution, the Mozambiquan Revolution, the Angolan Revolution, the Zimbabwe Revolution and many others. In every case, they proved that yesterday's revolutionaries become tomorrow's tyrants and dictators. . . .
"As so many today seem entranced by the deceptive promises of communism, it is vital that we look again at why so many rose up in resistance against it.
"Over 30 years ago, the Iron Curtain fell, Soviet satellites broke free, the Soviet Union collapsed and the world rejoiced in a new birth of freedom.
"Yet, today, there is an entire generation who are apparently ignorant that they are being lied to and used, to advance a failed and evil system under the delusion that they are working for a better and more just world.
"Those of us who fought against communism during the Cold War need to remind the younger generation of the reality which destroys the modern propaganda narrative being taught on so many university campuses and broadcast under the guise of news on the mainstream/lame stream media.
"Communism is the most malicious and destructive system in the history of mankind.
"God's Covenant people have beaten it before and we must defeat communism again." -- Peter Hammond
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16)
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7132092506252
Understanding Revolution and Revolutionaries
https://vimeo.com/437799929
The Very Real Prospect of Victory Over Communism, December 10 2020
"We discussed: the importance of having faith and hope during these difficult times; how resistance is more powerful than revolution; Joseph Stalin's claim that evolution leads to revolution; the resurgence of Christianity in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union; how the New World Order Communists are declaring war on God; the nauseating governmental and mainstream media propaganda regarding the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine; the numerous reasons why we should not take the vaccine; and many other topics."
https://andrewcarringtonhitchcock.com/2020/12/10/ach-1404-dr-peter-hammond-the-very-real-prospect-of-victory-over-communism/
Virginia Constitutional Conservatives
https://www.restorevirginianow.com/
*You Can't Argue Against Socialism's 100 Percent Record of Failure, Kristian Niemietz
"Socialists insist that previous examples of socialism were not 'really' socialist, but none of them can tell us what exactly they would do differently."
https://fee.org/articles/you-cant-argue-against-socialisms-100-percent-record-of-failure/
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19)
Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. -- William Penn (1644-1718)
Do not be afraid of them, remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses. (Nehemiah 4:14)
From these, and many other, passages of Scripture (including Numbers 32:20; Judges 5:8; 1 Samuel 13:19-22), we can see that a man is responsible to be armed and prepared to protect his household. -- Peter HammondAbstaining from evil while allowing it to continue is not courage or justice. We must abstain from evil and seek to establish justice -- and so must our magistrates. -- Defy Tyrants
To limit a person's access to lethal weapons is to limit his ability for self and family defence. Weapons control interferes with our basic right and responsibility for self-defence. Ultimately gun control can deprive you of your right to life. The right of citizens to use lethal force to defend themselves is a great deterrent to thieves and attackers. -- Peter Hammond
The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days. (Proverbs 28:16). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.
Q. What kind of submission may be rendered to immoral and tyrannical governments, the ordinance of Satan, such as now exist?
A. Christians, in the exercise of their Christian liberty, and in the performance of the duty of proving all things, and holding fast what is good, can submit to such governments for wrath's sake, ONLY, which kind of submission has no respect to the power as legitimate authority, but simply, from dread of the cruelty of the tyrant, who pours forth his fury upon all who oppose his misrule. To God's moral ordinance as described, is allegiance due for conscience sake. Submission to this, is submission to God.
Q. When Christians reside under an immoral government, is not conformity to the general order of society a duty, provided this can be done without violating the divine law?
A. If the constituted authorities of a nation are not in voluntary subserviency to the Mediator, but opposed to his authority, law, and religion, for the sake of peace and order, and for the sake of contributing as much as possible to the ease and happiness of society, and from a spirit of resignation to the Divine providence, and in order to make legitimate provision for themselves and relatives, so much conformity to the prevailing system as is consistent with their oath of allegiance to Messiah, is a duty conscientiously to be practiced, although very distinct from that obedience for conscience sake which they would render to the government of their choice, to the authority which has the sanction of the Divine approbation. Jer. xxix. 4-7 [Jeremiah 29:4-7], Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
Q. Whilst it is the duty of Christians thus to live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, in conformity to the laws of Christ, which are everywhere, and at all times, obligatory upon them -- is it not their duty publicly to declare their dissent from an immoral constitution of civil government, within the reach of whose power they may reside?
A. This is, indeed, their duty. Because, 1. They are bound to defend God's moral ordinance of civil government, in the purity of which, God's own honor as the Governor of the nations, is deeply involved, Rev. ii. 25,26 [Revelation 2:25,26]. That which you have already hold fast till I come; and he that overcometh -- and keepeth my works unto the end -- to him will I give power in the nations, &c. Isa. viii. 16 [Isaiah 8:16], Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 2. The purity of this holy ordinance cannot be preserved, if it is confounded with the existing immoral systems, and by an indiscriminate exercise of allegiance. 3. Christians are witnesses for God among men; and having in their possession the testimony of God, in the Holy Scriptures, respecting the true character of civil government, and the duty of national subjection to Christ and his law, and respect for his holy religion, it is their duty to apply the doctrines of inspiration upon this subject, in stating and defending the truth, and condemning the existing immoral systems, and in bearing public testimony against all who uphold them. Isa. xliii. 10 [Isaiah 43:10], Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord. Rev. xi. 3 [Revelation 11:3], I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth; xii. 17 [Revelation 12:17], And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. See also: Rev. xvii. 14 [Revelation 17:14], Acts v. 32 [Acts 5:32], xxvi. 16 [Acts 26:16], Micah iv. 8-18 [Micah 4:8-18], Mark vi. 11 [Mark 6:11]. 4. The witnesses in Revelation are raised up not only to testify against the ecclesiastical apostasy, The scarlet woman, or Roman church -- and the image of the beast, -- the Papacy -- but also against the seven-headed and ten-horned beast -- or the civil powers -- upon which the woman rides. The nations which sustain Antichrist, and are equally, with the man of sin, Anti-christian, and are at war with the Lamb. See: passages last quoted, together with Rev. xiii. 1, 2 [Revelation 13:1,2], xvii. 3-14 [Revelation 17:3-14], and xii. 11 [Revelation 12:11], And they overcame him (the devil embodied in the Roman church papacy, and civil powers), by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; xvii. 14 [Revelation 17:14], These, (the civil powers), shall make war with the Lamb-and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Q. Are not virtuous persons, who, in their private capacity, are endeavoring to further the true end of civil government -- the maintenance of peace and quietness in all godliness and honesty, although they dissent from the constitution of civil government of the nation in which they reside, entitled to protection?
A. They certainly are entitled to protection in their lives, liberties, and property; "but they are not to act inconsistently with their declared dissent, and it would be tyranny to constrain them to such measures." Exod. xxii. 21 [Exodus 22:21], Thou shalt neither vex a stranger nor oppress him. See also: Rom. xiii. 3 [Romans 13:3], 1 Tim. ii. 2 [1 Timothy 2:2], Jer. xxi. 12 [Jeremiah 21:12], Esther iii. 8, 9 [Esther 3:8,9].
Q. Should not "Christians, testifying against national evils, and striving, in the use of moral means, to effect a reformation, relinquish temporal privileges, rather than do any thing which may appear to contradict their testimony, or lay a stumbling-block before their weaker brethren?"
A. This is unquestionably their duty. Because they cannot convince men of their own sincerity, and of the immorality of a principle or practice, whilst they themselves are found actually maintaining the immoral principle or practice (by oath of allegiance, voting, and holding offices, &c.), and enjoying the emoluments of iniquity decreed by law. Heb. xi. 24, 26, 36 [Hebrews 11:24,26,36], By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Esteeming the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonments. Numb. xxiii. 9 [Numbers 23:9], Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Rom. xiv. 21 [Romans 14:21], It is good neither to eat flesh, nor drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended.
Q. Will not such a public dissent from immoral governments, and faithful testimony against them, ultimately prevail to their overthrow?
A. Yes. By these means the witnesses will prevail, however much they may suffer in the meantime, and will be the honored instruments of establishing the millennial kingdom of the Lamb. Rev. xii. 11 [Revelation 12:11], And they overcame him, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Dan. vii. 22 [Daniel 7:22], The Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Rev. xx. 4 [Revelation 20:4], And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast (the civil powers), neither his image (the Papacy), neither had received his mark (yielded allegiance), upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." -- William L. Roberts, The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, pp. 130-133Religious relativism is the ground of political absolutism. The conception and demand for an absolute just order is strongest where men are most insistent that Christianity's absolutes are without reality. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001)
Ending Tyranny Without Violence, Murray N. Rothbard
"It was a medieval tradition to justify tyrannicide of unjust rulers who break the divine law, but La Boétie's doctrine, though non-violent, was in the deepest sense far more radical. For while the assassination of a tyrant is simply an isolated individual act within an existing political system, mass civil disobedience, being a direct act on the part of large masses of people, is far more revolutionary in launching a transformation of the system itself. It is also more elegant and profound in theoretical terms, flowing immediately as it does from La Boétie's insight about power necessarily resting on popular consent; for then the remedy to power is simply to withdraw that consent.[17]"
"Thus, the hierarchy of privilege descends from the large gainers from despotism, to the middling and small gainers, and finally down to the mass of the people who falsely think they gain from the receipt of petty favors. In this way the subjects are divided, and a great portion of them induced to cleave to the ruler, 'just as, in order to split wood, one has to use a wedge of the wood itself.' Of course, the train of the tyrant's retinue and soldiers suffer at their leader's hands, but they 'can be led to endure evil if permitted to commit it, not against him who exploits them, but against those who like themselves submit, but are helpless.' In short, in return for its own subjection, this order of subordinates is permitted to oppress the rest of the public.[47]" -- La Boétie, The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, (pp. 79-80), and
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard78.html#_ftn47Personally I find it helpful to begin each day by silently committing that day into God's hands [Matthew 6:5-13; Psalm 37:5,6; Proverbs 16:3; Romans 12:1,2; 1 Peter 2:23b; 1 Peter 4:19; ]. I thank Him that I belong to Him [Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:4,5; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:14,16,17,38,39; John 1:12], and I thank Him that He knows what the day holds for me [Providence, omniscience]. I ask Him to take my life that day and use it for His glory [John 15:16,8; Philippians 2:13; Philippians 1:6; John 15:7,8; John 15:10; John 15:4]. I ask Him to cleanse me from anything which would hinder His work [sanctification] in my life. And then I step out in faith [trust, Matthew 6:25-34], knowing that His Holy Spirit is filling me continually as I trust in Him and obey [John 14:15-21; John 14:23; John 15:10; Matthew 16:24; Romans 8:37-39] His Word [Isaiah 11:2; John 15:26-27; John 14:15-17; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:11] -- Billy Graham, from The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, sayeth the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
But we must remember what He says in Psalm 90:4, that a thousand years in His sight are but as a single day; and consequently, when we think that He delays, He is, in His infinite wisdom, hastening as much as is necessary. He seems, indeed, to take no notice for a time, that He may thus invite men to repent; but still He declares that He will not delay, but that He will come suddenly, like a whirlwind, to hasten His judgments, lest the ungodly should grow drowsy from their security. Let us, therefore, learn quietly and patiently to wait for the fit season of His vengeance. -- John Calvin commenting on Deuteronomy 7:10
And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (Zechariah 3:2)
The correct response then, to those who provoke us to anger by their brazen, arrogant, impudent, wicked acts, is to immediately remember that the Lord will deal with them (Jude 9, Nahum [God governs all of history according to his covenant], Calvin's commentary on Isaiah 33 and 34, and so forth and so on), and we must not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 9)
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14,19-21)
*Achbar, Mark, and Jennifer Abbott (directors), The Corporation (2004), DVD encoded Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only), Zeitgeist Video DVD; April 5, 2005. Run Time: 145.
"This is an extraordinary film about the creation of the American corporation, its legal organizational model, its global economic dominance and its psychopathic tendencies, and its incredible ambition to influence every aspect of culture in its unrelenting pursuit of profit.
"The Corporation" was spawned from Joel Bakan's in depth book, THE CORPORATION: A PATHOLOGICAL PURSUIT OF PROFIT AND POWER (See annotation above). The film and book begins in the 18th century, in the establishment of the 14th Amendment. Initially the 14th Amendment was designed after the Civil War to give ex-slaves' legal rights, like any other citizen of the United States, but through a maze of legal precedents, the business corporation organization model was now deemed a 'legal person' with all the civil rights accorded to a citizen. This highly absurd precedent has paved the way for corporations to literally get away with murder, because a 'corporation' is not an individual that you can put in jail. In effect, a corporation has no moral or social obligations; their only obligation is the pursuit of profit. This film offers numerous examples of unethical practices resulting in death for many people, and because of their [corporations] status under the 14th Amendment, and endless legal loopholes, [they] have gotten away with terrible crimes against humanity and the environment with no more than a fine, a mere slap on the wrist.
"As the law treats corporations as 'persons,' Bakan thought it appropriate to put the various behaviors of these companies under psychological examination. What this psychological study illustrated is that corporations, as 'persons' behave and display the symptoms of the clinical psychopath. A psychopath typically does not have a social conscience, is guilt free after committing heinous acts, and will destroy anything or anybody that prevents them from attaining the object of their particular obsession -- in this case, the relentless pursuit of profit.
"This documentary took several years to produce with over 650 hours of footage directors, Jennifer Abbot and Mark Achbar, had to chisel down this amazing amount of material into a comprehensible film. What is most astounding is the range of people interviewed for this film, that argue from all sides of the 'corporation issue:' Ira Jackson, Ray Anderson -- CEO of Interface, the world's largest carpet manufacturer; Noam Chomsky, Richard Grossman, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, Milton Freidman, Noble Prize winning economist; Jeremy Rifkin, President, Foundation of Economic Trends; Dr. Robert Hare, Consultant to the FBI on psychopaths, and many more individuals from all sides of the debate.
"When Bakan wrote his book and then collaborated with Mark Achbar to produce this film, what they did not want was the film to appear as just some left-wing diatribe, attacking the corporations, but to illustrate to people how the corporation began, how they have evolved and what they could well turn into if the people do not become involved in the democratic process, ensuring our governments take back the reigns of power.
"After viewing this film, it becomes all too evident that these large corporations have too much power, whose mandate is not the common good of the people, and who will go to any lengths, legally and otherwise, in the pursuit of profit and the bottom line.
"I believe this is one of the best and most important documentary films to be made in many years. This work is an "exposé of legal tyranny." -- C. Middleton
"An epic in length and breadth, this documentary aims at nothing less than a full-scale portrait of the most dominant institution on the planet Earth in our lifetime -- a phenomenon all the more remarkable, if not downright frightening, when you consider that the corporation as we know it has been around for only about 150 years. It used to be that corporations were, by definition, short-lived and finite in agenda. If a town needed a bridge built, a corporation was set up to finance and complete the project; when the bridge was an accomplished fact, the corporation ceased to be. Then came the 19th-century robber barons, and the courts were prevailed upon to define corporations not as get-the-job-done mechanisms but as persons under the 14th Amendment with full civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (i.e., power and profit) -- ad infinitum.
"The Corporation defines this endlessly mutating life-form in exhaustive detail, measuring the many ways it has not only come to dominate but to deform our reality. The movie [Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott], performs a running psychoanalysis of this entity with the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath: a callous unconcern for the feelings and safety of others, an incapacity to experience guilt, an ingrained habit of lying for profit, etc. We are swept away on a demented odyssey through an altered cosmos, in which artificial chemicals are created for profit and incidentally contribute to a cancer epidemic; in which the folks who brought us Agent Orange devise a milk-increasing drug for a world in which there is already a glut of milk; in which an American computer company leased its systems to the Nazis -- and serviced them on a monthly basis -- so that the Holocaust could go forward as an orderly process. . . ." -- Richard T. Jameson
The Corporation
Website for the documentary movie and DVD, "The Corporation."
http://www.thecorporation.com/
*Bovard, James, Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice, and Peace to rid the World of Evil, ISBN: 1403963681 9781403963680 1403966826 9781403966827,
" 'The war on terrorism is the first political growth industry of the new Millennium.' So begins Jim Bovard's newest and, in some ways, most provocative book as he casts yet another jaundiced eye on Washington and the motives behind protecting 'the homeland' and prosecuting a wildly unpopular war with Iraq. For James Bovard, as always, it all comes down to a trampling of personal liberty and an end to privacy as we know it. From airport security follies that protect no one to increased surveillance of individuals and skyrocketing numbers of detainees, the war on terrorism is taking a toll on individual liberty and no one tells the whole grisly story better than Bovard." -- Publisher
"James Bovard is an excellent (contrarian) investigative journalist, and he writes yet another scathing book about governmental excesses here. His earlier LOST RIGHTS: THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICAN LIBERTY and FREEDOM IN CHAINS: THE RISE OF THE STATE AND THE DEMISE OF THE CITIZEN were hugely influential in getting me to see how power corrupts, and just how far and frivolous this corruption has gone in modern America. And I like this book on the so-called 'War on Terror' very much, however the one caveat is it needs to be read with an understanding of the broader context, what didn't make the nightly news and what it is all building towards. In other words, as another reviewer here said, Bovard documents a lot of trees but is in danger of missing the forest. I think Bovard clearly sees the forest but he really isn't free to show us any more directly. What he does show us is what was clearly visible in mainstream news, connecting the dots but without embellishing it with questionable and potentially liable opinion.
"It is easy to forget in a post-9/11 world, but Reagan began the war on terror when he first took office in January of 1981, redefining the term and thus the scope of how the government can fight it. But what shows up again and again is just how inept the government has been in this (legitimate, constitutionally mandated) role of protecting the American public. Bovard shows time and again how the military, FBI, CIA, NSA and DOJ let vital information slip or just sit unheeded, didn't prepare for pre-warned attacks and consistently rewarded incompetence and failure (not wanting to undermine the public's faith in the powers that be). Examples; the terrorist bombings of the embassy and military barracks in Beirut in 1983, the botched 1986 US airstrike on Libya, and the US Navy's 1988 downing of an Iranian civilian airline, killing all 290 passengers - an event which was quickly forgotten by Americans, but never will be by Iran.
"I know the US has always been playing catchup in its intelligence operations (often being infiltrated and manipulated by adversaries both within and without the agencies), but I have a hard time believing they can be so completely incompetent so consistently. My suspicion is they have just let much of it happen (besides sometimes directly instigating and encouraging it), so as to achieve other long range goals.
"So, as I read Bovard's encyclopedic account of abuses and failures I like to keep in mind what others have reported -- such as Ruppert's equally encyclopedic CROSSING THE RUBICON: THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE AT THE END OF THE AGE OF OIL. A good example of how both perspectives are needed is the case of Sen Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) who complained the so-called Patriot Act was being rushed through after 9/11. Bovard mentions him, but what he neglects to mention is that for this small attempt to obstruct the administration Wellstone was murdered just a little over a year later (in a highly suspicious plane crash that killed the senator, his wife, daughter and three staff members). This kind of followup is what Ruppert's account excels at. So if you keep in mind alternative accounts of what happened in places as diverse as Mena Arkansas during the Iran/Contra scandal, Ruby Ridge Idaho, Waco Texas, Oklahoma City, and the World Trade Center (twice!) then you get a fuller picture of the terror and tyranny facing America today.
"Of course a large part of the problem is how we define terrorism. 'The US definitions of terrorism focus far more on the perpetrator than the act. The same act is either public service or terrorism, depending on whether the killer is wearing a uniform.' (p. 227) So by the US government's definition a government is incapable of acts of terror (even though they kill way more of their citizens than any terrorist organization or individuals ever do), and so always on the side of 'good.' This has led to the US government bankrolling 'some of the world's most oppressive regimes.' (p. 252)
"Bovard clearly saw where all this was heading as he presciently remarked, 'The precedents the Justice Department establishes in abusing aliens will inevitably influence how the federal government treats American citizens . . . The power seized after 9/11 will be the starting line for a sprint toward greater discretionary and punitive power over anyone residing in this country.' (pg.132) He can say this with confidence because it's how the FBI habitually operated before being reigned in in 1976, and how the DOJ began treating Americans soon after 9/11 and the passage of the Patriot Act. And it has only gotten worse since.
"I'd love to see a revised edition 10 years after its original publication. I'd hope he'd include some of the more current research on US government's use of false flags. I'm also interested to hear some detailed follow-up on the impact of such things as the draconian anti-money laundering aspects of the Patriot Act on individuals, and businesses, and the practice of warrantless and secret searches. As well as how tyranny continued to expand during the rest of the Cheney/Bush Jr. presidency, and now in the almost identical Obama administration. I'm sure Bovard has a whole bulging file of such consequences of this endless war.
"And the more I study all this the less I can call them unintended consequences . . ." -- Reader's Comment
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
Courtois, Stéphane (author), Nicolas Werth (author), Jean-Louis Panné (author), Andrzej Paczkowski (author), Karel Bartosek (author), Jean-Louis Margolin (author), Mark Kramer (editor), Jonathan Murphy (translator), The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, ISBN: 0674076087 9780674076082.
"Already famous throughout Europe, this international bestseller plumbs recently opened archives in the former Soviet bloc to reveal the actual, practical accomplishments of Communism around the world: terror, torture, famine, mass deportations, and massacres. Astonishing in the sheer detail it amasses, the book is the first comprehensive attempt to catalogue and analyze the crimes of Communism over seventy years.
" 'Revolutions, like trees, must be judged by their fruit,' Ignazio Silone wrote, and this is the standard the authors apply to the Communist experience." -- Publisher
Elliott, Delbert H., Doom of the Dictators.
Elliott, Delbert H., Trail of the Totalitarian, 1939.
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Anarchy and Christianity, 1991, ISBN: 0802804950 9780802804952.
Estes, Ralph W., Tyranny of the Bottom Line: Why Corporations Make Good People do bad Things, ISBN: 1881052753 9781881052753.
"TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE tells how the corporate system, originally created to serve the public interest, has acquired immense power over the public. Largely unconstrained by a captive regulatory bureaucracy, corporations today exercise a silent dominance over much of our society. This dominion can produce substantial good, but can also bring injury and death to employees, financial and personal loss to customers, desolation to communities, poisonous pollution and hazardous waste to the nation.
"In TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE, Ralph Estes tells the story of corporate power gone awry: permanent layoffs affecting millions of people while CEO salaries go through the roof; toxic waste poisoning the land, water, and air; unhealthy and dangerous products on the market; injury and death on the job; white-collar hustles in the S&Ls and on Wall Street that ultimately cost us all.
"Emphasizing the notion that all of us are stakeholders in the large corporation-with an investment, an interest in its performance, and a right to accountability -- Ralph Estes offers proposals for creating more effective and humane companies, restoring the original public purpose of the corporate system, and allowing managers to make choices that effectively and ethically balance the interests of everyone. Estes lays out a practical, specific plan for the development of a new, fair score-keeping system that shows the effects of a corporation's actions on all its stakeholders, not merely its stockholders, and then tells managers that they will be responsible for these effects.
"Based on the author's many years of research and experience, TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE lays out this prescription in an effective and workable program that can make corporations safer and more rewarding for all of us, and more enjoyable, more honorable, for the people who run them." -- Midwest Book Review
Forrester, Thomas, John Scott, and Alexander Monro, The Hierarchical Bishops Claim to a Divine Right, Tried at the Scripture-bar, or, A Consideration of the Pleadings for Prelacy: From Pretended Scriptural Arguments, presented and offered by Dr. Scott, in his book intituled, The Christian life, part II, A.M., D.D. in his Enquiry into the New Opinions, &c., and by the author of the second part of the Survey of Naphtali. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
*Foxe, John (1516-1587), and Thomas Freeman (prefatory material), John Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Speciall and Memorable (unabridged). Alternate title: THE UNABRIDGED ACTS AND MONUMENTS ONLINE or TAMO (HRI Online Publications, Sheffield, 2011). Available from: http://www.johnfoxe.org. Implemented by the Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield, England, and published by HRI Online Publications, Sheffield, 2011, Version 2.0, ISBN: 9780954260864. A Christian classic.
"You can browse and compare the unabridged texts of the four editions of this massive work published in John Foxe's lifetime (1563, 1570, 1576, 1583). Each edition changed significantly as Foxe sought to incorporate new material, answer his critics, and adjust its polemical force to the needs of the moment. . . .
"TAMO is both an instrument of scholarship and a tool for anyone who wants to explore this remarkable work, a milestone in the history of the English printed book and a signal achievement of its printer, John Day."
John Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Special and Memorable, ISBN: 0197262252 9780197262252.
"This CD-ROM combines readable and printable images of 2,200 pages of text and woodcut engravings from the 1583 edition, the last for which Foxe was personally responsible."
Other editions: Acts and Monuments or Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 1554, 1843-49 edition, 8 volumes. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
" 'No book ever inflicted a wound so deep and incurable on the Romish system of superstition and bloody persecution . . . it was placed in . . . all churches and chapels throughout the kingdom, by order of Queen Elizabeth.' (Smith, Select Memoirs, p. 245). Contains much information not found in any of the liberally edited and severely shortened editions of this classic work which are in print today. Covering martyrs from the early church through to Foxe's day, it was one of the most influential books of the sixteenth century! It overflows with faith building testimony of the power of God to overcome the most cruel and barbarous acts of human depravity and demonic cruelty. 6890 pages. A very rare set, now back in print after 150 years!" -- Publisher
"After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the BOOK OF MARTYRS. Even in our time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification." -- James Miller Dodds, English Prose
"When one recollects that until the appearance of the PILGRIM'S PROGRESS the common people had almost no other reading matter except the BIBLE and FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS, we can understand the deep impression that this book produced; and how it served to mold the national character. Those who could read for themselves learned the full details of all the atrocities performed on the Protestant reformers; the illiterate could see the rude illustrations of the various instruments of torture, the rack, the gridiron, the boiling oil, and then the holy ones breathing out their souls amid the flames. Take a people just awakening to a new intellectual and religious life; let several generations of them, from childhood to old age, pore over such a book, and its stories become traditions as individual and almost as potent as songs and customs on a nation's life." -- Douglas Campbell, The Puritan in Holland, England, and America
"If we divest the book of its accidental character of feud between churches, it yet stands, in the first years of Elizabeth's reign, a monument that marks the growing strength of a desire for spiritual freedom, defiance of those forms that seek to stifle conscience and fetter thought." -- Henry Morley, English Writers
"John Foxe was a prince among believers. He had his printing press on a cart, and had often to print at night, moving his press before dawn to escape capture and burning at the stake. He never faltered in his purpose to leave a voluminous written witness to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep His saints in love and peace." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), John Foxe's Book of Martyrs Variorum Edition Online
http://www.tei-c.org/Activities/Projects/jo01.xml
*Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (in the LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available on Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men. At the request of his brethren, Goodman subsequently published an expanded version of his exposition, HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED OF THEIR SUBJECTS: AND WHEREIN THEY MAY LAWFULLY BY GOD'S WORD BE DISOBEYED AND RESISTED. WHEREIN ALSO IS DECLARED THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS PRESENT MISERY IN ENGLAND, AND THE ONLY WAY TO REMEDY THE SAME. In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny.
"This new edition of SUPERIOR POWERS includes a scripture index, a subject index, a biographical essay on the life of Christopher Goodman, and the original foreword by William Whittingham." -- Publisher from Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library
"Very rare. One of the dozen most important political writings appearing in English in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Together with THE FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET and THE APPELLATION (retitled REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM in this catalogue), by John Knox, and Ponet's TREATISE OF POLITIQUE POWER, this book marks the first definite shift of opinion under the pressure of religion, away from the doctrine of almost unlimited obedience which characterized the political thought of the first half of the century laying the foundation for future ideas about civil disobedience. In that day, a proclamation of Philip and Mary had decreed the death of a rebel for anyone found in possession of the book." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
Hate Speech Bill Threat to Free Speech in South Africa, a sermon, Peter Hammond
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=31819152996997
*Hartmann, Thom, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, ISBN: 1579546277 9781579546274.
"This extraordinary book combines meticulous historical and legal research with a clear and compelling writing style to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt the incompatibility of corporate personhood with democracy, the market economy, and the well-being of society. Complete with a practical program for essential reform to restore the rights of real persons -- including model legislation -- it is essential reading and an invaluable reference work for every citizen who cares about democracy, justice, and the human future." -- David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies." -- Paul Hawken, author of Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce
"Unequal taxes, unequal accountability for crime, unequal influence, unequal privacy, and unequal access to natural resources and our commons -- these inequalities and more are the effects of corporations winning the rights of persons while simultaneously being given the legal protections to avoid the responsibilities that come with these rights. Hartmann tells the intriguing story of how it got this way -- from the colonists' rebellion against the commercial interests of the British elite to the distorted application of the Fourteenth Amendment -- and how to get back to a government of, by, and for the people.
"Over the past two centuries, those playing the corporate game at the very highest levels seem to have won a victory for themselves -- a victory that is turning bitter in the mouths of many of the six billion humans on planet Earth. It's even turning bitter in unexpected ways for those who won it, as they find their own lives and families touched by an increasingly toxic environment, fragile and top-heavy economy, and hollow culture -- all traceable back to the frenetic systems of big business that resulted from the doctrine that corporations are persons."
"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical research with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel. I intended to take a first quick glance and then couldn't put it down." -- David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"UNEQUAL PROTECTION should be in the hands of every thinking American. If we do not awaken soon, democracy will be replaced by a new 'Third Reich' of corporate tyranny. To be aware of the danger is the responsibility of each of us. No one has told us the truth better than Thom Hartmann. Read it!" -- Gerry Spence, author of Give Me Liberty
"Essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of democracy, both here and abroad. With devastating precision and well-reasoned passion, Thom Hartmann shows the reader precisely how the corporate entity gained such a perilously dominant role in the life of a nation whose founders meant for its politics to respond to the concerns of people and communities, not return-seeking corporations." -- Jeff Gates, president, Shared Capitalism Institute, author, Democracy at Risk
Thom Hartmann's, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights. A Review by Richard W. Behan
"UNEQUAL PROTECTION may prove to be the most significant book in the history of corporate personhood, a doctrine which dates to 1886. For 116 years, corporate personhood has been scrutinized and criticized, but never seriously threatened. Now Thom Hartmann has discovered a fatal legal flaw in its origin: corporate personhood is doomed."
http://www.main.nc.us/pace/18_corporate/
*Hawley, Josh, Tyranny of Big Tech, ISBN: 1982138912 9781982138912.
Forthcoming as of January 11, 2021 by Senator Josh Hawley.
Henry, Matthew (1662-1714), Popery a Spiritual Tyranny: Shew'd in a Sermon Preach'd on the Fifth of November, 1712.
Howard, Robert, Sir (1626-1698), A Free Discourse Wherein the Doctrines Which Make for Tyranny are Display'd, 1697.
Johnson, Paul, Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the Nineties, ISBN: 0060935502 9780060935504.
"The twentieth-century State has proved itself the great killer of all time."
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth, 1554. Alternate title: A FAITHFUL ADMONITION TO THE PROFESSORS OF GOD'S TRUTH IN ENGLAND, and AGAINST ROMISH RITES AND POLITICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL TYRANNY. Available (WORKS OF JOHN KNOX) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #15, #26. Available in SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX.
"Formerly titled A FAITHFUL ADMONITION TO THE PROFESSORS OF GOD'S TRUTH IN ENGLAND, this letter is said to be 'undoubtedly the most important' of Knox's writings (up to that time), by W. Stanford Reid in TRUMPETER OF GOD (p. 114). Furthermore Reid notes that Knox's 'views on the magistrate expressed in the FAITHFUL ADMONITION, were to have an important influence upon much of his future conduct, and upon the development of the Reformation in both England and Scotland.' The editor of KNOX'S WORKS states, 'the object of the ADMONITION was twofold. The one was to animate those who had made a good profession to perseverance, and to avoid the sin of . . . appearing to conform to the 'abominable idolatry' re-established in England; the other, to point out the dangers to be apprehended in when the kingdom became subjected to the dominion of strangers.' Knox uses very strong language here, in the hopes of getting through to those who came to be termed Nicodemites (i.e. those who thought that they could 'keep faith secretly in the heart, and yet do as idolaters do,' in Knox's own words). Written at a time when the true church had been driven underground by Roman Catholic persecution, it was said concerning this letter that 'many other godly men besides have been exposed to the risk of their property, and even life itself, upon the sole ground of either having had this book in their possession, or having read it.' Kevin Reed gives an excellent summary of this letter in SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX, when, in part, he writes, 'while acknowledging the risk of persecution to the faithful, the reformer perceives a greater danger in compromising with idolatry. Government persecution may bring disfavour of men, loss of personal goods and, in some cases, physical death; but idolatry brings down the wrath of God, resulting in grievous punishments, now and through eternity. Idolatry also invites a curse upon the posterity of the nation. In an intense pastoral appeal, Knox strongly admonishes his readers to avoid conforming to the Romish rites of worship.' (p. 220). For those who would rather read many of these Knox items with contemporary spelling, punctuation, and grammar we highly recommend the SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX." -- Publisher
John Knox: Faithful Admonition (1554)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/FaithAdm.htm
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), and Kevin Reed (editor), The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment [Government], of Women, with the "Summary of the Second Blast" appended (Dallas, TX [Presbyterian Heritage Publications, P.O. Box 180922, 75218-0922]: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1993), trade paperback, 96 pages, marginal notes, scripture index, and subject index. This edition appears in three additional formats: SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX: PUBLIC EPISTLES, TREATISES, AND EXPOSITIONS TO THE YEAR 1559, pp. 370-436, the LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY, and e-text that includes the marginal notes as endnotes, but does not include the scripture index, and subject index. Citations for these three additional formats are listed below.
"The text of this edition is based on the definitive edition of THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, edited by David Laing (Edinburgh, 1895).
"In this controversial work, John Knox contends that 'to promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature, contumely [insult], to God, a thing most contrary to his revealed will and approved ordinance; and finally, it is the subversion of good order, of all equity and justice'." -- Publisher
Subheading used in this edition:
To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature . . . A thing most contrary to His revealed will and approved ordinance. -- John Knox"The 16th century reformer John Knox wrote his famous tract THE FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET AGAINST THE MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN to oppose a notorious European female tyrant who sought to stamp out biblical Christianity in his beloved Scotland.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), and Roger A. Mason (editor), Knox: On Rebellion, ISBN: 0521390893 9780521390897 0521399882 9780521399883.
"John Knox's FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET AGAINST THE MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN, one of the most notorious political tracts of the sixteenth century, has been more often referred to than read. Its true significance as one of a series of pamphlets which Knox wrote in 1558 on the theme of rebellion is therefore easily overlooked. This new edition of his writings includes not only THE FIRST BLAST, but the three other tracts of 1558 -- THE LETTER TO THE REGENT OF SCOTLAND, THE APPELLATION TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE LETTER TO THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND -- in which Knox confronted the problem of resistance to tyranny. Related material, mostly drawn from Knox's own HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND, illuminates the development of his views before 1558 and illustrates their application in the specific circumstances of the Scottish Reformation and the rule of Mary Queen of Scots. This edition thus brings together for the first time all of Knox's most important writings on rebellion." -- Publisher
The editor, Roger A. Mason, has written extensively: SCOTS AND BRITONS: SCOTTISH POLITICAL THOUGHT AND THE UNION OF 1603, 1994 | JOHN KNOX AND THE BRITISH REFORMATIONS, 1998 | GEORGE BUCHANAN: POLITICAL THOUGHT IN EARLY MODERN BRITAIN AND EUROPE (co-author, Caroline Erskine), 2012 | SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND, 1286-1815, 1987 | KINGSHIP AND THE COMMONWEAL: POLITICAL THOUGHT IN RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION SCOTLAND, 1998 | PEOPLE AND POWER IN SCOTLAND: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF T.C. SMOUT (co-authors, Norman Macdougall and T.C. Smout), 1992 | ANDREW MELVILLE (1545-1622): HUMANIST AND REFORMER (co-author, Steven J. Reid), 2013 | EMPIRE, UNION AND REFORM, 2007 | THE GLASGOW ASSEMBLY 1638, 1988. He is from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
"This compilation brings together, for the first time, all of Knox's most important political writings. It shows, in Knox's own words, how he directly and faithfully confronted the problem of resistance to tyranny. It is especially illustrative in regard to how Knox made application of Scripture to the specific circumstances of the Scottish Reformation and the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots. It includes his FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET AGAINST THE MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN, THE APPELLATION TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, his confrontations with Lethington (the Queens's secretary), during the General Assembly [A DEBATE BETWEEN JOHN KNOX AND SECRETARY LETHINGTON ON THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN SUBJECTS TO EXECUTE JUDGEMENT UPON CRIMINAL MAGISTRATES -- compiler], and much more. Reconstructionists, and all serious students of the Reformation, will welcome this volume, as it conclusively proves that Knox held to some very specific points related to Theonomic ethics. Knox even went so far as to call for the execution of the Queen, because she was publicly promoting sedition (against Christ the King), in her celebration of the idolatrous Popish Mass. He based his reasoning, including negative civil penal sanctions, on Old Testament case law. B.K. Kuiper says of him, 'After Knox returned to Scotland the Reformation in that land swept forward . . . The preaching of Knox was like a spark in a keg of gunpowder.' Wherever he preached there followed an iconoclastic explosion. Images were broken and monasteries stormed by the mob. He wrote: 'The places of idolatry were made level with the ground, the monuments of idolatry consumed with fire, and priests were commanded under pain of death to desist from their blasphemous mass . . . The pope's authority and all jurisdiction by Catholic prelates was abolished, and the celebration of the mass was forbidden. Maintenance of the true religion was declared to be the prime duty of government . . .' (The Church in History, pp. 217-18). This book will leave no doubt in your mind as to why Knox has been called 'Calvin with a sword.' It will light a fire in your soul for righteousness in civil matters -- something the Reformers often addressed!" -- Publisher
Some of the tracts included in this work are available singly in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX on the Puritan Hard Drive and the Reformation Bookshelf. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
See also the following political writings of John Knox single on both the Puritan Hard Drive and in The Reformation Bookshelf: CD #1, John Knox Debates God's Law, Idolatry and Civil Resistance in the General Assembly of 1564 | CD #1, Select Practical Writings of John Knox | CD #15, Against Romish Rites and Political and Ecclesiastical Tyranny (1554) | CD #26, Against Romish Rites and Political and Ecclesiastical Tyranny (1554) | CD #17, An Admonition to Flee Idolatry, Romanism and All False Worship (1554) | CD #25, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (This book is on the first CD in this set). | CD #26, Reformation, Revolution and Romanism: An Appeal to the Scottish Nobility (1558).
La Boétie, Etienne de (1530-1563), and Murray N. Rothbard, The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, ISBN: 0914156101 9780914156109.
"Properly pronounced not, as might be thought, La Bo-ay-see, but rather La Bwettie (with the hard 't')."
"THE DISCOURSE OF VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE has influenced some of the world's greatest social thinkers; from Leo Tolstoy to Mohandus Gandhi to Ayn Rand. Written in the 1550s, as something of an underground tract or pamphlet by a young French student and friend of essayist Michelle de Montaigne, this short work remains a timeless exposé of the psychology and inherent corruption involved in social or political power. The work has been in and out of print in English (Some of its various titles over the years were SLAVES BY CHOICE, ANTI-DICTATOR, THE WILL TO BONDAGE, and THE POLITICS OF OBEDIENCE: THE DISCOURSE OF VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE). In North America it has been out of print for some time now, unfortunately. Since its original circulation in the early 1550s as de la servitude volontaire ou contr'un, this short but powerful work seems to find its way back into print whenever the winds of social change began blowing toward tyranny." -- Reader's Comment
Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, Etienne de La Boétie
https://archive.org/details/PoliticsOfObedienceTheDiscourseOfVoluntaryServitude
Lansing, Isaac J., Rome's Avowed Purpose to Control the State, and her Success in Great Cities.
Lansing, Isaac J., National Danger in Romanism. [No. 8]. Papal Greed of Wealth.
*Machiavelli, Niccolò (1469-1527), The Prince, ISBN: 0192833979 9780192833976.
This famous analysis of statesmanship and power, lauded by the world system and read by practically all politicians, will give insight to those who may still not understand power politics in Washington. But to fully understand the current situation in the Federal government even the discerning person must work in a Federal office or within the corporate limits of the District of Columbia for at least a year. A secular author.
The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli
http://books.mirror.org/gb.machiavelli.html
Robertson, Geoffrey, The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the man who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold ISBN: 9780099459194, 0099459191.
"Charles I, king of England, waged a civil war (1642-9) that cost the lives of one in ten Englishmen, but in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute the defeated King, who claimed to be above the law. The man they briefed was the radical lawyer John Cooke. His Puritan conscience, political vision, and love of civil liberties gave him the courage to bring the King's trial to its dramatic conclusion: the creation of the English Republic. Cooke would pay dearly for role in the trial. Charles I was found guilty and beheaded, but eleven years later Cooke himself was arrested, tried, and brutally executed at the hands of Charles II.
"Geoffrey Robertson, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer, provides a vivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposing long-hidden truths: that the King was guilty as charged, that his execution was necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that the regicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen as national heroes.
"John Cooke sacrificed his own life to make tyranny a crime. His trial of Charles I, the first trial of a head of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunner of the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein. This is a superb work of history that casts a revelatory light on some of the most important issues of our time." -- Publisher
"Today I'd like to recommend THE TYRANNICIDE BRIEF, an incredibly important study from a legal perspective of the trial of Charles I. While the author is not Christian and quite dismissive of Calvinism, this is the kind of book you can learn an immense amount from. Not just about the incredible advances in freedom, legal rights, and resistance to tyranny made by the men of the Commonwealth, but also about the many mistakes they made where they acted contrary to God's law." -- Reader's Comment
Sperry, Paul, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington, ISBN: 9781595552488 1595552480. Also available as e-book.
"The most sinister terrorists won't be sneaking through our borders from the Middle East. They're already here. This is the untold story about the silent, yet extremely dangerous threat from the Muslim establishment in America'an alarming exposé of how Muslims have for years been secretly infiltrating American society, government, and culture, pretending to be peace-loving and patriotic, while supporting violent jihad and working to turn America into an Islamic state. In this powder keg of a book, you'll learn: -How radical Muslims have penetrated the U.S. military, the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, and even the White House'where subversive Muslims and Arabs have received top-secret clearance.-How they've infiltrated the chaplains program in the federal and state prison systems'a top recruiting ground for al-Qaida.-How they've successfully run influence operations against our political system with the help of both Democrats and Republicans, badgering corporate boards into Islamizing the workplace.-How we've been utterly duped about what the Quran does and doesn't teach. Sadly, much of anti-Western terrorism is simply Islam in practice, the text of the Quran in action. In a time when religious and political leaders are scrambling to smooth over differences in faith and beliefs, this book gives the terrifying truth abaout the very real, very deadly agenda of Islam and how it has already infiltrated key American institutions with agents, spies, and subversives." -- Publisher
"As Americans continue to worship at the altar of cultural diversity and endorse religious tolerance for tolerance sake, Muslims masquerading as 'moderates' have insinuated themselves into the very fabric of American society, taking advantage of our blind trust and gaining footholds in our education system, government, workplace, law enforcement, and military. In this startling book, investigative journalist Paul Sperry uses revealing new interviews and classified documents to courageously explain how, for the past thirty years, these Islamist extremists have been covertly working to destroy our constitutional government and the Judeo-Christian ethics on which our nation was built. Their goal, according to Sperry, is to replace the U.S. Constitution with the Quran and turn America into an Islamic state. And, as Sperry details point-by-point, they have been unwittingly aided in their sinister aims by the politically correct media, government, and citizens, who don't fully understand the dangers of the Muslim faith.
"INFILTRATION explodes the façade of moderation and patriotism that Muslim scholars, imams, clerics, businessmen, and other leaders in the burgeoning Muslim community in America have conveyed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In reality, the Muslim establishment that publicly decries the radical fringe-represented by al-Qaida's brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, the official religion of Saudi Arabia -- is actually a part of it. The only difference is that they use words and money instead of bombs to accomplish their goals.
"Now, thanks to Sperry's peerless research, piquant prose, and forthright presentation, their cover is blown. He will not only make readers forget nearly everything they've been told about these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, he will expose the true agenda of these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, and he will explain the full scope of the dangerous threat of Islam in America.
"With everyone still on edge after 9/11, this book will garner wide interest, appealing specifically to people interested in current events and/or religion. Additionally, the book will appeal strongly to women whose roles, values, and rights are greatly threatened by fundamentalist Islam." -- Publisher
"As someone who has closely monitored the machinations of militant Muslim activists as chronicled by Pipes and Emerson and other Islamist hawks, there is a helluva lot of new disturbing stuff in this book, which forgiving the pun, looks to be the new bible on Islamism and the Islamic threat inside America. And much of it is supported by fairly sensitive-looking internal Homeland Security documents and real estate/tax/lobbying and other records posted on a companion website -- sperryfiles.com. Most alarming is how the FBI is bending over for Muslim muscle groups and is blindly letting its Arabic translation desk in DC become a Muslim 'mole house' generating some dozen espionage cases, per CIA vets at FBI. And Sperry found that one of the groups the FBI is genuflecting before -- Council on American-Islamic Relations -- is bankrolled by an Arab government, UAE, which was the transit point for 9/11 cash and a formal backer of the Taliban. Dubai holds the deed to CAIR's headquarters, even as CAIR claims it gets no foreign support! And there are classified docs that are sure to embarrass DC big shots. Remember the hard-line cleric who counseled the 9/11 hijackers behind closed doors? the guy the FBI is now looking for after the 9/11 commission concluded was 'suspicious' and should be brought in for questioning? well he was released from U.S. custody a year after 9/11 and allowed to leave the country on a Saudi airplane. DC pulled back a warrant for him even though he was on the terror watch list and subject of terror finance probes by treasury/customs. There's even word in book of a Pakistani cleric who privately counseled the Pakistani terrorist who mowed down CIA employees at Langley, who according to records Sperry uncovered is starting a large Wahhabi mosque just down the way from Langley where he can no doubt inspire other jihadists. He also reveals new details about Norman 'No Profiling' Mineta and his diversity happy aides that I haven't read anywhere else. At bottom this is the tale of PC gone wild in DC, which is lulling Americans into a false sense of security about the Islamic threat inside the country. With Bin Laden still at large and his sleeper cells no doubt still in place here, it's a pretty frightening wake-up call. Their agents and sympathizers have done an alarmingly good job of penetrating U.S. institutions and culture, but DC hasn't penetrated theirs. The FBI says it can't find evidence of sleeper cells? Yeah, that's reassuring. Isn't that what they said before 9/11?" -- Reader's Comment
*Tocqueville, Alexis de, Seymour Drescher (translator), Gertrude Himmelfarb (introduction), Memoir on Pauperism, ISBN: 156663167X 9781566631679.
"In this neglected memoir, written just after the first volume of DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, Tocqueville seeks to understand why the most impoverished countries of Europe in his time had the fewest paupers, while the most opulent nation -- England -- had the most." -- Publisher
*Trewhella, Matthew J., The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Resistance to Tyranny and a Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government, ISBN: 1482327686 9781482327687.
"America has entered troubling times. The rule of law is crumbling. The massive expansion of Federal government power with its destructive laws and policies is of grave concern to many. But what can be done to quell the abuse of power by civil authority? Are unjust or immoral actions by the government simply to be accepted and their lawless commands obeyed? How do we know when the government has acted tyrannically? Which actions constitute proper and legitimate resistance? This book places in your hands a hopeful blueprint for freedom. Appealing to history and the Word of God, Pastor Matthew Trewhella answers these questions and shows how Americans can successfully resist the Federal government's attempts to trample our Constitution, assault our liberty, and impugn the law of God. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates declares that when the superior or higher civil authority makes an unjust/immoral law or decree, the lesser or lower ranking civil authority has both the right and duty to refuse obedience to that superior authority. If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority. Historically, this doctrine was practiced before the time of Christ and Christianity. It was Christian men, however, who formalized and embedded it into their political institutions throughout Western Civilization. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates is a historic tool that provides proven guidelines for proper and legitimate resistance to tyranny, often without causing any major upheaval in society. The doctrine teaches us how to rein in lawless acts by government and restore justice in our nation. 'Use this sword against my enemies, if I give righteous commands; but if I give unrighteous commands, use it against me.' -- Roman Emperor Trajan, speaking to one of his subordinates. This is the first book published solely addressing the doctrine of the lesser magistrates in over 400 years. Matthew Trewhella is the pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church. He is a graduate of Valley Forge Christian College. He and his wife, Clara, have eleven children and nine grandchildren, and reside in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. His research and teaching on the lesser magistrate doctrine is reshaping the thinking of Americans. He was instrumental in publishing The Magdeburg Confession: 13th of April 1550 AD, in 2012 -- the first English translation of the document since it was written in 1550." -- Publisher
"Wow! Please get this book and read it. And then read it again! And then send it to your lesser magistrates (specifically your local sheriffs, county judges, and State governors).
"The subtitle says it all: A PROPER RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY AND A REPUDIATION OF UNLIMITED OBEDIENCE TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
"Romans 13:1-7 has caused a great deal of confusion to modern Christian evangelicals. On the whole it tends to get interpreted as 'we must obey the government [with an implied unlimited obedience].' Of course that doesn't feel right, and we know of the passage that says 'we must obey God rather than men.' But how do we reconcile these?
"THE DOCTRINE OF THE LESSER MAGISTRATES helps us figure that out. Government has been instituted by God as His instrument to do His work. But when government ceases to do God's work in carrying out just laws, there needs to be a way to hold back the tyranny. Will revolt and riot work, or is that what Christians are called to do? No.
"Enter the lesser magistrate -- also known as the government office holder who is inferior to the one giving the orders but has a legitimate role in government nonetheless. He has the ability and the duty to resist carrying out unjust laws or orders. And he has the ability and duty to interpose on behalf of the citizens against whom the tyrannical governing authority is trying to carry out his power.
"Trewhella shows historical examples of how the application of this doctrine has worked and provides compelling Biblical exegesis of how this doctrine is clearly taught in Scripture.
"I highly recommend reading this book! It's short enough to be read in one sitting, but powerful enough to transform your understanding of how to properly resist tyranny -- in God's power and by God's prescription." -- Reader's Comment
Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate
http://www.LesserMagistrate.com
Defy Tyrants
http://www.DefyTyrants.com
The Magdeburg Confession
http://magdeburgconfession.com/mag/
Valladares, Armando, and Andrew Hurley (translator), Against all Hope: A Memoir of life in Castro's Gulag, ISBN: 9781459607828, 1459607821.
"AGAINST ALL HOPE is Armando Valladares' account of over twenty years in Fidel Castro's tropical gulag. Arrested in 1960 for being philosophically and religiously opposed to communism, Valladares was not released until 1982." -- Publisher
*Whitehead, John W., Battlefield America: The war on the American People, ISBN: 9781590793091 1590793099.
"Author paints a portrait of an evolving American police state as police authority expands into extensions of the military, and government's intrusions undermine basic freedoms guaranteed to American citizens under the Constitution, turning Americans into enemy combatants who are spied upon, raided, manhandled, silenced, locked up, shot at, and denied due process of the law." -- Publisher
John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.
Wilder-Smith, A.E., Terrorism, The Criminal Mind, Neo-Darwinism, Environmentalism, Marxism, Stalin, Hitler, God's Law, etc. (Creation/Evolution?)
An address by Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith on Matthew 15:15-20; Proverbs 4:23
"Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith was one of few scientists in the world to have three earned doctorates. . . .
"A devout born-again Christian, a devoted husband and father of 5 children, a young-earth creationist, and a highly qualified organic chemist, he authored over 70 scientific publications and more than 30 books, some published in 17 languages. Many of today's leading creationists consider him a major influence in their own intellectual development, and call him a pioneer in anti-evolution arguments. See: testimonies about Wilder-Smith by Duane Gish and other scientists and intellectuals."
He talks at length here about the Yochelson/Samenow 14 year study of the criminally insane [annotated elsewhere], at St. Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94071422010
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The doctrine of the lesser magistrates, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Secret societies, Ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, Hypocrisy, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, "religious freedom," and neutrality, The courts, the law base, and the judicial system, Authority, Power, Bible magistracy, Leniency, Servant leadership, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Soteriology, atonement, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, The inspiration and infallibility of scripture (the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of plenary inspiration, the doctrine of divine inspiration, the doctrine of verbal inspiration, theopneustia, sufficiency of scripture), The ten commandments: the moral law, Trusting god, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Sexual relationship, Idolatry, syncretism, Sexual wholeness, The counter-reformation, Rebellion and lawlessness: wickedness, demonic possession, substance abuse, abnormal behavior, insanity, mental illness, mental retardation, Repentance the key to salvation and change,
Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Justifying faith, Forgiveness, Sanctification, The covenant faithfulness of god, The all-sufficiency of christ, Lordship of jesus christ, Christ's kingdom, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, The covenanted reformation, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, Covenanted reformation short title listing, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Treason and impeachment, Pride, ambition, self-aggrandizement, arrogance, ego, Anger, Rebellion and lawlessness: wickedness, demonic possession, substance abuse, abnormal behavior, insanity, mental illness, mental retardation, Satanism, The occult, Feminism,
The one and the many, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, War, Unfaithful reformed ministries, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Politics, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, The destruction of american liberty, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, The religion of secular humanism: man as god, human autonomy, Treason and impeachment, Anarchy, Politics, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 2005, 2006, 2129
*The Constitution has Already Been Terminated, John Whitehead, December 6, 2022
"As I make clear in my book BATTLEFIELD AMERICA: THE WAR ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE and in its fictional counterpart THE ERIK BLAIR DIARIES, when we forget that, when we allow the 'Me' of a self-absorbed, narcissistic, politically polarizing culture to override our civic duties as citizens to collectively stand up to tyranny and make the government play by the rules of the Constitution, there can be no surprise when tyranny rises and freedom falls."
https://bit.ly/3h6J3FC
The Departure From the Biblical View in Constitutional Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=82602124719
*Election Fraud in the United States
http://www.lettermen2.com/vfraud.html
Election Sermon: The Duty of Lower Magistrates in the Face of Tyranny (Ezekiel 22:27-31)
https://lessermagistrate.com/montana-election-sermon/
Gun Deaths are Cultural, B.J. Campbell, August 11, 2020
Gun suicides account for about two-thirds of gun deaths.
"My colleagues at Open Source Defense and I were recently pointed to a pretty amazing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) project hosted by The Oregonian, which uses CDC data and population rate data to determine the gun deaths rate, gun homicide rate, and gun suicide rate within the country on a county-by-county basis. They used data from 2004 through 2010 to have enough data to apply meaningfully to counties with sparse populations. They produced an interactive website, where you can zoom in to any area of the country. Anyone can go to the website itself and zoom in or around any of the maps in this article, to look at them yourself, and we encourage you to do so 'don't just take our word for it'."
https://www.recoilweb.com/geographic-evidence-that-gun-deaths-are-cultural-162216.html
*Techno-Authoritarianism is Here to Stay: China and the Deep State Have Joined Forces, John Whitehead, President at The Rutherford Institute, November 16, 2022
If this government ever became a tyranny, if a dictator ever took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back. -- Senator Frank Church"The votes are in.
Techno-authoritarianism, Totalitarian Paranoia
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrrappd.html#tchnoau
*Understanding Revolution and Revolutionaries, Peter Hammond, 7/9/2020
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19)
"The French Revolution was the prototype, which was followed by the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, the Cambodian Revolution, the Vietnamese Revolution, the Ethiopian Revolution, the Mozambiquan Revolution, the Angolan Revolution, the Zimbabwe Revolution and many others. In every case, they proved that yesterday's revolutionaries become tomorrow's tyrants and dictators. . . .
"As so many today seem entranced by the deceptive promises of communism, it is vital that we look again at why so many rose up in resistance against it.
"Over 30 years ago, the Iron Curtain fell, Soviet satellites broke free, the Soviet Union collapsed and the world rejoiced in a new birth of freedom.
"Yet, today, there is an entire generation who are apparently ignorant that they are being lied to and used, to advance a failed and evil system under the delusion that they are working for a better and more just world.
"Those of us who fought against communism during the Cold War need to remind the younger generation of the reality which destroys the modern propaganda narrative being taught on so many university campuses and broadcast under the guise of news on the mainstream/lame stream media.
"Communism is the most malicious and destructive system in the history of mankind.
"God's Covenant people have beaten it before and we must defeat communism again." -- Peter Hammond
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16)
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7132092506252
Understanding Revolution and Revolutionaries
https://vimeo.com/437799929
We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)It is this author's contention that the modern churches have let go of this important piece of the faith [Christ's Kingship over the nations -- compiler], once for all delivered to the saints. Thereby they have delivered the church, not to kings as nursing fathers, but to the cruel civil domination of the enemies of the true religion, their sheep being taught that they must submit passively to every pretended civil authority as the ordinance of God. By this defection, these leaders of the flock have also undermined the magistracy, allowing and even encouraging wicked men to remove this blessed ordinance from its foundation in God its creator, and from its subjection to Christ His King, thereby directly opposing God's benevolent ends in instituting civil government: Thus have [they] made the commandment of God of none effect by [their] tradition. . . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:6,9). Furthermore, by their false teaching regarding civil government, they have made themselves guilty of the very sin of which we are often accused: opposing the ordinance of God. If this wasn't enough, however, consider that their sin is worse than that of the garden variety rebel, inasmuch as their opposition to God's institution is not so much practical as it is principal; and because of their position as teachers and guides of the flock of God. Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. . . . For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. (James 3:1; 2 Cor. 13:8 [2 Corinthians 13:8]) -- Greg Price, Biblical Civil Government Verses the Beast, p. 64
We may very safely assert these two things in general without undermining government. One is that no civil rulers are to be obeyed when they enjoin things that are inconsistent with the commands of God. All such disobedience is lawful and glorious. Therefore, disobedience to them is a duty, not a crime. -- Jonathan Mayhew, writing in 1750
Barrow, Reg, John Knox, Oliver Cromwell, God's Law and the Reformation of Civil Government. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1, #25.
"Many consider Knox one of the greatest Reformers ever and God used him to win the nation of Scotland to Christ. Knox laid the foundations for the Covenanters that followed, and they in turn gave us the clearest foretaste of the millennium glory to come in the magnificent Solemn League and Covenant. Speaking of these Reformation attainments McFeeters notes, 'The fathers are worthy of all praise for this unprecedented effort to build the national government upon the true foundation of God's will, and administer it by men in Covenant with Jesus Christ, the King of kings. This was the first attempt to erect a Christian government, in which the fear of God should pervade every department and characterize every official.' (Sketches of the Covenanters, pp. 155-156). This book deals with some of Knox's most controversial political writings, demonstrating that he was what Barrow calls a 'historic' theonomist (like Rutherford and Gillespie after him). It also offers some fine tuning for 'modern' theonomists, which aims at leading them into the 'footsteps of the flock' and closer to the classic or historic Presbyterian/Covenanter view of law (and away from some of the anabaptist/libertarian tendencies that sometimes arise among modern theonomists). Numerous resources, recently published, dealing with civil disobedience and opposition to tyranny are also listed. The first appendix in this book contains Barrow's letter to Christian Renewal expressing his strong disagreement with an unfavorable and inaccurate review of Michael Wagner's Presbyterian Political Manifesto. In it he shows how the Reformers and their confessions of faith supported the civil establishment of the one true Christian religion, while at the same time publicly excluding Papist's, pagans and other heretics from places of civil rule (in countries blessed with the light of the gospel). The second appendix contains a series of letters dedicated to proving why Barrow calls Cromwell the 'Judas of the Covenant.' It demonstrates Cromwell's reckless abandon in violating his sacred vows to the Lord in the Solemn League and Covenant, while also showing why Cromwell's wicked, anti-Christian views concerning toleration and liberty of conscience led people away from Scriptural standards and helped open the floodgates to modern atheistic pluralism. In short, Cromwell was the prototype of our contemporary pragmatic politician, adept at equivocation and setting his own glory and government above all other concerns, including the glory and government of God. In this vein Barrow contends that Cromwell, unaffectionately dubbed the 'late usurper' by the covenanted Presbyterians of the mid seventeenth-century, was used of the devil to accomplish things in the civil and ecclesiastical realm that he (i.e. satan), could never have accomplished with the more obviously anti-Christian religions of that day (which were not pluralistic theologically, such Romanism, Episcopalianism, etc.). For Cromwell laid his axe of ungodly toleration and pretended liberty of conscience to the root of the tree of Covenanted Reformation in a much more subtle manner than the previous 'midwives to Antichrist,' and thus his sectarianism better served the devious designs of the devil during those days. This section also exposes Cromwell as a Erastian tyrant, a liar, and a dictator, who (with the help of his sectarian army), executed the covenanted Presbyterian minister Christopher Love (Cromwell's soldiers even threatened to shoot Thomas Manton for preaching at Love's funeral), sent many other Presbyterian ministers to jail (including Thomas Watson), disbanded the Scottish general assembly (at gunpoint), and eventually began negotiations with Papists (with the intent of granting them a measure of 'liberty' to more freely practice their superstitions and soul murder). This is not the view of Cromwell that you will hear from modern historians and theologians who have abandoned the context of Covenanted Reformation (how could it be?), for as Rushdoony has correctly pointed out, 'Men cannot give a meaning to history that they themselves lack, nor can they honor a past which indicts them for their present failures'." (A Biblical Philosophy of History, p. 135). -- Publisher
John Knox, Oliver Cromwell, God's Law and the Reformation of Civil Government
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Crom.htm
Buzzard, Lynn R., and Paula Campbell, Holy Disobedience: When Christians Must Resist the State, ISBN: 0892831847 9780892831845.
*Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (in the LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available on Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men. At the request of his brethren, Goodman subsequently published an expanded version of his exposition, HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED OF THEIR SUBJECTS: AND WHEREIN THEY MAY LAWFULLY BY GOD'S WORD BE DISOBEYED AND RESISTED. WHEREIN ALSO IS DECLARED THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS PRESENT MISERY IN ENGLAND, AND THE ONLY WAY TO REMEDY THE SAME. In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny.
"This new edition of SUPERIOR POWERS includes a scripture index, a subject index, a biographical essay on the life of Christopher Goodman, and the original foreword by William Whittingham." -- Publisher from Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library
"Very rare. One of the dozen most important political writings appearing in English in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Together with THE FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET and THE APPELLATION (retitled REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM in this catalogue), by John Knox, and Ponet's TREATISE OF POLITIQUE POWER, this book marks the first definite shift of opinion under the pressure of religion, away from the doctrine of almost unlimited obedience which characterized the political thought of the first half of the century laying the foundation for future ideas about civil disobedience. In that day, a proclamation of Philip and Mary had decreed the death of a rebel for anyone found in possession of the book." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
*Hall, David W., Savior or Servant? Putting Government in its Place, ISBN: 0965036715 9780965036719.
"SAVIOR OR SERVANT? is the single best volume of Christian thinking on the issue of the increasingly intrusive state . . . Theology at its very best: orthodox, relevant, and provocative." -- George Grant
"SAVIOR OR SERVANT? PUTTING GOVERNMENT IN ITS PLACE is an attempt to define the role of the state: Shall it be a minister or a Messiah? Using ancient but timeless information, David W. Hall has surveyed the Bible and arrived at a coherent theology of the state. This study succeeds in identifying the responsibilities that the civil state is mandated to do, permitted to do, and prohibited from doing. Along the way, it is discovered that all political schemes and issues are fraught with theological value. Moreover, the most enduring grid to keep government in its rightful place is found in the Bible. Drawing upon thousands of verses and hundreds of thinkers, this volume is comprehensive yet readable. Theologians from Augustine to Calvin and from Aquinas to Barth are studied and presented in a non-technical manner. The Christian who is interested in politics should absorb these summaries before launching out into unstudied political activism. Rather than adopting a politics-as-usual posture, Hall challenges partisans from the right and from the left. He summons Christians to the old paths, which God's Word has occupied for centuries. Discussed in these chapters are perennial matters of practical importance, such as: taxation; resistance to evil governments; methods of influence; the escalation of rights; limited government; moral qualities for leaders; separation of powers. This book will provide excellent fodder for discussion and guidance. It returns spiritual principles to their place, while seeking to put government in its proper place.
"SAVIOR OR SERVANT? is a revival of a classic approach to limited government. In a time when nations are finally beginning to shrink bloated governments, a surprising source commends itself as an able assistant in reform. The scriptural view of the state, removed from the varied fads of political science, provides an enduring perspective by which to measure all states. This study begins with a survey of biblical teaching on pressing matters of state today. Following the contours of the Old and New Testaments, SAVIOR OR SERVANT? calls all levels of government to a servant posture, rather than allowing officials to dominate. A historical tracing of the best and most pertinent that theology has to offer on the subject is contained in these pages." -- Publisher
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), and Kevin Reed (editor), The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment [Government], of Women, with the "Summary of the Second Blast" appended (Dallas, TX [Presbyterian Heritage Publications, P.O. Box 180922, 75218-0922]: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1993), trade paperback, 96 pages, marginal notes, scripture index, and subject index. This edition appears in three additional formats: SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX: PUBLIC EPISTLES, TREATISES, AND EXPOSITIONS TO THE YEAR 1559, pp. 370-436, the LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY, and e-text that includes the marginal notes as endnotes, but does not include the scripture index, and subject index. Citations for these three additional formats are listed below.
"The text of this edition is based on the definitive edition of THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, edited by David Laing (Edinburgh, 1895).
"In this controversial work, John Knox contends that 'to promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature, contumely [insult], to God, a thing most contrary to his revealed will and approved ordinance; and finally, it is the subversion of good order, of all equity and justice'." -- Publisher
Subheading used in this edition:
To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature . . . A thing most contrary to His revealed will and approved ordinance. -- John Knox"The 16th century reformer John Knox wrote his famous tract THE FIRST BLAST OF THE TRUMPET AGAINST THE MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN to oppose a notorious European female tyrant who sought to stamp out biblical Christianity in his beloved Scotland.
Knox, John (1505-1572), John Knox Debates Theonomy, Idolatry and Civil Resistance in the General Assembly of 1564. Available (singly or in WORKS OF JOHN KNOX on the Puritan Hard Drive. The full printed version of this text is free online. "Excerpted from Knox's THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND, BOOK IV. From THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, VOLUME 2, pages 425-461, collected and edited by David Laing, 1854."
" 'Perhaps the most thoroughgoing Calvinist,' writes W. Stanford Reid in (Christian History, Vol. 5, No. 4), 'who took the teacher's (Calvin -- RB), ideas to their logical conclusions, was the Scot, John Knox.' This debate is a perfect example of Knox's consistent Calvinism. In fact one wonders about a person's claim to consistent Calvinism at all if he denies the sovereignty of God in the civil arena (i.e. by denying the applicability of the first table of the law, especially the first two commandments, to the realm of the civil magistrate -- along with their penal sanctions as displayed in the Judicial laws of the Old Testament). Knox certainly did not shrink back from the binding nature of the law on these points. He even openly proclaimed, in this debate, that the death penalty should be carried out against idolaters -- and this was in the context of debating the Queen's Mass and her favoring the idolatry of Romanism. With boldness like this, it is easy to see why it was said over Knox's open grave, 'here lies a man who neither flattered nor feared any flesh.' This debate shows conclusively that Knox was a theonomist, in the sense that he believed in the continuing binding validity of OT penal sanctions. Moreover it demonstrates that it is the duty of all ministers to preach that the civil magistrate is bound to uphold the law of God and promote and protect only the one true Reformed religion. Furthermore Knox argued, from the OT, that to tolerate public idolatry is to disobey God and bring a curse upon the land. Though Knox's REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM is his most important political writing, this debate displays the very same principles, as Knox applied them in 'the heat of battle,' against the queen's secretary, William Maitland of Lethington. This particular debate, as well as many other large sections, are edited out of THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND as presently reprinted by The Banner of Truth Trust. However, this debate can also be found in the bound photocopy edition of volume 2 of KNOX'S WORKS or, with contemporary spelling and punctuation, in ON REBELLION (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994, see page XX in this catalogue). Reid (Trumpeter of God, pp. 234-235), notes that 'the implications of this debate were far-reaching' and that 'as far as Knox personally was concerned, this debate also marked a turning point in his career.' Also of great importance was the situation that occurred 'when Maitland quoted Luther, Musculus, Calvin, and others to support the requirement of absolute obedience, Knox replied that they either spoke in a situation in which they had no power to resist the ruler or they were refuting arguments of Anabaptists who rejected all civil government. Unfaithful rulers could therefore be removed by the people if they had the power to do so. In this position he was supported by John Craig, his colleague in St. Giles, and by most, although not all, of the other ministers.' (Reid, Trumpeter of God, p. 234). As present civil governments continue to promote defiance of the laws of 'the Prince of the kings of the Earth,' our great King the Lord Jesus Christ, these arguments will become more and more useful, among those who seek to obey the Lord in all matters." -- Publisher
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law and much more. "
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
Palmer, Herbert (1601-1647), Scripture and Reason Pleaded for Defensive Arms, 1643. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Herbert Palmer was a member of the Westminster Assembly. According to Thomas Smith in the book SELECT MEMOIRS OF THE LIVES, LABOURS, AND SUFFERINGS, OF THOSE PIOUS AND LEARNED ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH DIVINES . . . Palmer 'was for a Presbyterian form of church government.' (p. 583). He became master of Queen's college, Cambridge, in 1644, and he knew the value of good books.
"He endeavoured, by all means, to have the college library furnished with good authors; for which he readily gave himself, and excited others to give considerable sums. Moreover, certain dues, payable to the college, which had been formerly expended in feasting, he converted to the purchase of valuable books for the library." (p. 584)
"This book by Palmer defends the Scriptural view that people can exercise their right to self-defense against tyrannical civil rulers, and was apparently written to defend the English Parliament's right to defend itself against the evil King Charles I.
"Romans 13 is often misused to justify the authority of any existing civil ruler (even evil tyrants like Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein at times), and therefore condemn as unscriptural any resistance to him. But Palmer points out that such an argument is not the true meaning of the passage:
In a word, till God's Ordinance can be proved allowing tyranny (which can never be), or undeniably ordaining a man to suffer it, which is no where in His Word (I mean the extremity of tyranny depriving of life, or so), though often it is so in His providence, when he affords no means of resistance: This text of the Apostle will no way condemn the resisting by arms tyrannous and illegal outrageous violences. (p. 5)"Romans 13 only condemns resistance to lawful magistrates, not tyrants. If Romans 13 granted scriptural protection to tyrants, then 'the blessed Ordinance of God in Magistracy shall turn to the greatest curse to mankind (the best and most conscientious of them), that can be imagined, in regard of outward sufferings, and general confusion.' (p. 6). In verse 4 of Romans 13 [Romans 13:4], the magistrate is described as 'the Minister of God to thee for good.' Palmer asks, 'But is this true of a tyrant bent to subvert Religion, Laws, and Liberties? Is he the Minister of God to thee for good? Or the Minister of his own lusts rather, for evil? Resistance of such an one then, is not the resistance the Apostle forbids, but of one who is the conservatour of Religion, for he, and he only is the Minister of God to thee for good.' (p. 9)
An open and public resistance by arms, is the last refuge under Heaven, of an oppressed, and endangered nation. Many injuries are to be let pass, while appearing but personal, not political, or designed as precedents. Jealousies are not to be suddenly taken up, nor too deeply taken in: And all possible means of redress and satisfaction is to be endeavoured before this course be taken." (p. 80) -- Publisher
*Price, Greg L., Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"This is the best modern testimony for the biblical principles of civil magistracy -- which were so prominent during the height of the Second Reformation -- that we have seen. Price documents the teachings of many of the major Reformers (and some of the church fathers), and in an easy reading manner simplifies what can at times become a very complex subject. This particular Reformation message, proclaiming Christ's Kingship over the nations (and the practical outworking of the same), has been buried from the view of the general public for some time now, but is once again being brought to light in this very helpful introductory book. A sobering appendix has been added (written by a friend of the Covenanted Reformation), which shows why it is unlawful for a Christian to swear any oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. This appendix also compares the points of difference between classic (or historic), Reformed teaching and modern Reformed teaching regarding magistracy and religion. Special attention is given to the OPC, the PCA and the RPCNA and the changes that these groups have made to Second Reformation confessional standards (concerning matters related to the civil magistrate). Statements by B.B. Warfield are also contrasted to the older Reformed views. You won't find a better easy-to-read and easy to understand introduction to this important topic -- a topic which impacts directly on every Christian's testimony for the crown rights of King Jesus!" -- Publisher
"It is this author's contention that the modern churches have let go of this important piece of the faith [Christ's Kingship over the nations -- compiler], once for all delivered to the saints. Thereby they have delivered the church, not to kings as nursing fathers, but to the cruel civil domination of the enemies of the true religion, their sheep being taught that they must submit passively to every pretended civil authority as the ordinance of God. By this defection, these leaders of the flock have also undermined the magistracy, allowing and even encouraging wicked men to remove this blessed ordinance from its foundation in God its creator, and from its subjection to Christ His King, thereby directly opposing God's benevolent ends in instituting civil government: Thus have [they] made the commandment of God of none effect by [their] tradition. . . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:6,9). Furthermore, by their false teaching regarding civil government, they have made themselves guilty of the very sin of which we are often accused: opposing the ordinance of God. If this wasn't enough, however, consider that their sin is worse than that of the garden variety rebel, inasmuch as their opposition to God's institution is not so much practical as it is principal; and because of their position as teachers and guides of the flock of God. 'Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. . . . For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.' (James 3:1; II Cor. 13:8 [2 Corinthians 13:8]) -- Greg Price, Biblical Civil Government Verses the Beast, p. 64
Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance, Greg Price
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/BibCG_GP.htm
Synopsis of Scriptural Magistracy and Evaluation of the U.S. Constitution, Appendix B: The United States Constitution: and Classic Verses Modern Reformed Teachings Concerning Magistracy and Religion. Found in BIBLICAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT VERSUS THE BEAST; AND, THE BASIS FOR CIVIL RESISTANCE. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Price, Greg L., Biblical Civil Rule Expounded (Micah 3:1-4), audio [audio file], series. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Following in the footsteps of Samuel Rutherford, when he said, 'Truth to Christ cannot be treason to Caesar' LEX, REX, Price here demonstrates why Covenanters love lawful civil magistrates and why they can't own the authority of unlawful civil rulers. He also answers a number of questions on the Scriptural view of civil authority. What is a faithful civil magistrate? How do we recognize an unfaithful civil governor? Should a Christian vote in covenant breaking lands? How should we pray for lawful and unlawful civil rulers? Why should we distinguish between the office and the person in the office, and what does this mean? When should we consider an unjust ruler or government a tyrant and what should we do about tyranny? How does this relate to Reformation eschatology? Calvin, Rutherford, the Synod of Dort [Dordt], the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646], Diodati's Annotations, the Belgic Confession and many other Reformation standards and authors are cited to witness to the biblical position on civil rule. Objections against the biblical Reformation position are also answered, while Price shows the importance of faithful civil rulers to national and international Reformation." -- Publisher
*Price, Greg L., Covenant Theology and its Implications. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27 and #28.
"An easy-to-understand introduction to the basics of Covenant Theology. Explains what Covenant Theology is, while adducing a number of practical and theological implications which must follow when this view of Scripture is adopted. Shows how Covenant Theology is (and was), foundational to all true Reformation. Refutes Dispensationalism. Includes overviews (with Scripture proofs), of the covenant of Redemption, the covenant of Works and the covenant of Grace. In short, Price proclaims the classic Reformed position on covenants (and the implications of covenant theology), as it has been declared in the best Reformed Confessions (e.g. The Westminster Confession of Faith [1646]) and in books like THE MARROW OF MODERN DIVINITY (by Fisher and Boston), THE COVENANT OF LIFE OPENED (by Samuel Rutherford), THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OPENED and THE ARK OF THE TESTAMENT OPENED by Patrick Gillespie and THE LIFE OF JUSTIFICATION OPENED (by John Brown of Wamphray). This is the best single tape sermon on Covenant Theology that we have knowledge of." -- Publisher
Covenant Theology and its Implications a sermon by Greg Price
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=22801202653
*Price, Greg L., The Extent of God's Law, Antichrist, Beastly Civil Governments, the Family, Christian Education, Contentment and the Eight Commandment, MP3. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"An amazing unfolding of the eighth commandment, as well as the rest of the decalogue, which includes numerous specific applications to various areas of thought and life (most relevant to the contemporary Christian). Price explains how to avoid the extremes of legalism and antinomianism, while expounding the classic Reformed view of the law as it applies to the individual, family, church and state." -- Publisher
*Renwick, James (1662-1688), The Right of Dissent From an Immoral Civil Government. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18, #26.
"Maintains the hard-core covenanter position, the great principle of dissent and separation from immoral civil governments. Argues that mere existence does not qualify a civil government as the ordinance of God. (Romans 13:2). Answers common objections to this position, including how Joseph, Nehemiah and Daniel could hold office under immoral civil governments. Renwick was a hunted Covenanter minister, who was martyred (at 26 years of age), for his uncompromising defense of the work of covenanted reformation. Willson's book, CIVIL GOVERNMENT and Samuel B. Wylie's softcover book TWO SONS OF OIL: OR, THE FAITHFUL WITNESS FOR MAGISTRACY AND MINISTRY UPON A SCRIPTURAL BASIS, both give much lengthier defenses of this position." -- Publisher
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion, 1853. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25.
"Excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM below, this book deals with the inescapable necessity, of the demand found in the Word of God, for the Civil establishment of Christ as King and Lawgiver over every nation on earth. If you are sick of the cease-fire with humanism, set forth by the syncretistic, Satanic and pragmatic pagan politicians of our day (those who bargain with votaries of Antichrist [the Pope], publicly tolerate all manner of false religions (e.g. Islam), and idolatry, and comprise their policy and draw their pretended authority from the beast [and not the Word of God], this book is for you! For all pagan politics is summed up in the words of the Cameronian (Covenanter) political philosopher Alexander Shields, as 'rotting away under the destructive distempers of detestable neutrality, loathsome lukewarmness, declining, and decaying in corruptions, defections, divisions, distractions, confusions; and so judicially infatuated with darkness and delusions, that they forget and forego the necessary testimony of the day.' (A Hind let Loose, 1797 edition, p. 20). Pick up this book and begin the political walk in the 'footsteps of the flock,' traveling the covenanting road of Reformation and Scripture (with the magisterial Reformers of the past)!" -- Publisher
On the Duty of Covenanting and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants.
Being Section 11 in THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM by William L. Roberts
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PresCatCov.htm
A Hind let Loose; Or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose: or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ: With the True State Thereof in all its Periods, Shields, Alexander
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
Sage, Bernard Janin, The Republic of Republics: Or, American Federal Liberty (Crown Rights Book Company, 2003, 1878).
"This is one of the most comprehensive treatises ever published on the doctrine of State sovereignty and the inherent right of a State to secede from the Union. Written by an English barrister who was to have been one of Jefferson Davis' counsel in the treason trial which never occurred, this book compiles extensive quotations from the earliest American statesmen, both before and after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, which prove beyond all argument that the American people were never organized into a consolidated democracy, but had existed in their colonial condition as separate political bodies and continued to do so after their independence from Great Britain. The author singles out the tortured logic of Webster and Lincoln for heavy criticism, and shows that allegiance and treason are terms which have no meaning constitutionally if not in reference to a sovereign State. Also included are nine lengthy appendices outlining the ordaining acts of the original thirteen States in the Union, the changes made to the Constitution by the Southern States in 1861, the original forms of the Tenth Amendment, a review of Alexander Stephens' CONSTITUTIONAL VIEW OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, etc." -- Crown Rights Books Company
*Shields, Alexander (1660?-1700), A Hind let Loose, or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland for the Interest of Christ With the True State Thereof in all its Periods. Together with a Vindication of the Present Testimony Against Popish, Prelatical, and Malignant Enemies of That Church, as it is now Stated, for the Prerogatives of Christ, Privileges of the Church, and Liberties of Mankind; and Sealed by the Sufferings of a Reproached Remnant of Presbyterians There, Witnessing Against the Corruptions of the Time: Wherein Several Controversies of Greatest Consequence Are Enquired Into, and in Some Measure Cleared; Concerning Hearing of the Curates, Owning of the Present Tyranny, Taking of Ensnaring Oaths and Bonds, Frequenting of Field-Meetings, Defensive Resistance of Tyrannical Violence, With Several Other Subordinate Questions Useful for These Times, 1797, 1744, 1687. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #2, #26.
"First printed in 1687 (near the end of the 'killing times'), we have used the 1797 edition for this rare bound photocopy because all of the Latin has been translated into English (an obvious improvement for English readers). This rare Covenanter classic, concerning Calvinistic political philosophy and tactics of civil resistance, is comparable to Samuel Rutherford's LEX, REX; in fact it could rightly be referred to as 'Lex, Rex volume two.' It is solidly in the line of John Knox's teachings on civil disobedience and addresses numerous topics that are relevant to today's Christian. 'In A HIND LET LOOSE, Shields justified the Cameronian resistance to royal absolutism and the divine right of kings. He argued that government is divinely ordained, but the people are entitled to bring a king to judgement for wrongdoing. Parliament is commissioned by the people to oversee the nation's affairs, but the compact between the people and their rulers does not entail a forfeiture of the people's power to depose tyrants and confer authority on someone else. Government is by consent, and must justify itself to the consciences of the people. God has given men the right of self defence, and this extends to a right not only passively to resist, but also to kill relentless persecutors' writes Isbell in the DICTIONARY OF SCOTTISH CHURCH HISTORY AND THEOLOGY, p. 773.
"Controversial chapter titles include: 'Concerning Owning of Tyrants Authority;' 'Defensive Arms Vindicated;' 'Of Extraordinary Execution of Judgement by Private Men;' and 'Refusing to Pay Wicked Taxation Vindicated.' This book sets forth the Crown rights of King Jesus, against all usurpers in both church and state, giving a history of some of faithful sufferings endured by the elect, in maintaining this truth. It bears testimony against 'the popish, prelatical and malignant enemies' of Christ and proclaims the only true basis of liberty for mankind. 'The matter is argued with a vast abundance of Biblical illustration, and with much reference to Reformation and Puritan divines. It should be consulted, if practicable, by all who wish fully to understand the inner spirit of the Covenanting Movement,' writes Purves in FAIR SUNSHINE. (p. 202). Isbell interestingly notes that Shields was once 'amanuensis to the English Puritan John Owen'." -- Publisher
A Hind let Loose; Or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose: or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ: With the True State Thereof in all its Periods, Shields, Alexander
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
Wagner, Michael, A Presbyterian Political Manifesto: Presbyterianism and Civil Government. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 and #25.
"Philosophical considerations alone should not be considered sufficient to prove that an establishment of religion is a moral obligation. For Christians only the Bible can be accepted as the foundation for any belief, not only those beliefs related to 'spiritual' matters, but also those related to political issues. The critical question, then, for Christians is, 'Does the Bible teach the necessity of the establishment of the Christian religion?' The Bible does indeed demonstrate the need for an establishment of Christianity, and the Old Testament in particular provides the Biblical basis for the concept of an established church. In Old Testament times there was a pervasive cooperation between church and state, and that pattern was not abrogated in the New Testament.
"In the New Testament the passage with the most explicit teaching on civil government is probably Romans 13. In that chapter it is explained that political rulers 'are ordained of God' (v. 1 [Romans 13:1]); 'they are God's ministers' (v. 6 [Romans 13:6]), who must reward good and punish evil (vv. 3-4 [Romans 13:3,4]). This raises an important question: by what standard is the ruler to distinguish 'good' from 'evil?' Clearly, that standard can only be the Bible. How can rulers be God's ministers and yet not rule according to God's will? In other words, Romans 13:1-6 teaches not only that God has instituted civil government, but also that the rulers must govern according to the Word of God. The Bible is not only the exclusive rule of faith and practice for the church, but also for the state. With the Bible being the standard for the civil authorities, it is unmistakable that Christianity is the foundation of the law order, i.e., the established religion in this sense. Romans 13, then, at least in a general way, teaches the necessity of the establishment of Christianity.
"At this point it is important to be more specific about what is being proposed as the Biblical concept of established religion. The Bible teaches a cooperation between church and state that has been variously called the 'Scottish Theory of Ecclesiastical Establishments' (Smeaton 1875), the 'Establishment Principle' (Brown n.d., 1), and other similar terms.
"The Establishment Principle, or the Principle of the National Recognition of Religion maintains the scriptural view of the universal supremacy of Christ as King of Nations as well as King of saints, with the consequent duty of nations as such, and civil rulers in their official capacity, to honour and serve Him by recognizing His Truth and promoting His cause (Brown n.d., 1).
"As William Cunningham explains it, 'an obligation lies upon nations and their rulers to have respect, in the regulation of their national affairs, and in the application of national resources, to the authority of God's word, to the welfare of the church of Christ, and the interests of true religion' ([1882] 1991a, 391). What is being maintained here is that the true church of Christ, and the civil authorities (both in submission to their common Lord), have as their goal the promotion of God's glory and true Christianity, and that they should work together for the promotion of this common goal. On the one hand, they should be allied together, but on the other hand, they should remain completely sovereign in their respective jurisdictions."
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/presbpol.htm
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7 (1853), ISBN: 0524079293 9780524079294. Alternate title: THE ESTABLISHMENT AND LIMITS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT: AN EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 13:1-7. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in THE DEACON: AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE, DUTIES AND EXERCISE OF THE OFFICE OF DEACON, IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
"Does the Bible give any qualifications for Christians to judge whether or not a given civil magistrate is a lawful or unlawful 'power' in the eyes of God? Does the very existence of a civil 'power' (say Hitler's Nazi state), make them a legitimate government according to Romans 13? Or, can a civil government obtain its 'power' from 'the beast' -- as some 'churches' do? Should civil 'authorities' be judged according to the secret or revealed will of God? This is a fine piece of exegetical work, well nigh irrefutable, arguing that God has given clear revelation regarding the lawfulness and unlawfulness of any given civil magistrate. Willson's Scriptural conclusion will surprise many, anger not a few, and, we believe, be found honoring to God. Though the book is easy reading, these are deep waters with implications that are among the most far-reaching. It is a very controversial publication based on the idea that 'unholy republics refuse to acknowledge Him (Christ) as Lord of all.' This failure to covenant with Christ, as nations, exposes the fact that these national governments are the enemies of Christ (as with the individual or church who will not covenant with Christ). They are thus in violation of the first commandment and therefore treasonous usurpers who will not have the one true king to rule over them. Their laws and actions bare this out, as they refuse to rule by the law of God, but rather, as dupes of Satan, rule by their own autonomous standards. And, though it is their duty to be a terror to evil and promote the good, they, in the main, do the opposite. They protect and support murders (e.g. abortionists), continence and permit perversity (e.g. homosexuality, pornography, etc.), and take no action to establish the Reformed faith (but rather extend constitution rights to all manner of cults, sectarians, satanists and Roman Catholics) -- to name but a few of the more obvious areas of government rebellion against King Jesus. Willson's father's application of the principles put forth in this book are found just below as they related to the United States government specifically. Knox, Rutherford and Gillespie would be proud!" -- Publisher
Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/2/civil-government-an-eexposition-of-romans-xiii-1-7
*Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Subjection of Kings and Nations to Messiah, 1820. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #13, #29.
"A lengthy sermon of 64 pages preached Dec. 6, 1819. Based on the text: All Kings shall bow down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Psalm 72:11). Maintains that this text refers to a commanded duty, concerning Christ not Solomon, and should be translated Let all kings bow down before him: Let all nations serve him. Explains this national duty, inquires as to how it is to be nationally preformed, then proceeds to make practical application of the subject. Shows that nations have a duty, as nations, to bind themselves to Christ by covenant, to consecrate themselves to Him, to swear allegiance to Him (as their King and Lord), and to obey all His holy law! Furthermore, Willson maintains that it is a great sin for nations to remain in rebellion against Christ by not performing these duties. He also demonstrates how and why a high-handed sin of this nature brings corporate guilt upon the nation. Moreover, this sin provokes God to wrath (as seen in an escalation of national calamities), until the day, barring repentance, that the national 'cup of wrath' overflows. Also contains helpful direction regarding the individual's social responsibility as a Christian in times of national corporate defection from Christ's crown and covenant (i.e in times exactly like those that we live in)." -- Publisher
The Subjection of Kings and Nations to Messiah, 1820
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-subjection-of-kings-and-nations-to-messiah
Wylie, Samuel B. (1773-1852), The Obligation of Covenants: A Discourse, Delivered, Monday, June 27, 1803, After the Dispensation of the Lord's Supper, in the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, Glasgow. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Obligation of Covenants
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/samuel-b-wylies-sermon-on-the-obligation-of-covenants
*Wylie, Samuel B. (1773-1852), The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis (1850 edition, reprinted 1995). A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #13, #26.
"A Covenanter classic opening Revelation 11:3,4 and Zechariah 4:14. It has been hailed as the 'best presentation of the position of the Covenanter Church that has been written.' Noting that the 'time has been, when the whole body of Presbyterians, in Scotland, England, and Ireland, unanimously subscribed' to these principles, 'for civil and ecclesiastical reformation' and that thousands bled and died for the glorious covenanted cause of civil and ecclesiastical reformation; Wylie sets out to explain and defend 'that cause. Not because it is an ancient cause; not because many have sealed it with their blood; but, because,' as he says, 'I thought it the doctrine of the Bible, and the cause of Christ.' This book explains how to tell if a government (especially a civil government), is faithful to Christ and thus to be obeyed for conscience's sake. It also gives direction regarding when and how to resist (and disassociate), yourself from governments which get their power from 'the beast.' Moreover, this book gives clear testimony as to what the Bible requires of civil magistrates, noting 'that civil rulers should exercise their power in protecting and defending the religion of Jesus.' It also gives plain reasons why dissent from the government of the United States (and other covenant breaking nations), is the legitimate Scriptural pattern." -- Publisher
The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis, Samuel B. Wylie
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/two-sons-of-oil.htm
The two Sons of oil, or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis (1850), Samuel Brown Wylie and James McLeod Willson
http://archive.org/details/twosonsofoilorfa00wylirich
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The mediatorial reign of christ and the crown rights of christ, Church and state, Christianity and democracy, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Covenanting in america, The christian foundation of america, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 2551
The Christian and Politics #01: The Christian Heritage of America (English Background)Civil Government, Civil Resistance, God's Law, etc.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1270518267The Christian and Politics #02: The Christian Heritage of America (American Background)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1270518276The Christian and Politics #03: The Essence of Our Christian Heritage
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182811The Christian and Politics #04: Enemies of our Christian Heritage #1
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182945The Christian and Politics #05: Enemies of our Christian Heritage #2
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183035The Christian and Politics #06: The Effects of Deism and Democracy on our Christian Heritage
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183120The Christian and Politics #07: Evaluating Political Positions in Light of the Sovereign Word of God #1
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183227The Christian and Politics #08: Evaluating Political Positions in Light of the Sovereign Word of God #2
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183324The Christian and Politics #09: The Place of Biblical Law in our Society #1
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183429The Christian and Politics #10: The Place of Biblical Law in Our Society #2
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183645The Christian and Politics #11: Summary
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183720
Reformation Civil Government, Reg Barrow. Available on CD #1-30, the Reformation Bookshelf 30 CD Set, ISBN: 0921148674 9780921148678.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/RefCG_RB.htm
Reformed Presbytery in North America (RPNA, and related books and documents on Presbyterian Reformed teaching)
http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformed-presbytery-rpna.htm
Samuel Rutherford (Covenanter and Westminster Divine)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/freebook/sruther.htm
*Brown, David (1803-1897), Christ's Second Coming, Will it be Millennial? ISBN: 0801008336 9780801008337. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #13.
"Brown (1803-1897), is the Brown of the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. He was a director of the National Bible Society of Scotland.
"This book is post-millennial, and it is considered by most post-mil believers as a classic. Especially it is seen as completely demolishing the pre-mil position, including, of course, the dispensational view. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
*Crenshaw, Curtis, and Glover Gunn, Dispensationalism: Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow.
"The . . . book is written from a covenantal, Reformed position. The authors reached that point from dispensational training simply by letting the Scripture speak for itself, as they were led by the Spirit. The book should serve as a standard in understanding and dealing with dispensationalism. It shows what is wrong with the system, and how untrue is its claim of fidelity to Scripture." -- Joseph M. Canfield
*Durham, James (1622-1658), A Complete Commentary Upon the Book of Revelation, 1799, 2 volumes. Alternate title: A COMMENTARY UPON THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION, WHEREIN THE TEXT IS EXPLAINED, THE SERIES OF THE SEVERAL PROPHECIES CONTAINED IN THAT BOOK DEDUCED ACCORDING TO THEIR ORDER AND DEPENDENCE UPON EACH OTHER, THE PERIODS AND SUCCESSION OF TIMES, AT, OR ABOUT WHICH, THESE PROPHECIES, THAT ARE ALREADY FULFILLED, BEGAN TO BE, AND WERE MORE FULLY ACCOMPLISHED, FIXED AND APPLIED ACCORDING TO HISTORY, AND THOSE THAT ARE YET TO BE FULFILLED, MODESTLY, AND SO FAR AS IS WARRANTABLE, INQUIRED INTO. TOGETHER WITH SOME PRACTICAL OBSERVATION, AND SEVERAL DIGRESSIONS (AN INDEX WHEREOF IS PREFIXED), NECESSARY FOR VINDICATING, CLEARING, AND CONFIRMING MANY WEIGHTY AND IMPORTANT TRUTHS. DELIVERED IN SEVERAL LECTURES, TO WHICH IS AFFIXED A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE REVELATION, WITH AN ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF THE CHIEF AND PRINCIPAL PURPOSES AND WORDS CONTAINED IN THIS COMMENTARY, 1680. Second alternate title: A LEARNED AND COMPLETE COMMENTARY UPON THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"In 1779, in their TESTIMONY AND WARNING AGAINST THE BLASPHEMIES AND IDOLATRY OF POPERY, the Reformed Presbytery called Durham's COMPLETE COMMENTARY . . . ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION 'the best exposition of that book that has yet been published.' (p. 61n). Had they had the privilege of reading Steele's NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE we are quite certain that they would have given it a similar endorsement. . . .
" 'After all that has been written it would not be easy to find a more sensible and instructive work than this old-fashioned exposition . . . the mystery of the Gospel fills it with sweet savour' writes Spurgeon of this work." (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 318 -- Publisher
See also:
Alexander M'Leod, Lectures Upon the Principal Prophecies of the Revelation.
Steele, David (1803-1887), Notes on the Apocalypse
http://archive.org/details/notesonapocalyps00stee
Steele, David, Notes on the Apocalypse
http://archive.org/details/notesontheapocal14485gut
Hay Fleming, David (1849-1931), The Rise and Fall of the Papacy, ISBN: 0837083397 9780837083391. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"Originally published in 1701. The first of these discourses has been the most celebrated. It arrested public notice, and awakened the interest of Europe. After laying down the principle upon which the author conceived the Apocalypse should be interpreted, he explained the pouring out of the fourth vial with reference to anti-Christian France, fixing 1794 as the date of the expiration of the vial. When the French Revolution took place it was then remembered that it had been so predicted by a forgotten Scottish pastor. The work was reprinted both in England and America, translated into different languages, and once more fell out of sight till the revolution of 1848 led to a fresh perusal. Referring to Italy, the author wrote: 'The Fifth vial, which is to be poured out upon the seat of the Beast will probably begin about 1794 and expire about the year 1848.' The downfall of the Papacy, according to Fleming, is going on; the Mohammedan Antichrist will follow, and about A.D. 2000 (Jewish reckoning, about 2017 on the Julian calendar -- RB), the millennial epoch will begin. In that memorable year (1848) the Pope was compelled to become a fugitive from Rome; and it was certainly a striking coincidence.' (Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, 371). 'A reprint,' wrote The Patriot, 'of one of the most remarkable and sagacious works extant on the subject of unfulfilled prophecy, deserving a perusal as a succinct, learned, and eminently devout exposition of the Apocalypse.' Reprinted without abridgement from the 1701 edition." -- Publisher
Knodel, R.E., Jr., LifeStyle: A Biblical/Philosophical Study of Christianity and the Culture it Produces, ISBN: 9781477122006 9781477122013 147712201X 9781477122020 1477122028 1477122001.
"With the publication of LIFESTYLE, culturologist/philosopher R.E. Knodel, Jr. makes a major contribution to this debate involving politicians, philosophers, foreign policy experts, and theologians. Drawing on philosophical analysis and studies of Christendom, Knodel defends the notion that God himself established this concept in creation; and that refusal to recognize this genius cuts us off from the culture of freedom, productivity and prosperity that people desire.
"Dr. Knodel uses the stencil of the creation in the Book of Genesis and finds an embedded philosophical principle that keys the cultural enterprise. It reveals a divine mandate for seeing unity in the often hostile dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. This both challenges and motivates as one sees the turmoil of both church and culture at the onset of the 21st century. Knodel begins with his definition and then argues the sense of it. Succeeding chapters analyze Christendom's past cultural failures, show how Christ is a key to world development and survey competing definitions -- even that of Islam.
"A well-crafted, cerebral literary masterpiece, LIFESTYLE is packed with wisdom and inspiration -- a unique work that propels readers to bring their gifts to every future human endeavor, for the glory of the God. It is a must read for those who are serious about life and the cultural enterprise." -- Publisher
"I deal with this issue under my discussion of 'pluralism,' distinguishing between Capital 'P' macro-pluralism (bad) and lower case 'p' micro-pluralism (often good). Pluralism of the 'Capital variety' involves major ideas of theological or philosophical variety; lower case pluralism involves other issues as discussed above. Liberalism and Progressivism love to equivocate over (confuse) these two categories, so that Satan has equal ultimacy with the God of the Bible. Once confusion has been achieved, then they overtly favor the satanic -- which is our lot today!" -- The author, R.E. Knodel, Jr., in Lifestyle, pp. 152-153, footnote 201
Mason, Archibald (d. 1831), The Fall of Babylon the Great, by the Agency of Christ, and Through the Instrumentality of His Witnesses: In Four Discourses, 1821. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"This book is made up of six sermons and one lengthy lecture. The first two sermons (on Rev. 8:5 [Revelation 8:5]), deal with 'Christ the Mediatorial Angel, Casting the Fire of Divine Judgments Into the Earth.' The next two sermons (on Rev. 11:6 [Revelation 11:6]), treat 'Christ's Two Witnesses Smiting the anti-Christian Earth With All Plagues, As Often As They Will.' The first four sermons cover 112 pages. These works are followed with 'Remarks on the Sixth Vial, Symbolizing the Fall of the Turkish Empire' on Rev. 16:12 [Revelation 16:12], (24 pages), 'Remarks on the Seventh Vial, Symbolizing the Fall of Popery and Despotism' Rev. 16:17 [Revelation 16:17], and 21:5,6 [Revelation 21:5,6], (24 pages), and the final discourse, 'Observations on the Public Covenants Between God and the Church' (104 pages), taking off from, 'They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers' (Jer. 11:10 [Jeremiah 11:10]). David Steele, in his classic NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE includes Mason among his list of 'distinguished and approved interpreters of the book of Revelation'." -- Publisher
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), Lectures Upon the Principal Prophecies of the Revelation, 1814. Alternate title: WHO IS ANTICHRIST (666) OR, LECTURES UPON THE PRINCIPAL PROPHECIES OF THE REVELATION, 1814. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #12.
"M'Leod, a Reformed Presbyterian, here defends (in 480 pages), classic historicist Reformation eschatology from the book of Revelation. David Steele, in his massive NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE commends this work numerous times. Steele writes, 'the best works to be obtained as helps to understand the prophetic parts of scripture, will be found in the labors of those who, from age to age, have obeyed the gracious call of Christ' -- who have 'come out from mystic Babylon,' from the Romish communion, from the mother and her harlot daughters, and who have associated more or less intimately with the witnesses. Among these may be consulted with profit the works of Durham, Mason and M'Leod (p. 312). The late Rev. Alexander M'Leod, D.D., who had the works of learned predecessors before him, has successfully corrected many of their misinterpretations in his valuable publication, entitled LECTURES UPON THE PRINCIPAL PROPHECIES OF THE REVELATION. At the time when he wrote that work, he possessed several advantages in aid of his own expositions. He had access to the most valuable works which had been issued before that date (1814). He was then in the vigor of youthful manhood; and he was also comparatively free from the trammels which in attempts to expound the Apocalypse, have cramped the energies of many a well disciplined mind, political partialities. At the time of these profound studies, he occupied a position 'in the wilderness,' from which as a stand point, like John in Patmos, he could most advantageously survey the passing scenes of providence with the ardor of youthful emotion, and with unsullied affection for his divine master . . . expressing my obligations to the Doctor's labors, to whose system of interpretation as well as to most of his details, I cheerfully give my approbation in preference to all other expositors whose works it has been in my power to consult (pp. 317-19). Doctor M'Leod and Mr. Faber I consider among the best expositors of the prophecies on which they severally wrote . . . On material points they have shed much light where those who preceded them left the reader in darkness, or involved him in perplexing labyrinths. Faber preceded M'Leod, and the latter availed himself of all the aid furnished by the former; yet till the 'mystery of God shall be finished,' his people will be receiving accessions of light from the 'sure word of prophecy.' (p. 321). I can again cordially recommend to his attention the LECTURES of Doctor M'Leod, as the best exposition of those parts of the Apocalypse of which he treats, that has come under my notice.' (p. 324). But Steele is not shy about pointing out that 'the principal defect pervading the LECTURES, and one which most readers will be disposed to view in an opposite light, appears to be, a charity too broad, a catholicity too expansive, to be easily reconciled with a consistent position among the mystic witnesses. Their author, however, deriving much information from the learned labors of English prelates on prophecy, could not 'find in his heart' to exclude them from a place in the honorable roll of the witnesses. I am unable to recognize any of those who are in organic fellowship with the 'eldest daughter of Popery,' as entitled to rank among those who are symbolized as 'clothed in sackcloth.' The two positions and fellowships appear to be obviously incompatible and palpably irreconcilable. It is true that there have been and still are in the English establishment divines who are strictly evangelical; but the reigning Mediator views and treats individuals, as he views and treats the moral person with which individuals freely choose to associate; and we ought to have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16 [1 Corinthians 2:16], pp. 322-23, bold emphases added throughout). Notwithstanding a few shortcomings, this is probably the best book available (at present), on the book of Revelation." -- Publisher
Lectures Upon the Principal Prophecies of the Revelation, Alexander McLeod [M'Leod]
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/17/alexander-mcleods-lectures-on-the-principal-prophecies-of-revelation
Lectures Upon the Principal Prophecies of the Revelation
https://archive.org/details/lecturesuponprin00mcle
*Murray, Iain, The Puritan Hope: A Study in Revival and the Interpretation of Prophesy, ISBN: 085151247X.
"Murray is an English pastor, founder of, and currently CEO of Banner of Truth Trust.
"If you are in any way interested in Puritan thought, revival or the interpretation of prophecy, you will probably find this book to be delightful reading. Iain Murray has gathered copious quotations documenting the source and strength of one of the great movements in Church history. The footnotes, which would almost make an interesting small booklet in themselves, run for 21 pages.
"The Puritans were an intelligent and scholarly people, who's hope was solidly based upon the exegesis of Scripture. Their optimistic interpretation of prophecy, mingled with their strong assertion of the sovereignty of God, led to many desirable and godly consequences. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"A postmillennial treatment of missions, evangelism, the Puritans, and eschatology. Interesting and instructive. In our day this eschatological view is gaining ground. Men such as Hodge, Warfield, Edwards, and John Murray have held the same view." -- GCB
Murray "explains how and why the Puritans came to their eschatological beliefs; how these were perverted, primarily in modern times, by men like Edward Irving and J.N. Darby; why we've stopped thinking critically about these theories; and how we must recapture the confident expectation of Christ's triumphant end-time revival of Gentiles, then all Israel, before his return in glory. Excellent and thought-provoking." -- Reader's Comment
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Notes on the Apocalypse, ISBN: 0978098706 9780978098704. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"In 1779, in their TESTIMONY AND WARNING AGAINST THE BLASPHEMIES AND IDOLATRY OF POPERY, the Reformed Presbytery called Durham's COMPLETE COMMENTARY . . . ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION 'the best exposition of that book that has yet been published.' (p. 61n). Had they had the privilege of reading Steele's NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE we are quite certain that they would have given it a similar endorsement. Though written in a different style than Durham's work, Steele's NOTES ON REVELATION may be even more valuable in many respects, Steele having taken a more decided position 'in the wilderness.' Steele also had the benefit of many more resources, having written over two centuries later. Steele's aim in writing this book is made clear in his own words taken from the preface,
As this work is intended for the instruction and edification of the unlearned, rather than for the entertainment of the learned, words of foreign extract are used as seldom as possible. Practical remarks and reflections are rarely introduced; the principal aim being simply to ascertain and present to the reader the mind of the Holy Spirit. How far this object has been accomplished, is of course left to the judgment of the honest inquirer. The reader, however, in forming his judgment of the value of these NOTES, may be reminded of that inspired rule in searching the Scriptures, "Comparing spiritual things with spiritual." To assist him in the application of this divine rule, many chapters and verses are quoted from other parts of the Bible, but especially within the Apocalypse itself; that by concentrating the various rays upon particular texts or symbols, their intrinsic light may be rendered more luminous. Thus the interpretation given, if correct, may be confirmed and illustrated."Appendices include a section on, The New Jerusalem, The Antichrist, The Image of the Beast, The Beast's 'deadly wound,' The Little Book, The Death of the Witnesses, The Mark of the Beast, The First Resurrection, The Identity of the Two Witnesses, Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet and The Title of this Book (i.e. the Book of Revelation -- RB). This work also includes various 'animadversions on the interpretations (of Revelation -- RB), of several among the most learned and approved expositors of Britain and America'.
the author adduces a greater number of Scriptural illustrations than any other writer on prophecy we ever met with."Hutcheson writes,
I can recommend it to any person as condensing the best thoughts to be had on the subject."Brooks says,
I have derived more knowledge of the Apocalypse from this work than from all other expositions which I have consulted."And finally, John Cunningham comments,
It is neither a dictionary nor concordance; neither a confession of faith, nor an encyclopedia, but a thesaurus of Theology, embodying the characters of all these."Steele dedicated this work to John Cunningham, author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), Revelation (the book of), Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, and so forth, and so on.
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:24-29)Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Romans 11. -- Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), Works, p. 607
Here is the clearest attestation that the blindness of the Jews will yet cease, not only as to individuals, but as to the body. -- Robert Haldane, commenting on Romans 11:25
Faber, George S., A Dissertation on the Prophecies, That Have Been Fulfilled, Are now Fulfilling, or Will Hereafter be Fulfilled Relative to the Great Period of 1260 Years; The Papal and Mohammedan Apostacies; The Tyrannical Reign of Antichrist, or the Infidel Power; and the Restoration of the Jews, 1811, 2 volumes. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"Defends classic historicist postmillennialism and its position relative to the 1260 year period mentioned in Scripture.
"In the author's words,
Treats of a subject peculiarly interesting to every serious Protestant: for the famous period of 1260 prophetic days, so frequently mentioned by Daniel and St. John, comprehends the tyrannical reign of those three great opponents of the Gospel: Popery, Mohammedism, and Infidelity. This period indeed may not improperly be styled the permitted hour of the powers of darkness; since the Church is represented as being in an afflicted and depressed state during the whole of its continuance, and since its expiration will be marked by a signal display of the judgments of God upon his enemies and by the commencement of a new and happy order of things."Understanding the Reformation position on eschatology, as it is set forth in this work, gives us great insight as to why the Romanists (i.e. the Jesuits in particular), were so intent on planting both Preterism (Alcasar, c. 1615), and Futurism (Ribera, c. 1585), among the Protestants." -- Publisher
Schlissel, Steve, and David Brown, Hal Lindsey and the Restoration of the Jews. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
Foreword by Steve Schlissel, "The Reformed Faith and the Jews." Includes THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS: THE HISTORY, PRINCIPLES, AND BEARINGS OF THE QUESTION by David Brown.
Includes bibliography.
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, and so forth, and so on.
Israel Turns To Christ, The Restoration of the Jews (Micah Series, Micah 4:6-8), (2/2), an audio file, Greg Price.
Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
The Restoration and Conversion of the Jews, sermon no. 582, preached on Thursday evening, June 16, 1864, by the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols10-12/chs582.pdf
The Restoration of the Jews: An Extract from Herman Witsius (1806), Herman Witsius. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
Saint Augustine's final sentence of THE CITY OF GOD is "All things must be referred to the Glory of God."
When you see that, then you will see the key to the story, and you will see the key to history. . . . The classic exposition of history in terms of Scripture. -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999)Grace and election are the essence and meaning of history. -- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), quoted by C. Gregg Singer
Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history. -- Lord Acton (1834-1902)
Whereas, we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace. -- The New England Confederation, May 19, 1643
As Winthrop and his colleagues such as Thomas Hooker, the Mathers and other Puritan divines reveal in their works, the Puritans who settled in New England combined a fundamental conservatism with an unhesitating radicalism in a way that was to become as paradigmatic for Americans as other aspects of their approach to life. That combination was no doubt directly related to their covenantal ideology which saw humans bound to God through predestination, yet through that binding free to live according to the constitution He provided for their salvation. To implement that constitution required a revolt against the existing society, but the goals of that revolt were to restore prelapsinarian ["Characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man; innocent and unspoilt." -- compiler] harmony to the world. The Puritans came to the New World to build a new society, but never lost sight of human weakness in trying to do so. -- Daniel J. Elazar
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles/cov-amer.htmA French political philosopher by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to find out what was the source of America's greatness and goodness. He searched everywhere. He looked at our matchless Constitution, he looked at the abundant natural resources, in our schools and, as he looked there, he concluded they were not the source of America's greatness. And he wrote, "When I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness . . ." then did he recognize the source of our genius and power. And he wrote that "America is great because America is good. And if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." And it's Christianity that has provided the foundation, the principles, the character in the heart of the people that have produced America's goodness and greatness. -- Steven McDowell
It cannot be emphasized too strongly, or too often, that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! -- Patrick Henry
Why is it, friends and fellow citizens, that you are here assembled? [for 4th of July celebrations] -- Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before? -- John Quincy Adams, An Oration Delivered Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport on the Sixty-First Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1837 (Newburyport, MA: Mores & Brewster, 1837), p. 5,6.
True, the state as the policeman can be corrupt; in fact, if the society as a whole is corrupt, the state will also be corrupt. In a healthy and godly society, the state will function successfully to restrain the minority of evildoers. The key to the situation is not the state but the religious health of the society. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), in Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 470
Abraham Magazine Service (AMS) Press Reprints, The Millennium in America: From the Puritan Migration to the Civil War, a series (New York, NY: AMS Press, Incorporated), ISBN: 0404609422, 9780404609429.
Note: The titles in this series are apparently out of print and are difficult to find. The AMS website states, "Individual Orders: Monographs [and we assume this series -- compiler], single volumes of annuals, or subscriptions may be purchased by check or credit card. Provide title, author, ISBN, series and/or volume number, price, and postal address in your correspondence. Orders may be placed by faxing 718-875-3800 or e-mailing orders@amspressinc.com."Adair, John Eric, Puritans: Religion and Politics in Seventeenth-century England and America, ISBN: 0750919507 9780750919500 075092117X 9780750921176. Revised edition of FOUNDING FATHERS: PURITANS IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA. ISBN: 0460044214 9780460044219.
The Puritan Interpretation of Scripture
The Puritan Doctrine of the Last Judgment
The Puritan Vision of New Jerusalem
Increase Mather: Selected Works
Samuel Willard: Selected Works
Representative Writings of the Eighteenth Century: Scriptural Interpretations
Representative Writings of the Eighteenth Century: Applications of Prophecy
The Earthquakes of the Apocalypse
Edwardsian Revivalism From the Great Awakening to the Revolution
Charles Chauncy
The French and Indian Wars
Sermons of the American Revolution
The Celebration of Nationhood
Loyalist Millenarians
Poems on the Rising Glory of America
Interpretations of the French Revolution
Title Signs of the Times: The Late Eighteenth Century
Timothy Dwight: Selected Writings, and
Elhanan Winchester
Alexander, Archibald (1772-1851), Biographical Sketches of the Founder and Principal Alumni of the Log College: Together With an Account of the Revivals of Religion Under Their Ministry, ISBN: 0851510043 9780851510040. Alternate title: THE LOG COLLEGE: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF WILLIAM TENNENT AND HIS STUDENTS.
Biographical Sketches of the Founder and Principal Alumni of the Log College
http://archive.org/details/biographicalske00alexgoog
Balfour, Robert G., Presbyterianism in the Colonies, 1899.
Bayne, Peter, The Chief Actors in the Puritan Revolution, 1878.
Belcher, Joseph, and George Whitefield, George Whitefield: A Biography.
The Making of America Project, George Whitefield
http://www.archive.org/details/georgewhitefield00belciala
Beliles, Mark A., and Stephen K. McDowell, America's Providential History: Including Biblical Principles of Education, Government, Politics, Economics, and Family Life, ISBN: 1887456007 9781887456005.
"Even Newsweek now admits: 'Historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document.' In this enlightening book, you'll discover the remarkable evidence for this truth. Based on the assumption that all history is Providential (i.e., it reflects God's purposes), you'll learn how God's presence was evident at our nation's founding in the hearts and minds of the men who fought for independence and shaped the Constitution. Numerous illustrations, portraits, and visual aids make this book a valuable resource." -- Publisher
*[Bible, 1599 Geneva], Calvin, John (1509-1564), et al. [John Knox, Theodore Beza, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Anthony Gilby, Martin Luther, and others], Peter A. Lillback (foreword), Tolle Lege Press (preface), Gary DeMar (Notes to the Modern Reader), Marshall Foster (The History and Impact of the Geneva Bible), 1599 Geneva Bible, (Tolle Lege Press), 1400 pages, ISBN: 0975484699 9780975484692 0975484613 9780975484616 0975484621 9780975484623. Available (Tolle Lege Press restoration) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"When the Pilgrims arrived in America in 1620, they brought along supplies, a consuming passion to advance the Kingdom of Christ, a bright hope for the future, and the Word of God. Clearly, their most precious cargo was the Bible. The GENEVA BIBLE, printed over 200 times between 1560 and 1644, was the most widely read and influential English Bible of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This superb translation was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and became the Bible of choice for many of the greatest writers, thinkers, and historical figures of that time [but the translation was surpassed by the AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION in 1611, see 'Textual Criticism' -- compiler]. The GENEVA BIBLE is unique among all other Bibles. It was the first Bible to use chapters and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of the extensive marginal notes. These notes, written by Reformation leaders such as John Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Anthony Gilby, and others, were included to explain and interpret the scriptures for the common people. For nearly half a century these notes helped the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland understand the Bible and true liberty. King James despised the GENEVA BIBLE because he considered the notes on key political texts to be seditious [to question the Divine Right of Kings -- compiler] and a threat to his authority. Unlike the KING JAMES VERSION, the GENEVA BIBLE was not authorized by the government. It was truly a Bible by the people and for the people. You can see why this remarkable version with its profound marginal notes played a key role in the formation of the American Republic. Until now, the only complete version available was a large, cumbersome, and difficult-to-read facsimile edition. But this new edition contains all the original words and notes [see the errata listing below -- compiler], but the type set has been enlarged and the font style change for today's reader." -- Publisher
"This is the Bible that eventually put an end to Feudalism in Europe, strengthened Puritans, Quakers, and came to America on the Mayflower. This was the first Bible published in the language of the common people, the first Bible to contain commentary and verse numbers, and the first Bible written in English from Greek and Hebrew texts available from Constantinople, not from the Latin Vulgate. The dynamite in this Bible is the commentary accounting for about one third of its length.
"The Church of England and King James were so upset they determined to create a new translation. They called it the KING JAMES VERSION. They choose to use language so formal and grand, even by the standards of those days, that the common people would find it difficult to understand. The GENEVA BIBLE was found seditious by it's insertions of commentary that spoke directly about the priesthood of lay believers, the church as naturally anti-oligarchy, and setting forth some other ideas considered anarchy by the King, but meaning freedom to the masses who read it. . . .
"Important facts to remember about this Bible. The Reformation was strong in England and the Lollards were a lay group of huge influence that had to go underground. English Christian theologians, not Catholics and not Anglicans, fled in huge numbers to Geneva for freedom. Geneva was not part of Switzerland at that time, because Geneva was its own city-state. . . . The GENEVA BIBLE was printed 1560-1644. THE KING JAMES VERSION was published in 1611. The GENEVA BIBLE was against the law to own. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
Available "in printed formats with various binding options from Tolle Lege Press. Tolle Lege Press has given Puritan Downloads permission to provide a PDF copy of their retypeset and fully searchable edition of the 1599 GENEVA BIBLE (Copyright 2006-2008, Tolle Lege Press), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"The GENEVA BIBLE is the Puritan Bible with Reformation promoting marginal notes authored by prominent leaders of the Reformation (during the time of John Calvin and John Knox). The New Testament was translated out of the Greek, by Theodore Beza. The GENEVA BIBLE was the predominant English translation during the period in which the English and Scottish Reformations gained great impetus.
"Iain Murray, in his classic work on revival and the interpretation of prophecy, THE PURITAN HOPE, notes,
The two groups in England and Scotland developed along parallel lines, like two streams originating at one fountain. The fountain was not so much Geneva, as the Bible which the exiles newly translated and issued with many marginal notes . . . it was read in every Presbyterian and Puritan home in both realms. (p. 7)"This time also saw the rise of the forces for covenanted Reformation against the corruption and abuses of prelacy and the royal factions. Darkness was dispelled as people read this Bible and saw for themselves that there is no authority above the Holy Scriptures. Discerning this truth, it became apparent that the civil tyranny and the heretical superstitions imposed by Pope, King and Bishops were to be resisted unto death, if necessary (i.e. because these innovations in church and state were opposed to the Kingship of Christ and the law of His kingdom, as set forth in Holy Scripture).
The notes of TOMSON'S NEW TESTAMENT of 1576, which took the place of the New Testament of the Bible of 1560 in many editions from 1587 onward, are entirely different from those in the GENEVA BIBLE. They are taken from Beza's Latin Testament, and are controversial and strongly Calvinistic."Furthermore, Eason cites Pocock (a rabid anti-Calvinist), in the same book,
The changes adopted in the GENEVA BIBLE and New Testament synchronize with the gradual spread of the Calvinistic heresy and the contemporaneous development of hatred of the whole Papal system of doctrine. The notes attacked the Sacramental teaching of the Church, substituting for it the Calvinistic doctrines of election and reprobation. They taught that Sacraments are nothing more than signs and seals of grace previously given to the elect. All passages about the Sacraments are explained away.("We cite this quote, though it is full of a good deal of devilish nonsense, to demonstrate that even the enemies of biblical truth recognized the powerful impact that the GENEVA BIBLE was having in furthering the Protestant Reformation, as well as to show that the notes in the later versions of the GENEVA BIBLE were moving in the direction of a more distinct testimony against error and for the truth." -- RB) -- Publisher
(1) The editions that follow the first edition of 1560."In our opinion, the notes in the 1599 edition were the most faithful to Scripture." -- The Genevan Bible, Notes on its Production and Distribution [Of course, the judgment and candor of Calvin are renown. This Bible played a key role in the Reformation, and anyone not using it 'will be the poorer for their neglect.' However, very few works are without caveats. Calvin used the LATIN VULGATE. His comments had to be translated from French. Experts (see 'Textual Criticism'), consider the authorized KING JAMES VERSION to be the most accurate translation. It used a literal approach to translation of the Traditional Text, which is referred to today as the Majority Text or Textus Receptus. Beza's translation of the New Testament is in a different category. One is urged to not neglect the knowledge developed over 400 years of Reformed scholarship since 1599. For example, compare the 1599 GENEVA BIBLE (1400 pages, 1366 in the Tolle Lege restoration edition), annotation with the annotation, theological notes, text notes, scripture notes, and other study aids of the NEW GENEVA STUDY BIBLE (2228 pages), with its own noted caveats. -- compiler]
(2) The editions in which TOMSON'S NEW TESTAMENT of 1576 is substituted for the 1560 New Testament.
(3) The Bibles from 1598 that contain the Notes on Revelation of Francis Junius."
Excerpts from two articles on the 1599 GENEVA BIBLE may be read at the Puritan Downloads site: "The Forgotten Translation," Gary DeMar, President of American Vision and Honorary Member of the 1599 Geneva Bible Advisory Board, and "Introduction to the 1599 Geneva Bible," Marshall Foster, President of the Mayflower Institute, Member of the 1599 Geneva Bible Advisory Board.Word-for-word accuracy with the 1599 Geneva Bible [see the errata listing below -- compiler]
Original cross references
Modern spelling
Original study notes by Reformers
Old English Glossary
2-page Family Tree Chart
Presentation page with several family registry pages
Easy-to-read print [see the errata listing below -- compiler]
Size: 8.75" X 11.5"
Approximately 1,400 pages." -- Publisher
1599 Geneva Bible, Tolle Lege Press Restoration, Fourth Printing, 2008, Probable Errata ListingGenesis 1:11 "So that we see it is the only power of God's word that maketh the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren.
Genesis 1:12 "This sentence is so oft repeated, to signify that God made all his creatures to serve to his glory, and to the profit of man: but for sin they were accursed, yet to the elect, by Christ they are restored, and serve to their wealth.
Genesis 2:16 "So that man might know there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience.
Genesis 2:17 "By this death he meaneth the separation of man from God, who is our life and chief felicity: and also that our disobedience is the cause thereof.
Genesis 3:4 "This is Satan's chiefest subtlety, to cause us not to fear God's threatenings.
Genesis 4:5 "Because he was an hypocrite, and offered only for an outward show without sincerity of heart.
Genesis 9:6 "Not only by the magistrate, but oft times God raiseth up one murderer to kill another.
Therefore to kill man is to deface God's image, and so injury is not only done to man, but also to God.
Psalm 37:1,7,11 "1 This Psalm containeth exhortation and consolation for the weak, that are grieved at the prosperity of the wicked, and the affliction of the godly. 7 For how prosperously soever the wicked do live for the time, he doth affirm their felicity to be vain and transitory, because they are not in the favor of God, but in the end they are destroyed as his enemies. 11 And how miserably that the righteous seemeth to live in the world, yet his end is peace, and he is in the favor of God, he is delivered from the wicked, and preserved.
Psalm 37:5 "Be not led by thine own wisdom, but obey God, and he will finish his work in thee.
Psalm 37:6 "As the hope of the daylight causeth us not to be offended with the darkness of the night: so ought we patiently to trust that God will clear our cause and restore us to our right.
Psalm 37:8 "Meaning, except he moderate his affections, he shall be led to do as they do.
Psalm 37:12 "The godly are assured that the power and craft of the wicked shall not prevail against them, but fall on their own necks, and therefore ought patiently to abide God's time, and in the meanwhile bewail their sins, and offer up their tears, is a sacrifice of their obedience.
Psalm 37:16 "For they are daily fed as with Manna from heaven, and have sufficient, when the wicked have never enough, but ever hunger.
Psalm 37:25 "Though the just man die, yet God's blessings are extended to his posterity, and though God suffer some just man to lack temporal benefits, yet he recompenseth him with spiritual treasures.
Psalm 37:29 "They shall continually be preserved under God's wings, and have at least inward rest.
Psalm 37:30 "These three points are required of the faithful, that their talk be godly, that God's law be in their heart, and that their life be upright.
Psalm 37:37 "He exhorteth the faithful to mark diligently the examples both of God's mercies, and also of his judgments.
Psalm 37:39 "He showeth that the patient hope of the godly is never in vain, but in the end hath good success, though for a time God prove them by sundry tentations.
John 1:1 "The Son of God is of one, and the selfsame eternity or everlastingness, and of one and the selfsame essence or nature, with the Father.
"From his beginning, as the Evangelist saith, 1 John 1:1, as though he said, that the world began not then to have his being, when God began to make all that was made: for the word was even then when all things that were made, began to be made, and therefore he was before the beginning of all things.
"Had his being.
"This word, That, pointeth out unto us a peculiar and choice thing above all other, and putteth a difference between this Word, which is the Son of God, and the Laws of God, which otherwise also are called the word of God.
"This word (With) putteth out the distinction of persons to us.
"This word (Word) is the first in order in the sentence, and is that which the learned call (Subjectum) and this word (God) is the latter in order, and the same which the learned call (Predicatum).
John 1:3 "The son of God declareth that same his everlasting Godhead, both by the creating of all things, and also by the preserving of them, and especially by the excellent gifts of reason and understanding, wherewith he that beautified man above all other creatures.
"Paul expoundeth this place, Col. 1:15 and 16 [Colossians 1:15,16].
"That is, as the Father did work, so did the Son work with him: for he was fellow worker with him.
"Of all those things which were made, nothing was made without him.
Jude 1:24 "He commendeth them to the grace of God, declaring sufficiently that it is God only that can give us that constancy which he requireth of us.
Hebrews 13:8b "all precepts of manners, and that is this: That we ought to quiet and content ourselves in Christ only: for there was yet never any man saved without the knowledge of him, neither is at this day saved, neither shall be saved hereafter.
Revelation 4:9 "God is said to have glory, honor, kingdom, and such like given unto him, when we godly and reverently set forth that which is properly and only his." -- excerpts from 1599 Geneva Bible, Tolle Lege Press, 2006, 2007)
Black, George Fraser, Scotland's Mark on America, ISBN: 1406913782.
"Ranke, the German historian, declared that 'Calvin was the founder of the American Government;' and Gulian C. Verplanck of New York (1786-1870), in a public address, traced the origin of our Declaration of Independence to the National Covenant of Scotland. Chief Justice Tilghman (1756-1827), stated that the framers of the Constitution of the United States were through the agency of Dr. Witherspoon much indebted to the standards of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in molding that instrument." -- Publisher
Scotland's Mark on America
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15162/15162-8.txt
*Boller, Paul, George Washington and Religion.
"Was George Washington an evangelical Christian? The debate has raged for over two centuries. Paul Boller looks at Washington's spiritual life from the perspective of an evangelical, not a skeptic, and concludes that in all likelihood he was not a born-again Christian. The questionable motives and methods of Washington's earliest biographers are examined." -- Publisher
*Bradford, William (1588-1657), Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647, ISBN: 0075542811. A Christian classic.
The journal of William Bradford.
"A remarkable work by a man who himself was something of a marvel. It remains one of the most readable seventeenth-century American books, attractive to us as much for its artfulness as for its high seriousness, the work of a good storyteller with intelligence and wit." -- Publisher
History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647 (1912), William Bradford
http://archive.org/details/historyplymouth00socigoog
Bremer, Francis J., Puritan Crisis: New England and the English Civil Wars, 1630-1670, ISBN: 082406173X 9780824061739.
Broadbent, E.H., The Pilgrim Church, ISBN: 0720806771 9780720806779.
Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), and Charles Whymper, The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and Their Puritan Successors. Includes bibliography.
"A rare and detailed study of the lives of those once obscure men whose love of Biblical principle and unselfish loyalty to liberty gave birth to American self-government based on the Laws of God." -- Publisher
*Brutus, Junius (attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623] and sometimes to Hubert Languet [1518-1581]), A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, ISBN: 0921148453. Alternate title: VINDICIAE, CONTRA TYRANNOS: OR, CONCERNING THE LEGITIMATE POWER OF A PRINCE OVER THE PEOPLE, AND OF THE PEOPLE OVER A PRINCE, Hubert Languet (author) [also attributed to Stephanus Junius Brutus a pseudonym for Philippe Duplessis-Mornay], George Garnett (editor), ISBN: 0521342090 9780521342094. This [ISBN: 0921148453] is a reprint of a 1689 edition of this work, which was originally written in 1579. A Christian classic. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available [ISBN: 0921148453] on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"Piety commands that the law and church of God be maintained. Justice requires that tyrants and destroyers of the commonwealth be compelled to reason. Charity challenges the right of relieving and restoring the oppressed. Those who make no account of these things do as much as in them lies to drive piety, justice, and charity out of this world, that they may never more be heard of." -- Junius Brutus
"John Adams held this book to be one of the most influential books in America on the eve of the Revolution. This 'defense' manual will help equip you for the battle." -- Publisher
"This book was even more influential than Thomas Payne's COMMON SENSE, in molding the American mind and preparing it for the war for independence. Much of our Declaration of Independence reflects its wisdom and thought. Written by a French Huguenot to give Biblical and civil justification for fighting against a government that was illegally killing it own people during the religious wars on France between the 1540s and late 1700. A must reading for those who want to understand religious and political history of Europe, or want to better understand the Biblical justification sought by our own founding fathers in their fight for independence. A must read!" -- Reader's Comment
Vidiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, by Junius Brutus, attributed to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay [1549-1623]
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae.htm
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. A Christian classic. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Similar to Augustine's CONFESSIONS. Traces Bunyan's spiritual pilgrimage from his youth, through several crises, to his conversion, and through many trials and difficulties, temptations and sorrows, until he came to rely solely on Christ for his every need. Originally published in 1666." -- Cyril J. Barber
"This is the personal testimony of the famous author of PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, THE HOLY WAR, and 60 other edifying books." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
http://archive.org/details/graceaboundingt00bunygoog
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/grace.html
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
This is the complete set of THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN, George Offor edition, reprinted by The Banner of Truth. It is free online, and is downloadable in the following formats: HTML, RTF, TEXT, and PDF.
http://www.chapellibrary.org/bunyan/
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN is available at Project Gutenberg, Gutenberg.org.
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), The Pilgrim's Progress, complete and unabridged. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #21.
Said to be "the greatest book, other than Scripture, which an Englishman has given to mankind." -- GCB
The Banner of Truth Trust publication is recommended. It is facsimile reprinted from the unabridged edition of 1895 published by John C. Nimmo, Ltd. containing the original marginal notes and Scripture references and illustrated with etchings by William Strang.
"Bunyan had better insight into the human heart than modern psychology; namely, because he did not study man apart from his Creator and apart from his deep inward problem." -- Ernest Reisinger (1924-2018)
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
This is the complete set of THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN, George Offor edition, reprinted by The Banner of Truth. It is free online, and is downloadable in the following formats: HTML, RTF, TEXT, and PDF.
http://www.chapellibrary.org/literature/bunyan/
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN is also available at Project Gutenberg.
Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan [audio file]
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=John%5EBunyan
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), Craig John Lovik, Tim Lundeen, and Oasis Audio (firm), The Pilgrim's Progress: From This World to That Which is to Come [audio file], ISBN: 9781441622846 1441622845. A Christian classic.
"The entire book, virtually unabridged -- rewritten for the modern ear by Jim Pappas and brought to life by 77 actors with original music and sound effects -- is now available on audio cassette [audio file]." -- GCB
Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan [audio file]
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=John%5EBunyan
Carden, Allen, Puritan Christianity in America: Religion and Life in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts, ISBN: 0801025435 9780801025433.
"After exploring the Biblical basis of the Puritan movement, Carden's thematic study examines all aspects of Puritan theology as well as the Puritan's approach to the Christian life, social ethics, politics, family life, education, and culture. He concludes with an overview of the legacy bequeathed to American culture." -- GCB
Christensen, Merton A., Franklin on the Hemphill Trial: Deism vs. Presbyterianism Orthodoxy, WMQ [William and Mary Quarterly -- compiler], 10 (1953): 422-40.
Christian History Magazine (Worchester, PA [Christian History Magazine, Box 540, 2030 Wentz Church Road, Worchester 19490]: Christian History Magazine).
Christian History Magazine CD-ROM
http://www.christianityonline.com/christianhistory/current/
Clark, Gordon H., (1902-1985), The Puritan and Situation Ethics, the Trinity Review, #65.
Coalter, Milton J., Gilbert Tennent, Son of Thunder: A Case Study of Continental Pietism's Impact on the First Great Awakening in the Middle Colonies, ISBN: 0313255148 9780313255144.
*Cole, Franklin P. (introductory essay and biographical sketches), They Preached Liberty, ISBN: 0913966169 9780913966167.
"An anthology of timely quotations from New England ministers of the American Revolution on the subject of liberty: its source, nature, obligations, types, and blessings." -- Publisher
Columbus, Christopher, Christopher Columbus' Book of Prophecies: Reproduction of the Original Manuscript With English Translation by Kay Brigham, ISBN: 8476454775 9788476454770.
Cremin, Lawrence A., American Education, ISBN: 0060109122 9780060109127.
"The most authoritative work on this subject is the brilliantly researched 688-page volume by Lawrence A. Cremin. . . . Dr. Cremin makes it plain there was no such thing as a secular school in colonial America. There were many kinds of schools, but all were explicitly Christian." -- Charles Hull Wolff
*Dallimore, Arnold, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th Century Revival, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0851510264 9780851510262 085151300X 9780851513003. A Christian classic.
"One of the great monumental literary achievements of the 20th century." -- Sherwood E. Wirt
"Justice has at last been done to the greatest preacher that England has ever produced." -- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Contains accounts of the conversion experiences of Whitefield, the Wesleys, and many others. Includes bibliographic footnotes.
*D'Aubigné, J.H. Merle (1794-1872), The History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, ISBN: 1330547586 9781330547588. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #22.
*Davies, Alfred M., Foundation of American Freedom.
"Traces the history of democracy and the American Constitution to the foundation for liberty and freedom that Calvin laid in his writings, and discourses on secular ideals and history. Forcibly reminds readers that America's concept of government rests ultimately on the authority of the Scriptures." -- Cyril J. Barber
Davies, Samuel (1723-1761), Letters From the Rev. Samuel Davies, &c. Shewing the State of Religion in Virginia, Particularly Among the Negroes. Likewise an extract of a letter from a gentleman in London to his friend in the country, containing some observations on the same, 1757.
Davies, Samuel (1723-1761), The State of Religion Among the Protestant Dissenters in Virginia; In a Letter to the Rev. Mr. Joseph Bellamy, of Bethlem, in New-England: From the Reverend Mr. Samuel Davies, V.D.M. in Hanover County, Virginia, [Two lines from Proverbs], 1751.
Dickson, Norine Campbell, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman.
"Excellent portrayal of an often misunderstood Founding Father."
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), Some Remarkable Narratives of the Success of the Gospel, in America, in the Beginning of this Century. Written by the late Rev. Jonathan Edwards, . . . and by other ministers in America. To which is added, an account of the character of the Rev. David Brainerd . . . Huddersfield, 1791.
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New-England, and the way in which it ought to be acknowledged and promoted; . . . By Jonathan Edwards, 1743.
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), and Sereno Edwards Dwight (1786-1850), The Works of President Edwards: With a Memoir of his Life, 1829, volume 1 of 9. Available THE WORKS OF JONATHAN EDWARDS in two volumes on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Works of President Edwards: With a Memoir of his Life, 1829, volume 1 of 9.
http://archive.org/details/worksofpresident011829edwa
Elliott, Emory, Power and the Pulpit in Puritan New England, ISBN: 069107206X 9780691072067.
Fields, S. Helen, and Henry Paton, Index of the Register of Rev. John MacMillan of Marriages and Baptisms Solemnized by Him Among the Cameronian Societies, 1706 to 1751.
Notes: The index gives parishes, villages and shires (leaves 1-11); marriages (leaves 12-21), giving names, date, residence and original register page; baptisms (leaves 22-122), giving name, father, sponsor, date, residence and original register page; names not to be found in alphabetical order (leaves 123-135); errata (2 leaves).
"In 1934 the writer published a REGISTER OF MARRIAGES AND BAPTISMS PERFORMED BY REV. JOHN CUTHBERTSON, 1751 TO 1791. Doctor Cuthbertson was also a Covenanter, sent to America by the Church of Scotland to minister to those of the same faith, and from his landing at New Castle, Delaware, on August 5, 1751, until his death on March 10, 1791, he recorded in a book similar to the one used by Rev. John MacMillan, marriages, baptisms, etc., performed by him. Many similar surnames are in both Registers." -- Publisher
Fiore, Jordan D. (annotation), William Bradford, and Edward Winslow, Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims of Plymouth, ISBN: 0942516079 9780942516074.
"Original record of the Pilgrim fathers written in 1622. Authentic portraits of the 'Saints' and a day-to-day account of the land and living on 'those foreboding shores'." The late Dr. Jordan Fiore was a preeminent authority on the Pilgrims.
Fiske, John, The Beginnings of New England, or, the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty, 1902, ISBN: 0781228492.
*Flavel, John (1628-1691), The Works of John Flavel, 6 volumes. A Christian classic. Available (1820 edition), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"The repeated editions of FLAVEL'S WORKS bear their own witness to his popularity. He was a favorite with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield (who ranked him with John Bunyan and Matthew Henry), and, a century later, with . . . R.M. M'Cheyne and Andrew Bonar." -- Banner of Truth
"Whitefield ranked Flavel with Bunyan and Matthew Henry. Jonathan Edwards ranked him with the best. Others have ranked him with McCheyne and Bonar. Surely, anyone who read any of Flavel will give him the same top rank. His most reprinted works are HUSBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED, THE MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE, and KEEPING THE HEART (the latter will appear as one of the Fifty Greatest Christian Classics. Sweetness and light characterize all his writings. This reviewer has read KEEPING THE HEART at least a dozen times." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"Flavel's (1628-1691), usefulness, ability, and practicality are evidenced by those who counted him a favorite to be read and referred to: J. Edwards, G. Whitefield, R.M. M'Cheyne, and A. Bonar. The great American theologian A. Alexander said he owed more to Flavel than any uninspired author." -- GCB
Flavel, John, The Whole Works of John Flavel, Late Minister of the Gospel at Dartmouth, Devon (1820), vol. 1 of 6.
http://archive.org/details/wholeworksofjohn01flav
*Foote, William Henry (1794-1869), Sketches of Virginia, Historical and Biographical, 1850, 1st series, ISBN: 0524062463 9780524062463.
*Foote, William Henry (1794-1869), Sketches of Virginia, Historical and Biographical, 2nd series, ISBN: 9781594421556 1594421552.
"This volume contains much valuable information regarding early Presbyterian families in the State, biographical sketches of early Presbyterian ministers, and the founding of a number of churches and educational institutions in the State. It also includes a detailed treatment of the Presbyterian efforts toward a separation of church and state in the newly formed State of Virginia. The author, Dr. Foote, was a man of clear and strong convictions. His views of divine truth were early formed. The doctrines of Grace announced in the trial sermon before Presbytery, were repeated fifty years afterwards from the same text (Eph. 2:8 [Ephesians 2:8]), as his last sermon. As a missionary and pastor he was never deterred by difficulties or dangers from the discharge of duty. As a scholar, he was accurate and well informed; as a writer, easy and copious, delighting in the use of his pen. Dr. Morton Smith, Professor of Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has written an introduction for the new reprint. A rather exhaustive index has also been appended and will be helpful to the average reader and researcher." -- Publisher
Sketches of Virginia, Historical and Biographical
https://archive.org/details/sketchesofvirgin00foot
Sketches of Virginia, historical and biographical. By the Rev. William Henry Foote . . . Second Series.
Full text, free online.
http://books.google.com/books?id=d6cq34x-JwcC&dq=Sketches+of+Virginia,+historical+and+biographical.+By+the+Rev.+William+Henry+Foote+...+&psp=1&ie=ISO-8859-1
Garrett, Christina Hallowell, The Marian Exiles, a Study in the Origins of Elizabethan Puritanism.
*Geneva Bible Notes, 1599
The GENEVA BIBLE contained "marginal notes which were heavily influenced by John Calvin, John Knox, and many other leaders of the Reformation. The GENEVA BIBLE was the predominant English translation during the period in which the English and Scottish Reformations gained great impetus. Iain Murray, in his classic work on revival and the interpretation of prophecy, THE PURITAN HOPE, notes that, 'the two groups in England and Scotland developed along parallel lines, like two streams originating at one fountain. The fountain was not so much Geneva, as the Bible which the exiles newly translated and issued with many marginal notes . . . it was read in every Presbyterian and Puritan home in both realms.' (p. 7). This time also saw the rise of the forces for covenanted Reformation against the corruption and abuses of prelacy and the royal factions. Darkness was dispelled as people read this Bible and saw for themselves that there is no authority above the Holy Scriptures.
"Although most people today have never heard of the GENEVA BIBLE, it was so popular from 1560 to 1644 that it went through 140 plus printings. The reason for its popularity among the faithful is obvious: the marginal notes promoted a full-orbed, nation-changing Protestantism. . . !
" 'By 1599, the GENEVA BIBLE . . . added many Calvinist annotations for household use' (Bremer, The Puritan Experiment, p. 12). A number of the notes argued for family worship and instruction by the head of the household. Puritanism in the British Isles is known as an effort to continue the Reformation of the church in the area of worship and church government. However, the Puritans also sought to reform the family life according to Biblical principles . . . as a result of their efforts they 'were creators of the English Christian marriage, the English Christian family, and the English Christian home'." (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, p. 260) -- Publisher
1599 Geneva Bible Notes
http://www.reformedreader.org/gbn/en.htm
For other GENEVA NOTES text see the following:
*King James Bible With the Geneva Bible Notes, 1672.*KING JAMES BIBLE WITH THE GENEVA BIBLE NOTES, 1672,
1599 GENEVA BIBLE, Tolle Lege Press restoration,
THE 1599 GENEVA BIBLE, TOLLE LEGE ONLINE EDITION,
"1599 GENEVA BIBLE, Tolle Lege Press Restoration, Fourth Printing, 2008, Probable Errata Listing," and
"A Resolution That Tolle Lege Press and White Hall Press of Chicago Complete the Limited Modernization of the 1599 GENEVA BIBLE Begun in 2004."
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, Ray B. Lanning, and Nathan P. Eshelman, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America: With Sketches of all her Ministry, Congregations, Missions, Institutions, Publications, etc., and Embellished With Over Fifty Portraits and Engravings, ISBN: 9781601780195 1601780192.
"Gives the history of early covenanters in America. David Steele and others left the communion sometime prior to the synod of 1841 in Utica, Ohio. (p. 108). Notice 'the alleged reason that the Synod had postponed its deliverance on "voluntary associations",' and they regarded the Synod as unfaithful to its duty." -- Publisher
"Students of Presbyterian church history will discover a whole family of churches whose history sparkles with remarkable personalities and noteworthy achievements, however much they may have been forgotten in the years that followed. Reformed Presbyterians, Associate Reformed Presbyterians, and the dwindling numbers of those who once belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of North America, will all give thanks for the history that is brought to light in these pages. We 'Scottish Dissenting Presbyterians' have a goodly heritage. We have much to discover about our forbears in the faith, and what they accomplished in their day; and much as well to consider with regard to how their distinctive principles and practices may have something vital to contribute to our churches and to our nation today." -- Ray B. Lanning and Nathan P. Eshelman, from the Introduction
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/conv_resources.html
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, full text.
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofrefor00glas/historyofrefor00glas_djvu.txt
Grey, Zachary, George Fox, and George Whitefield, Quaker and Methodist Compared. In an Abstract of George Fox's Journal. With a Copy of his Last Will and Testament, and the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield's Journals; With Historical Notes.
*Hall, David W., The Genevan Reformation and the American Founding, ISBN: 0739106392 9780739106396.
Contents: Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God | From Medieval Birthpangs to Geneva's Farel: Contra Tyrannos ('Against Tyranny') | Calvin's Political Thought and Impact: Confoederus ('Covenant Together') | Post-Calvinistic Advances on the Continent, 1550-1600: Nemo Posse Dare ('One Cannot Give What One Does Not Possess') | Calvin's Ideas Emigrate to Scotland and Great Britain: Lex Rex ('Law is King') | Colonial Calvinism in Church and State, 1607-1700: Puritans and Pilgrims Pro Libertas ('On Behalf of Liberty') | Before the Revolution, 1700-1776: Non Potest Civitas Abscondi Supra Montem Posita ('A City on a Hill Cannot Hide its Light') | Evidences of Calvin's Themes in the American Founding: Post Tenebras Lux ('Light after Darkness')."
Henderson, H. James, Party Politics in the Continental Congress, ISBN: 0070281432 9780070281431.
Henry, William Wirt, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, Speeches, 3 volumes, ISBN: 0873771656 9780873771658.
William Wirt Henry is the grandson of Patrick Henry and the author of PRESBYTERIANS IN VIRGINIA.
Hewitt, Rob, Where the River Flows: Finding Faith in Rockingham County, Virginia 1726-1876, ISBN: 0966891953 9780966891959.
"WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS, a project of the Margaret Grattan Weaver Foundation with help from the Virginia Foundation of the Humanities, tells the story of the people who came to the Shenandoah Valley -- from places like England, France, Germany and Pennsylvania -- for faith and freedom's sake.
"Beginning with the Valley's first settlers -- the Adam Mueller family, who settled near present-day Shenandoah -- WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS is the story of a people 'twice removed from the state Church,' says the back cover text. They were separated from the rest of the world by the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as by their diverse and deeply-rooted beliefs. . . .
"Though not academic in style or content, WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS is supplied with plenty of documentation. There are more than 50 pages of endnotes.
"A map that accompanies the book combines modern Rockingham County route numbers with old road alignments, and has about 120 locations and place names, mostly of old meetinghouses. Bob Kirchman of Staunton, an architectural renderer, drew the map using Hotchkiss's 1875 map and Lake's 1885 atlas, Hewitt says. . . .
"WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS is abundantly and creatively illustrated with color and black-and-white photos and drawings of Valley creeks and rivers, farms, churches and homes. Church and homestead photos include many that local readers will recognize: buildings still in use, no longer used but preserved, and long-abandoned and forgotten. . . .
"It is a 'must read' for anyone who is serious about understanding the spiritual roots and underpinnings of the Rockingham County area." -- Reader's Comment
Hood, Jared C., Calvin's Evangelist: The Reformed Fundamentalism of George Whitefield.
James, Charles F., Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia Including the Essay "The Presbyterian Church and Religious Liberty in Virginia," by William Wirt Henry, ISBN: 0306719770 9780306719776.
Reprinted in conjunction with the 400 year celebration of the founding of Virginia and the settlement of Jamestown (1607-2007).
"Both the book and essay were originally printed in the same year -- 1900. The timely importance of this reprint is based on the fact that the religious liberty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution was born in the struggle for religious liberty in Virginia. This volume deals with Virginia Baptists and their great suffering for religious or soul liberty. By this is meant the natural and inalienable right of every soul to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and that religion is, and must be, a voluntary service; and that no earthly power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, has any right to compel conformity to any creed or to any species of worship, or to tax a man for its support. The author, Charles James, became a convert to Christ and the Baptist faith during the War Between the States in 1864. From his memoriam, he was a soldier of the Confederacy, a soldier of the Cross, a patriot, loyal friend, devout Christian, diligent student, accurate scholar, able minister, and a skilled educator. He began serious research on this volume around 1883, never stopping his research until this volume was published with his own funds through J.P. Bell in 1900, only two years before his death." -- Publisher
James, Charles F., and William Wirt Henry, Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia. Alternate title: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN VIRGINIA, ISBN: 9781594421549 1594421544.
Johnson, Edward, Wonder Working Providence of Sions Saviour in New England, ISBN: 0820111309 9780820111308.
Johnston, E.A., George Whitefield: A Definitive Biography, 2 volumes, ISBN: 9781901670769 1901670767 9781901670776 1901670775 9781901670783 1901670783.
*Jones, James W., The Shattered Synthesis: New England Puritanism Before the Great Awakening, ISBN: 0300016190 9780300016192.
"An important assessment of the issues the Puritans faced and the manner in which these issues were handled." -- Cyril J. Barber
Ketcham, Ralph (editor), The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates, ISBN: 0451528840 9780451528841.
"The Anti-Federalists Papers revealed the dissenting opinions of such statesmen as Patrick Henry and John DeWitt, who saw in the document threats to rights and liberties so recently won from England. Although the Anti-Federalists lost, they came close to winning, and their opinions represent an important contribution to the American political tradition." -- Publisher
The War Between the States was a continuation of this struggle for State sovereignty.
*Kirk, Russell, and Forrest McDonald (foreword), The Roots of American Order, ISBN: 1882926994 9781882926992.
"In this now classic work, Russell Kirk describes the beliefs and institutions that have nurtured the American soul and commonwealth. Beginning with the Hebrew prophets, Kirk examines in dramatic fashion the sources of American order. His analytical narrative might be called 'a tale of five cities': Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and Philadelphia." -- Publisher
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together with the life of the author, and several curious pieces wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To which is added, I. An admonition to England and Scotland . . . by Antoni Gilby. II. The first and second books of discipline, Glasgow, 1761. A Christian classic. Alternate title: THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND and THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 1 of 6, (Book 1-2). Available (WORKS OF JOHN KNOX), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
"Containing, The Manner, and by what Persons, the Light of Christ's Gospel has been manifested unto this Realm, after that horrible and universal Defection from the Truth, which has come by the Means of that Roman Antichrist. Together with the life of the author, and several curious pieces wrote by him, viz. I. His Appellation from the cruel and most unjust Sentence pronounced against him, by the false Bishops and Clergy of Scotland; with his Supplication and Exhortation to the Nobility, States, and Commonality of the same Realm. II. His faithful Admonition to the true Professors of the Gospel of Christ within the Kingdom of England. III. His Letter to Queen Mary, Regent of Scotland. IV. His Exhortation to England for the speedy Embracing of Christ's Gospel. V. The first Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. VI. A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. 13 [Isaiah 26:13], &c. By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, some time Minister of God's Word in Edinburgh. To which is added, I. An admonition to England and Scotland to call them to Repentance, written by Antoni Gilby. II. The first and second books of discipline; together with some Acts of the General Assemblies clearing and confirming the same; And an Act of Parliament. With a large Index to the whole." -- Contents
"It breaths with the spirit of excitement and expectation, being told by the author from his experience as an eyewitness and participant in the unfolding drama of the work of God in 16th century Scotland." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"Knox portrayed the origins and development of a movement and not a mere chronology of events . . . Knox based his arguments on original sources and he often cited the documents in full. When KNOX'S HISTORY is compared to the contemporary vernacular narratives of Bishop Leslie and Sir James Melville, the superiority of Knox's work becomes evident. For the most part, these writers were preoccupied with petty details and had no conception of the momentous issues that hung on the events they recorded . . . Knox used history to demonstrate his single-track philosophy. And his philosophy said: 'The hearts of men, their thoughts, and their actions are but in the hands of God.' Lee said KNOX'S HISTORY was a sermon without an audience, a preaching book, one long inflammatory speech in behalf of God's truth as the reformer saw it.' (Kyle, The Mind of John Knox, p. 13). Our editions of volumes one and two of KNOX'S WORKS contain the only full, unedited version of Knox's massive HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND available today." -- Publisher
The Works of John Knox (1846), vol. 1 of 6.
http://archive.org/details/worksofjohnkn01knox
*Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn (1899-1981), Puritan and Westminster Conferences, et al., The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors. Alternate title: THE PURITANS: THEIR ORIGINS AND SUCCESSORS: ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE PURITAN AND WESTMINSTER CONFERENCES 1959-1978, ISBN: 0851514960 9780851514963.
"The author pays his dues to the Puritans, whose books he devoured, and whose teaching he absorbed and then preached. He draws lessons from Calvin and Knox, Bunyan and Owen, Edwards and Whitefield, and many others. As always, his comments are practical." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Mansfield, Stephen, Forgotten Founding Father: The Heroic Legacy of George Whitefield, ISBN: 1581821654.
"If you are spiritually dry, and need an uplifting book that is not 600 pages this is it. I was so motivated after reading this, Whitefield is one of my heroes of the faith, a giant along with Luther and Calvin. This may sit on the nightstand forever as a constant reminder of how God uses those who seek him fervently." -- Reader's Comment
*Marshall, Walter (1628-1680), The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union With Christ, ISBN: 189277724X. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Reformation Heritage Books edition is a reprint of the 1954 edition set by Oliphants and includes an introduction by Joel R. Beeke. Also includes the author's famous sermon on "The Doctrine of Justification Opened and Applied."
See the WorldCat record for various foreign language editions.
Other editions:
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1597520543 9781597520546.
"This is by far the best book on the doctrine of Sanctification in print. It was originally written in the 17th century, but has been put into modern English with this edition. This book will help you better understand the Gospel and its power not only for our Justification, but our Sanctification as well." -- Reader's Comment
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-Mystery of Sanctification, ISBN: 1589600630 9781589600638.
"Here you will read the most closely reasoned defense of scriptural sanctification to be found anywhere. . . . Fourteen directions are given to the reader, all perfected with the aim of explaining to sincere souls what sanctification is, what it is not, and how to attain a holy walk before God. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Marshall, Walter, The Gospel-mystery of Sanctification, Opened, in Sundry Practical Directions: Suited Especially to the Case of Those who Labor Under the Guilt and Power of Indwelling Sin. To Which is Added a Sermon on Justification (1859)
http://archive.org/details/gospelmysteryofs02mars
*Mather, Cotton (1663-1728), The Great Works of Christ in America (Magnalia Christi Americana), 2 volumes, ISBN: 0851512801 9780851512808 085151281X 9780851512815.
"Almost a Puritan Church history, covering much of the 17th century in the early colonies. Biographical information and facts not to be found elsewhere. Not chronological, instead built around the people of the time." -- GCB
A carefully documented history of God's work in New England. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Magnalia Christi Americana, Cotton Mather, 1702, Introduction
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/cotton2.html
Mather, Richard, Preface to the Bay Psalm Book (1640). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"THE BAY PSALM BOOK was the first book printed in America! Gary DeMar in AMERICA'S CHRISTIAN HISTORY (p. 99), has brought to light some interesting historical footnotes when he writes, 'THE BAY PSALM BOOK was the approved hymnal in the New England colonies,' and that 'a young colonist's education in New England was provided by a very limited curriculum, consisting of three books in addition to the Bible: THE HORNBOOK, THE NEW ENGLAND PRIMER, and THE BAY PSALM BOOK.' This certainly speaks volumes about the place afforded the Psalms during America's formative state. Here Mather introduces this famous PSALM BOOK and defends the exclusive Psalmody of these early Americans." -- Publisher
Preface to the Bay Psalm Book
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/17/preface-to-the-bay-psalm-book
Miller, Perry, and James Hoopes (editor), Sources for the New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century, ISBN: 0910776016 9780910776011.
Includes bibliography.
Miller, Perry (editor), and Thomas H. Johnson (editor), The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, two volumes in one, ISBN: 0486416011 9780486416014.
"Critically acclaimed classic lets Puritans speak for themselves in crucial documents covering history, theory of state and society, religion, customs, behavior, biographies and letters, poetry, literary theory, education, science, and more. Regarded by historian Samuel Eliot Morison as 'the best selection ever made of Puritan literature, point of view and culture.'
"This thematic consideration of primary source material covers the major epochs of early American Puritanism. It includes the Puritan's views on the state and society, this world and the next, poetry, education, and so on. First published in 1938." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Moore, Joseph S., Founding Sins: How a Group of Antislavery Radicals Fought to put Christ Into the Constitution, ISBN: 9780190269241 0190269243. Alternate title: THE FAILURE TO FOUND A CHRISTIAN NATION: COVENANTERS AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, TRACES THE COVENANTERS' POLITICAL ROOTS FROM SCOTLAND TO THE NEW WORLD.
"The Covenanters, now mostly forgotten, were America's first Christian nationalists. For two centuries they decried the fact that, in their view, the United States was not a Christian nation because slavery was in the Constitution but Jesus was not. Having once ruled Scotland as a part of a Presbyterian coalition, they longed to convert America to a holy Calvinist vision in which church and state united to form a godly body politic. Their unique story has largely been submerged beneath the histories of the events in which they participated and the famous figures with whom they interacted, making them the most important religious movement in American history that no one remembers.
"Despite being one of North America's smallest religious sects, the Covenanters found their way into every major revolt. They were God's rebels -- just as likely to be Patriots against Britain as they were to be Whiskey Rebels against the federal government. As the nation's earliest and most avowed abolitionists, they had a significant influence on the fight for emancipation. In Founding Sins, Joseph S. Moore examines this forgotten history, and explores how Covenanters profoundly shaped American's understandings of the separation of church and state.
"While modern arguments about America's Christian founding usually come from the right, the Covenanters have a more complicated legacy. They fought for an explicitly Christian America in the midst of what they saw as a secular state that failed the test of Christian nationhood. But they did so on behalf of a cause -- abolition -- that is traditionally associated with the left. Though their attempts to insert God into the Constitution ultimately failed, Covenanters set the acceptable limits for religion in politics for generations to come. . . .
"Joseph S. Moore is Assistant Professor of History at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. His work has appeared in The New York Times and various scholarly journals." -- Publisher
"The facts recorded in this book should have been common knowledge in our schools. The book helps complete the history of early colonial America, which has been censored in public education. Christians should be familiar with the names of Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie. Their followers, Alexander McLeod and James R. Willson, though less known, did repeat the same Christian message, to wit: Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and, per Isaiah 60:12, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. So, it is imperative for any nation's survival to recognize Jesus Christ, as did many of the Colonial Charters and State Constitutions.
"This books traces that struggle and attempt by Christians to do just that. In a way, our current situation is a big 'I told you so' for the early colonial Christians. In the name of toleration, sin is tolerated. We are committing national suicide, slowly. The people discussed in this book point out a better alternative." -- Reader's Comment
Morgan, John, Godly Learning: Puritan Attitudes Towards Reason, Learning, and Education, 1560-1640, ISBN: 0521235111 9780521235112.
*Morris, Benjamin Franklin, Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, Developed in the Official and Historical Annals of the Republic, 1864, ISBN: 0243184069 9780243184064.
"This volume is committed to the American people, in the firm assurance that the invaluable facts which it records will be grateful to every patriotic and pious heart. In it, as from the richest mines, has been brought out the pure gold of our history. Its treasures have been gathered and placed in this casket for the instruction and benefit of the present and future. We have a noble historic life; for our ancestors were the worthies of the world. We have a noble nation, full of the evidences of the molding presence of Christian truth, and of the power and goodness of Divine wisdom in rearing up a Christian republic for all time. That this was the spirit and aim of the early founders of our institutions, the facts in this volume fully testify.
"The field through which the reader will walk, in this work, must give wider expansion to his political views, quicken the pulses of his loyalty, add to his conscious dignity as an American citizen, strengthen his confidence in our future, and impart a higher tone to his piety.
"The single object of the compiler was to link, in a connected form, the golden chain of our Christian history, and to reveal the basis on which our institutions stand.
"The documents and facts are authentic, and have been collected, with laborious diligence, from standard historical works and from the political and Christian annals of the nation. The volume is the voice of the best and wisest men of the republic. It must, therefore, have weight with the American people, and be a political and Christian thesaurus and text-book to the scholar, the teacher, the patriot, the politician, the statesman, the jurist, the legislator, the divine, and, in a word, to all classes of American citizens. The work is not speculative or theoretical, but a series of facts to unfold and establish the Christian life and character of the civil institutions of the United States, in the light of which every American citizen can trace to its source the true glory of the nation and learn to appreciate its institutions and to venerate and imitate the great and good men who founded them. . . .
"It has been a delightful task of patriotism and piety to the compiler to prepare the volume, and to lay it as a grateful offering upon the common altar of his country and of Christianity.
"It is also the ardent hope of the compiler that the facts and principles recorded in this volume, and in which, in our early struggle, all denominations of Christians uttered with such harmony their convictions that the only sure and stable basis of our civil institutions was in the Christian religion, may contribute to strengthen the union of patriotism and piety in all parts of the country, to save the nation from the perils of a wicked rebellion, and be the brightest hope of the future. . . .
"The volume is committed to the blessing of God and to the judgment and favor of the American people, in humble trust that it may aid in preserving and perpetuating to future generations the Union of the States, the integrity of the best government ever instituted by the wisdom of men, and the nationality of the American Republic." -- Rev. Byron Sunderland, D.D., late Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington City, and Chaplain to the Senate of the United States in the Thirty-Seventh Congress, from the Preface
Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, 1864
https://ia800205.us.archive.org/27/items/christianlifecha00morr/christianlifecha00morr_bw.pdf
*Neal, Daniel (1678-1743), and Joshua Toulmin, The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists: From the Reformation in 1517, to the Revolution in 1688; Comprising an Account of Their Principles; Their attempts for a farther reformation in the church, their sufferings, and the lives and characters of their most considerable divines, 3 volumes.
"Reprinted from the latest edition and containing critical notes, this outstanding presentation of Protestant nonconformity (from 1517 to 1688), delineates the course of action taken by those dubbed Puritan, describes the seeds of liberty and democracy that they spread and that lie latent in their history and teachings, and presents a vivid picture of the effect of their stand for truth. This is an excellent work and is well-deserving of careful study. The benefits of reading these volumes is too great to be tabulated here. We can only hope that a new generation of men and women who are loyal to the Lord and His Word will peruse these pages to their own great profit." -- Cyril J. Barber
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 1 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofp01neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 2 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyo02neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 3 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofpurit03neal
The History of the Puritans, or, Protestant Non-conformists . . . (vol. 4 of 4)
https://archive.org/details/historyofpurit04neal
Newcombe, Jerry, and Ronald W. Kirk, The Book That Made America: How the Bible Formed our Nation, ISBN: 9780982492901 0982492901.
"Jerry Newcombe quickly cuts through the fog of agenda-driven rhetoric to give a brilliant and unbiased examination of what made America unique among the nations." -- William J. Federer
Noll, Mark A. (editor), Eerdman's Handbook to Christianity in America, ISBN: 0802835821 9780802835826.
Includes bibliography and index.
*Owen, John (1616-1683), Hebrews, 7 volume set, volumes 17-23 of Owen's WORKS (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1999). Alternate title: EXPOSITION OF HEBREWS and AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
Packer, J.I. (1926-2020), and David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), Puritan Papers, 5 volumes, vol. 1, ISBN: 0875524664 9780875524665; vol. 2, ISBN: 0875524672 9780875524672; vol. 3, ISBN: 0875524680 9780875524689; vol. 4, ISBN: 0875524699 9780875524696; vol. 5, ISBN: 0875524702 9780875524702.
Addresses delivered at the Puritan and Westminster Conferences 1959-1969.
"These studies are of practical value because the Puritans are approached with three important question in mind: What did they teach and do? Was their teaching Biblical? and, What can we learn from them for our life and witness today?" -- GCB
Perry, Richard L., Sources of our Liberties: Documentary Origins of Individual Liberties in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Philip, Robert, The Life and Times of George Whitefield, ISBN: 9780851519609 0851519601.
Pilcher, George William, Samuel Davies; Apostle of Dissent in Colonial Virginia, ISBN: 0870491210 9780870491214.
Ptacek, Kerry, Family Worship: Biblical Basis, Historical Reality, Current Need.
"Contents: The importance of family worship | God covenants with families | A family becomes the people of God | The family of God | Households and house churches | The New Testament family | Family and church after the apostles | The family and the Reformation | Family worship in early America | The eclipse of family worship in modern America | Beginning family worship in the home | Restoring family worship in the church."
Plum, Harry Grant (b. 1868), Restoration Puritanism: A Study of the Growth of English Liberty, ISBN: 0804616442 9780804616447.
Price, Greg L., Family Worship, a series of audio files [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #22.
"A great introduction to the duty and privilege of daily family worship with much 'how to' instruction from Scripture. Family worship has always been a major component of all true revivals. Among the Old Testament people of God, in the days of the Apostles, during the great Reformations that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries, at the founding of the American colonies, and wherever there is a love for the Truth, daily family worship has been a sign of faithfulness to God. When it is practiced faithfully, daily family worship is one of the great blessings of covenant life; when it is ignored or set aside, it is a serious sin which has devastating consequences (and evidences and lack of true spirituality)." -- Publisher
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, ISBN: 0524065543 9780524065549. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from ATLA 1991-2638.
A magnificent catechism that sets forth the Crown Rights of The King of Glory and Lord of Lords. It also presents incontrovertible evidence that the United States Constitution is not a Christian document, and that it is, in fact, a slavery document.
"A manual of instruction, drawing from such notable authors as William Symington and J.R. Willson, presenting arguments and facts confirming and illustrating the 'Distinctive Principles' of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Chapters deal with: 'Christ's Mediatorial Dominion in General;' Christ's Exclusive Headship Over the Church;' 'The Supreme and Ultimate Authority of the Word of God in the Church;' Civil Government, the Moral Ordinance of God;' Christ's Headship Over the Nations;' 'The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ;' The Word, or Revealed Will of God, the Supreme Law in the State;' 'The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion:' 'The Spiritual Independence of the Church of Christ:' 'The Right and Duty of Dissent From an Immoral Constitution of Civil Government;' 'The Duty of Covenanting, and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants;' 'The Application of These Principles to the Governments, Where Reformed Presbyterians Reside, in the Form of a Practical Testimony;' and finally 'Application of the Testimony to the British Empire. . . '." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
On the Mediatorial Dominion of The Lord Jesus Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_01_mediatorial_dominion.html
The Exclusive Headship of The Lord Jesus Christ Over the Church of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_02_christs_headship_over_the_church.html
Civil Government the Moral Ordinance of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_04_civil_government.html
On Christ's Headship Over the Nations, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_05_christs_headship_over_nations.html
The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_06_subjection_of_nations_to_christ.html
See also: The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; CONSPIRACY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, and A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
Rodgers, Jas B., and The Presbyterian Historical Society Library, Catalogue of Books in the Library of the Presbyterian Historical Society, 1865.
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), The Nature of the American System. Available through Exodus Books.
"Originally published in 1965, these essays were a continuation of the author's previous work, THIS INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC, and examine the interpretations and concepts which have attempted to remake and rewrite America's past and present. 'The writing of history then, because man is neither autonomous, objective or ultimately creative, is always in terms of a framework, a philosophical and ultimately religious framework in the mind of the historian.' To the orthodox Christian, the shabby incarnations of the reigning historiographies are both absurd and offensive. They are idols, and he is forbidden to bow down to them and must indeed wage war against them." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), This Independent Republic: Studies in the Nature and Meaning of American History. Available through Exodus Books.
"First published in 1964 and out of print for many years, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction.
"These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence; Sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution; The desire for land as a consequence of the belief in 'inheriting the land' as a future blessing, not an immediate economic asset; Federalism's localism as an inheritance of feudalism; The local control of property as a guarantee of liberty; Why federal elections were long considered of less importance than local politics; How early American ideas attributed to democratic thought were based on religious ideals of communion and community; and The absurdity of a mathematical concept of equality being applied to people. With index." -- Publisher
*Ryken, Leland, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were, ISBN: 0310325005 9780310325000.
"Seeks to disabuse the term 'Puritan' of the stigma that has long been associated with the movement. Succeeds in totally revamping this era of history. Shows the Puritans to be conscientious, and cultured citizens, persons of principle, determined and disciplined, excelling in the domestic virtues, and with no obvious shortcomings save the tendency to run to words when saying anything important." -- J.I. Packer
Sandoz, Ellis, A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion, and the American Founding, ISBN: 082621360X 9780826213600.
Sandoz, Ellis (editor), Political Theory Sermons of the American Founding Era, 1730-1805), ISBN: 0865971765 9780865971769.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages, ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Sprague, William B., Annals of the American Pulpit: or, Commemorative Notices of Distinguished American Clergymen of Various Denominations: From the Early Settlement of the Country to the Close of the Year Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-Five: With Historical Introductions, 3 volumes, ISBN: 1599250314 9781599250311 1599250322 9781599250328 1599250330 9781599250335.
Sprunger, Keith L., The Learned Doctor William Ames; Dutch Backgrounds of English and American Puritanism, ISBN: 0252002334 9780252002335.
Tatsch, J. Hugo, The Facts About George Washington as a Freemason, ISBN: 0766102521 9780766102521.
"Was George Washington a Freemason? Another debate that has raged for over two centuries. Tatsch, a Masonic historian, demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that Washington was not only a Freemason, but a practicing Freemason of the highest rank. The evidence marshaled by Tatsch includes personal letters to various lodges, portraits of Washington in Masonic regalia, newspaper accounts and a variety of archaeological evidence including statuary all over the country." -- Publisher
Tatsch, J, Hugo, Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies.
Tatsch is a Masonic historian and, apparently, a Freemason. He also wrote THE FACTS ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AS A FREEMASON.
*Tocqueville, Alexis de, Democracy in America, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0060915226.
Translated by Henry Reeve and revised by Francis Bowen. Edited by Philip Bradley
"Tocqueville in the early part of the 19th century was commissioned by the French government to travel throughout the United States in order to discover the secret of the astounding success of this experiment in democracy. . . . A classic of political and sociological reporting and analysis . . ." -- Publisher
Democracy in America
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/home.html
Tyerman, Luke, Life of the Reverend George Whitefield, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0964755203 9780964755208 0964755211 9780964755215 0964755203.
Tyerman was also a biographer of John Wesley.
Valeri, Mark, Heavenly Merchandize: How Religion Shaped Commerce in Puritan America, ISBN: 9780691143590 0691143595.
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE offers a critical reexamination of religion's role in the creation of a market economy in early America. Focusing on the economic culture of New England, it views commerce through the eyes of four generations of Boston merchants, drawing upon their personal letters, diaries, business records, and sermon notes to reveal how merchants built a modern form of exchange out of profound transitions in the Puritan understanding of discipline, providence, and the meaning of New England.
"Mark Valeri traces the careers of men like Robert Keayne, a London immigrant punished by his church for aggressive business practices; John Hull, a silversmith-turned-trader who helped to establish commercial networks in the West Indies; and Hugh Hall, one of New England's first slave traders. He explores how Boston ministers reconstituted their moral languages over the course of a century, from a scriptural discourse against many market practices to a providential worldview that justified England's commercial hegemony and legitimated the market as a divine construct. Valeri moves beyond simplistic readings that reduce commercial activity to secular mind-sets, and refutes the popular notion of an inherent affinity between puritanism and capitalism. He shows how changing ideas about what it meant to be pious and puritan informed the business practices of Boston's merchants, who filled their private notebooks with meditations on scripture and the natural order, founded and led churches, and inscribed spiritual reflections in their letters and diaries.
"Unprecedented in scope and rich with insights, HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE illuminates the history behind the continuing American dilemma over morality and the marketplace. -- Publisher
"HEAVENLY MERCHANDIZE is a magisterial account of the interplay of economics and religion in early America. In place of abstract theories of 'modernization' or 'the spirit of capitalism,' Valeri engages representative figures on the ground, and through their stories narrates the ways in which transformations in religious thought actually shaped a premodern market culture. Students of early American religion, economics, and imperialism will have to consult this seminal work." -- Harry S. Stout, Yale University
Various, Political Sermons of the Founding Era -- 1730-1805, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0865970904 9780865970908 0865970912 9780865970915.
"The two volumes total 1,737 pages and include a 137 page subject index and a Biblical citation index referencing Scripture used in the sermons."
Waddell, Joseph, Annals of Augusta County, Virginia.
Watkins, William J., Jr., Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy, ISBN: 1403963037 9781403963031.
"Reclaiming the American Revolution examines the struggles for political ascendancy between Federalists and the Republicans in the early days of the American Republic viewed through the lens of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Jefferson and Madison saw the Alien and Sedition Acts as a threat to states' rights, as well as indicative of a national government that sought unlimited power. The Resolutions sought to return the nation to the tenets of the Constitution, in which rights for all were protected by checking the power of the national government. Watkins examines the two sides of this important controversy in early American history and demonstrates the Resolutions' relevance to current politics.
"William J. Watkins, Jr. is an attorney who specializes in constitutional law. He has written several articles on legal history, and is a research fellow at the Independent Institute." -- Publisher
*Webster, Noah, 1828 Edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language. Alternate title: NOAH WEBSTER'S FIRST EDITION OF AN AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. A facsimile of the 1828 first edition.
"Throughout the AMERICAN DICTIONARY, Noah Webster uses the Scriptures to define words, and illustrate usage. . . . Noah Webster's AMERICAN DICTIONARY remains today the pure repository of three essential ingredients of America's Christian history. It reflects our Christian philosophy of life, our Christian philosophy of government, and our Christian philosophy of education. Unmistakably it reveal the degree to which the Bible was America's basic textbook and how it was related to all fields. Noah Webster laid his foundation of etymology upon the Scripture and his research into the origin of language stems from this premise. One cannot read his definitions nor study his discussions of the grammatical construction of our language without encountering at every point a scriptural, Christian philosophy of life." -- Publisher
"It is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion." -- Noah Webster, Preface
"In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed. . . . No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people." -- Noah Webster
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/
Westminster Conference Report, The Office and Work of the Minister.
"Papers included: Office in the Church From the Separatist to the Westminster Assembly; The Call to the Ministry in Puritan Teaching; Ministerial Training From Harvard to Princeton; The Pastor as Preacher in 17th Century England; The Puritan Pastor as Counselor; Richard Sibbes, 'The Heavenly Doctor'." -- GCB
Includes bibliography.
Whitefield, George (1714-1770), George Whitefield's Journals, ISBN: 0851511473 9780851511474.
George Whitefield's Journals Project -- to publish a complete edition of Whitefield's Journals
http://www.quintapress.com/whitefieldjournals.html
Whitefield, George (1714-1770), Letters of George Whitefield, for the Period 1734-1742, ISBN: 0851512399 9780851512396.
*Whitefield, George (1714-1770), Select Sermons of George Whitefield.
"This book contains a biographical essay of Whitefield's life by J.C. Ryle, a summary of his doctrine by R. Elliot, and six of Whitefield's significant sermons." -- GCB
"Of few men can it be said that their preaching was 'apostolic' in character, but it certainly can be said of Whitefield." -- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Sermons of the Reverend George Whitefield
http://www.ccel.org/whitefield/sermons/sermons.html
George Whitefield's Works on CD
"George Whitefield's Works on CD. These are an absolute feast of Whitefield's works to which have been added a number of key biographies and related items and images. The Works are a facsimile AND reset (i.e., retypeset), version of the 1771/1772 edition including letters, tracts, and sermons, plus additional sermons published in the 19th century. The biographies are by Gillies, Gledstone, Andrews, Philip's and Tyerman's two-volume work. George Whitefield is considered by many the greatest evangelist since the Apostles. Certainly he has the best claim to being the greatest English speaking preacher. This work is published by our friends at Quinta Press.
"You render a major service by producing this item. As a Whitefield enthusiast I am overjoyed to find what you have done and will do all I can to ensure that fellow enthusiasts know about it." -- J.I. Packer, Regent College, Vancouver."
http://www.revival-library.org/index.html
Willard, Samuel (1639-1707), and Increase Mather, Covenant-keeping the way to Blessedness, or, A Brief Discourse Wherein is Shewn the Connexion Which There is Between the Promise, on God's Part; and Duty, on our Part, in the covenant of grace as it was delivered in several sermons, preached in order to solemn renewing of covenant. By Samuel Willard teacher of a church in Boston in New-England.
Samuel Willard was pastor of a Church of Christ in Boston and Vice-President of Harvard College. See his other works.
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Written Law: or, The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures by Christ as Mediator: The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations in Civil Institutions.
Willson, James Renwick, The Written Law, or The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures, by Christ as Mediator; The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations to Civil Institutions
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-the-written-law
Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets
http://www.covenanter.org/pamphlets/
Wilson, Howard McKnight, The Lexington Presbytery Heritage: The Presbytery of Lexington and its Churches in the Synod of Virginia, Presbyterian Church in the United States.
Wines, E.C., and Paul R. McDade, The Roots of the American Republic, ISBN: 0942516230 9780942516234.
"Wines' work is eminently practical and thoroughly spiritual as it gives us systematic exposition of the divine principles and everlasting truths that under girded the Old Testament Hebrew Commonwealth. This book baptizes the U.S. Constitution in Scripture, but fails to recognize fatal omissions in the realm of covenant and the religious test oath. Extremely valuable nonetheless." -- Publisher
Witherspoon, Jonathan, and Jack Scott, An Annotated Edition of Lectures on Moral Philosophy, ISBN: 0874131642 9780874131642.
"Meet the father of the founding fathers. Rev. Witherspoon, Calvinist and President of Princeton, was the political mentor of the earliest American statesmen, including 13 state governors, 3 Supreme Court judges, 20 U.S. Senators, 33 U.S. congressman, 1 Vice-President, 1 President, and 9 or the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Most notable among these was James Madison, the Father of the Constitution. These are the class notes for the course on political philosophy Witherspoon personally taught every graduating class at Princeton. Judge for yourself if Witherspoon derived his political philosophy from the Bible or from natural law, social compact theory." -- Publisher
Yates, Robert, John Lansing, and Luther Martin, Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention, 1787. Alternate title: SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION ASSEMBLED AT PHILADELPHIA, IN THE YEAR 1787, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISBN: 1410203638 9781410203632.
"One of the most important collections of documents pertaining to the formation of the Constitution of the United States. Notes on the convention taken by Robert Yates, Chief Justice of New York, and copied by John Lansing, Jun. Esquire, late chancellor of that state, members of that convention. Including 'The Genuine Information,' laid before the Legislature of Maryland, by Luther Martin, Esquire, then attorney-general of that state, and member of the same convention. James Madison thought that Yates and Martin 'appear to have reported in angry terms what they observed with jaundiced eyes.' It must be added that in many particulars Yates' notes were fuller than Madison's own. Luther Martin's GENUINE INFORMATION is a general summary of the course of the Debates, with a running criticism on the provisions of the Constitution. Also contains an appendix with documents by Edmund Randolf, and others." -- Publisher
"The delegates, of the free states (in the national convention), in their extreme anxiety to conciliate the ascendancy of the Southern slaveholders, did listen to a compromise between right and wrong -- between FREEDOM and SLAVERY, of the ultimate fruits of which they had no conception, but which already, even now, is urging the Union to its inevitable ruin and depopulation, by a civil, servile, foreign, and Indian war, all combined in one; a war, the essential issue of which will be between freedom and slavery, and in which the unhallowed standard of slavery will be the desecrated banner of the North American Union -- that banner first unfurled to the breeze inscribed with the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence." -- John Quincy Adams, commenting on proceeding in the Constitutional Convention and prophetic of the War Between the States
Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention, Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Origins of the U.S. Constitution
https://www.garynorth.com/philadelphia.pdf
Zacharias, Ravi K. (1946-2020), Jeff Foxworthy, and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Is America Really Christian? DVD.
"What would a Christian society really look like? What happens when Christians are the majority? Should the church be political? Is there such a thing as a Christian economy? At what point should religious morality become law? Should religion have a place in the public arena? Does 'In God We Trust' define us?" -- Publisher
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The love and justice of God, God's sovereign hand in history, History, "his-story," The providence of god, The christian foundation of america, colonial history, Revival, Christian scholarship, Christ's influence on western civilization, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, The protestant reformation, The dutch reformation, Calvinism, Church history and history of local churches, The history of reformation of the church, The puritan revolution, Works by and about puritans, Selection of covenant heads for positions of authority, Works of c. gregg singer, Christian biography, A theological interpretation of american history, Background, foundation, and history of the covenanted reformation of scotland, The christian foundation of america, colonial history, Colonial education, Covenanting in America, The history of martyrs, Revisionist history, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, God's deliverance of nations, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Covenanting in America, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, and so forth, and so on.
Christians for a "Test Oath"
http://vftonline.org/TestOath/#overview
Table of Contents
http://vftonline.org/TestOath/contents.htm
Comstock laws
"Prohibited lewd and immoral things from being public in society, being delivered through the mail, being sold at stores, or even being purchased" in early America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock_laws
Making of America Project
Download a series of works on the making of America in digital text.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/about.html
Noah Webster on Republican Principles
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7947/NoahWeb.html
Presbyterianism in the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterianism_in_the_United_States
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Sprinkle Publications
http://www.sprinklepub.com/aboutus.htm
The Story of Presbyterianism, C. Gregg Singer, Ph.D. [audio file]
http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/apologetics/story.htm
George Whitefield, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Whitefield
Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, includes a timeline of history by year, for example, 1517.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1517
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
If it be true, that by him kings reign and princes decree justice, princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth [Proverbs 8:15,16] -- that, all power in heaven and on earth is given to him, by the Father [Matthew 28:18] -- that God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth [Philippians 2:9,10] -- that he is made head over all things to his body, the church -- that he alone (the Father) is excepted, who did put all things under him [1 Corinthians 15:27] -- that he hath set him far above all principality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named -- and that he is to rule in the midst of his enemies -- that kings and judges of the earth are commanded to kiss the Son, whom God hath anointed; [Psalm 2:12] then assuredly it is the duty of every civil commonwealth, of every potentate, to swear allegiance to him who possesses, as Mediator, such a title to absolute and universal lordship over the nations. King and subject are correlates. When the Father, as a reward of the sufferings of his Son, gave into his hand the government of all principalities and powers, of all magistrates and kingdoms, he imposed upon them an obligation to acknowledge him explicitly as their sovereign. Such explicit acknowledgment is what we call national covenanting. On the supposition that Jesus is indeed their king, who can offer any reason that they should not so recognize him? -- Covenanter Pastor James R. Willson (1780-1853), The Subjection of Kings and Nations to MessiahA vow is a promise made to God. . . . When I say that a vow is a promise, I imply that the matter of it is necessarily some real or supposed good; to be good, or to do good, or not to do evil. Evil may be the matter of an oath, but it is not properly a vow, if the matter be not supposed good. . . . Doth not the law of nature oblige us to serve God to the utmost of our power? He that denieth it, is become unnatural, and must deny God to be God, or deny himself to be his rational creature: for nothing is more clear in nature, than that the creature who is nothing, and hath nothing but from God, and is absolutely his own, doth owe him all that he is able to do." -- Richard Baxter (1615-1691)
Aiken, A.S., and J.M. Adair, A Biographical Sketch of the Rev. John Cuthbertson, the First Reformed Presbyterian Minister in America, From 1751 to 1791, 2007.
"The substance of a sermon, delivered at Haughead, Scotland, May 28, 1749 / by Rev. John Culbertson (Cuthbertson). Miscellany of material regarding Rev. John Cuthbertson."
"Cuthbertson was sent out from Scotland in 1751 and ministered as a Reformed Presbyterian until 1782, when he joined the union with the Associate Presbyterian Church, which formed the Associate Reformed Church. He ministered in the ARC until his death in 1791."
Associated Reformed Presbytery (Reformed Presbytery in Scotland), The Constitution of the Associate-Reformed Synod in America Considered, Disowned, and Testifyed Against, as Inconsistent With the Reformation-constitution of Britain and Ireland.
The Constitution of the Associate Reformed Synod in America Considered, Disowned and Testifyed Against
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/reformed_presbytery_testimony_against_ars_constitution.html?doc_banner_show=false
*Barrow, Gregory, The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics, 318 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1, #19, #23, #27.
"A primer for the Covenanted Reformation, this is the best starting point for the new reader. It organizes the hundreds of Covenanted Reformation reprints into a logical defense of the theological landmarks established by our forefathers, with copious bibliographic references, many to e-text. An extraordinary document.
"Unsurpassed on points related to the Lord's supper and covenanting (as set forth by the best Reformers and best Reformed churches). Especially strong on citations from Calvin and the Westminster Assembly. Deals with many foundational aspects of the Covenanted Reformation (which gave us the Westminster Standards and the Solemn League and Covenant), from numerous original source documents (from the Westminster Assembly's advice to the English Parliament on the Lord's Supper to the official records of Calvin's Covenanting in Geneva). Comprehensive and compelling, this is a shocking (and sometimes advanced), look at what really took place during both the first and Second Reformations -- with extensive quotations from the writings of the major Reformers (not just quotes from what others have written about them). It conclusively and irrefutably demonstrates that those churches which today call themselves Presbyterian (and even many which claim a more general Reformed heritage), have seriously departed from the Scriptural standards, principles and worship of these previous Spirit-led Reformations. It is written in an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand format and is an unsurpassed work that should not be missed by anyone interested in real Reformation in our day. This is without a doubt the best book to read if you want to understand what it means to be a Covenanter and to walk in the blood-stained footsteps of the witnessing church (Christ's Covenanted and Reformed flock), (Song of Solomon 1:8)!" -- Publisher
Publisher's Preface to The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/pub_pref.htm
Eschewing Ecclesiastical Tyranny (Protestant Biblical Separation)
"1 Corinthians 2:15. The classic Reformation position on biblical separation, Protestant private judgment, the visible church, etc. -- contra Antichrist (the Papacy) and wayward liberal Protestants. This is Appendix G from THE COVENANTED REFORMATION DEFENDED: 'A brief examination of Mr. Bacon's principles regarding the visible church and the use of private judgment. Also, some observations regarding his ignoble attack upon Mr. Kevin Reed in his book entitled The Visible Church in the Outer Darkness'." -- Publisher
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, e-text
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovRefGB.htm
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, audio files
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=7702201426
The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics: A Response and Antidote Primarily to the Neopresbyterian Malignancy and Misrepresentations and the Manufactured 'Steelite' Controversy, Found in Richard Bacon's "A Defense Departed . . ."
http://books.google.com/books?id=LG5EHQAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Barrow, Gregory, Eschewing Ecclesiastical Tyranny (Protestant Biblical Separation), (debate with Richard Bacon), 1 Corinthians 2:15, narrated by Larry Burger. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"The classic Reformation position on biblical separation, Protestant private judgment, the visible church, etc. -- contra Antichrist (the Papacy), and wayward liberal Protestants. This is Appendix G from THE COVENANTED REFORMATION DEFENDED: 'A brief examination of Mr. Bacon's principles regarding the visible church and the use of private judgment. Also, some observations regarding his ignoble attack upon Mr. Kevin Reed in his book entitled THE VISIBLE CHURCH IN THE OUTER DARKNESS'." -- Publisher
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, e-text
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovRefGB.htm
The Covenanted Reformation Defended, audio files
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=7702201426
The Covenanted Reformation Defended Against Contemporary Schismatics: A Response and Antidote Primarily to the Neopresbyterian Malignancy and Misrepresentations and the Manufactured 'Steelite' Controversy, Found in Richard Bacon's "A Defense Departed . . ."
http://books.google.com/books?id=LG5EHQAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Barrow, Greg, Protestant Antidote to Modern Disunity (1/5) (Debate with Richard Bacon), audio files. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"Defection from Reformation teaching on separation, unity, church membership, church government, terms of communion, creeds, confessions, covenants, etc., exposed (in modern Presbyterian and Reformed churches), and corrected in accordance with Scripture and the best teachers and preachers of the (first and second), Protestant Reformations. This is chapter four from the book THE COVENANTED REFORMATION DEFENDED: "Misrepresentation #4: The Puritan Reformed Church of Edmonton (PRCE) is guilty of imposing the traditions of men upon the conscience by requiring terms of communion that are unscriptural." -- Publisher
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/misrep4.htm
Protestant Antidote to Modern Disunity (1/5) (free audio file)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=81202235217
Protestant Antidote to Modern Disunity (2/5) (free audio file)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=8130218525
Protestant Antidote to Modern Disunity (3/5) (free audio file)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=815022132
Barrow, Greg, and Larry Birger, Covenanted Uniformity: The Protestant Remedy for Disunity, three audio files. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Barrow, Greg, and Larry Birger, Jr., Reformation Principles Re-Exhibited: An Historical Witness and Brotherly Entreaty. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1-30.
Bates, Stewart, Pastoral Admonitions and Warnings of the Reformed Presbyterian Church [together with some profitable ones from other Reformed churches].
Pastoral Admonitions and Warnings of the Reformed Presbyterian Church [together with some profitable ones from other Reformed churches].
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/17/the-reformed-presbyterian-churchs-of-scotland-address-to-the-reformed-presbyterians-and-other-christians-in-british-america
Pastoral Admonitions and Warnings of the Reformed Presbyterian Church [together with some profitable ones from other Reformed churches].
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/pastoral-admonitions-warnings-and-letters
Birger, Larry, Terms of Ministerial and Christian Communion in the Reformed Presbyterian Church: and, In our day, in the Puritan Reformed Church (Edmonton, AB, and Prince George, BC); With Explanatory Dialogue (including "The Biblical and Logical Necessity of Uninspired Creeds"). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1-30.
"Separation, to start the 'perfect' Church is dangerous as Wilhelmus à Brakel points out." See Wilhelmus à Brakel, "Degeneracy Within the Church: Not a Reason to Separate from the Church," in THE CHRISTIANS REASONABLE SERVICE, volume 2. One comes to the same conviction after reading Calvin's INSTITUTES (Battle's translation), 4.1.6-21. The depravity of ALL humanity is not a valid excuse to forsake the assembly of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). Just because there is degeneracy or declension in a local church does not mean the individual must believe it, or must subscribe to it.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/TermsMin.htm
Black, James Alexander, Why I am a Covenanter, 1901.
Black, John (1768-1849), Church Fellowship. A Sermon Preached at the Opening of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, May 16, 1816.
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)
Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men. (Ephesians 4:14)
Church Fellowship, John Black
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/john-blacks-sermon-on-church-fellowship
Black, John (1768-1849), A Sermon on National Righteousness and Sin: Delivered in the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, April 3, 1827, Before a Large Assembly Convened for the Purpose of Adopting Resolutions Against Duelling.
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
Carlisle, Samuel, Centennial Sermon, 1876.
Carlisle, Samuel, A Paper on the History of the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanting Church in the Vicinity of Newburgh and on the Life of Rev. James R. Willson, D.D., 1885.
Carslaw, W.H., Exiles of the Covenant, 1908 edition. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #30.
This (215 pages) may contain the lists of banished and persecuted covenanters, some of whom were sent to America.
Carson, David M., A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America to 1871.
Carson, David M., Pro Christo Et Patria: A History of Geneva College, ISBN: 1578640067 9781578640065.
Carson, David M., Transplanted to America: A Popular History of the American Covenanters to 1871.
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.
Transplanted to America: A Popular History of the American Covenanters to 1871
http://books.google.com/books?id=yb57GwAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Chellis, William, Origins of American Covenanter Political Theology (National Reform Association). Probably available in a publication of the National Reform Association. However, NRA is currently dormant (May 3, 2018).
Author's Note: "This article is an excerpt from a larger paper on the place of God's law in Anglo-American Christendom."
Coleman, John, The Christian's Problem With the Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, 1959.
Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing, The Best of The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness Magazine. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing.
http://www.covenanter.org
Covenanter Witness, The, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, and Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Synod., The Covenanter Witness, 1928 -- Present. ISSN: 0749-4319.
Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), The Reasons of Mr. Alexander Craighead's Receding From the Present Judicatories of This Church, Together With its Constitution; To Which is Annexed a Preface to the Reader, to Discover the Basis or Foundation on Which the Reasons are Built (Philadelphia, PA: B. Franklin, 1743). Presbyterian Historical Society Microcard Evans no. 4.
"Craighead adhered to the Reformed Presbyterians from 1742 to 1749, but was never actually received as an RP minister. John Cuthbertson, who was sent out by the Reformed Presbytery in Scotland in 1751, was the first RP minister to serve in the New World. It fell to him, together with Matthew Linn and Alexander Dobbin, to organize the Reformed Presbytery, on March 10, 1774, at Paxtang, Pennsylvania. The printer was Benjamin Franklin!" -- Gordon J. Keddie "Bring the Book: A Bibliography of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1743 -- 1992" in REFORMED PRESBYTERIANS IN THE NEW WORLD, a special issue of Semper Reformanda, Vol. 1, No. 3, Fall 1992, ISSN: 1065-3783.
Craighead, The Reasons of Mr. Alexander Craighead's Receding From the Present Judicatories of This Church . . . 1743
http://www.truecovenanter.com/kirkgovt/creaghead_reasons_of_receding_1743.html
*Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), Renewal of the Covenants, National and Solemn League; A Confession of Sins; An Engagement to Duties; and a Testimony; as They Were Carried on at Middle Octorara in Pennsylvania, November 11, 1743. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27. A microform copy is held at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Presbyterian Historical Society.
"A fascinating Covenanter document proclaiming that 'to the Calvinistic system of principles, and the Presbyterian form of government, this nation (the United States), is largely indebted for its civil independence and republican polity. John Calvin and John Knox are the real founders of American liberties. Their teachings, plainly deducible from the Word of God, were disseminated by the persecuted remnant of the Church of Scotland, and were generally incorporated in the structure of American independence.' Furthermore, Glasgow, in his introduction, points out that Craighead's covenanting work formed a basis for the national Declaration of Independence, which followed shorter thereafter. 'For seven years Mr. Craighead labored among the Covenanter societies; but failing to receive assistance from Scotland, he removed, in 1749, to Virginia, thence to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. There he became identified with the Presbytery in connection with the Presbyterian Church. Being thoroughly imbued, however, with the principles of the Scotch Covenanters, Mr. Craighead taught them to his people around Charlotte. They in turn formulated them into the First Declaration of Independence, emitted at Charlotte, NC, May, 1775. According to a reliable author (Wheeler's Reminiscences, p. 278). Thomas Jefferson says in his autobiography that when he was engaged in preparing the National Declaration of Independence, that he and his colleagues searched everywhere for formulas, and that the printed proceedings of Octorara, as well as the Mecklenburg Declaration, were before him, and that he freely used ideas therein contained. It is difficult to determine, therefore, the real author of American Independence. Undoubtedly the principles of the Covenanters at Octarara in 1743, the sentiments of the Presbyterians at Charlotte in 1775, and the Declaration submitted by Jefferson in 1776, contain one and the same great principles. 'Honor to whom honor is due.' However, Glasgow also reports, 'hence the Declaration of American Independence was justifiable. But when the newly-born nation ignored the God of battles, rejected the authority of the Prince of the kings of the earth, and refused to administer the government in accordance with the requirements of the Divine Law, then the same loyal Covenanters, faithful to their principles and consistent with their history through all the struggles of the centuries, dissented from the Constitution of the United States, and are justifiable in the continuance of this position of political dissent so long as the government retains its character of political atheism. We may rightfully declare our independence of wicked men and rebellious nations, but we cannot declare our independence of God, and set up a government regardless of His authority, without incurring His wrath and suffering from His desolating judgements. 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' This rare book contains much that is exceedingly valuable and the section titled 'The Declaration, Protestation, and Testimony of a Suffering Remnant of the Anti-Popish, Anti-Lutheran, Anti-Prelatic, Anti-Erastian, Anti-Latitudinarian, Anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ, in America,' is well worth the price of the book itself. With Glasgow, we set this book forth 'trusting that his work will be of historical value to all Covenanters, and interesting to all other readers,' with the hope of 'enkindling a flame of love for the glorious principles of the Word of God, and arousing an interest in the great work of National Reformation'." -- Publisher
"The first RP church in America was established at Paxtang, Pa., in 1721, and the second at Middle Octorara, Pa., in 1732, both by immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. A third edition was published in 1895 in Beaver Falls, PA." -- Gordon J. Keddie
Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), Renewal of the Covenants at Middle Octorara, Pennsylvania
http://www.truecovenanter.com/covenants/octorara_covenant_renewal.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Craighead, Ernest Schwartz (b. 1888), Craighead Ministers: In Ulster and Colonial America, Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, 1633-1799, 3 volumes (Pittsburgh, PA: E.S. Craighead, 1954).
"Named Person: Craighead family (Alexander Craighead, 1707-1766), Craighead, Alexander, 1707-1766.
"Note(s): Typescript and mimeograph./ Chronology, chronology supplement and genealogy of Rev. Alexander Craighead, his eight children and their descendants."
*Craighead, James Geddes (1832-1895), The Craighead Family: A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Rev. Thomas and Margaret Craighead, 1658-1876, ISBN: 0916497704.
Relates "the life and times of hundreds of Craigheads and their friends. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
*Craighead, James Geddes (1832-1895), Scotch and Irish Seeds in American Soil: The Early History of the Scotch and Irish Churches, and Their Relations to the Presbyterian Church of America, ISBN: 9780548177631 0548177635 0790546221 (microfiche).
"These extraordinary resolves were sent by a messenger to the Congress in Philadelphia, and were printed in the Cape Fear Mercury, Adam Boyd, editor, and were widely distributed throughout the province. A copy of them was transmitted by Sir James Wright, then Governor of Georgia, to England, in a letter of June 20, 1775. And the paper containing these resolutions may still be seen in the British State-Paper Office. . . .
"Bancroft [the historian George Bancroft], stated 'The first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve all connection with Great Britain came from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians'." -- James Geddes Craighead, pp. 329,330
Early history includes the history of the Covenanted Reformation. See: Chapter IX: "Emigration of Scotch and Scotch-Irish to America and Chapter X: "Foreign Ministers in America" which lists pastors, their time of arrival, and their place of ministry.
Cuthbertson, John, and John Buchanan, The Diary of the Reverend John Cuthbertson, 1751-1791.
"Holograph. The pocket diary of the Reverend John Cuthbertson which he carried daily in his wanderings and ministrations over the district 'west of the Alleghenies' for 40 years, 1751-1791.
"Original diary presented to Allegheny Theological Seminary by John Buchanan, 1896." -- Publisher
*Cuthbertson, John, Register of Marriages and Baptisms Performed by Rev. John Cuthbertson, Covenanter Minister 1751-1791.
*Davies, Samuel (1723-1761), The Divine Government the Joy of the World. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Expands upon the reign and rule of King Jesus and the great blessings that this entails." -- Publisher
The Divine Government the Joy of the World, Samuel Davies
http://books.google.com/books?id=q2msGwAACAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Dick, James, Hymns and Hymn Books, reprinted from The Original Covenanter 3:12 (Dec. 1883). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #19.
Elliott, Delbert H., Covenanter Evangelism, 1920.
Elliott, Delbert H., and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Witness Committee, The Church Versus the Lodge, 1920.
Evans, Mari-Lynn, Holly George-Warren, and Robert Santelli, The Appalachians: America's First and Last Frontier, ISBN: 1400061865 9781400061860.
Evans, Nelson W., and Emmons B. Stivers, A History of Adams County, Ohio From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time: Including Character Sketches of the Prominent Persons identified with the first century of the county's growth and containing numerous engravings and illustrations.
Faris, David S., A Defense of the old School Covenanters as Dissenters From the United States Constitution, 1864.
Fields, S. Helen, and Henry Paton, Index of the Register of Rev. John MacMillan of Marriages and Baptisms Solemnized by Him Among the Cameronian Societies, 1706 to 1751.
Notes: The index gives parishes, villages and shires (leaves 1-11); marriages (leaves 12-21), giving names, date, residence and original register page; baptisms (leaves 22-122), giving name, father, sponsor, date, residence and original register page; names not to be found in alphabetical order (leaves 123-135); errata (2 leaves).
"In 1934 the writer published a REGISTER OF MARRIAGES AND BAPTISMS PERFORMED BY REV. JOHN CUTHBERTSON, 1751 TO 1791. Doctor Cuthbertson was also a Covenanter, sent to America by the Church of Scotland to minister to those of the same faith, and from his landing at New Castle, Delaware, on August 5, 1751, until his death on March 10, 1791, he recorded in a book similar to the one used by Rev. John MacMillan, marriages, baptisms, etc., performed by him. Many similar surnames are in both Registers." -- Publisher
Gilmore, Peter, Rebels and Revivals: Ulster Immigrants, Western Pennsylvania Presbyterianism, and the Formation of Scotch-Irish Identity, 1780-1830, a dissertation, 2009.
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, The Geneva Book, Comprising a History of Geneva College and a Biographical Catalogue of the Alumni and Many Students, 1908.
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, The Geneva Book, Comprising a History of Geneva College and Biographical Catalogue of the Alumni and Many Students.
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America: With Sketches of all her Ministry, Congregations, Missions, Institutions, Publications, etc.
"Gives the history of early covenanters in America. David Steele and others left the communion sometime prior to the synod of 1841 in Utica, Ohio (p. 108). Notice 'the alleged reason that the Synod had postponed its deliverance on "voluntary associations",' and they regarded the Synod as unfaithful to its duty."
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/conv_resources.html
History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America: With Sketches of all her Ministry, Congregations, Missions, Institutions, Publications, etc. and Embellished With Over Fifty Portraits and Engravings. Full text.
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofrefor00glas/historyofrefor00glas_djvu.txt
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, The Old Light Covenanter (Covenanter.org and Truecovenanter.com)
David Smith Faris
"Son of Rev. James and Nancy (Smith) Faris, was born in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, November 11, 1830. He received his early education in the common schools, and under the direction of his distinguished father, and graduated from the University of Indiana in 1851. He studied theology privately during the suspension of the Seminary, and was licensed by the Illinois Presbytery, October 10, 1855. At the reorganization of the Allegheny Seminary, in 1856, he attended one session. He was ordained by the Illinois Presbytery, and installed pastor of the Bethel congregation, Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois, October 7, 1857, where he is in charge. He was twice married. First to Miss Jane McAfee, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 8, 1861; and second, to Mrs. Hester (Edgar) Finley, of Sparta, Illinois, March 30, 1871. He is the author of a pamphlet, "A Defense of the Old School Covenanters as Dissenters from the United States Constitution," 1864, p. 33, and many historical articles in the magazines of the Church, bearing upon the history of the Covenanters in South Carolina. He was Moderator of the Synod of 1883." -- D.S. Faris and W. Melancthon Glasgow in History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, pp. 498,499.
David Smith Faris
"D.S. Faris, whose historical sketch appears in Glasgow's History until the year 1888 when that volume was published, was at that time pastor of the Bethel congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in Sparta, Illinois. He continued in this charge until weakness made it impossible further to perform his duties when he resigned and was released from the pastoral duties of the congregation on January 1, 1906. He had served the one congregation for a period of half a century lacking two years. He continued to reside in Sparta until the time of his death, which occurred February 13, 1914, at the age of 83. He was a faithful worker both in his pastoral work and in his preaching. He also stood in the front in all reform work that came within his sphere of life. He with a very few others occupied the unique position of thinking out and putting into motion the great work of National Reformation that has continued down to the present time, and has grown into international proportions. He left behind him a wife, three daughters and one son. A half century of service! And yet standing in the edge of Eternity we will look back and speak of it as a short half an hour. Oh, how earnestly we should live." -- Owen F. Thompson, Sketches of the Ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America from 1888 to 1930: Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, pp. 104,105.
http://oldlightcovenanter.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/d-s-faris/
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, Ray B. Lanning, and Nathan P. Eshelman, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America: With Sketches of all her Ministry, Congregations, Missions, Institutions, Publications, etc., and Embellished With Over Fifty Portraits and Engravings, ISBN: 9781601780195 1601780192.
"Gives the history of early covenanters in America. David Steele and others left the communion sometime prior to the synod of 1841 in Utica, Ohio (p. 108). Notice 'the alleged reason that the Synod had postponed its deliverance on "voluntary associations",' and they regarded the Synod as unfaithful to its duty." -- Publisher
"Students of Presbyterian church history will discover a whole family of churches whose history sparkles with remarkable personalities and noteworthy achievements, however much they may have been forgotten in the years that followed. Reformed Presbyterians, Associate Reformed Presbyterians, and the dwindling numbers of those who once belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of North America, will all give thanks for the history that is brought to light in these pages. We 'Scottish Dissenting Presbyterians' have a goodly heritage. We have much to discover about our forbears in the faith, and what they accomplished in their day; and much as well to consider with regard to how their distinctive principles and practices may have something vital to contribute to our churches and to our nation today." -- Ray B. Lanning and Nathan P. Eshelman, from the Introduction
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/conv_resources.html
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, full text.
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofrefor00glas/historyofrefor00glas_djvu.txt
Glasgow, W. Melancthon, Reid W. Stewart, and James S. Tibby, Covenanter Record: List of Congregations With Their Historical Record, c. 1901, 2nd edition (Lower Burrell, PA: Point Pleasant Ltd., 2007).
"Notes: As printed with the original manuscript introduction by J.S. Tibby, Pittsburgh, PA, 1902: 'The contents of this volume represent the work of over ten years in sending out hundreds of postal cards, deciphering dates on tomb stones, consulting Covenanter literature and interviewing Fathers in Israel by Rev. Glasgow, late Pastor of Beaver Falls Covenanter Congregation, but at present pastor of the U.P. Congregation, Wellsville, OH'."
Goold, W.H., Patronage Opposed to the Independence of the Church, and to the Scriptural Rights of the Christian People, 1841.
Hay, Eldon, The Chignecto Covenanters: A Regional History of Reformed Presbyterianism in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 1827-1905, ISBN: 9780773566200 0773566201.
Hay, Eldon, Covenanters in Canada: Reformed Presbyterianism from 1820 to 2012, ISBN: 9780773541009 0773541004 9780773587823 0773587829.
"In THE COVENANTERS IN CANADA, Eldon Hay sheds light on a religious community often overlooked in the chronicle of Canadian history. A group of religious and political dissenters who opposed the interference by the Stuart kings in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Covenanter movement was small, but had deep roots worthy of attention and respect. This study of a resilient tradition of religious dissent reflects the value of variance in a genuinely pluralistic society. The Covenanters objected to a ruler who was both the head of state and head of the church. Tracing the theological and historical significance of the movement in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States, Hay outlines the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of Covenanter missionaries in the Maritimes, Upper and Lower Canada, and the West. Despite fierce opposition from rival denominations, the Covenanters ultimately survived to carve a niche for themselves and develop a precarious relationship with other denominations and secular society -- a relationship that remains tenacious and tenuous. A comprehensive study of a minority religious movement, THE COVENANTERS IN CANADA is an insightful perspective on the evolving relationship between small religious movements and the majority culture." -- Publisher
Herman, Arthur, How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of how Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created our World and Everything in it. ISBN: 0609606352 9780609606353.
"The reader should be warned, the book is not what it appears to be. In fact, a look at Herman's bio suggests that it is insidious.
"It is sobering to see it make the case that Scottish thinkers, descendants of the very men who gave the world the Scottish Covenanted Reformation in the 17th century, went on to contributed to the decline of Western thought by exporting the Scottish Enlightenment.
"It is striking in two respects. First, it traces the 'brain drain' from Scotland in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, which contributed to enlightenment and progress in the West. Yet, while we have been taught that the "prosperity" and advances of modern Western society are a result of "enlightenment thought," the huge problems looming over modern society seem less than promising.
"Secondly, Protestant theologians regard the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland of the 17th century as the highest attainment of Christianity in history. It is striking that the book does not treat the fact that the relationship between Church and State abruptly changed in Scotland, and in the West, in 1661, and has been in decline since then. 'In early 1661 the Scottish Parliament passed the Act Rescissory, which established the king as supreme judge in all matters civil and ecclesiastical, and which made owning the covenants National and Solemn League unlawful. This act undid all the work of the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland from 1638 to 1650, and made it high treason to acknowledge Jesus Christ as head of the church.' So, while it is entertaining, the book is an account of the influence of Scottish secular humanistic thought on Western society after the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland. See: An Introduction to the Covenanted Reformation and Act, Declaration, and Testimony, 1876, Part II.
"It is only natural, Herman suggests, that a country that once ranked among Europe's poorest, if most literate, would prize the ideal of progress, measured 'by how far we have come from where we once were.' Forged in the Scottish Enlightenment, that ideal would inform the political theories of Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, and David Hume, and other Scottish thinkers who viewed 'man as a product of history,' and whose collective enterprise involved 'nothing less than a massive reordering of human knowledge' (yielding, among other things, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, first published in Edinburgh in 1768, and the Declaration of Independence, published in Philadelphia just a few years later [The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration -- compiler]). On a more immediately practical front, but no less bound to that notion of progress, Scotland also fielded inventors, warriors, administrators, and diplomats such as Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Simon MacTavish, and Charles James Napier, who created empires and great fortunes, extending Scotland's reach into every corner of the world." -- compiler
"Herman examines the lives and work of these and many more eminent Scots, capably defending his thesis and arguing, with both skill and good cheer, that the Scots 'have by and large made the world a better place rather than a worse place.' -- Reader's Comment
"Personally, I found this all a bit more intriguing then convincing. The leap from Knox (1505-1572) to Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) required a detour from church history into the foggy bottom of British politics before emerging with a secular history of the Enlightenment. While I enjoyed getting a Scottish view of the 'English' civil war and detailed account of parliamentary debate over the Treaty of Union (1707), the story is simply too brief. All this takes place in the first 60 pages, one third of it devoted entirely to the Treaty of Union. To make a case for Hutcheson and Lord Kames inventing the 'Enlightenment,' a bit more would be required regarding English and French developments. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"Arthur Herman, author [clearly an establishment writer -- compiler] of THE IDEA OF DECLINE IN WESTERN HISTORY and JOSEPH McCARTHY: REEXAMINING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF AMERICA'S MOST HATED SENATOR, received his doctorate in history at Johns Hopkins University. He is the coordinator of the Western Heritage Program at the Smithsonian Institution, an associate professor of history at George Mason University, and a consulting historical editor for Time-Life Books. He lives in Washington, D.C." -- Publisher
See:
C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT The "Apologetics" Lecture Series Using FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY (1979) as the text, and delivered in Decatur, Georgia, beginning November, 1979. (17 MP3 files) The Decline of Modern Philosophy Decline in Theology, #1 Decline Through the 1840's: Philosophical Revolution in Political Thought and so forth, and so on.
*Hislop, Alexander (1807-1865), Christ's Crown and Covenant or National Covenanting Essentially Connected With National Revival, 1860.
Hood, Fred J., Reformed America: the Middle and Southern States, 1783-1837, ISBN: 0817300341 9780817300340 0817300368 9780817300364.
Houston, Thomas (1803-1882, editor of The Covenanter), The Christian Magistrate, 1832. Available in WORKS: DOCTRINAL AND PRACTICAL, 4 volumes.
The Christian Magistrate: A Discourse, With an Appendix, 1832.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2017/1/18/the-christian-magistrate
Howe, George, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. 1 of 2.
Howe, George, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. 2 of 2.
Hoyt, William Henry, The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence: A Study of Evidence Showing That the Alleged Early Declaration of Independence by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on May 20th 1775, is Spurious, ISBN: 1177378744 9781177378741.
Johnson, Robert (pastor of The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Kossuth, Iowa), A Discourse on Instrumental Music in Public Worship, 1871.
Come before his presence with singing. (Psalm 100:2)
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/27/robert-johnsons-pamphlet-a-discourse-on-instrumental-music-in-public-worship
Johnston, J.B., and the Society of Inquiry (Xenia Theological Seminary, Xenia, Ohio), The Signs of the Times: An Address Delivered to the Members of the Society of Inquiry of the Associate Theological Seminary, at Xenia, Ohio, April 19, 1858.
Johnston, Nathan Robinson, Christ Jesus Lord of Nations, 1875.
Keddie, Gordon J., Bring the Book: A Bibliography of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1743-1992 in REFORMED PRESBYTERIANS IN THE NEW WORLD, a special issue of Semper Reformadnda, Vol. 1, No. 3, Fall 1992, ISSN 1065-3783.
*Kelly, Douglas F., The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments From the 16th Through 18th Centuries, ISBN: 0875522971.
"Examines Calvin's influence on the civil governments of Geneva, Huguenot France, Knox's Scotland, Puritan England, and Colonial America. Shows how Calvin's legacy continues to bear upon the issues that guide and agitate Western nations today." -- Publisher
Knox, John, Jr., An Essay on the Application of Reformation Principles to the American Government, 1833. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
Lusk, Robert (1781-1845), Characteristics of a Witnessing Church. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
Reprinted from The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness, various issues, published by the Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite."
Lusk, Robert, Characteristics of the Witnessing Church
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/20/d2t1s9uxbnxaispskag80dis1k9keh
MacLean, Isabelle McCall, The Scottish Covenanter Genealogical Index -- (1630-1712), ISBN: 9780595420407 0595420400.
"This work evolved out of a love for my ancestors, one being John Whitelaw, the Covenanter Monkland Martyr, who was executed for his religious beliefs in Edinburgh, 1683. While searching for his records I came across reference to thousands of other Scottish Covenanters. This INDEX lists those Covenanters found in some books written about the period between 1630 and 1712. There are many, many more Covenanters, whose names need to be added to this work, and, God willing, I will do it.
"The Covenanters were steadfast in their Presbyterian beliefs and refused to take an oath unto the King stating that he was the head of the church. They believed that Christ was the Head of the Church and their loyalty to this belief allowed them to lay their lives down for it. The Royalists and Dragoons, who were seeking to bring them into obedience to the King, relentlessly chased the Covenanters from glen to glen. This disregard for their civil rights was brutally carried out basically in the Lowlands of Scotland.8
"Many of their records were destroyed along with their lives and their stories only live in family lore and books that were written about them. I have extracted some of their names and created The Scottish Covenanter Genealogical Index, which is by no means complete, but is a work in progress.
About the Author: "I learned to love my Covenanter ancestors at the knees of my father, James McCall MacLean and my grandfather, Thomas McCall McLean. As many Covenanter records had been destroyed during the 'killing times' in Scotland, only scanty histories and some court records remained. What I found, I indexed for myself and for other family history researchers.
You can contact the author at www.isabellemmaclean.com." -- Publisher
Martin, R.H., et al., and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Can the Oath to the Constitution of the United States be Taken With the Oath-taker Maintaining a Supreme Allegiance to God and the Lord Jesus Christ? 1948.
McDonald, James McGowan, The Perfect law of Liberty: An Address, Delivered in Rehoboth Church, Iowa, July 4th, 1861.
McDermott, Gerald R., Poverty, Patriotism, and National Covenant: Jonathan Edwards and Public Life, ISSN: 0384-9694.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), America in the Coming Crisis; An Appeal to Christian Patriots to Align our Country With Jesus for her Safety in the Next War, 1922.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), Covenanters in America: The Voice of Their Testimony on Present Moral Issues, Reasons for the Hope and Work of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1892. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"This books gives some historical information, but the bulk of it sets forth the distinctive beliefs of a branch of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Some topics covered include public social covenanting, political dissent, divine psalmody, the Sabbath, national reform and evangelism, education and more. We note that the chapter on temperance is clearly in error and that a much stronger and more vital Covenanter testimony is set forth in the ACT, DECLARATION AND TESTIMONY FOR THE WHOLE OF OUR COVENANTED REFORMATION . . . EMITTED BY THE REFORMED PRESBYTERY AT PLOUGHLANDHEAD, SCOTLAND, 1761; TOGETHER WITH THE SUPPLEMENTS ADOPTED BY THE REFORMED PRESBYTERY AT THIS DATE, JUNE 2D, 1876." -- Publisher
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), The new Heaven and the new Earth.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), True Blue, 1892.
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), and Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Committee on Testimony Bearing, Psalms Versus Hymns: Report on Psalmody Adopted by the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa., May 27, 1908.
McGeachy, Neill Roderick, A History of the Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church, Mecklenburg Presbytery, Charlotte, North Carolina
One of two churches, Sugaw Creek (later Sugar Creek), and Rocky River, pastored by Alexander Craighead in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
http://archive.org/details/historyofsugawcr00mcge
McKain, James D., Index to History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina by George Howe: Volumes I and II, ISBN: 0913363219 9780913363218.
McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), The Constitution, Character, and Duties of the Gospel Ministry: A Sermon, Preached at the Ordination of the Rev. Gilbert McMaster, in the First Presbyterian Church, Duanesburgh, 1808. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
Sermon at Gilbert McMaster's [M'Master] Ordination on The Constitution, Character, and Duties, of the Gospel Ministry
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/alexander-mcleods-sermon-at-gilbert-mcmasters-ordination-on-the-constitution-character-and-duties-of-the-gospel-ministry
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), Negro Slavery Unjustifiable, 1802. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
Negro Slavery Unjustifiable
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/14/alexander-mcleods-sermon-on-negro-slavery-unjustifiable
McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), The Pulpit in Relation to Social Life; or, Christus Consolator, 1870.
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), A Scriptural View of the Character, Causes, and Ends of the Present War (1815), 224 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Though having the war of 1812 (to 1815), between the United States and Britain, in view, the author notes that 'the principles which I have laid down, and enforced in these sermons, are not, however, of mere temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at war, they are of importance to a Christian community. There are the permanent principles of social order and public equity.'
Chapter headings include: 'The Right Discussing of Public Affairs,' dealing with why 'Ministers have the right of discussing from the pulpit those political question which affect Christian morals' and 'The Moral Character of the U.S. Federal Constitution;' The Moral Character of the Two Belligerents' (i.e. the national character, as moral persons, of both the United States and Britain); 'The Lawfulness of Defensive War;' 'The Present War,' dealing with how 'War in Defence of Property, Liberty, and National Independence and Honour is Lawful: and (How) Defensive War May Be for Precaution, Resistance, or Redress;' and 'The Ends for Which God in His Providence Permits the Existence of this War.' M'Leod concludes this work with these stirring words, 'the most faithful of Reformers with patriotic ardour contended with the sword in defence of their civil and religious liberties. Ulric Zwingle, the morning-star of the reformation, fell in battle at Zurich, 1530, at the commencement of the strife against arbitrary power; and towards the close of the struggle which terminated in the overthrow of the purest of the churches (i.e. the covenanted Presbyterian Church of Scotland -- RB), Richard Cameron fell at Airsmoss, 1680, while defending, as a Christian hero, the religion and liberties of his country, against the tyranny of the bishops, and the royal house of Stuart . . . If I claim a place among consistent Protestants, I must testify against all the acts of anti-Christian power. If I follow the steps which are died by the blood of the Martyrs, I must raise my voice against the thrones which shed that blood. If the Bible is my system of religion, and of social order, I must disclaim attachment to those powers that are hostile to evangelical doctrine'." -- Publisher
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), The Little Flock Possessing the Kingdom: or, True Religion Controlling the World: A Sermon Preached at the Opening of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, April 30, 1854.
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), Popery in the United States, 1848.
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), Preparation for Death the Business of Life. A Discourse on the Death of Rev. Samuel Brown Wylie, D.D., 1852.
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), and the First Reformed Presbyterian (New York, NY), Presentation Address to, and Historical Discourse by Rev. John Niel McLeod, D.D., on the Completion of a Twenty-five Years' Pastorate, 1857.
McLeod, John Niel (1806-1874), First Reformed Presbyterian, Testimonial to Rev. Dr. McLeod, 1858.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), The Embassy of Reconciliation, With its Occasion and Ministry. Sermon Preached at the Ordination of Rev. James Mulligan, 1812.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), The Great Subject of the Christian Ministry. The Substance of a Discourse Delivered at the Opening of the General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadelphia, May 19th, 1852.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), Isaac Watts' Heresies on the Trinity and Person of Jesus Christ Exposed (1852). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"M'Master writes,
Whatever obscurity, from the ambiguity of his language and other causes, may hang over his views, the following facts admit of no doubt -- that is -- that Dr. W. was an anti-trinitarian, and that the distinct divine Personality of the Son of God, as equal with the Father, had no place in his acknowledged creed. The labours of his life, in which he manifested more than his usual mental vigour, were in direct opposition to the orthodox faith on this whole subject . . . He ventured to tell his Maker that the doctrine of three real persons in the Godhead, is a strange and perplexing notion, which we cannot receive; and which is not even inferable from the whole contents of the Book of God! . . . What upon this fundamental subject were the views of Dr. W.? Certainly not those of Christianity. They might be those of a slightly modified Arianism, but not less gross or erroneous than those of the Alexandrian presbyter. The scheme of both was really a form of the old Oriental Gnosticism. The superangelic spirit of Arius (sic) and Watts was but an aeon of the Gnostics. The scheme of W. may be Gnosticism, but Christianity it is not. We understand his scheme as did Bradbury, Doddridge, Edwards, and, perhaps, as every one understands him who has attentively read his works. Why then be specially reproached for understanding what they understood, and for saying what they said? That these vagaries of the Dr. were neither the fruits of youthful indiscretion, nor of the infirmities of advanced years, he assures us himself. In the preface to his USEFUL QUESTIONS, he certifies his readers that "These papers are the product of that part of his life, when his powers of mind and body were in full vigour." That he abandoned them at a late period of his life, it would be grateful to be assured of, but of the fact no evidence has been given. The well meant attempt of Mr. Toplady to prove it, it is well known, was a failure. And his permission of the continuance of the orthodox phraseology of his poetry will not do it. The Dr's. correspondence with Mr. Martin Tomkins, an anti-trinitarian, will explain why he did not alter, as he wished to do, the sentiments of his religious poetry. The language of poetry is no certain index of the principles of the poet. The modern Transcendentalist is often poetic in his theology, and in an evangelical strain he can take the language of Rutherford, and Owen, and Edwards, and talk of a close walk with God, and of intimate communion with him. The pantheism of transcendentalists allows them thus to speak a very spiritual language: while they may mean no more than their exposure to a July sun or a December frost, to a gentle shower or a storm of hail. The poetry of fancy will not do away the heresy of prose. This brings to mind a remarkable coincidence. Bardesanes of Edessa, of the second century, and Watts of Southampton; of the eighteenth century, were both distinguished for their advocacy of error, and both were poets, and are the only poets, as far as recollected, who attempted an imitation of the book of Psalms, each in a book of 150 hymns. If history is to be credited, the Gnostic, as a poet, was not inferior to him of Southampton."Beware innovators in worship: their other heresies are never far behind -- as this title demonstrates concerning the heresies of Watts! This book is extracted from the appendix of M'Master's AN APOLOGY FOR THE BOOK OF PSALMS, IN FIVE LETTERS; ADDRESSED TO THE FRIENDS OF UNION IN THE CHURCH OF GOD which is on Reformation Bookshelf CD #19." [Also available (AN APOLOGY FOR THE BOOK OF PSALMS) on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler] -- Publisher
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), Moral Character of Civil Government: Considered With Reference to the Political Institutions of the United States, in Four Letters, 1832.
http://archive.org/details/moralcharacterc00mcmagoog
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), The Parent's Assistant for the Sabbath Evening Instruction of his Children: From the Appendix to Dr. McMaster's Analysis of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
McMaster (M'Master, 1778-1854), Gilbert, Selected Works
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/gilbert-mcmaster-1778-1854
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), and Hanover College. Philalethean Society, The Obligations of the American Scholar to his Country and the World: An Address Delivered Before the Philalethean Society of Hanover College, September 28th, 1841.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), The Shorter Catechism Analyzed: Containing a Distinct Exhibition of the Particular Doctrines Under Each Question, With Appropriate Proofs From Scripture. Alternate title: ANALYSIS OF THE WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), Thoughts on the Union of the Church, 1846.
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), The Upright man in Life and at Death: A Discourse Delivered, Sabbath Evening, November 7, 1852, on the Occasion of the Decease of the Rev. Samuel Brown Wylie, D.D., 1852.
Miller, Samuel (1769-1850), The Duty of the Church to Take Measures for Providing an Able and Faithful Ministry.
An Able and Faithful Ministry
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/AbleFait.htm
Milroy, William, The Testimony of the Church Respecting Military Associations, etc., With the Wicked and Profane. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
William Milroy's Pamphlet "The Testimony of the Church Respecting Military Associations, &c., With the Wicked and Profane"
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/19/william-milroys-pamphlet-the-testimony-of-the-church-respecting-military-associations-c-with-the-wicked-and-profane
Moore, Joseph S., American Innovations to Scots-Irish Religious Traditions: Rev. John Hemhill and the Covenanter-Seceder Presbyterians in the American South, in ULSTER-SCOTS AND AMERICA: DIASPORA LITERATURE, HISTORY, AND MIGRATION, 1750-2000, editors, Frank Ferguson and Richard MacMaster.
*Moore, Joseph S., Founding Sins: How a Group of Antislavery Radicals Fought to put Christ Into the Constitution, ISBN: 9780190269241 0190269243. Alternate title: THE FAILURE TO FOUND A CHRISTIAN NATION: COVENANTERS AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, TRACES THE COVENANTERS' POLITICAL ROOTS FROM SCOTLAND TO THE NEW WORLD.
"The Covenanters, now mostly forgotten, were America's first Christian nationalists. For two centuries they decried the fact that, in their view, the United States was not a Christian nation because slavery was in the Constitution but Jesus was not. Having once ruled Scotland as a part of a Presbyterian coalition, they longed to convert America to a holy Calvinist vision in which church and state united to form a godly body politic. Their unique story has largely been submerged beneath the histories of the events in which they participated and the famous figures with whom they interacted, making them the most important religious movement in American history that no one remembers.
"Despite being one of North America's smallest religious sects, the Covenanters found their way into every major revolt. They were God's rebels -- just as likely to be Patriots against Britain as they were to be Whiskey Rebels against the federal government. As the nation's earliest and most avowed abolitionists, they had a significant influence on the fight for emancipation. In Founding Sins, Joseph S. Moore examines this forgotten history, and explores how Covenanters profoundly shaped American's understandings of the separation of church and state.
"While modern arguments about America's Christian founding usually come from the right, the Covenanters have a more complicated legacy. They fought for an explicitly Christian America in the midst of what they saw as a secular state that failed the test of Christian nationhood. But they did so on behalf of a cause -- abolition -- that is traditionally associated with the left. Though their attempts to insert God into the Constitution ultimately failed, Covenanters set the acceptable limits for religion in politics for generations to come. . . .
"Joseph S. Moore is Assistant Professor of History at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. His work has appeared in The New York Times and various scholarly journals." -- Publisher
"The facts recorded in this book should have been common knowledge in our schools. The book helps complete the history of early colonial America, which has been censored in public education. Christians should be familiar with the names of Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie. Their followers, Alexander McLeod and James R. Willson, though less known, did repeat the same Christian message, to wit: Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and, per Isaiah 60:12, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. So, it is imperative for any nation's survival to recognize Jesus Christ, as did many of the Colonial Charters and State Constitutions.
"This books traces that struggle and attempt by Christians to do just that. In a way, our current situation is a big 'I told you so' for the early colonial Christians. In the name of toleration, sin is tolerated. We are committing national suicide, slowly. The people discussed in this book point out a better alternative." -- Reader's Comment
More, Robert M., Jr., Aurora Borealis: A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Canada (Covenanter), 1820-1967, 1967.
Moran, Gerald D., Helen Fattal, and Florence Fattal, Covenanter Witness: Volumes 1-19, 1928-1937, Index.
Omicron, Permanence of Covenant Obligation, 1856. Alternate title: CIRCULAR NO. 1 and ANSWERING A DEFECTOR. Available in CIRCULAR NO. 1. Available (CIRCULAR NO. 1) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (PERMANENCE OF COVENANT OBLIGATION as MP3 and newsletter, and CIRCULAR NO. 1 as PDF) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Contents of CIRCULAR, NO. 1: The law and the testimony; The testimony and the law; Permanence of covenant obligation; and Answering a defector.
"An article, "The Law and the Testimony," explaining why making a distinction between the law and the testimony is needful to avoid legalism, and how this distinction affects the witnessing church." -- Publisher
Circular, No. 1
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/25/circular-no-1
Permanence of Covenant Obligation
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PermCovObl.htm
The Testimony and the Law
http://www.truecovenanter.com/steele/steele_the_testimony_and_the_law.html
*Price, Greg L., A Testimony Against the Unfounded Charges of Anabaptism. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"This book teaches us that 'the heresy of Anabaptism lives today! It has infected the modern church with its cancerous errors and heresies: anti-creedalism, arminianism, dispensationalism, independency [sectarianism], anti-paedobaptism, will-worship [anti-regulativism], perfectionism, societal escapism, religious pluralism and tolerationism [anti-establishmentarianism], denial of the perpetual obligation of social covenanting, pacifism, pietism, socialism, premillennialism, and a refusal to recognize lawful civil government as the ordinance of God. These unbiblical positions of the Anabaptists were not tolerated by the Reformed Churches of the First and Second Reformations, and neither should they be tolerated by any Church today that claims to be Reformed or Presbyterian.' [Greg Price]. Far to little contemporary Reformed writing has been directed against the Anabaptists, especially in light of the fact that many of their heresies have been generally adopted by professing Christians. Even the 'Reformed' community suffers from this contagion. Lord willing, this book with be an effective antidote to the 'AIDS' of Anabaptist thought and practice." Publisher
A Testimony Against the Unfounded Charges of Anabaptism (1997) by Greg Price
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/anabapt.htm
Reed, Robert Cameron, and Mary Walinshaw Reed, The Centenary of the Covenanter Society, 1822-1922, 1922.
Reformed Presbyterian, The, The Reformed Presbyterian.
A magazine.
Reformed Presbytery (America), Overture on Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/RPCCov/overture.htm
*Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite" (David Steele [1803-1887], James Campbell, Thomas Sproull, James Fulton), A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, 2nd Edition, Revised, and Enlarged by a Committee of the Reformed Presbytery ("Circular" and "Review" prefixed), 1879, 50 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Also available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #2 (also #1, #25, and #30).
"Until the church comes to terms with what is written in this book it will remain weak and divided. Covenant breakers will not prosper, as this rare item demonstrates from both Scripture and history. The power packed ordinance of covenanting (the National and Solemn League and Covenant in particular), was foundational to the Second Reformation and the work of the Westminster Assembly. 'By the National Covenant our fathers laid Popery prostrate. By the Solemn League and Covenant they were successful in resisting prelatic encroachments and civil tyranny. By it they were enabled to achieve the Second Reformation . . . They were setting up landmarks by which the location and limits of the city of God will be known at the dawn of the millennial day . . . How can they be said to go forth by the footsteps of the flock, who have declined from the attainments, renounced the covenants and contradicted the testimony of 'the cloud of witnesses. . . . All the schisms (separations) that disfigure the body mystical of Christ . . . are the legitimate consequences of the abandonment of reformation attainments, the violation of covenant engagements.' If you are interested in knowing how to recognize a faithful church (or state), when and why to separate from unfaithful institutions, who has held up the standard of Covenanted Reformation attainments and who has backslidden (and why), what it means to subscribe to the Westminster Confession (1646), (and why most that say they do so today do not have any idea of what that means), and much more concerning individual, family, church and civil, individual, family, church and civil duties, this is one of the best books you will ever lay your hands on. It chronicles 'some instances of worldly conformity and mark(s) some steps of defection from our 'covenanted unity and uniformity,' noting how 'it is necessary to take a retrospect of our history for many years; for we did not all at once reach our present condition of sinful ignorance and manifold apostasy.' Presbyterian and the Reformed churches lay under the heavy hand of God's judgement in our day, because of the very defections noted throughout this fine work. 'We heard (hear) from various quarters the cry, "maintain the truth, stand up for the principles of the Second Reformation"; and yet many of those who are the most loud in uttering this cry, appear desirous to bury in oblivion those imperishable national and ecclesiastical deeds, by which the church and kingdom of Scotland became 'married to the Lord.' Are we married to the Lord, or have we thrown off the covenants of our forefathers; are we the chaste bride of Christ, or a harlot who is found in the bedchambers of every devilish suitor (whether ecclesiastical or civil), who tempts us with the favors of this world? Let us cry out, as with 'the noble Marquis of Argyle, upon the scaffold,' when he said, 'God hath tied us by covenants to religion and reformation. These that were then unborn are yet engaged, and it passeth the power of all the magistrates under heaven to absolve them from the oath of God. They deceive themselves, and it may be, would deceive others, who think otherwise.' Not for the weak of heart." -- Publisher
A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, Reformed Presbytery
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-short-vindication-of-our-covenanted-reformation
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. Committee on Public Morals and National Righteousness, The Christian and Gambling.
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, and Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Synod., The Covenanter Witness, 1928 -- Present. ISSN: 0749-4319.
"The present official publication of the Reformed Presbyterian Church."
See the index by Gerald D. Moran, et al.
*Reformed Presbyterian Church (Scotland), Reformed Presbyterian Testimony, 1842. Alternate title: TESTIMONY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SCOTLAND: HISTORICAL AND DOCTRINAL (Glasgow: John Keith, 1842), over 400 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Keddie describes this as 'a doctrinal and historical statement, explaining and expanding upon the RPC's commitment to the Westminster Standards, the National Covenant, and the Solemn League and Covenant.' (Nigel Cameron, editor, Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, p. 699). It contains the historical part of the testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland including a brief sketch of the contending of the witnesses from the earliest period to the present time. The doctrinal section of the Church's testimony follows, covering everything from 'Divine Revelation' to 'Covenanting'." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Church (Scotland), A Short Account of the Old Presbyterian Dissenters, Under the Inspection of the Reformed Presbyteries of Scotland, Ireland, and North America: Comprehending Also an Abstract of Their Principles.
A Short Account of the Old Presbyterian Dissenters, Section I: The Several Names, by Which the old Dissenters Have Been Known and Distinguished
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/24/a-short-account-of-the-old-presbyterian-dissenters
Reformed Presbytery (Scotland), A Short Directory for Religious Societies, Drawn up by Appointment of the Reformed Presbytery for the particular use of the several societies of Christian people under their inspection; and now by order of the Reformed Presbytery, in America, 1881. Alternate title: RULES FOR FELLOWSHIP MEETINGS.
A Short Directory for Religious Societies
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/24/vuh52dogwp1ry74n5cnz4tu2jrbppz
Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (RPCNA), Reformation Principles Exhibited, 1806-07, 260 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Although this document was unfaithfully adopted by the RPCNA (when they decried faithful historical testimony as an article of faith in the preface), this book still contains much useful doctrinal and historical information. Part one is 'A Brief Historical View of the Church, As a Visible Society in Covenant with God. In Two Books. The First Exhibiting the Church Universal; and the Second the Reformed Presbyterian Church.'
"Part two contains the 'Declaration and Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America (RPCNA).'
"Furthermore, notwithstanding the unfaithfulness of the adopting body, REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED testifies to real attainments. Examples include testifying against the immoral U.S. constitution, against jury duty, against the use of the elective franchise (voting) and against swearing an oath of allegiance under this immoral constitution. Close communion is upheld and occasional hearing is denounced as a sinful, schismatic practice. Interestingly, this earlier edition can be compared with later editions to exhibit the continuing defection of the RPCNA -- even from what was good (and part of her own terms of communion), in her own earlier standards. For example, in part two, chapter 21, point 5, 'Of Church Fellowship,' we read, 'We therefore condemn the following errors, and testify against all who maintain them: . . . 5. That it is lawful for the Church to be without any terms of communion. 6. That any person may be admitted to communion, who opposes any of the terms of Church fellowship. 7. That occasional communion may be extended to persons who should not be received to constant fellowship.' (p. 75). Also, 'We therefore condemn the following errors, and testify against all who maintain them . . . 1. That the Bible is the only proper testimony of the church (which takes into account that the Bible is the only divine testimony, but also recognizes human testimony, agreeable to Scripture, as binding [or else why preach, for example, if no one is bound to obey any human testimony, even if the human testimony is agreeable to the divine testimony found in the Bible? (Cf. Various places in Samuel Rutherford's DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES and A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE for further explanation) -- RB]. 2. That a Christian is under no obligation to follow Christ's witnesses in their faithful contendings. 3. That it is lawful, in order to enlarge the church, to open a wider door of communion, by declining from a more pointed testimony, to one which is more loose and general.' (p. 120, part 2, emphases added). How sad that these faithful testimonies are no longer upheld (as points of discipline), in the modern RPCNA." -- Publisher
"The introduction is particularly helpful in understanding Covenanter history in America.
"A final caveat must likewise be observed, and it is this: that, while (1) the History related herein forms so much of the ground for presenting the document below, and while (2) as Covenanters we defend the use of Historical Testimony as a Term of Communion, and find the Historical Testimony of the ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY competent to this end, yet -- We do not pretend that the History contained in REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED, either the first edition, or any later edition, is approvable for this purpose. Besides matters related which are not to be approved, the fact is, that the historical part of this work contains a number of inaccuracies and uncertain speculations that make it many ways inferior in nature to the ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY. In the original testimony from Scotland, no attempt is made to account for the entire history of the Church of Jesus Christ, nor even to present full details concerning the history of the Church of Scotland. Instead, the authors set in order necessary and important historical facts that were well attested, and creditably related, and testified as to their morality or immorality. REFORMATION PRINCIPLES EXHIBITED, on the other hand, presents a Narrative of History, more and less certain, useful for the reader's instruction in ecclesiastical history, but not competent to form a Historical Testimony." -- True Covenanter
Reformation Principles Exhibited
http://truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/rpe.html
Reformed Presbytery (America) [of North America "Steelite"], Minutes of the Reformed Presbytery (America).
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/minutes_rp.htm
Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," Outline of Recent Proceeding in the Reformed Presbytery: Including Meetings held in Butler County, Pa., Northwood and Belle Centre, Logan County, Ohio. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," Outline of Proceedings in the Reformed Presbytery Since June 4, 1884, David Steele, moderator
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/7/outline-of-proceedings-in-the-reformed-presbytery-since-june-4-1884
*Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite" (David Steele [1803-1887], James Campbell, Thomas Sproull, James Fulton), A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, 2nd Edition, Revised, and Enlarged by a Committee of the Reformed Presbytery ("Circular" and "Review" prefixed), 1879, 50 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Also available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #2 (also #1, #25, and #30).
"Until the church comes to terms with what is written in this book it will remain weak and divided. Covenant breakers will not prosper, as this rare item demonstrates from both Scripture and history. The power packed ordinance of covenanting (the National and Solemn League and Covenant in particular), was foundational to the Second Reformation and the work of the Westminster Assembly. 'By the National Covenant our fathers laid Popery prostrate. By the Solemn League and Covenant they were successful in resisting prelatic encroachments and civil tyranny. By it they were enabled to achieve the Second Reformation . . . They were setting up landmarks by which the location and limits of the city of God will be known at the dawn of the millennial day . . . How can they be said to go forth by the footsteps of the flock, who have declined from the attainments, renounced the covenants and contradicted the testimony of 'the cloud of witnesses. . . . All the schisms (separations) that disfigure the body mystical of Christ . . . are the legitimate consequences of the abandonment of reformation attainments, the violation of covenant engagements.' If you are interested in knowing how to recognize a faithful church (or state), when and why to separate from unfaithful institutions, who has held up the standard of Covenanted Reformation attainments and who has backslidden (and why), what it means to subscribe to the Westminster Confession (1646), (and why most that say they do so today do not have any idea of what that means), and much more concerning individual, family, church and civil, individual, family, church and civil duties, this is one of the best books you will ever lay your hands on. It chronicles 'some instances of worldly conformity and mark(s) some steps of defection from our 'covenanted unity and uniformity,' noting how 'it is necessary to take a retrospect of our history for many years; for we did not all at once reach our present condition of sinful ignorance and manifold apostasy.' Presbyterian and the Reformed churches lay under the heavy hand of God's judgement in our day, because of the very defections noted throughout this fine work. 'We heard (hear) from various quarters the cry, "maintain the truth, stand up for the principles of the Second Reformation"; and yet many of those who are the most loud in uttering this cry, appear desirous to bury in oblivion those imperishable national and ecclesiastical deeds, by which the church and kingdom of Scotland became 'married to the Lord.' Are we married to the Lord, or have we thrown off the covenants of our forefathers; are we the chaste bride of Christ, or a harlot who is found in the bedchambers of every devilish suitor (whether ecclesiastical or civil), who tempts us with the favors of this world? Let us cry out, as with 'the noble Marquis of Argyle, upon the scaffold,' when he said, 'God hath tied us by covenants to religion and reformation. These that were then unborn are yet engaged, and it passeth the power of all the magistrates under heaven to absolve them from the oath of God. They deceive themselves, and it may be, would deceive others, who think otherwise.' Not for the weak of heart." -- Publisher
A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, Reformed Presbytery
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-short-vindication-of-our-covenanted-reformation
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, et al., The Westminster Confession of Faith: (adopted 1648), and the Modern Language Revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith (recommended for study, 1985) and the Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (adopted August 1980, with revisions through 1998) in parallel columns. Alternate title: TESTIMONY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA, 1980.
Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," The Six Points of the "Terms of Ministerial and Christian Communion in the Reformed Presbyterian Church" as Listed at the end of THE ACT, DECLARATION, AND TESTIMONY FOR THE WHOLE OF OUR COVENANTED REFORMATION. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
The Six Points of the "Terms of Ministerial and Christian Communion in the Reformed Presbyterian Church
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/6points.htm
Robbins, Ammi Ruhamah, and Connecticut. General Assembly, The Empires and Dominions of This World, Made Subservient to the Kingdom of Christ; Who Ruleth Over all: A Sermon, Delivered in Presence of His Excellency Samuel Huntington, Esq. L.L.D. Governor, and the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, Convened at Hartford, on the day of the Anniversary Election, May 14th, 1789. Alternate title: MR. ROBBINS'S ELECTION SERMON. A.D. 1789.
Roberts, William L. (1798-1864), The Covenanting Martyrs and Revival of the Covenants! Quoting the Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovMart.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion, 1853. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25.
"Excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM below, this book deals with the inescapable necessity, of the demand found in the Word of God, for the Civil establishment of Christ as King and Lawgiver over every nation on earth. If you are sick of the cease-fire with humanism, set forth by the syncretistic, Satanic and pragmatic pagan politicians of our day (those who bargain with votaries of Antichrist [the Pope], publicly tolerate all manner of false religions (e.g. Islam), and idolatry, and comprise their policy and draw their pretended authority from the beast [and not the Word of God], this book is for you! For all pagan politics is summed up in the words of the Cameronian (Covenanter) political philosopher Alexander Shields, as 'rotting away under the destructive distempers of detestable neutrality, loathsome lukewarmness, declining, and decaying in corruptions, defections, divisions, distractions, confusions; and so judicially infatuated with darkness and delusions, that they forget and forego the necessary testimony of the day.' (A Hind let Loose, 1797 edition, p. 20). Pick up this book and begin the political walk in the 'footsteps of the flock,' traveling the covenanting road of Reformation and Scripture (with the magisterial Reformers of the past)!" -- Publisher
On the Duty of Covenanting and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants.
Being Section 11 in THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM by William L. Roberts
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PresCatCov.htm
A Hind let Loose; Or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
Roberts, William Louis, D.D., (1798-1864), The Higher Law, or, The Law of the Most High: A Discourse, Delivered at the Baptist Church, in Sterling Centre, Wednesday Evening, Jan. 22d, 1851.
Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), On the Duty of Covenanting and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants.
Being Section 11 in THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM by William L. Roberts
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PresCatCov.htm
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, ISBN: 0524065543 9780524065549. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from ATLA 1991-2638.
A magnificent catechism that sets forth the Crown Rights of The King of Glory and Lord of Lords. It also presents incontrovertible evidence that the United States Constitution is not a Christian document, and that it is, in fact, a slavery document.
"A manual of instruction, drawing from such notable authors as William Symington and J.R. Willson, presenting arguments and facts confirming and illustrating the 'Distinctive Principles' of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Chapters deal with: 'Christ's Mediatorial Dominion in General;' Christ's Exclusive Headship Over the Church;' 'The Supreme and Ultimate Authority of the Word of God in the Church;' Civil Government, the Moral Ordinance of God;' Christ's Headship Over the Nations;' 'The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ;' The Word, or Revealed Will of God, the Supreme Law in the State;' 'The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion:' 'The Spiritual Independence of the Church of Christ:' 'The Right and Duty of Dissent From an Immoral Constitution of Civil Government;' 'The Duty of Covenanting, and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants;' 'The Application of These Principles to the Governments, Where Reformed Presbyterians Reside, in the Form of a Practical Testimony;' and finally 'Application of the Testimony to the British Empire. . . '." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
On the Mediatorial Dominion of The Lord Jesus Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_01_mediatorial_dominion.html
The Exclusive Headship of The Lord Jesus Christ Over the Church of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_02_christs_headship_over_the_church.html
Civil Government the Moral Ordinance of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_04_civil_government.html
On Christ's Headship Over the Nations, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_05_christs_headship_over_nations.html
The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_06_subjection_of_nations_to_christ.html
See also: The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; CONSPIRACY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, and A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), Submission to "the Powers That be" Scripturally Illustrated: A Discourse in Three Parts, 1828. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), and Larry Birger, The Form and Function of Apostolic Church Government: Excerpted From Chapter Two of The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism." Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
*Robinson, William J., A History of Windy Cove Presbyterian Church, Millboro Springs, Virginia, 1749-1976.
Rowan, Stephen N., Tribute to the Memory of Alexander McLeod, DD: A Discourse Delivered in the Presbyterian Church, Canal Street, New-York, on the Evening of the 10th of March, 1833, 1833.
*Schwertley, Brian M., and Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. Publications Committee, National Covenanting and Christ's Victory Over the Nations. Available at Reformed Online.
"This is the first book-length, scholarly exposition and defense of national covenanting since 1843. This comprehensive treatment includes the binding nature of covenants, covenant renewals under the godly kings of Israel, objections to covenanting answered, the unbiblical nature of the U.S. Constitution, the unscriptural alteration of the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1789, the necessity of the Old Testament moral law for a Christian nation and the biblical requirements for civil office. In the book, Rev. Schwertley not only sets forth the biblical case for social or national covenanting in a simple and organized manner but also critiques the modern pluralistic alternatives to the original Presbyterian teaching on this topic." -- Publisher
It was preceded by 'Social Covenanting,' a series of 31 sermons in MP3 format, given by the author starting in the summer of 2012.
Social Covenanting series of 31 sermons [audio files] by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=ccc&keyword=National+Covenanting&keyworddesc=National+Covenanting
*Scott, David, Distinctive Principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"This book is not designed to discuss 'the (many -- RB), doctrines which the Reformed Presbyterian church holds in common will others,' but is written to set forth RP distinctives. It tackles its subject from three major heads: 'Social Covenanting;' 'The Dominion of Christ;' and 'The Universal Application of Scripture (civil as well as religious).' It shows that while these doctrines 'are held by many, as abstract doctrines of divine truth, they are not embodied in the testimony of any other Christian denomination: nor made necessary to ministerial or Christian fellowship. Although other individuals may hold these doctrine, it is a "distinctive" feature of the RPC to embody them in her testimony; and to make them terms of communion.' It also explains how these are the same distinctives that were maintained 'at the era of the reformation the covenanted church of Scotland bore a distinguished testimony for all the offices of Christ, as prophet, priest and king: and for the pure doctrines, worship, discipline, and government of the house of God.' The author states that 'the great object aimed at is to help forward the glorious triumph of the Messiah, so beautifully described in the 72nd Psalm [Psalm 72]. When "all Kings shall fall down before him; and all nations shall serve him"'." -- Publisher
*Shaw, J.W., Hephzibah Beulah. Our Covenants the National and Solemn League; and Covenanting by the Reformed Presbyterian Synod in America: Considered, 1872. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"A very useful, easy-to-read, introductory work (by an RPCNA minister), to the topics it deals with. General Scriptural principles upon which this book is based are:
1. Departure from former laudable attainments, is a great evil, severely threatened in the Holy Scriptures; and that for which every one, who is guilty, must be accountable to the Righteous Judge of all the earth."Chapters include: The National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant reviewed; Their Binding Obligations Shown; The Possibility That Adherence to Them may be Professed, While They are Virtually Abandoned; The Covenant Sworn and Subscribed by Synod at Pittsburgh, May 27th, 1871; Is it a Renovation or a new Covenant?; The Covenant Does not Contain all That the Church is Bound to in America; Charges Against the Covenant; Reason why Some who do not Like it, Swear it; The Covenants National and Solemn League Must Be Maintained." -- Publisher
2. They who consent unto the unrighteous deeds of others, are chargeable with guilt, as well as the principal actors.
3. Societies, or individuals, having once publicly and solemnly vowed unto the Most High God; and still, after the strictest enquiry, remain satisfied in their own mind, that their vows were scriptural; should seriously endeavor to act up to the true spirit and intention of these vows; and no power upon earth, nor any class of men, whether majority or minority, in a nation, can ever possibly dissolve the obligation.
Sloane, William M. (editor), and William Milligan Sloane, Life and Work of J.R.W. Sloane, D.D., Professor of Theology in the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary at Allegheny City, Penn. 1868-1886 and Pastor of the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church, New York, 1856-1868, ISBN: 133153805X 9781331538059. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Spence, Thomas Hugh, Jr., The Presbyterian Congregation on Rocky River, ISBN: 1334726019 9781334726019.
One of Alexander Craighead's churches in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
*Sproull, Thomas (1803-1892), The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced: A Sermon Preached March 14th, 1841, in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Allegheny. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced, Thomas Sproull
http://www.covenanter.org/TSproull/dutyofsocialcovenanting.htm
Steele, David (1803-1887), A Candid Reply.
Notes: "Written in reply to a paper, purporting to be an official document, which appeared in the Pittsburgh Christian Herald, Sept. 7, 1833, over the signature "A.W. Black, Synod Clerk."
*Steele, David (1803-1887), A Case of Conscience. Alternate title: THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY, ANTICHRIST, CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND THE COVENANTERS and CIRCULAR NO. 2. Available (THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY . . .) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TAXATION, SLAVERY . . .) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18, #26.
Circular No. 2, David Steele
"On Covenanter identity, the American 'civil' war and matters of taxation." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/25/circular-no-2
Steele, David (1803-1887), A Case of Conscience
"An short article on the question of covenanters and taxation." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-case-of-conscience
*Steele, David (1803-1887), The Two Witnesses: Their Cause, Number, Character, Furniture and Special Work, 1859. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"This is a great companion volume to Steele's NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE. Here Steele zeros in on and works primarily from the text of Revelation 11:13, I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy. Steele deals with Testimony-bearing, Antichrist, Popery, The beasts of revelation, The mark of the beast, 666, The image of the beast, Civil and ecclesiastical apostasy, Reformation, Covenanting, Heresy, Schism, Terms of communion, Slavery, Sectarianism, Mormonism, Independency, Freemasonry, History, Worship, Idolatry, Britain, The united states, Canada, Mystical babylon, The last days, The ultimate victory of the church, and a host of other subjects!
"As is usually the case with Steele, he makes the doctrines of Scripture eminently practical. For example, note how the faithful witnesses are continually called to testify against open opposition to the Lord's Covenanted Zion and the attainments of biblical Reformation in (the faith which was once delivered unto the saints); and against whom this testimony is directed:
'These witnesses are called and commissioned to testify especially against Antichrist -- a false christ, and therefore an opposing christ. But Christ is to be considered either personally or mystically; either abstractly in his personal rights and prerogatives, or in the concrete, in the rights and immunities of his church. There is this prejudice, too prevalent, against Christians testifying against Christians! This we are often told, is contrary to the law of charity. We have not so learned Christ. They are not all Israel which are of Israel. Much of the business of these two prophets is to oppose prophets -- to prophesy against the shepherds, Ezekiel 34:2. Moses with his miracles must confront the magicians with their enchantments, Exodus 8:19. Elijah must confront the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:25. Paul must counteract false apostles, 2 Corinthians 11:13. In short, the direct object of these witnesses' testimony is apostate christendom -- those who depart from the faith, 1 Timothy 4:1 -- who have gone out from fellowship and renounced the doctrines of the apostolic church, 1 John 2:19. Their special work is to testify against error and its propagators and abettors, together with ungodliness, the natural fruit of error, rather than against pagans.' -- The Two Witnesses, p. 14"Moreover, having taken his own place 'in the wilderness' (i.e. having separated himself from, and having been ostracized by the 'civilization' of the obstinately defecting RPCNA and other unfaithful denominations of his day [2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; Revelation 12:6, Revelation 17:3]), it was given to Steele to see and expound those grand old principles of our covenanted forefathers (who sat at Westminster and in the best Reformed churches during both the first and second Reformations -- the Scottish Presbyterians being granted the greatest measure of light as a settled body from 1638-1649).
'These two witnesses have always testified -- not formally against pagans or infidels as such; but -- against apostate Christians, as comprising an organized and complex system of opposition to the Lord and his Anointed. And just here, the witnesses have detected the secret of Antichrist's successful enterprise among the human family . . .' Many false prophets are gone out into the world. . . this is a deceiver and an Antichrist, (2 John 7). The combination is ostensibly on the side and in the interest of Christ, and the elements of which Antichrist is composed were obviously professing Christians, They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:19). Here is the apostasy, and so the witnesses are fully borne out in asserting that Antichrist is a great Christian apostasy! To trace the origin and development, in the organization and modifications of this enemy of all righteousness, is the special work of Christ's witnesses.' -- (The Two Witnesses, pp. 17-18)
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Circular [concerning the RPCNA Covenant of 1871]. Alternate title: A SHORT VINDICATION OF OUR COVENANTED REFORMATION.
"An exposure and critique of the so-called 'American' RP 'Covenant' of 1871."
A Short Vindication of our Covenanted Reformation, Reformed Presbytery
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/a-short-vindication-of-our-covenanted-reformation
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Circular No. 3: A Concise History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church From the Middle of the Sixteenth Century and of the Reformed Presbytery From 1840 Till the Present Time, 1886. Alternate title: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ISBN: 092114816X 9780921148166. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
Steele, Circular No. 3. A Concise History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church from the Middle of the Sixteenth Century and of the Reformed Presbytery From 1840 Till the Present Time
"A sketch of Reformed Presbyterian Church history with special emphasis on the formation of the Reformed Presbytery (i.e., "Steelite"), in 1840, and its 19th century contendings."
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/25/circular-no3-a-concise-history-of-the-reformed-presbyterian-church-from-the-middle-of-the-sixteenth-century-and-of-the-reformed-presbytery-from-1840-till-the-present-time
Steele, David (1803-1887), Endless Life the Inheritance of the Righteous: A Discourse Delivered in the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, New York, on Sabbath, October 11, 1874, in Memory of Rev. John N. McLeod, D.D., the Pastor.
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Historical Testimony.
"An article explaining what historical testimony is, how it is applicable to the church and why it needs to be part of the terms of communion of the Reformed Presbyterian, or Covenanter, church." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/historical-testimony
Historical Testimony, an excerpt from The Original Covenanter, Vol. II, December, 1879, No. 12
He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. (Psalm 78:5)
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/magazine/orig_cov_historical_testimony.html
Steele, David (1803-1887), A Letter Addressed to T-- B--, of P--: Exhibiting Some Steps of Defection in the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/david-steele-1803-1887
Steele, David (1803-1887), Presbyterian Church Records of Adams County, Ohio, 1831-1861: Hill Prairie, Ill. and a few Butler County, Pennsylvania Records, 1861-1884.
"Notes: Includes the personal records of Rev. Dr. David Steele who served as Presbyterian minister of Adams County (Ohio), Paint Creek Society, Walnut Ridge Congregation (Illinois) and the Hill Prairie Illinois Congregation -- p. 1."
Identical to above of the same title (OCLC 865991321), but two pages longer.
*Steele, David (1803-1887), Reminiscences: Historical and Biographical of a Ministry in the Reformed Presbyterian Church During Fifty Three Years, 1883. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
David Steele, was the pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, Philadelphia.
"Since Steele forms a continuing theological link with the faithful General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland (1638-1649), this book is of great importance. Steele held to the attainments of the second (or covenanted), Reformation which gave us the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards -- and other Covenanters who follow in this train (along with the British Covenanters, like Rutherford and Gillespie), are sometimes derisively branded as 'Steelites' or 'Cameronians'." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/reminiscences-historical-and-biographical-of-a-ministry-in-the-refd-presbyterian-church-during-fifty-three-years
Steele, David (1803-1887), Review
"This is a review of Mr. James W. Shaw's sermon 'Our Banners Set Up,' preached against the 'American' 'Covenant' of 1871, explaining that Mr. Shaw had already adopted backsliding principles." -- Publisher
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/review
Steele, David (1803-1887), and Thomas Hannay, Declaration and Testimony for the Present Truth, 1864. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
"On diligent searching the several Testimonies emitted since the overthrow of the work of reformation in the year 1650, the reader will doubtless find that none of them exhibits a platform so near the holy Scriptures, or presents so fully the position occupied by our church from 1638 to 1649, as that which was adopted at Ploughlandhead, Scotland, 1761. Surely we may adopt and apply the language of Nehemiah: -- Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." [Nehemiah 2:17]
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/26/declaration-and-testimony-for-the-present-truth
*Steele, David (1803-1887, editor), Reformed Presbytery of North America "Steelite," The Contending Witness (vol. 1:1 -- 2:6, Apr. 1841 to Feb. 1843), The Reformation Advocate (vol. 1:1 -- 1:12, March 1874 to Dec. 1876), The Original Covenanter (vol. 2:1 -- 2:16, March 1877 to Dec. 1880), and The Original Covenanter (vol. 3:1 -- 3:16, March 1881 to Dec. 1884). Available (all four volumes, a complete set of this continuous periodical under its various names) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (all four volumes, a complete set of this continuous periodical under its various names) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
"The following list [complete and found above -- compiler] of [continuous issues under various names -- compiler] magazines, edited by David Steele, comprise what is likely the best compilation of Christian periodicals ever amassed under one set of bindings. Nothing we know of (before or since), authored as magazine articles related to full-orbed nation shaking biblical Reformation, even comes close to the consistent quality of writing found in these short works on various subjects. Steele himself should probably be considered the best theologian of the nineteenth century, and the other contributors to these magazines were all approaching the same class. A healthy portion of Steele's writing is found in these magazines, as he only wrote a few other books, so the reader is encouraged to sample for himself some of the best writing (defending the Covenanted Reformation), you will find anywhere!" -- Publisher
Various excerpted articles may be found elsewhere in the topical listing for David Steele.
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, September 1874, no. 3, "Has the Government of the United States a Christian Character?"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/5_Has%20the%20US%20a%20Christian%20Character.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, December 1874, no. 4, Signs of the Times
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/6_Signs%20of%20The%20Times.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, March 1874, no. 1, "To our Patrons"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/1_To%20Our%20Patrons.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, June 1874, no. 2, "Christmas Trees"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/4_Christmas%20Trees.pdf
David Steele (editor), The Reformation Advocate, vol. 1, March 1874, no. 1, "Are Hymns Idols"
http://www.gcpublications.com/Documents/The%20Reformation%20Advocate/3_Are%20Hymns%20Idols.pdf
The Contending Witness magazine, Vol. 1:1-2:6, Apr. 1841 to Feb. 1843. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.See also: Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing, The Best of The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness Magazine. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing.
The Reformation Advocate magazine, Vol. 1:1-1:12, March 1874 to Dec. 1876. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Original Covenanter magazine, Vol. 2:1-2:16, March 1877 to Dec. 1880. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The Original Covenanter magazine, Vol. 3:1-3:16, March 1881 to Dec. 1884. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Steele, David (1803-1887), Selected Works
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/david-steele-1803-1887?rq=david%20steele
Steele, David (1803-1887), Works of David Steele (1803-1887)
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#dsteele
Steele, David (1803-1887), Daughters of the American Revolution. Colonel John Donelson Chapter (D.C.), Presbyterian Church Records of Adams County, Ohio, 1831-1861; Hill Prairie, Illinois; And a few Butler County, Pennsylvania, Records, 1861-1884.
"The Reverend David Steele was ordained and installed as a third pastor of the Brush Creek Presbyterian Church community of Adams County, Ohio, on June 24, 1831. He served in this congregation for twenty nine years, and travelled thousands of miles yearly. He also took care of several other community churches, one being Mill Creek, Kentucky. After leaving Ohio, he spent several years near Sparta, Illinois, and ministered to the Paint Creek Society, Walnut Ridge Congregation, Illinois, and the Hill Prairie, Illinois, Congregation. He retired to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1887. During the time in Philadelphia, he performed marriages and some baptisms; in Butler County he performed some baptisms."
Steele, David (1826-1906), Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa., A Nation in Tears: A Discourse.
*Steele, David (1826-1906), and James McLeod Willson (1809-1866), Judicial Testimony: And the True Nature Thereof; Being a Collection of Correspondence Between David Steele and James McLeod Willson, excerpts from The Covenanter Magazine, March 1856, pp. 231-237.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/steele/steele_rpe_analysis_of_preface.html
Stephenson, Jean, Scotch-Irish Migration to South Carolina, 1772: Rev. William Martin and his Five Shiploads of Settlers.
Stewart, Reid W., History of Scottish Dissenting Presbyterianism in Adams County, Pennsylvania: An Account of Reformed Presbyterian, Associate Presbyterian, Associate Reformed, Independent, and United Presbyterian Church of North America Clergy and Congregations, 2003, volume 3 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., The History of Scottish Dissenting Presbyterianism in Fulton County, PA: A History of the Reformed Presbyterian, Associate Reformed, Independent, "Websterite" Seceder, "Independent" Seceder, and United Presbyterian Church of North America congregations, 2002, volume 2 or 10 monographs.
"SCOTTISH DISSENTING PRESBYTERIANISM deals with a largely forgotten but important group of early settlers in the Great Cove around McConnellsburg. This work not only deals with their history, but it also reproduces original accounts often written by members of the religious bodies included in the group who were Associate, Reformed, Associate Reformed, and United Presbyterians for the years 1748 through 1958. Extensive family genealogies on the Johnstons, Kendalls, McConnells, Pattersons, Sloans and Willsons families are included. The burials in Big Spring Cemetery, first used in 1755, are listed as are the burials in the eight oldest sections of Union Cemetery, the largest place of burial in the Great Cove. These Dissenting Presbyterians were leaders in their community in education and business and exhibited a great patriotism in every war beginning with the American Revolution." -- Publisher
Stewart, Reid W., History of Scottish Dissenting Presbyterianism in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: An Account of Reformed Presbyterian, Associate Presbyterian, Associate Reformed, and United Presbyterian Church of North America clergy and congregations, 2003, volume 5 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., History of Scottish Dissenting Presbyterianism in the Pennsylvania Counties of Carbon, Centre, Lycoming, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Union, and Luzerne: Being an Account of Associate Presbyterian, Associate Reformed, Reformed Presbyterian Synod, Reformed Presbyterian General Synod, Gailey's Safety League, and United Presbyterian Church of North America clergy and congregations, 2003, volume 4 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., History of Scottish Dissenting Presbyterianism in the Philadelphia Area, PA: An Account of the Associate Presbyterian, Bullion's Associate, Independent Associate, Websterite Associate, Reformed Presbyterian with Synod and General Synod, Gailey's Safety League, Steelite Reformed Presbytery, Associate Reformed, Independent Associate Reformed, and United Presbyterian Church of North America clergy and congregations, 2004, volume 6 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., Thomas Sproull, Reformed Presbyterian Church in America: Historical Sketches to 1833, 2005
"In 1875, Thomas Sproull prepared ten sketches of American Covenanter history which he published in The Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter magazine edited by him in Pittsburgh, PA." -- Foreword
Stewart, Reid W., The Reformed Dissenting Presbytery (1801-1851) Source Book.
Stewart, Reid W., Revolutionary Ancestors: 1876 to 1976 (Rev. Reid W. Stewart, 2942 Leechburg Road, Lower Burrell, PA 15068-3244).
Stewart, Reid W., Scottish Dissenting Presbyterian Churches in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, volume 1 or 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., The Scottish Tradition in Canada, ISBN: 0771074433 9780771074431 0771074441 9780771074448, volume 9 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., John Cuthbertson (1718-1791), A.S. Aiken, and J.M. Adair, A Biographical Sketch of the Rev. John Cuthbertson, the First Reformed Presbyterian Minister in America, From 1751 to 1791: His Sermon of 1749 and a Biography. 2007.
"The substance of a sermon, delivered at Haughead, Scotland, May 28, 1749 / by Rev. John Culbertson (Cuthbertson). Miscellany of material regarding Rev. John Cuthbertson."
"Cuthbertson was sent out from Scotland in 1751 and ministered as a Reformed Presbyterian until 1782, when he joined the union with the Associate Presbyterian Church, which formed the Associate Reformed Church. He ministered in the ARC until his death in 1791."
Stewart, Reid W., and James T. Dennison, Redstone Presbytery: A Bicentennial History 1781-1981, Updated to 2010: A Constituent Part of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. 1958-1983 and of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1983: Encompassing the Pennsylvania Counties of Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland, 2011, volume 10 of 10.
Stewart, Reid W. and Basil G. McBee, Manual of the Associate Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and Canada, 2005, volume 8 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W., and J.C. McFeeters, A History of the Covenanter Church in Northern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: "Old Puckety Society," the Congregations of Brookland, Manchester, and Parnassus: A Paper Presented for the Licensure of Reid W. Stewart, May 20th, 1958; Together With a Sermon by J.C. McFeeters, "Mission of our Church," Preached at Manchester July 27, 1884, 1960.
Stewart, Reid W., Presbyterian Historical Society of the Upper Ohio Valley, United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Synod of Ohio. Committee on History, Bulletin (Presbyterian Historical Society of the Upper Ohio Valley). Alternate title: BULLETIN and PRESBYTERIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY PHSUOV: THE BULLETIN.
Stewart, Reid W., Puckety United Presbyterian Church (Lower Burrell, Pa.), Klingensmith Lutheran Church (Pa.), Parnassus Presbyterian Church (Upper Burrell, Pa.), Pine Run Presbyterian Church (Markle, Pa.), Logan's Ferry Presbyterian Church (Plum, Pa.), Brookland Reformed Presbyterian Church (Allegheny (Westmoreland County, Pa.: Township), History of old Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, from prehistoric times to c. 1876: Territory Comprising Present-day Allegheny Township, Arnold, East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Lower Burrell, New Kensington, Upper Burrell, Vandergrift and West Leechburg, With 43 Appendices, 2005, volume 7 of 10 monographs.
Stewart, Reid W. (transcriber), and Harry B. Clayton (indexer), The Minutes of the Correspondent, May 1780 to February 1809: Being the Oldest Minutes of any Presbyterian Group West of the Allegheny Mountains: Containing the Minutes of Reformed Presbyterian Societies, Associate Reformed and Reformed Dissenting Presbyterians in Western Pennsylvania, 1994.
Temple, Oliver Perry (1820-1907), The Covenanter, the Cavalier, and the Puritan.
Chiefly a history of the Scotch Covenanters and their descendants in the United States.
Ulmer, Maurice S., The Covenanters of South Carolina: A Brief History of the Work of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the State of South Carolina.
Various, Fifty Years of Covenanter History: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Reorganization of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa., a reprint of the Semi-Centennial Number of Our Banner, January, 1884.
"This historical document contains: An engraving of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Cherry St., Philadelphia, 1833-1867; An engraving of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church and Parsonage, Seventeenth and Bainbridge St., Philadelphia, 1879; A discourse, "Fifty Years of Covenanter History" by Rev. T.P. Stevenson; A discourse, "Fifty Years of Foreign Missions" by Rev. James Kennedy; A discourse, "Covenanters and the Anti-Slavery Struggle" by Rev. A.M. Milligan; A discourse, "The Christian Principles of Civil Government" by Rev. David M'Allister; and a list of "Officers of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Phila., Since 1833." -- Publisher
Wagner, Michael, Up From Reconstructionism: or, A Short History of the Puritan Reformed Church of Edmonton, 1996. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 and #30.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/UpFromRe.htm
Wallace, James, The Amendment of the Federal Constitution. An Address Before the Christian Association for National Reformation of Southern Illinois, November 8, 1864, 15 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"An address before the Christian Association for National Reformation, of Southern Illinois. Wallace contends, 'The duty of nations to acknowledge the true God, and submit themselves to Jesus Christ as their Lawgiver and King, is of the highest importance, and underlies all moral and political questions.' Though of historical interest, this short piece sets forth a somewhat muted 'Covenanter' stance." -- Publisher
*Watt, Jonathan M., Gordon J. Keddie, and Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Bring the Books: A Bibliography of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1743-1992, in Semper Reformanda, Vol. 1, No. 3, Fall 1992 (Semper Reformanda, 3217 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, PA 15010).
Wilkes, Henry, Christianity the Restorer, or, Man's Dominion Over the Earth, Disturbed by sin, Restored by Christ: A Sermon Preached in Zion Church, Montreal, April 17, 1859, ISBN: 0665899599 9780665899591.
Willard, Samuel (1639-1707), and Increase Mather, Covenant-keeping the way to blessedness, or, A brief discourse wherein is shewn the connexion which there is between the promise, on God's part; and duty, on our part, in the covenant of grace as it was delivered in several sermons, preached in order to solemn renewing of covenant. By Samuel Willard teacher of a church in Boston in New-England.
Samuel Willard was pastor of a Church of Christ in Boston and Vice-President of Harvard College. See his other works.
Williamson, Parker T., Broken Covenant: Signs of a Shattered Communion, ISBN: 9781934453025 1934453021.
"An unyielding and eye-opening digest of the creeping apostasy of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Read it and weep." -- Reader's Comment
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7 (1853), ISBN: 0524079293 9780524079294. Alternate title: THE ESTABLISHMENT AND LIMITS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT: AN EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 13:1-7. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in THE DEACON: AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE, DUTIES AND EXERCISE OF THE OFFICE OF DEACON, IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
"Does the Bible give any qualifications for Christians to judge whether or not a given civil magistrate is a lawful or unlawful 'power' in the eyes of God? Does the very existence of a civil 'power' (say Hitler's Nazi state), make them a legitimate government according to Romans 13? Or, can a civil government obtain its 'power' from 'the beast' -- as some 'churches' do? Should civil 'authorities' be judged according to the secret or revealed will of God? This is a fine piece of exegetical work, well nigh irrefutable, arguing that God has given clear revelation regarding the lawfulness and unlawfulness of any given civil magistrate. Willson's Scriptural conclusion will surprise many, anger not a few, and, we believe, be found honoring to God. Though the book is easy reading, these are deep waters with implications that are among the most far-reaching. It is a very controversial publication based on the idea that 'unholy republics refuse to acknowledge Him (Christ) as Lord of all.' This failure to covenant with Christ, as nations, exposes the fact that these national governments are the enemies of Christ (as with the individual or church who will not covenant with Christ). They are thus in violation of the first commandment and therefore treasonous usurpers who will not have the one true king to rule over them. Their laws and actions bare this out, as they refuse to rule by the law of God, but rather, as dupes of Satan, rule by their own autonomous standards. And, though it is their duty to be a terror to evil and promote the good, they, in the main, do the opposite. They protect and support murders (e.g. abortionists), continence and permit perversity (e.g. homosexuality, pornography, etc.), and take no action to establish the Reformed faith (but rather extend constitution rights to all manner of cults, sectarians, satanists and Roman Catholics) -- to name but a few of the more obvious areas of government rebellion against King Jesus. Willson's father's application of the principles put forth in this book are found just below as they related to the United States government specifically. Knox, Rutherford and Gillespie would be proud!" -- Publisher
Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/2/civil-government-an-eexposition-of-romans-xiii-1-7
Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866, editor), The Covenanter: Devoted to the Principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.
"The Covenanter, a monthly in the interest of the pro-deacon position in the RPC. Edited by James McLeod Wilson. Merged with The Reformed Presbyterian, January 1863."
Willson, James Mcleod (1809-1866), The Deacon: An Inquiry Into the Nature, Duties and Exercise of the Office of Deacon, in the Christian Church; Bible Magistracy: or Christ's Dominion Over the Nations: With an Examination of the Civil Institutions of the United States; An Essay on Submission to the Powers that be; Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans XIII. 1-7 [Romans 13:1-7], Argumentative Testimony, Witnessing: or the Distinct Denomination Position of the Reformed Presbyterian Church Right and Necessary.
Willson, James McLeod, The Deacon: An Inquiry Into the Nature, Duties and Exercise of the Office of Deacon, in the Christian Church
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/1/the-deacon
Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Select Works
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/james-mcleod-willson-1809-1866
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Social Religious Covenanting, 1856. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27,
Social Religious Covenanting, 1856.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/7/27/social-religious-covenanting
Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Witnessing: or The Distinct Denominational Position of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1860. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Witnessing: or the Distinct Denomination Position of the Reformed Presbyterian Church Right and Necessary.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/1/the-deacon
Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866, editor), Thomas Sproull, and John W. Sproull, The Covenanter monthly magazine, 1845-63.
"The Covenanter, a monthly in the interest of the pro-deacon position in the RPC. Merged with The Reformed Presbyterian, January 1863."
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Address on the Subject of African Slavery: Delivered in Fayetteville, September 14, 1837.
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Covenant Renovation
And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. (2 Corinthians 8:5)
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/24/covenant-renovation
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Essay on Tolerance. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/tolerance.html
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), et al., History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church: From the Year 1580 to 1643.
Gives the history of early covenanters in America. David Steele and others left the communion sometime prior to the synod of 1841 in Utica, Ohio (p. 108). Notice "the alleged reason that the Synod had postponed its deliverance on voluntary associations," and they regarded the Synod as unfaithful to its duty.
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/conv_resources.html
*Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over all Governments: and the Disregard of His Authority by the United States in the Federal Constitution, 1832. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (PRINCE MESSIAH'S CLAIMS TO DOMINION, PDF and MP3) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #12, #13, #25.
"Why treat thus all religion? Why disfranchise, by a solemn act the church of the living God? Is the benevolent, pure, holy, heaven born religion of Emmanuel, hostile to the happiness of the republic? Shall commerce, agriculture, the arts, literature -- all the other lawful pursuits, be countenanced, fostered, protected, and established on as permanent a basis, as possible and the true religion be put under the ban of the empire? But they say, let religion alone. Do they, however, adopt the laissez nous faire, in relation to manufactures and trade? No. We cherish all, but respecting the advancement of religion, Congress shall never do any thing. When the child is born, were the father and mother to say, laissez l'infant faire -- leave the babe to itself -- would that lie to act as a nursing father and mother? Surely no. There must be a far different kind of constitution among the nations, when the promise is fulfilled, that 'Kings shall be nursing fathers.' God Almighty says, in the text quoted above, that civil rulers shall nurse the church -- the Constitution says they shall not. Which is right? 'Ah! sinful nation, laden with iniquity.' God spares thee for the sake of his redeemed, that his moral subjects on earth may be, by the gospel of his Son, reclaimed from sin and rebellion -- that on the earth, through his own holy religion, he may expatiate the glories of redemption. The Constitution says religion shall be discountenanced by the Congress of the United States." -- James Renwick Willson
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath be kindled but a little. (Psalm 2:12). This book will go a long way to exposing the fact, as Willson writes, that 'ungodly men have occupied, and do now occupy, many of the official stations, in the government,' and that 'Tyrants are yet on their thrones, and unholy republics refuse to acknowledge Him (Christ -- RB), as Lord of all'." -- Publisher
Willson, James Renwick, Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over all Governments
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/24/prince-messiahs-claims-to-dominion-over-all-governments-and-the-disregard-of-his-authority-by-the-united-states-in-the-federal-constitution
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Public Covenanting; Introductory Lecture at the Opening of the Session of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, November 7, 1848. Alternate title: SOCIAL RELIGIOUS COVENANTING.
Public Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/james-renwick-wilson-1780-1853
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), A Sermon on Civil Government, 1821. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #22.
A Sermon on Civil Government
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-civil-government
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Shaking of the Nations, Alias the Anti-Christian Empire Overthrown, 1809. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
The Shaking of the Nations, Alias the Anti-Christian Empire Overthrown
http://www.covenanter.org/JRWillson/jamesrenwickwillson.htm
*Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Subjection of Kings and Nations to Messiah, 1820. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #13, #29.
"A lengthy sermon of 64 pages preached Dec. 6, 1819. Based on the text: All Kings shall bow down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Psalm 72:11). Maintains that this text refers to a commanded duty, concerning Christ not Solomon, and should be translated Let all kings bow down before him: Let all nations serve him. Explains this national duty, inquires as to how it is to be nationally preformed, then proceeds to make practical application of the subject. Shows that nations have a duty, as nations, to bind themselves to Christ by covenant, to consecrate themselves to Him, to swear allegiance to Him (as their King and Lord), and to obey all His holy law! Furthermore, Willson maintains that it is a great sin for nations to remain in rebellion against Christ by not performing these duties. He also demonstrates how and why a high-handed sin of this nature brings corporate guilt upon the nation. Moreover, this sin provokes God to wrath (as seen in an escalation of national calamities), until the day, barring repentance, that the national 'cup of wrath' overflows. Also contains helpful direction regarding the individual's social responsibility as a Christian in times of national corporate defection from Christ's crown and covenant (i.e in times exactly like those that we live in)." -- Publisher
The Subjection of Kings and Nations to Messiah, 1820
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-subjection-of-kings-and-nations-to-messiah
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), and Gordon J. Keddie, Political Danger: Essays on the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ Over Nations and Their Political Institutions 1809-1838, ISBN: 9781884527302 1884527302.
Willson, Samuel McConnell, and Robert Gibson, Truth: A Sermon, on Steadfast Adherence to the Distinctive Doctrines of the Church: Preached on Monday, Dec. 3, 1832, After the Dispensation of the Lord's Supper, in Westerlo Street Church, Albany.
Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. (Philippians 3:16). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Truth: A Sermon, on Steadfast Adherence to the Distinctive Doctrines of the Church
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/willson_samuel_truth_a_sermon_on_3_john_4.html
Wylie, James Aiken (1808-1890), A Short Dialogue Between Cuphophron and Philalethes: Wherein the Wild Notions of a Late Essayist Upon National Covenanting, and the Moral-Law are Exposed. By James Wylie, minister of the Gospel at Scone.
"Notes: An attack on 'An Essay on National Covenanting', by Alexander Pirie."
Wylie, Theodore W.J., John Niel McLeod, Alexander Duff, J.E. Sample, and the First Reformed Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, PA), Discourses Delivered at the Opening of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Broad Street, Philadelphia, April 30, 1854.
See also: The incarnation of our lord (the deity of the lord jesus christ), The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Background, foundation, and history of the covenanted reformation of scotland, The reformed presbytery of american and the reformed presbytery of scotland, Acts of faithful assemblies, Toleration, liberty of conscience, pluralism, "religious freedom," and neutrality, Resolutions, The psalms in worship, The lord's supper, communion, close communion, Acts of faithful assemblies, Biography of covenanters, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, and so forth, and so on.
AmeriCovie Trails
A blog with some history of American Covenanters.
http://reformedpresbyterian.blogspot.com/
Augustine's Letter CCXLV: A Letter From Augustine With Comments on Face Painting, St. Augustine
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/8/a-letter-from-augustine-with-comments-on-face-painting?rq=Reply
The Best of The Original Covenanter and Contending Witness Magazine. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing.
http://www.covenanter.org
Cloud of Witnesses
"Some of the early Wylie pioneers may have immigrated to North America against their will. In fact, thousands of Scots were sold into slavery because of their religious beliefs. The slaves listed below were sold in the American Colonies or Jamaica. Most eventually escaped or were set free and those who may have returned to. . . ."
http://www.wileygenealogy.com/articles/2016/09/04/cloud-of-witnesses/
Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church
http://www.truecovenanter.com/
Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publications
http://www.truecovenanter.com/publish/
Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing
http://www.covenanter.org
The Covenanter Crusade 1947
"The ill-fated program to add 5,000 members between 1947-1952."
The story may be available in the Reformed Presbyterian History Archives.
Covenanter Witness, vol. 1-95 of the RPCNA
http://www.rparchives.org/data/CW_Vol.41.pdf
Alexander Craighead
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Craighead
The Craighead Family: A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Rev. Thomas and Margaret Craighead, 1658-1876
https://archive.org/stream/craigheadfamilyg00crai/craigheadfamilyg00crai_djvu.txt
David Steele (1803-1887)
A brief biography, genealogy, and links.
http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/~mudws/family/dsteele.html
David Steele (1803-1887), Co-founder of the Reformed Presbytery, June 24, 1840: Biographical Sketch
"In 1840, he and Robert Lusk, together with several ruling elders, declined the ecclesiastical courts of the Reformed Presbyterian Church due to ecclesiastical tyranny. They erected the Reformed Presbytery, June 24, 1840. . . . In October, 1866, he removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he pastored a small congregation of original Covenanters and established a theological school. . . . He held that the Reformed Presbyterian Church had departed from the attainments of the Reformation, especially in the matter of "voluntary associations." He devoted much of his writing to demonstrating this defection, chastising the Reformed Presbyterian Church for her treacherous defection from Covenanted Reformation. . . . He was a tremendous controversialist, and manifested great inflexibility of character, for which he was despised by 'false brethren.' Toward the end of his life (1884), he stated, 'The principles . . . for more than 40 years defended against many opponents -- especially "false brethren" -- I still believe to be founded upon the Scriptures and long experience, with developments among opponents, has tended to confirm my earlier convictions.' He died in the belief that the principles which he held and propagated would one day triumph in the earth."
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/david-steele-1803-1887
David Steele (1803-1887)
From A HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO by Evans and Stivers
http://reformedpresbyterian.blogspot.com/2005_07_24_reformedpresbyterian_archive.html
Draft of a Covenant for the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (published in Overture), 1848
See particularly the "Editor's Introduction" which gives a summary history of covenant renewal in the Reformed Presbyterian Church.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/rpcna_covenant_draft_1848.html?doc_banner_show=false
Highlander Clearance: Scots-Irish and the Clearances. The Movement of People Between Scotland and Ireland and Onward Emigration to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, Iain Kerr
"I have been asked by a number of conventional correspondents and more recently contacts on the Compuserve Genealogy Forum to answer questions on the background to the emigration of Scots and Irish people to the Americas and beyond. These notes cover the main historical background to those movements. The attempt an approximately chronological outline of the major incidents which caused population movements in Scotland, from Scotland to Ireland and either directly, or through an intervening refuge, from Scotland and Ireland to the Americas and later Australia."
http://www.rootsweb.com/~pictou/clearncs.htm
Letter V: Objections Considered, Gilbert M'Master
Scripture our only rule. (Colossians 3:16)
Considered -- Demands Answered -- New Mercies Require a new Song -- Book of Psalms Abrogated -- Cannot be Sung in Truth -- May Sing as Well as Pray in our own Words -- Book of Psalms Obscure -- Inadequate -- Modern Hymns More Favourable to Revivals -- More Elegant in Diction -- Watts had as Good a Right to Make Psalms as David -- Cursing Psalms -- Christ not Named in Them
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/17/letter-v?rq=Reply
The Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.cmstory.org/history/hornets/declare.htm
The Mecklenburg Resolves
http://www.cmstory.org/history/hornets/resolves.htm
The "Preamble and Resolutions" and The Reformed Presbytery's "Deed of Constitution" of 1840
http://www.truecovenanter.com/deedcons.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
A Short Account of the Old Presbyterian Dissenters, Section I: The Several Names, by Which the old Dissenters Have Been Known and Distinguished
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/24/a-short-account-of-the-old-presbyterian-dissenters
The Sinking of The Crown of London
"It was a wild and stormy night off the north coast of Deerness. A blizzard was blowing and the white horses riding the crests of the waves were buffeting the sides of the heaving ship, flinging the 257 prisoners too and fro across the crammed hold of their wretched gaol, the merchant ship Crown."
http://www.wileygenealogy.com/articles/2016/09/04/crown-of-london/
Tract on the Primary Reform
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/19/tract-on-the-primary-reform
Various Presbyterian Bodies, Minutes of the Reformed Presbyterian Church
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/minutes_rp.htm
William Louis Roberts (1798-1864)
Biographical Sketch
"Born near Franklin, Pendleton County, Virginia [now West Virginia -- compiler], June 27, 1798. His parents were members of the Associate Reformed Church. . . . He received appointment as a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, but was persuaded to abandon military aspirations by the Rev. Dr. J.R. Willson and joined the Covenanter Church. He studied theology under the direction of Rev. Dr. J.R. Willson at Coldenham, New York, and was licensed by the Northern Presbytery, September 11, 1822. . . . He was installed pastor of the united congregations of Clyde and Sterling, New York, October 19, 1837, and resigned this charge, May 26, 1855. He removed to Hopkinton, Delaware County, Iowa, and was stated supply to the newly organized congregation of that place for five years, and was installed as pastor, May 9, 1860. . . . By many he was regarded as one of the great preachers of the Covenanter Church. . . ."
http://www.covenanter.org/WLRoberts/williamlouisroberts.htm
The Higher Law, or, The Law of the Most High; A Discourse, Wm.L. Roberts, D.D.
http://www.covenanter.org/WLRoberts/higherlaw.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. (Isaiah 48:17-19). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Satan exercises his tyranny where the righteousness of Christ possesses not the primacy. -- John Calvin commenting on 1 John 3:8
Please notice this hard truth, that the First Amendment (freedom of speech and freedom of religion) is diametrically opposite to the First Commandment of the Decalogue, GOD spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2,3) Deliverance from the evil of this world is inextricably connected with the covenant between God and man. Therein lies a root problem behind government corruption, violent crime, economic enslavement, mass shootings, and so forth, and so on.
The depravity of man [Jeremiah 17:9,10] is at once the most empirically verifiable reality, but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990).
See John Calvin's Commentary on Isaiah, Chapter 33 [Isaiah 33:1-66], and his commentary on the book of Jeremiah.Christianity is the highest ethical standard known to mankind. The U.S. Constitution is an utter failure as a social covenant, because it makes no provision for accountability to the Triune God. To exclude a religious test for office from Federal Government is to leave political leaders unaccountable for their actions, except to man-made laws and the voters. It is the "temptation of Eve" that results in all pseudo-Christian religions and movements, all the progressive Democtratic agenda, and all sociopsychological jurisprudence. Just "make up the truth" -- anything you want -- and mold the world to your liking, ignoring the U.S. Constitution, the Ten Commandments, ignoring Christian epistemology and ignoring the Christian ethic.
If the people be governors, who shall be governed? -- John Cotton (1584-1652)
A simple democracy is the devil's own government. -- Benjamin Rush (1746-1813)
Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. -- William Penn (1644-1718)
A republic once equally poised must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty. . . . He is the best friend of American liberty who is most sincere and active in promoting pure and undefiled religion. -- John Witherspoon
If God does not exist, everything is permitted. -- Fyodor Dostoevski (1821-1881)
[The nature of public social covenanting described]
First, a covenant is a mutual, solemn, religious transaction between God and men. The parties in such a transaction as that of which we are speaking, are God and men, betwixt whom there is understood to be a mutual engagement. Thus, in reference to what took place at Sinai, it is said, Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice and keep my covenants, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded them: and all the people answered and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. [Exod. xix. 6-8 (Exodus 19:6-8). See also Deut. xxvi. 17-19 (Deuteronomy 26:17-19); 2 Chron. xvi. 12, 15. (2 Chronicles 16:12,15)] Here are manifestly two parties, with their stipulations and re-stipulations. There is on the one hand God as a God of mercy in Jesus Christ and as King and Head of his church and people Israel, saying, Ye will obey my voice, and shall be a peculiar treasure unto me; and there are on the other hand the people of Israel as men professing the name, receiving the institutions, obeying the commandments, and seeking the glory of the Lord their God, saying, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. From the covenant being styled in Scripture, the Lord's covenant rather than the people's, some have drawn the inference that it is to be regarded not as a mutual engagement but as a law -- not a compact between parties but simply the will of a superior enjoining obedience on an inferior. That the covenant is styled the Lord's covenant does not, however, prove that there is not a mutual engagement; for, first of all, it is perfectly natural and right that a transaction betwixt unequal parties should receive its designation from the more dignified of the two; and, then again, it is not always the case that this rule is observed, there being at least one instance in which a covenant with God is designated after the human party: I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. [Lev. xxvi. 45. (Leviticus 26:45)] Not to mention the fact that covenants between men, and vows and oaths in which God is properly no party at all, are spoken of as his on account of his being a witness to them. -- William Symington (1795-1862)The argument [for social covenants -- compiler] from reason is greatly confirmed by certain scripture data. For example, God and his people are represented as standing in the mutual relations of king and subjects, husband and wife, master and servants -- each of which supposes a federal compact. The idea seems also to be essentially involved in the very nature of a resolution. If, as will not surely be denied, we are at liberty to form a resolution to serve God -- if we are warranted to resolve both to do certain things and not to do certain other things, what should hinder such resolution from assuming a federal form? or rather, in what does such resolution differ essentially from a covenant? Besides, do not Baptism, the Lord's supper, ministerial ordination, and other institutions of revealed religion, include in them the very spirit and essence of a vow? Personal covenanting, too, to which no saint can be a stranger, in which the believer delights to pour out his soul to the Most High, expresses his determination to keep the whole law, declares his satisfaction with the place of grace, and signifies his acceptance of new covenant blessings, affords solid ground on which to argue the moral obligation of social federal deeds; for, if it be a high and distinguishing blessing for an individual, on what principle can it be shewn to be otherwise than a blessing for a family, a church, a nation, to be in covenant with God? The relation in which Christ stands to both civil and ecclesiastical society, may here also be adduced. As King of Zion and Prince of the kings of the earth, surely both the church and civil society are bound to recognise his authority, and to express their own loyal subjection, by swearing allegiance to their lawful sovereign. These things considered, the inferential or presumptive argument must be held to be strong and conclusive. -- William Symington (1795-1862)
The magistracy is ordained by God
The Lord has not only testified that the office of magistrate is approved by and acceptable to him, but he also sets out its dignity with the most honorable titles and marvelously commends it to us.(13) To mention a few: Since those who serve as magistrate are called "gods" [Ex. 22:8; Ps. 82:1,6], [Exodus 22:8; Psalm 82:1,6], let no one think that their being so-called is of slight importance. For it signifies that they have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God's representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents. This is no subtlety of mine, but Christ's explanation. "If Scripture," he says, "called them gods to whom the word of God came . . ." [John 13:35]. What is this, except that God has entrusted to them the business of serving him in their office, and (as Moses and Jehoshaphat said to the judges whom they appointed in every city of Judah) of exercising judgment not for Man but for God [Deut. 1:16-17; II Chron. 19:6]? [Deuteronomy 1:16-17; 2 Chronicles 19:6]. To the same purpose is what God's wisdom affirms through Solomon's mouth, that it is his doing "that kings reign, and counselors decree what is just, that princes exercise dominion, and all benevolent judges of the earth" [Prov. 8:14-16], [Proverbs 8:14-16]. This amounts to the same thing as to say: it has not come about by human perversity that the authority over all things on earth is in the hands of kings and other rulers, but by divine providence and holy ordinance. For God was pleased so to rule the affairs of men, inasmuch as he is present with them and also presides over the making of laws and the exercising of equity in courts of justice. Paul also plainly teaches this when he lists "ruling" among God's gifts [Rom. 12:8, KJV or RV], [Romans 12:8], which, variously distributed according to the diversity of grace, ought to be used by Christ's servants for the upbuilding of the church. For even though Paul is there speaking specifically of a council of sober men, who were appointed in the primitive church to preside over the ordering of public discipline (which office is called in the letter to the Corinthians, "government"(14) [I Cor. 12:28]), [1 Corinthians 12:28], yet because we see the civil power serving the same end, there is no doubt that he commends to us every kind of just rule.
But Paul speaks much more clearly when he undertakes a just discussion of this matter. For he states both that power is an ordinance of God [Rom. 13:2], [Romans 13:21], and that there are no powers except those ordained by God [Rom. 13:1]. [Romans 13:1] Further, that princes are ministers of God, for those doing good unto praise; for those doing evil, avengers unto wrath [Rom. 13:3-4], [Romans 13:3,4]. To this may be added the examples of holy men, of whom some possessed kingdoms, as David, Josiah, and Hezekiah; other, lordships, as Joseph and Daniel; other, civil rule among a free people, as Moses, Joshua, and the judges. The Lord has declared his approval of their offices. Accordingly, no one ought to doubt that civil authority is a calling, not only holy and lawful before God, but also the most sacred and by far the most honorable of all callings in the whole life of mortal men. -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Ford Lewis Battles translation), IV:20:4The medieval structure of ecclesiastical authority could not withstand the Protestant idea of sola scriptura -- the Bible alone. One Christian man with a Bible was superior to any pope or council or tradition without it. Luther translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into German so the people could read it in their own language and not be subject to an ecclesiastical ruling class. By translating the Bible into the common language, Luther freed the German people from ecclesiastical totalitarianism: The Bible was the written constitution of the church, which the people could now read for themselves. His second major contribution to Western political thought was the idea of a written constitution -- the Bible -- limiting the power and authority of the church (and later political), leaders. There is a direct connection between the Reformation cry of sola scriptura and the American idea of the Constitution -- not any man or body of men -- as the supreme law of the land. -- John W. Robbins, in a tract, Civilization and the Protestant Reformation
We are an illiterate nation incapable of understanding great truth. -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999)
The United States Supreme Court IS NOT the supreme authority in the country.
The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal Judiciary; an irresponsible body (for impeachment is scarcely a scare-crow) working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1821
The Decalogue is God's constitution. No society should permit the codification of law in violation of the Decalogue.
The view of the secular humanism is that law is opinion, sociopsychological jurisprudence. Thus many decisions of the Supreme Court are 5-4. But if the Supreme Court Justices were all Trinitarian Christians, and if the law of the land was The Decalogue, and if the constitution was The Holy Bible, then practically all decisions would be 9-0.
The roots of liberty and limited government are in the Protestant Reformation. We believe the key to the maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish covenanting struggle. -- James A. Dodson
This, then, I say, is pre-required, as a qualification of any person to the performance of this duty of abiding with God. It is the psalmist's advice, Psalm 2:11,12. Let this principle be always owned amongst you; by it honor Christ in the world. Give him the pre-eminence; it is the Father's will he should have it in all things. Expect not the presence of God, but upon this account. Bear testimony herein against the world of profane men, who despise these things. Seeing, then, it cannot be expected to have this qualification diffused universally, as yet, through the body of the people, let the rulers take care that they be not the cause of God's departure from us." -- John Owen (1616-1683), in God's Presence With a People, the Spring of Their Prosperity: With Their Speciall Interest in Abiding With Him, a Sermon, Preached to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, at Westminster, Octob. 30. 1656. A Day of Solemn Humiliation
The transition from democracy to tyranny is a process of both individual and social disintegration, and the latter has its roots in the former. When the individual revolts against tradition and authority, when instinct and desire are exalted above reason, when intellect is subordinated to will, when all desires become lawful and no standard is left for choosing among them, then at last a master-passion . . . can lay hold upon any thoughts or desires that are of good report and still capable of shame; it kills them or drives them forth, until it has purged the soul of all sobriety and called in the partisans of madness to fill the vacant place. -- John Hallowell, The Moral Foundation of Democracy
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the party that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections. -- Lord Acton (1834-1902)
Now note, we talk about the glories of Greek democracy. Do you know how long democracy lasted. You do not, do you? Thirty years. Thirty years. And what took its place? The word still survives in our language. The tyrant. Hoy kurinoi [sic], the tyrant, which even today has a very sinister implication which we use when we are speaking of people who have put themselves above the law, and have exercised tyrannical power. You see, even in Plato democracy, which he preached, was what? -- a thinly veiled absolutism in which the irrationality of his philosophy gives rise to what? -- absolutism in politics.
And I want you to write this down as a note today that where you have irrationalism in politics, notably the democratic philosophy, you will find that it produces and gives way to an absolutism, because this philosophical irrationalism of which we have been speaking must always create a defense against itself, the antidote to its own lawlessness. And in the political field democracy will always produce tyranny or dictatorship. And you say to me, no, do you not believe in democracy? No, I do not. It is thoroughly pagan concept of government, giving forth perfectly pagan ends or results. I do not believe in democracy. And you look at me as if I am some sort of potential Hitler. No, I am not at all. I believe in a constitutional republic, but I do not believe in democracy. To worship at the shrine of democracy is to worship at your own clay feet. -- C. Gregg Singer in Classical and Medieval Thought #2Simply to say, that Locke set the stage for the degradation of modern man, for the degradation from the rationality in the universe, for the degradation of education, for the degradation of political philosophy, for the degradation of social philosophy, for the degradation of the church.
Now, why do I say this? I say it with good reason, and I would suggest that sometime, when you have time, not for this course, but when you have time, read a very powerful treatment of this basic idea by John H. Hallowell, the very learned and very able professor of Political Philosophy at Duke University [also served as Director of the Lilly Endowment Research Program in Christianity at Duke University -- compiler], a tremendous book called MAIN CURRENTS IN MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT. He also expanded this idea in another book on modern democracy.
And I would add, just in passing, that John Hallowell sees very, very clearly what John Locke has meant to the modern world, passing over for the moment the fact that he [Locke -- compiler], can not prove his own position, and he violates his own position of epistemology in asserting it. Nevertheless, he bases this assertive in the realm of Philosophy, that man has no innate ideas, that man learns only through his senses, and in learning only through his senses, of course, he can only have those areas of knowledge, can only inquire in those areas of knowledge which are immediately apprehensible by the senses.
Now, Locke consciously tried to set forth a new Weltanschauung, or a new world and life view. You will remember that his great work, began in 1690 with his two essays on government. He speedily followed this with an essay on human understanding, and another one in defense of Christianity, a rather feeble defense, but, nevertheless, he did it. . . ." -- C. Gregg Singer in "The Decline of Modern Philosophy" http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7202144553This emphasis on human rights is destroying human freedom. Now, why? Well, in the first place, every futile attempt to create rights which do not exist results in the lose of rights which do exist. The modern theory of political rights has no philosophic or theological foundation. It rests upon human democratic assumptions concerning the nature of man, which conception has absolutely no foundation in the political, or the social, or the religious philosophy which produced it. And, approximately, since the Supreme Court decision, as closely as we can tell, and I have got this from very good sources, about six million babies have been aborted. . . ." -- C. Gregg Singer in Classical and Medieval Thought #1
There is an evident connection between absolute truth, life, moral behavior, freedom (political, economic, and individual), and social stability.
The laws of nature are the laws of God, Whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth. A legislature must not obstruct our obedience to Him from Whose punishment they cannot protect us. All human constitutions which contradict His Laws, we are in conscience bound to disobey. -- George Mason, in 1772
They proffer Article 6, paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution -- the supremacy clause -- for their notion of judicial supremacy. But when you read Article 6, paragraph 2 -- you realize that what is given the supremacy is the Constitution itself. In fact The Supreme Court isn't even mentioned, nor are the federal courts of any kind mentioned. Article 6, paragraph 2 -- known as the supremacy clause gives supremacy to the Constitution! Not the judiciary, not the Supreme Court. -- Matt Trewhella
Read this timely book [THE DOCTRINE OF THE LESSER MAGISTRATES: A PROPER RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY AND A REPUDIATION OF UNLIMITED OBEDIENCE TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT, August 10, 2013] to discover the remedy. Rather than just curse the darkness, Pastor Matthew Trewhella turns to Scripture and church history to unveil the God-prescribed blueprint for turning tyranny on its head and establishing once again, "one nation under God" and "liberty and justice for all." The bleakness fades in the illumination of divine truth, and in the faith to trust God's promises for what ails us." -- Dr. Patrick Johnston, Personhood Ohio, Assn. of Pro-Life Physicians
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.
Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said,
Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever:
And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. (Nehemiah 9:1-38)"Nearly everything that Congress does is unconstitutional." (Howard Phillips) However, "Restoring Constitutional Government to America" will not solve the problem, so the title is problematic, because our current U.S. Constitution is a secular document. Adhering strictly to the current constitution will not reverse the precipitous decline of American. Only national covenanting and a constitution that places God in the highest position of authority, not man, will reverse the decline. For an outstanding, scholarly treatise on National Covenanting see, NATIONAL COVENANTING: CHRIST'S VICTORY OVER THE NATIONS, by Brian M. Schwertley and the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States, Publications Committee.
See: The National Covenant
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#nationalcov
and
The Solemn League and Covenant
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#solemncovSee the Theological Notes: "The Image of God," at Genesis 1:27 in The Reformation Study Bible.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:8-11)
One of the besetting sins of mankind is to use the law to oppress his fellowman. Frederic Bastiat unfolds this sin in, The Law.It appears that, in a democratic republic, reform has something to do with restricting the right of suffrage of those who are unqualified to make rational judgments.
The concept of freedom does not explain sin. While sin is not unrelated to freedom, the latter does not explain the rise of the former. God has authentic freedom and cannot sin, and God created man with a freedom that was morally qualified and whose continuance depended on a refraining from sin. Man as created possessed the ability not to sin, and the man recreated in Christ, and begotten of God, does not sin. (1 John 5:18) ["The present tense of the Greek suggests behavior that is characteristic or usual. In this way John acknowledges, but does not excuse, the possibility of occasional sin."] True freedom is constituted by man's created, and later recreated, ability to do the good, not by a morally unqualified faculty to do either the one or the other. Freedom belongs to the essence of man as created by God and as restored by Christ; in neither instance is it a morally neutral and unqualified aspect of humanity. The effect of human sin upon freedom is defined in Biblical thought, therefore, not as another form of freedom, but rather as slavery and bondage (Romans 6). Man as created was no more free to sin than, having sinned and fallen into moral bondage, he is free again to become what he once was. Sin constitutes a loss, not an exercise of freedom. Sin is a mystery, immoral and irrational, whose denouement is not found in the concept of human freedom. Freedom as an explanation of sin leads invariably into some form of Pelagianism and Arminianism.
If in freedom man could sin against his Maker, freedom by the same definition would contain the possibility of man's self-propelled return to his Maker. If sin is a true exercise of freedom, such freedom, even after sin, remains also free both to act in Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, or Arminianistic fashion to undo its sin and to return to God -- or to refuse to return to God.
According to the Genesis account of man's fall into sin, man was not free to sin, but under divine command not to sin, on threat of death. Adam and Eve were under the restrictive divine command not to do what they in fact did. Freedom, as authority, is comprised of the components: might plus right. An authority which exercises a might without right is a totalitarian perversion of authority; a freedom which does that which it has no right to do is an anarchistic perversion of true freedom.
The theological tenet that God created man free, that is, with a freedom that was free to sin (posse peccare), is an explanation of sin in terms of sin. If God had endowed man with such freedom, God could not in justice allow man's freedom to suffer that bondage which sin inflicts upon freedom.
In Biblical thought, however, man's act of sin is regarded as a loss of freedom. According to the Genesis account of the Fall, man loses his right to existence in the Garden of Eden, his right to life, and his right to be himself -- naked and not ashamed. In the continuing Biblical account, man as sinner is exhibited as no longer free to be himself. He is either a slave to sin and under the power of death, a devotee of idols -- who in this devotion to idols becomes sub-human and like his idols (Psalm 115:8), or he becomes a captive to grace and through this captivity again receives his true freedom as a gift from God, a freedom permitting him to enjoy release from, and forgiveness for, his sinful past and the gift of grace that justifies his right to live in an open and unending future. -- James DaaneOur fatal troika [a group of three people working together, especially in an administrative or managerial capacity -- Oxford Dictionary of English] dashes on in her headlong flight perhaps to destruction and in all Russia for long past men have stretched out imploring hands and called a halt to its furious reckless course. And if other nations stand aside from that troika that may be, not from respect, as the poet would fain believe, but simply from horror. From horror, perhaps from disgust. And well it is that they stand aside. But maybe they will cease one day to do so and will form a firm wall confronting the hurrying apparition and will check the frenzied rush of our lawlessness, for the sake of their own safety, enlightenment and civilization. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky [Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevski (1821-1881)], The Brothers Karamazov, XII, 9
Personally I find it helpful to begin each day by silently committing that day into God's hands [Matthew 6:5-13; Psalm 37:5,6; Proverbs 16:3; Romans 12:1,2; 1 Peter 2:23b; 1 Peter 4:19; ]. I thank Him that I belong to Him [Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:4,5; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:14,16,17,38,39; John 1:12], and I thank Him that He knows what the day holds for me [Providence, omniscience]. I ask Him to take my life that day and use it for His glory [John 15:16,8; Philippians 2:13; Philippians 1:6; John 15:7,8; John 15:10; John 15:4]. I ask Him to cleanse me from anything which would hinder His work [sanctification] in my life. And then I step out in faith [trust, Matthew 6:25-34], knowing that His Holy Spirit is filling me continually as I trust in Him and obey [John 14:15-21; John 14:23; John 15:10; Matthew 16:24; Romans 8:37-39] His Word [Isaiah 11:2; John 15:26-27; John 14:15-17; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:11] -- Billy Graham, from The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life
St. Augustine's final sentence of THE CITY OF GOD is "All things must be referred to the Glory of God."
When you see that, then you will see the key to history. -- C. Gregg Singer
Anonymous, Article on The New Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1874.
http://www.covenanter.org/CivilGovt/constappndx.htm
*Augustine, Saint (Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 AD), (author), Philip Schaff (editor), Marcus Dods (translator), St. Augustine's City of God and Christian Doctrine (A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church -- Volume 2), new edition, 624 pages, English, ISBN: 0802880991. Available (2 volumes, 1872 edition), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Augustine is said to be the greatest Christian thinker next to the Apostle Paul. Luther set the BIBLE and the CONFESSIONS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE above all other books.
"One of the classic texts of Western civilization [it explains the fall of Rome in terms of Scripture -- compiler]. . . . DE CIVITATE DEI is an important contribution of interest to students of theology, philosophy, ecclesiastical history, the history of political thought, and late antiquity." -- Publisher (from the Cambridge University Press edition)
"Calvin paraphrased Augustine about 400 times in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
"St. Augustine's final sentence of THE CITY OF GOD is 'All things must be referred to the Glory of God.'
"When you see that, then you will see the key to the story, and you will see the key to history. . . .
"The classic exposition of history in terms of Scripture." -- C. Gregg Singer
"Augustine began writing THE CITY OF GOD at age 59 [shortly after the city of Rome had been sacked by the Goths in 410 A.D., much to the surprise, it is said, of both the Romans and the Goths. -- compiler], and worked on it, off and on, for much of the next 14 years. The impetus for the beginning of this vast work (and its recurring focus), was the charge of Pagans (polytheists) that Christianity was responsible for the decay and demise of the Roman Empire. The charge put forward the claim that the prosperity and social stability of the state was dependent upon polytheistic worship. In response, Augustine arrays several lines of argument, rebutting the assumed 'goodness' of the Pagan state, as such, and detailing the ethical/moral and logical failings of Paganism. Augustine displays tremendous scholarship, employing the writings of Paganism's greatest historians and philosophers in his case against their religious claims. The result is a giant literary, philosophical, historical, theological and exegetical work. . . .
"Against the 'city', i.e., society, of many gods, there is but one alternate society, this Augustine calls The City of God, adopting the expression found in several of King David's psalms. Not only is the society of many gods the society of polytheists, it is also the 'city' of pantheists, atheistic materialists and philosophical Cynics. In the case of the Cynics and atheists, these false gods are the myriad gods of self, indeed, at least as many gods (selves) as there are believers in them. Thus there are two 'cities,' two loves, two ways to understand the big questions of existence, two destinations. Says Augustine:
"The one City began with the love of God; the other had its beginnings in the love of self." XIV:13."Augustine reflects deeply here on human nature and the meaning of eternal life and eternal punishment, within an explication of the 'meaning' of history. He writes of all human history as a single narrative. This also a work of Biblical exegesis, as Augustine treats Scripture as a historical document. For Augustine, creation is good, creation exists in time and has a history. Indeed, since God enters into history to show man His love, history itself is sanctified, through the City of God.
"The city of man seeks the praise of men, whereas the height of glory for the other is to hear God in the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own boasting; the other says to God: Thou art my glory, thou liftest up my head. (Psalm 3:4). In the city of the world both the rulers themselves and the people they dominate are dominated by the lust for domination; whereas in the City of God all citizens serve one another in charity . . ." (XIV:28) -- Reader's Comment
*Bakan, Joel, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, ISBN: 9780743247467 0743247469.
"Over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world's dominant economic institution. Eminent Canadian law professor and legal theorist Joel Bakan contends that today's corporation is a pathological institution, a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.
"In this revolutionary assessment of the history, character, and globalization of the modern business corporation, Bakan backs his premise with the following observations:
Baker, J. Wayne, Covenant and Society: The Republica Christiana in the Thought of Heinrich Bullinger.
*Barofsky, Neil, Bailout: An Inside Account of how Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street, ISBN: 9781451684933 1451684932.
"In this bracing, page-turning account of his stranger-than-fiction baptism into the corrupted ways of Washington, Neil Barofsky offers an irrefutable indictment, from an insider of the Bush and Obama administrations, of the mishandling of the $700 billion TARP bailout fund. In vivid behind-the-scenes detail, he reveals proof of the extreme degree to which our government officials bent over backward to serve the interests of Wall Street firms at the expense of the broader public -- and at the expense of effective financial reform.
"During the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Barofsky gave up his job as a prosecutor in the esteemed U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City, where he had convicted drug kingpins, Wall Street executives, and perpetrators of mortgage fraud, to become the special inspector general in charge of oversight of the spending of the bailout money. From his first day on the job, his efforts to protect against fraud and to hold the big banks accountable for how they spent taxpayer money were met with outright hostility from the Treasury officials in charge of the bailouts.
"Barofsky discloses how, in serving the interests of the banks, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his team worked with Wall Street executives to design programs that would funnel vast amounts of taxpayer money to their firms and would have allowed them to game the markets and make huge profits with almost no risk and no accountability, while repeatedly fighting Barofsky's efforts to put the necessary fraud protections in place. His investigations also uncovered abject mismanagement of the bailout of insurance giant AIG and Geithner's decision to allow the payment of millions of dollars in bonuses -- including $7,700 to a kitchen worker and $7,000 to a mail room assistant -- and that the Obama administration's 'TARP czar' lobbied for the executives to retain their high pay.
"Providing stark details about how, meanwhile, the interests of homeowners and the broader public were betrayed, Barofsky recounts how Geithner and his team steadfastly failed to fix glaring flaws in the Obama administration's homeowner relief program pointed out by Barofsky and other bailout watchdogs, rejecting anti-fraud measures, which unleashed a wave of abuses by mortgage providers against homeowners, even causing some who would not have lost their homes otherwise to go into foreclosure. Ultimately only a small fraction (just $1.4 billion at the time he stepped down), of the $50 billion allocated to help homeowners was spent, while the funds expended to prop up the financial system -- as Barofsky discloses -- totaled $4.7 trillion. As Barofsky raised the alarm about the bailout failures, he met with obstruction of his investigations, and he recounts in blow-by-blow detail how an increasingly aggressive war was waged against his efforts, with even the White House launching a broadside against him. Bailout is a riveting account of his plunge into the political meat grinder of Washington, as well as a vital revelation of just how captured by Wall Street our political system is and why the too-big-to-fail banks have only become bigger and more dangerous in the wake of the crisis.
"Neil Barofsky is currently a Senior Fellow at New York University School of Law. From December 2008 until March 2011, he served as the Special Inspector General in charge of oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Before that he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. This is his first book." -- Publisher
"The further we dug into the way TARP was being administered, the more obvious it became that Treasury applied a consistent double standard. In the late fall of 2009, as I began receiving the results of two of our most important audits, the contradiction couldn't have been more glaring. When providing the largest financial institutions with bailout money, Treasury made almost no effort to hold them accountable, and the bounteous terms delivered by the government seemed to border on being corrupt. For those institutions, no effort was spared, with government officials often defending their generosity by kneeling at the altar of the 'sanctity of contracts.' Meanwhile, an entirely different set of rules applied for home-owners and businesses that were most assuredly small enough to fail.
"Nowhere was the favoritism toward Wall Street more evident than with the government's approach to AIG, where inviolable contract terms were cited to justify the absurd executive bonus payments as well as far richer payouts provided to the megabank counterparties to AIG's CDS deals, honoring even their most reckless bets. For homeowners and small business owners, though, contracts went from being sacrosanct to inconvenient irrelevancies. So when mortgage servicers blatantly disregarded HAMP contracts by trampling over homeowners' rights, Treasury turned to an endless series of excuses to justify its refusal to hold them accountable. Similarly, for more than two thousand auto dealerships, Treasury's auto bailout team sought to void the contractual rights granted them under state franchise laws to shut them down." -- An excerpt from Bailout
Barrow, Reg, John Knox, Oliver Cromwell, God's Law and the Reformation of Civil Government. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1, #25.
"Many consider Knox one of the greatest Reformers ever and God used him to win the nation of Scotland to Christ. Knox laid the foundations for the Covenanters that followed, and they in turn gave us the clearest foretaste of the millennium glory to come in the magnificent Solemn League and Covenant. Speaking of these Reformation attainments McFeeters notes, 'The fathers are worthy of all praise for this unprecedented effort to build the national government upon the true foundation of God's will, and administer it by men in Covenant with Jesus Christ, the King of kings. This was the first attempt to erect a Christian government, in which the fear of God should pervade every department and characterize every official.' (Sketches of the Covenanters, p. 155-156). This book deals with some of Knox's most controversial political writings, demonstrating that he was what Barrow calls a 'historic' theonomist (like Rutherford and Gillespie after him). It also offers some fine tuning for 'modern' theonomists, which aims at leading them into the 'footsteps of the flock' and closer to the classic or historic Presbyterian/Covenanter view of law (and away from some of the anabaptist/libertarian tendencies that sometimes arise among modern theonomists). Numerous resources, recently published, dealing with civil disobedience and opposition to tyranny are also listed. The first appendix in this book contains Barrow's letter to Christian Renewal expressing his strong disagreement with an unfavorable and inaccurate review of Michael Wagner's Presbyterian Political Manifesto. In it he shows how the Reformers and their confessions of faith supported the civil establishment of the one true Christian religion, while at the same time publicly excluding Papist's, pagans and other heretics from places of civil rule (in countries blessed with the light of the gospel). The second appendix contains a series of letters dedicated to proving why Barrow calls Cromwell the 'Judas of the Covenant.' It demonstrates Cromwell's reckless abandon in violating his sacred vows to the Lord in the Solemn League and Covenant, while also showing why Cromwell's wicked, anti-Christian views concerning toleration and liberty of conscience led people away from Scriptural standards and helped open the floodgates to modern atheistic pluralism. In short, Cromwell was the prototype of our contemporary pragmatic politician, adept at equivocation and setting his own glory and government above all other concerns, including the glory and government of God. In this vein Barrow contends that Cromwell, unaffectionately dubbed the 'late usurper' by the covenanted Presbyterians of the mid seventeenth-century, was used of the devil to accomplish things in the civil and ecclesiastical realm that he (i.e. satan), could never have accomplished with the more obviously anti-Christian religions of that day (which were not pluralistic theologically, such Romanism, Episcopalianism, etc.). For Cromwell laid his axe of ungodly toleration and pretended liberty of conscience to the root of the tree of covenanted Reformation in a much more subtle manner than the previous 'midwives to Antichrist,' and thus his sectarianism better served the devious designs of the devil during those days. This section also exposes Cromwell as a Erastian tyrant, a liar, and a dictator, who (with the help of his sectarian army), executed the covenanted Presbyterian minister Christopher Love (Cromwell's soldiers even threatened to shoot Thomas Manton for preaching at Love's funeral), sent many other Presbyterian ministers to jail (including Thomas Watson), disbanded the Scottish general assembly (at gunpoint), and eventually began negotiations with Papists (with the intent of granting them a measure of 'liberty' to more freely practice their superstitions and soul murder). This is not the view of Cromwell that you will hear from modern historians and theologians who have abandoned the context of covenanted Reformation (how could it be?), for as Rushdoony has correctly pointed out, 'Men cannot give a meaning to history that they themselves lack, nor can they honor a past which indicts them for their present failures'." (A Biblical Philosophy of History, p. 135) -- Publisher
John Knox, Oliver Cromwell, God's Law and the Reformation of Civil Government
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Crom.htm
Bates, Stewart (1625-1699), The Sin and Danger of Union Between the Church of Christ and an Immoral or anti-Christian Civil Government, 1841. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25.
Beard, Charles Austin (1874-1948), and Forrest McDonald (introduction), An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, ISBN: 0029024803.
"In this classic and controversial interpretation of the economic conditions of the United States between 1783-1787, Beard proposes the thesis that the Framers were motivated by economic concerns. In his landmark work, THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN LAW, Hurst describes AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION . . . as 'one of "the basic works" on the Federal Convention of 1787.' (Hurst, The Growth of American Law: 458). Beard [1874-1948], was a founder of The New School for Social Research." -- Publisher
*Berle, Adolf, The Modern Corporation and Private Property, ISBN: 0887388876 9780887388873.
"Arguably the most influential book in U.S. business history." -- Peter Drucker
"This monumental work on the corporation is one of those enduring classics that many cite but few have read. Graced with a new introduction by Weidenbaum and Jensen, this new edition makes this classic available to a new generation. Written in the early 1930s, THE MODERN CORPORATION AND PRIVATE PROPERTY remains the fundamental introduction to the internal organization of the corporation in modern society. Combining the analytical skills of an attorney with those of an economist, Berle and Means raise the central questions, even when their answers have been superseded by changing circumstances.
"The book's most enduring theme is the separation of ownership from control of the modern corporation and its consequences. Berle and Means display keen awareness of the divergent interests of directors and managers, and of each from owners of the firm. Among their predictions are the characteristic increase in size of the modem corporation and concentration of the economy. The authors view stock exchanges and stock markets as essential by-products of the rise of the modem corporation, and explore how these function. They address the difficult questions of whether corporations operate for the benefit of owners or managers, and explore what motivates managers to make effective use of corporate assets. Finally, they examine the role of the corporation as the prevailing form of organizing the production and distribution of goods and services.
"In their new introduction, Weidenbaum and Jensen, co-directors of the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University, critically assess the impact of developments not fully anticipated by Berle and Means, such as the rise of the service sector, and the significant role played by institutional investors in the owner/manager equation. They note the authors' prescient observations, including the complex role of and motivating influences on professional managers, and the significance of inside information on stock markets. As they note, The Modern Corporation and Private Property remains of central value to all those concerned with the evolution of this major social institution of the twentieth century. Scholar and practitioner alike will find it of enduring significance." -- Publisher
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
Bowyer, Gerald (editor in 1991), The Christian Statesman, 1867 -- Present, ISSN: 0009-5664.
"The organ of the National Reform Association and the oldest continuous publication associated with Reformed Presbyterianism."
The NRA and The Christian Statesman are currently dormant (May 3, 2018).
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
*Brown, John Brown (of Haddington, 1722-1787) and Justin A. Rawson, A Refutation of Religious Pluralism, ISBN: 9781597123471 1597123471.
"Mr. John Brown's manifesto shatters the glass walls that have been erected (not only by political leaders, but also by religious leaders) around the 'sacred' doctrine of religious pluralism (or religious toleration) within the political realm.
"Mr. Brown argues that for a nation to tolerate gross heresy and blasphemy (and even false religions in their entirety) is not to take a neutral position with regard to religion, but is rather to protect and promote false religion (contrary to God and His Moral Law, which perpetually bind all people in the world to its obedience -- including political leaders). For God is not morally neutral and does not grant a so-called 'religious liberty' in the civil realm to violate His Moral Law (as summarized in the Ten Commandments). For that which is truly a moral wrong can never be a civil right.
"In the two Letters found in this volume are summarized Biblical, historical, and logical arguments against the toleration of gross heresy and blasphemy in the constitutions and practices of nations (and especially those nations that are engaged by way of lawful National Covenants to God). In addition, Mr. Brown has cited numerous objections against the magistrate's God-ordained duty to legally and morally prevent religious toleration and pluralism within a nation, and has provided answers to the objections that manifest a consistent Scriptural reasoning revealing the fantasy of 'religious liberty' and 'religious pluralism' in the civil realm.
"If Mr. Brown had written his book in the United States (rather than in Scotland), an appropriate title might have been, THE RELIGIOUS PLURALISM GRANTED IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS NOT GRANTED IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.
"Dear reader, be ready to have your political worldview shaken and turned right-side-up!" -- Publisher
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0664220207 9780664220204. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. A Christian classic.
"Edited by John McNeill and translated by Ford Lewis Battles, this is the definitive English language edition of one of the monumental works of the Christian church -- Calvin's INSTITUTES.
"Still considered by many to be the finest explanation and defense of the Protestant Reformation available.
"The work is divided into four books: I. The Knowledge of God the Creator, II. The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, III. The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ, IV. The External Means or Helps by Which God Allures us Into Fellowship With Christ and Keeps us in it. . . . THE INSTITUTES is praised by the secular philosopher, Will Durant, as one of the ten books that shook the world." -- GCB
Calvin spent a lifetime writing and perfecting INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. His Prefatory Address makes it clear that he intended the work to be a defense of Christianity to the King of France.
Therefore, plainly stated, one of the most influential works ever published in the English language is a defense of Christianity to leaders of State.
Prefatory Address to His Most Christian Majesty, The Most Mighty and Illustrious Monarch, Francis, King of the French, His Sovereign, John Calvin. Available in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
"Indeed, this consideration makes a true king: to recognize himself a minister of God in governing his kingdom. Now, that king, who in ruling over his realm does not serve God's glory, exercises not kingly rule but brigandage. [Footnote: 'Nec iam regnum ille sed latrocinium exercet.' An echo of Augustine's famous phrase: 'When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms [[regna]] but a vast banditry [[magna latocinia]]?' City of God, IV. iv (MPL [[Migne, J.P., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina]], 41. 115; tr. NPNF [[A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series]], II. 66)]. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God's scepter, that is, his Holy Word; for the heavenly oracle that proclaims that where prophecy fails the people are scattered [Prov. 29:18 (Proverbs 29:18)], cannot lie." (Battles translation)
"The characteristic of a true sovereign is, to acknowledge that, in the administration of his kingdom, he is a minister of God. He who does not make his reign subservient to the divine glory, acts the part not of a king, but a robber. He, moreover, deceives himself who anticipates long prosperity to any kingdom which is not ruled by the sceptre of God, that is, by his divine word. For the heavenly oracle is infallible which has declared, that where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18), (Beveridge translation)."
See the entire Prefatory Address, Beveridge translation. Considered to be one of the greatest prefaces ever written.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.ii.viii.html
"The doctrines of covenant liberty were rediscovered in the Reformation. John Calvin went further than anyone else in defining liberty and what Christians need to do to maintain it. Includes bibliographies."
It is recommended that INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION be used for daily devotions and may be used in combination with Ford Lewis Battles and John Walchenbach, AN ANALYSIS OF THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION OF JOHN CALVIN and with CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES.
Calvin's Commentaries at BibleStudyGuide.org
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_index.htm
Calvin's Commentaries, complete
From the Calvin Translation Society edition.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/commentaries.i.html
One Hundred Aphorisms, Containing, Within a Narrow Compass, the Substance and Order of the Four Books of The Institutes of the Christian Religion
http://www.lettermen2.com/pringle.html
Contents and Chapter Sections for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559 (McNeill/Battles)
http://www.lettermen2.com/icrcont.html
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 1
http://archive.org/details/instituteschrist01calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; A New Translation by Henry Beveridge (1845), Volume: 2
http://archive.org/details/institutesofreli02calvuoft
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Beveridge translation
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.vii.html
Monergism: Commentaries
From Mongergism.com search "commentaries."
http://www.monergism.com
Cheyney, Edward Potts, Documents Illustrative of Feudalism, ISBN: 0404089747 9780404089740.
Christian Amendment Movement, Armour James McFarland, America for Christ.
"This booklet gives the proposed Christian Amendment, which is to be introduced into Congress in 1947" -- Introductory letter. Includes "Constitution of the Christian Amendment Movement."
Christian Amendment Movement, America for Christ: "Communism and God are Incompatible," radio message by G.M. Robb.
Christian Amendment Movement, Christ is our Moral Governor: Will we Acknowledge Him?
Christian Amendment Movement, The Christian Amendment Movement: What it is. What you can do to Help.
Christian Amendment Movement, The Christian Amendment Movement: What it is: Why America Needs it.
Christian Amendment Movement, Data File: Christian Amendment Movement.
Christian Amendment Movement, Ephemeral Materials, 1947- by Christian Government Movement [Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements].
Christian Amendment Movement, Problems Related to Christian Civil Government.
Christian Amendment Movement, Questions on the Christian Amendment.
Christian Amendment Movement, Radio Round Table Discussion on the Christian Amendment.
Conducted by college presidents and the field secretary of the Christian Amendment Movement.
Christian Amendment Movement, Armour James McFarland, America for Christ.
"This booklet gives the proposed Christian Amendment, which is to be introduced into Congress in 1947" -- Introductory letter. Includes "Constitution of the Christian Amendment Movement." (pp. 30-32). "Responsibility: Issued for the Christian Amendment Movement by A.J. McFarland."
*Cunningham, William (1805-1861), John Calvin. Available in THE REFORMERS AND THE THEOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #17.
"As Cunningham states, 'John Calvin was by far the greatest of the Reformers with respect to the talents he possessed, the influence he exerted, and the services he rendered in the establishment and diffusion of important truth.' Here we have a succinct account of Calvin's works and the leading principles that he maintained. Calvin is without a doubt one of the great men in all of human history, and as he often pointed out, he owed everything to the Lord Jesus Christ -- all his talents, all his influence, his very salvation, etc. -- for that is the nature of 'Calvinism,' giving God all the glory!" -- Publisher
Dent, Harry, and Betty Dent, Right vs. Wrong: Solutions to the American Nightmare, ISBN: 0840734387 9780840734389.
Dornan, Bob, and Casaba Vedlick, Judicial Supremacy: The Supreme Court on Trial, ISBN: 0913124389 9780913124383.
"While it takes three fourths of the states of the union to change the Constitution legally, yet as few as five men who have never been elected to office can. . . foist upon this nation laws which even Congress could not constitutionally pass." -- Supreme Court of Utah, 1968 (Dyett v. Turner 20 Utah 2nd 403).
"Makes a clear, historic, and legal case against 'Judicial Activism' and argues for the 'original intent' of the framers of the Constitution. . . ."
Faris, David S., A Defense of the old School Covenanters as Dissenters From the United States Constitution, 1864.
*Ferguson, Charles H., Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America, ISBN: 9780307952554 030795255X.
"Charles H. Ferguson, who electrified the world with his Oscar-winning documentary "Inside Job," now explains how a predator elite took over the country, step by step, and he exposes the networks of academic, financial, and political influence, in all recent administrations, that prepared the predators' path to conquest.
"Over the last several decades, the United States has undergone one of the most radical social and economic transformations in its history.
Fettke, Steven M., Messages to a Nation in Crisis: An Introduction to the Prophecy of Jeremiah, ISBN: 0819128392 9780819128393.
Gardiner, Samuel Rawson, The Constitution Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1625-1660. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #30.
"This period of time and thought had great bearing on the foundations of many nations, not the least of which include the United States and Canada. These documents are intended to serve either as a basis for the study of the constitutional history of this important period, or as a companion to the political history of the time. Relevant to both church and state." -- Publisher
The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1628-1660
http://books.google.com/books?id=wAUwAAAAMAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Grigg, William Norman, America's Engineered Decline, ISBN: 1881919102 9781881919100.
Grigg, William Norman, Liberty in Eclipse, (The Welch Foundation, 2007), ISBN: 0979985900 9780979985904.
Grigg's books are no longer available from The John Birch Society for some reason. "He stated that he was fired by JBS on October 3, 2006, officially for unstated reasons." --
William Norman Grigg
"LIBERTY IN ECLIPSE is a 320-page exposé and indictment of our nation's descent into the early stages of police state tyranny. Topics discussed include the militarization and federalization of law enforcement; the establishment of a quasi-dictatorial 'war presidency;' the evisceration of the Bill of Rights, and due process guarantees going back to the Magna Carta; the increasingly commonplace surveillance of Americans; the institutionalization of torture; and the likely restoration of conscription, including a military draft in this Country." -- Publisher
*Hayes, Christopher, Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, ISBN: 9780307720450 0307720454 9780307720474 0307720470.
"A powerful and original argument that traces the roots of our present crisis of authority to an unlikely source: the meritocracy.
"Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another -- from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball -- imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters.
"How did we get here? With TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES, Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite -- one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it.
"Mixing deft political analysis, timely social commentary, and deep historical understanding, TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES describes how the society we have come to inhabit -- utterly forgiving at the top and relentlessly punitive at the bottom -- produces leaders who are out of touch with the people they have been trusted to govern. Hayes argues that the public's failure to trust the federal government, corporate America, and the media has led to a crisis of authority that threatens to engulf not just our politics but our day-to-day lives.
"Upending well-worn ideological and partisan categories, Hayes entirely reorients our perspective on our times. TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES is the defining work of social criticism for the post-bailout age.
"Christopher Hayes is Editor at Large of The Nation and host of 'Up w/ Chris Hayes' on MSNBC. From 2010 to 2011, he was a fellow at Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, and The Guardian. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kate and daughter Ryan." -- Publisher
Jacoby, Stewart Olin, The Religious Amendment Movement: God, People, and Nation in the Gilded Age, 2 volumes, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International, 1984).
"On March 6, 1894, the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on a Joint Resolution (H. Res. 120), 'proposing an Amendment to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States "Acknowledging the Supreme Authority and Just Government of Almighty God in all the Affairs of Men and Nations".'(12. Hearings on the Joint Resolution [H. Res. 120, Washington: U.S. Government Printing office, 1894].)"
*Johnson, Chalmers, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic, ISBN: 0805070044 9780805070040.
"From the author of the prophetic national bestseller BLOWBACK, a startling look at militarism, American style, and its consequences abroad and at home.
"In the years after the Soviet Union imploded, the United States was described first as the globe's lone superpower, then as a reluctant sheriff, next as the indispensable nation, and now, in the wake of 9/11, as a New Rome. Here, Chalmers Johnson thoroughly explores the new militarism that is transforming America and compelling its people to pick up the burden of empire.
"Reminding us of the classic warnings against militarism -- from George Washington's farewell address to Dwight Eisenhower's denunciation of the military-industrial complex -- Johnson uncovers its roots deep in our past. Turning to the present, he maps America's expanding empire of military bases and the vast web of services that supports them. He offers a vivid look at the new caste of professional warriors who have infiltrated multiple branches of government, who classify as secret everything they do, and for whom the manipulation of the military budget is of vital interest.
"Among Johnson's provocative conclusions is that American militarism is putting an end to the age of globalization and bankrupting the United States, even as it creates the conditions for a new century of virulent blowback. THE SORROWS OF EMPIRE suggests that the former American republic has already crossed its Rubicon -- with the Pentagon leading the way." -- Publisher
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth, 1554. Alternate title: A FAITHFUL ADMONITION TO THE PROFESSORS OF GOD'S TRUTH IN ENGLAND, and AGAINST ROMISH RITES AND POLITICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL TYRANNY. Available (WORKS OF JOHN KNOX) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #15, #26. Available in SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX.
"Formerly titled A FAITHFUL ADMONITION TO THE PROFESSORS OF GOD'S TRUTH IN ENGLAND, this letter is said to be 'undoubtedly the most important' of Knox's writings (up to that time), by W. Stanford Reid in TRUMPETER OF GOD (p. 114). Furthermore Reid notes that Knox's 'views on the magistrate expressed in the FAITHFUL ADMONITION, were to have an important influence upon much of his future conduct, and upon the development of the Reformation in both England and Scotland.' The editor of KNOX'S WORKS states, 'the object of the ADMONITION was twofold. The one was to animate those who had made a good profession to perseverance, and to avoid the sin of . . . appearing to conform to the 'abominable idolatry' re-established in England; the other, to point out the dangers to be apprehended in when the kingdom became subjected to the dominion of strangers.' Knox uses very strong language here, in the hopes of getting through to those who came to be termed Nicodemites (i.e. those who thought that they could 'keep faith secretly in the heart, and yet do as idolaters do,' in Knox's own words). Written at a time when the true church had been driven underground by Roman Catholic persecution, it was said concerning this letter that 'many other godly men besides have been exposed to the risk of their property, and even life itself, upon the sole ground of either having had this book in their possession, or having read it.' Kevin Reed gives an excellent summary of this letter in SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX. when, in part, he writes, 'while acknowledging the risk of persecution to the faithful, the reformer perceives a greater danger in compromising with idolatry. Government persecution may bring disfavour of men, loss of personal goods and, in some cases, physical death; but idolatry brings down the wrath of God, resulting in grievous punishments, now and through eternity. Idolatry also invites a curse upon the posterity of the nation. In an intense pastoral appeal, Knox strongly admonishes his readers to avoid conforming to the Romish rites of worship.' (p. 220). For those who would rather read many of these Knox items with contemporary spelling, punctuation, and grammar we highly recommend the SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN KNOX." -- Publisher
John Knox: Faithful Admonition (1554)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/FaithAdm.htm
Knox, John, Jr., An Essay on the Application of Reformation Principles to the American Government, 1833. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
Kyvig, David E., Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995, ISBN: 0700607927 9780700607921.
"Over the course of the past two centuries, more than 10,000 amendments have been proposed by the method stipulated in Article V of the Constitution. Amazingly, only 33 have garnered the required two-thirds approval from houses of Congress, and only 27 were ultimately ratified into law by the states. Despite their small number, those amendments have revolutionized American government while simultaneously legitimizing and preserving its continued existence. Indeed, they have dramatically altered the relationship between state and federal authority, as well as between government and private citizens. Kyvig reexamines the creation and operation of Article V, illuminating the process and substance of each major successful and failed effort to change the formal structure, duties, and limits of the federal government. He analyzes in detail the Founders' intentions; the periods of amendment activity during the 1790s, 1860s, 1910s, and 1960s; and the considerable consequences of amendment failure involving slavery, alcohol prohibition, child labor, New Deal programs, school prayer, equal rights for women, abortion, balanced budgets, term limits, and flag desecration. Ultimately, Kyvig demonstrates that so-called 'constitutional revolutions' can only endure through formal amendment; without it such sea changes as the New Deal are likely to be temporary amidst the shifting winds of political fortune. That truth underscores the centrality of the amendment process to American constitutionalism, sheds light on the 'amendment fever' that swept through the 104th Congress, and better prepares us to deal with such initiatives in the future.
"As a comprehensive source for the political/constitutional history surrounding both successful and failed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution, David Kyvig's, EXPLICIT AND AUTHENTIC ACTS, fills the bill. The book is clearly written and rich in detail; however, perhaps because of its intended detailed treatment of proposed and accomplished amendments, it is likely to be more useful as a source of background information than for its analysis.
"Reinforcing the point that there is nothing new under the sun, Kyvig's narrative discloses that in the last decades of the nineteenth century Christian fundamentalists proposed a constitutional amendment which would have declared (p. 189), that "Almighty God [is] the Author of National Existence and the source of all power and authority in Civil Government, Jesus Christ [is] the Ruler of Nations, and the Bible [is] the formation of law and the supreme rule for the conduct of nations." Fundamentalists, it seems, were concerned (then as now), about the secularization of American government. I was also unaware that. (p. 190)
"Between 1894 and 1910 Congress received at least nine proposals to alter the Constitution's preamble to express trust in or acknowledge the authority of a Christian God." -- Donald W. Jackson, Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University
Larson, John Lauritz, The Market Revolution in America: Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good, ISBN: 9780521883658 0521883652 9780521709897 052170989X.
*Magdeburg, Pastors of (author), Matthew Colvin, Ph.D. (translator), George Grant (introduction), Matthew Trewhella (foreword), The Magdeburg Confession: 13th of April 1550 AD, ISBN: 1470087537 9781470087531.
"This is the first ever English translation of the historic Magdeburg Confession. The translation work was done from a 1550 Latin original of the Confession. The Magdeburg Confession is the first known document in the history of man to formally set forth the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates. The Lesser Magistrate Doctrine teaches that when a superior authority makes unjust laws or decrees, the lesser authority has a God-given right and duty to resist those unjust laws or decrees. In 1548, Charles V imposed his infamous Augsburg Interim which was an attempt to smash the Protestant Reformation. While all of Protestant Germany conformed to his decree, one city decided to take a stand and resist his authority -- the city of Magdeburg. The pastors of Magdeburg issued their Confession and Defense of the Pastors and Other Ministers of the Church of Magdeburg on April 13, 1550 AD. Five months after issuing their Confession, Charles V's forces marched on Magdeburg. The people of Magdeburg burned everything outside the city walls and closed the city gates. The siege of Magdeburg had begun. What constitutes a tyrannical government? How and when are Christians to respond and act when a government does become tyrannical? Are Christians to give unlimited obedience to the State? These questions and others were addressed and answered by the pastors in the Confession. In defiance of Charles V's tyranny, they declared, 'Divine laws necessarily trump human ones.' What the pastors of Magdeburg wrote in the Confession significantly impacted men like John Knox, Theodore Beza, and Phillip Mornay. The repercussions of the Confession were felt throughout Western Civilization all the way to the founding of America as a nation. For over 460 years, the Confession has existed only in Latin and German. Now English-speaking people can read it for themselves. This is the first English translation of The Magdeburg Confession ever written. Dr. Matthew Colvin holds a Ph.D. in Latin and Greek Literature from Cornell University." -- Publisher
The Magdeburg Confession
http://magdeburgconfession.com/mag/
McAllister, David, Constitutionality of the Reading of the Bible in the Public Schools, 1902.
McAllister, David, The Moral Ends of the State, 1906.
McAllister, David, Testimonies to the Religious Defect of the Constitution of the United States, 1874.
*McClure, Alexander D., The First Amendment: A Masterpiece of Satan. Contra Anti-establishmentarianism. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"This article was sent to 278 members of the Canadian Parliament. It debunks the idea that it is right for majorities to determine law through their elected officials in opposition to God's holy law. It also opposes the false theories of human rights found in the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In short, and in agreement with both the Belgic and Westminster Confessions, it opposes 'the presumption that a government, ordained of God, can be neutral, and can make no law stating that Jesus Christ is King of the Nation, and that it can hold all religions, which are repugnant to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, equal before it'." -- Publisher
McDonald, Forrest, and Russell Kirk, We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution, ISBN: 1560005742 9781560005742.
"Few vices are easier to arouse than envy. Politicians and ideologues have had great success exploiting the resentment that arises when pitting rich against the poor.
"From the time of its publication in 1913 until the 1960s, Charles Beard's thesis dominated discussion of the founders' motives. In the mode of the Marxist interpretation of history as class struggle, Beard argued that economic self-interest, rather than concern for the general good, determined the writing and outcome of the Constitution.
"Interestingly, Beard asserted his system of alignment without actually proving it, admitting that his work was fragmentary because it failed to fill in the blanks. The real legwork of research wasn't done until over fifty years later, when historian Forrest McDonald put Beard's thesis to the test. McDonald dug through numerous public records to write economic biographies of the delegates (the 55 who attended the Constitutional Convention and the 1,750 members at the state conventions), analyzing their occupations, income, and assets. By comparing these to how the delegates voted, he found that Beard's thesis was incompatible with the facts.
"In We the People McDonald analyzed the geographical and political factions represented by delegates, their property holdings and occupations, their voting patterns, if any, and whether they benefited directly from the proposed Constitution. For the state conventions he divided chapters into states favorable, divided, and opposed to the Constitution. At the end he re-evaluated Beard's thesis and discussed whether any economic interpretation could be applied to our founding given the complexity and variety of occupations and opinions that existed.
"The result was a remarkable, though at times necessarily tedious, bit of historical detective work. Very likely it came as a great relief to many Americans to learn that the founders had something other than their own economic gain at heart. Probably few were surprised that the founders were a much more diverse group than Beard had realized.
"We may find that independence difficult to believe today, when the forces of selfishness, materialism, and special interest seem so dominant, not merely among political and business leaders but among the general populace. Today propagandists still want to align people into absolutes, much like trial lawyers who portray their clients as angels and their opponents as devils. Our shallow political debates revolve around false dichotomies such as the Party of Business and the Party of the Common Man. But I imagine this adversarial, intellectually dishonest approach will continue to be used as an effective tool as long as there is envy to be harvested in the heart of man. -- Reader's Comment
McFeeters, James Calvin (1848-1928), Christian Citizenship, No. 1: The Reformer Endued With Power.
McKnight, William John (1865-1951), The Scriptures the Supreme Guide in the Affairs of Men.
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), A Scriptural View of the Character, Causes, and Ends of the Present War (1815), 224 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Though having the war of 1812 (to 1815), between the United States and Britain, in view, the author notes that 'the principles which I have laid down, and enforced in these sermons, are not, however, of mere temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at war, they are of importance to a Christian community. There are the permanent principles of social order and public equity.'
Chapter headings include: 'The Right Discussing of Public Affairs,' dealing with why 'Ministers have the right of discussing from the pulpit those political question which affect Christian morals' and 'The Moral Character of the U.S. Federal Constitution;' The Moral Character of the Two Belligerents' (i.e. the national character, as moral persons, of both the United States and Britain); 'The Lawfulness of Defensive War;' 'The Present War,' dealing with how 'War in Defence of Property, Liberty, and National Independence and Honour is Lawful: and (How) Defensive War May Be for Precaution, Resistance, or Redress;' and 'The Ends for Which God in His Providence Permits the Existence of this War.' M'Leod concludes this work with these stirring words, 'the most faithful of Reformers with patriotic ardour contended with the sword in defence of their civil and religious liberties. Ulric Zwingle, the morning-star of the reformation, fell in battle at Zurich, 1530, at the commencement of the strife against arbitrary power; and towards the close of the struggle which terminated in the overthrow of the purest of the churches (i.e. the covenanted Presbyterian Church of Scotland -- RB), Richard Cameron fell at Airsmoss, 1680, while defending, as a Christian hero, the religion and liberties of his country, against the tyranny of the bishops, and the royal house of Stuart . . . If I claim a place among consistent Protestants, I must testify against all the acts of anti-Christian power. If I follow the steps which are died by the blood of the Martyrs, I must raise my voice against the thrones which shed that blood. If the Bible is my system of religion, and of social order, I must disclaim attachment to those powers that are hostile to evangelical doctrine'." -- Publisher
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), Messiah: Governor of the Nations of the Earth: A Discourse. Available (MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available
(MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH and THE WRITTEN LAW, OR THE LAW OF GOD REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES, BY CHRIST AS MEDIATOR; THE RULE OF DUTY TO CHRISTIAN NATIONS TO CIVIL INSTITUTIONS) at Covenanter.org. Available (the pamphlet, MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH, which includes THE WRITTEN LAW, OR THE LAW OF GOD REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES, BY CHRIST AS MEDIATOR) at Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets.
"The doctrine of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ has formed the subject of those principles accounted distinctive to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Christ's kingship over the nations and the implications of this doctrine will not be popular amongst a people deeply compromised with the spirit of the age. The prescription may seem tough, but the results of centuries of ignoring this doctrine have left the church effete and gutted when it comes to addressing matters concerning church and state relations. In the various modern debates one viewpoint has been left out, and it is the only one which presents a serious and rigorous biblical vision -- the Covenanter position on civil government.
"In the first discourse, Alexander McLeod explains the biblical basis and the importance of professing that Christ is the head over all nations. McLeod moves from an explanation of what is meant by confessing that Christ rules as Mediator, to a discussion of his administrations as ruler over the nations. Afterward he addresses numerous objections that are raised against the doctrine, in which he explains many finer points respecting Christ's Mediatorial administration.
"The second discourse, THE WRITTEN LAW, by Dr. James Renwick Willson (1780-1853), takes up a number of matters of great practical concern and application of the doctrine of this Mediatorship over the nations. Willson is particularly concerned with the place of the written law of God in the constitution of civil governments. Willson often courts controversy, and does not shy away from consistency. It is a blueprint for how things ought to be, if we would submit to Christ as a nation." -- Publisher
McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander, Messiah, Governor of the Nations of the Earth
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/alexander-mcleods-sermon-on-messiah-governor-of-the-nations-of-the-earth
Willson, James Renwick, The Written Law, or The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures, by Christ as Mediator; The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations to Civil Institutions
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-the-written-law
Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets
http://www.covenanter.org/pamphlets/
McMaster (M'Master), Gilbert (1778-1854), Moral Character of Civil Government: Considered With Reference to the Political Institutions of the United States, in Four Letters, 1832.
http://archive.org/details/moralcharacterc00mcmagoog
Miller, C. John (1928-1996), Calvinistic Critique of a Radical Democracy.
A lecture as part of the course, "Calvinism in American Literature," taught at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.
Audio cassette CM322 [audio file].
Model, David, Corporate Rule: Understanding and Challenging the New World Order, ISBN: 1551642085 9781551642086.
*Mokhiber, Russell, and Robert Weissman, Corporate Predators: The Hunt for Mega-profits and the Attack on Democracy, ISBN: 1567511589 9781567511581.
"For the past twenty years, after a decade and a half of populist resurgence against corporate abuses by consumer, environmental, women's rights and civil rights forces, big business has been on a rampage to control our society. Whether these business supremacies are called corporatization, commercialism, monopolies or the corporate state, the overall concentration of power and wealth in ever fewer multinational corporate centers is a matter of record.
"In arena after arena -- government, workplace, marketplace, media, environment, education, science, technology -- the dominant players are large corporations. What countervailing forces that our society used to depend upon for some balance are not in retreat against the aggressive expansion of corporate influence far beyond its traditional mercantile boundaries?
"The enlarged power that corporations deploy to further increase their revenues and socialize their costs comes from many sources -- old and new. Roughly eighty percent of the money contributed to federal candidates come from business interests. The mobility to export capital has given transnational companies major leverage against local, state and federal officials, not to mention against organized and unorganized labor. The swell of corporate welfare handouts has reached new depths. The contrived complexity of many financial and other services serves to confuse, deplete and daunt consumers who lose significant portions of their income in a manipulative marketplace. Alliances, joint ventures and other complex collaborations between should-be competitors have made a mockery of what is left of antitrust enforcement.
"The opportunities to control or defeat governmental attempts for corporate accountability that flow from transcending national jurisdictions into globalized strategies to escape taxation and pit countries and their workers against one another appear to be endless. The autocratic systems of governance called GATT and NAFTA reflect to the smallest detail ways that giant corporations wish to control the world. These firms are on a collision course against democratic processes, and the merging of states and businesses, to the latter's advantage, weakens relentlessly both the restraints of the law and the willingness of legislators to do anything about it.
"Taken together, the world is witnessing its subjugation to the large corporate model of economic development, the large corporate model of technology and the large corporate model of culture itself. These accelerating trend lines invite accelerating comprehension and response. History demonstrates that commercialism knows few boundaries that are not externally imposed. All the major religions have warned their adherents against the excesses of commercial value systems, albeit with different languages, images and metaphors.
"Specific descriptions of corporate misbehavior do nourish proper generalizations that in turn lead to more just movements and practices. Here, columnists Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman provide a distinct service in CORPORATE PREDATORS. It is not just the versatility of their writings -- covering bribery, pollution, corporate crime, fraud and abuse, failure of law enforcement, union-busting, the mayhem inflicted by product defects and toxics, the deep gap between the rich and the rest of America, corporate front groups, the media censorship and self-censorship, the profiteering, the pillaging overseas and more -- but it is also the impact on the reader that comes from aggregating evidence. Our country does not collect statistics on corporate crime the way it does on street crime. For it to do so would begin to highlight a little-attended agenda for law enforcement and other corporate reforms. Neither Congress nor the White House and its Justice Department have made any moves over the years to assemble from around the country the abuses of corporations in quantifiable format so as to drive policy.
"So, description -- accurate, representational description -- must now suffice. As the editor of the Corporate Crime Reporter (Mokhiber) and the editor of the Multinational Monitor (Weissman), the authors know well the difference between anecdotes that are illustrative and that are idiosyncratic. This volume of their weekly columns carries the evidence that illustrates patterns of continuing corporate derelictions, not lonely deviations from a more congenial norm.
"The authors' experience over the years with the impact of disclosures has led them to the conclusion that the facts must be linked to civic engagement and democratic activity for change. If disclosure produced its own dynamic imperatives for change, the recurrent exposure of corporate abuses in such mainstream publications as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and some national television programs like 'Sixty Minutes' would have caused these changes. Such, unfortunately has not been the case. The linkages between knowledge and action have not been sufficient. But readers of Common Courage Press published books tend towards citizen activism. They want to know because they want to do. Some may even agree with the ancient Chinese saying that 'To know and not to do is not to know.'
"So, go forward readers who wish to be leaders in the advancement of justice -- what Daniel Webster once called 'the great work of men on Earth' -- and savor the writings that will motivate more and more women and men to band together in organizations that build a more just democracy." [Constitutional Republic -- compiler] -- Ralph Nader, 1999
*Moore, Joseph S., Founding Sins: How a Group of Antislavery Radicals Fought to put Christ Into the Constitution, ISBN: 9780190269241 0190269243. Alternate title: THE FAILURE TO FOUND A CHRISTIAN NATION: COVENANTERS AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, TRACES THE COVENANTERS' POLITICAL ROOTS FROM SCOTLAND TO THE NEW WORLD.
"The Covenanters, now mostly forgotten, were America's first Christian nationalists. For two centuries they decried the fact that, in their view, the United States was not a Christian nation because slavery was in the Constitution but Jesus was not. Having once ruled Scotland as a part of a Presbyterian coalition, they longed to convert America to a holy Calvinist vision in which church and state united to form a godly body politic. Their unique story has largely been submerged beneath the histories of the events in which they participated and the famous figures with whom they interacted, making them the most important religious movement in American history that no one remembers.
"Despite being one of North America's smallest religious sects, the Covenanters found their way into every major revolt. They were God's rebels -- just as likely to be Patriots against Britain as they were to be Whiskey Rebels against the federal government. As the nation's earliest and most avowed abolitionists, they had a significant influence on the fight for emancipation. In Founding Sins, Joseph S. Moore examines this forgotten history, and explores how Covenanters profoundly shaped American's understandings of the separation of church and state.
"While modern arguments about America's Christian founding usually come from the right, the Covenanters have a more complicated legacy. They fought for an explicitly Christian America in the midst of what they saw as a secular state that failed the test of Christian nationhood. But they did so on behalf of a cause -- abolition -- that is traditionally associated with the left. Though their attempts to insert God into the Constitution ultimately failed, Covenanters set the acceptable limits for religion in politics for generations to come. . . .
"Joseph S. Moore is Assistant Professor of History at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. His work has appeared in The New York Times and various scholarly journals." -- Publisher
"The facts recorded in this book should have been common knowledge in our schools. The book helps complete the history of early colonial America, which has been censored in public education. Christians should be familiar with the names of Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie. Their followers, Alexander McLeod and James R. Willson, though less known, did repeat the same Christian message, to wit: Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and, per Isaiah 60:12, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. So, it is imperative for any nation's survival to recognize Jesus Christ, as did many of the Colonial Charters and State Constitutions.
"This books traces that struggle and attempt by Christians to do just that. In a way, our current situation is a big 'I told you so' for the early colonial Christians. In the name of toleration, sin is tolerated. We are committing national suicide, slowly. The people discussed in this book point out a better alternative." -- Reader's Comment
Moots, Glenn A., Politics Reformed: The Anglo-American Legacy of Covenant Theology.
"Many studies have considered the Bible's relationship to politics, but almost all have ignored the heart of its narrative and theology: the covenant. In this book, Glenn Moots explores the political meaning of covenants past and present by focusing on the theory and application of covenantal politics from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Moots demands that we revisit political theology because it served as the most important school of politics in early modern Europe and America. He describes the strengths of the covenant tradition while also presenting its limitations and dangers. Contemporary political scientists such as Eric Voegelin, Daniel Elazar, and David Novak are called on to provide insight into both the covenant's history and its relevance today. Moots's work chronicles and critiques the covenant tradition while warning against both political ideology and religious enthusiasm. It provides an inclusive and objective outline of covenantal politics by considering the variations of Reformed theology and their respective consequences for political practice. This includes a careful account of how covenant theology took root on the European continent in the sixteenth century and then inspired ecclesiastical and civil politics in England, Scotland, and America. Moots goes beyond the usual categories of Calvinism or Puritanism to consider the larger movement of which both were a part. By integrating philosophy, theology, and history, Moots also invites investigation of broader political traditions such as natural law and natural right. POLITICS REFORMED demonstrates how the application of political theology over three centuries has important lessons for our own dilemmas about church and state. It makes a provocative contribution to understanding foundational questions in an era of rising fundamentalism and emboldened secularism, inspiring readers to rethink the importance of religion in political theory and practice, and the role of the covenant tradition in particular." -- Publisher
*Mullins, Eustace Clarence, Secrets of the Federal Reserve: The London Connection, ISBN: 9992967595.
"The greatest financial monopoly the world has ever known, is also responsible for worldwide moral decay, world wars, financial panics and revolutions." -- Eustace Mullins
"As an attorney I was impressed with the documentation by the author of the history of the development of the Federal Reserve. My undergraduate degree 25 years ago was in economics and I had to read much further to truly understand how our monetary system was unnecessarily based upon debt. Debt is bondage and central banks as the heart of fractional reserve banking hold the key to control of the world. If you do not believe this look at the policies of the IMF and realize that economic imperialism through central banking essentially controls the world today. A great companion book to read is THE CREATURE FROM JEKYELL ISLAND which explains our monetary system in more depth, and the video "Capital Crimes" is an excellent four hour treatise on the history of central banking beginning with the money changers in the temple whom Christ confronted and ending with a brilliant plan to gradually increase bank reserves while issuing Constitutional 'money' such that banks become mere vaults and the Federal Reserve is put to rest." -- Reader's Comment
Murray, John (1898-1975), The Responsibility of the Christian in Government.
Reprinted from Christian Opinion, January, 1945, pages 46-50.
Napolitano, Andrew P., Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks its own Laws, ISBN: 0785260838 9780785260837.
"In this alarming book, Judge Napolitano makes the solid case that there is a pernicious and ever-expanding pattern of government abuse in America's criminal justice system, leading him to establish his general creed: The government is not your friend. As an attorney, a law professor, a commentator, a judge, and now a successful television personality, Judge Napolitano has studied the system inside and out, and his unique voice has resonance and relevance. Whether in the big, headliner criminal cases or in the thousands of small-town trials no one ever hears about (but should), the police, the prosecutors, the politicians, the judges, and the machinery of government are inexorably grinding away at the individual liberties guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution. But in this sensational new book, Napolitano sets the record straight, speaking frankly from his own experiences and careful, thorough investigation and revealing how government agencies will often arrest without warrant, spy without legal authority, imprison without charge, and kill without cause." -- Publisher
National Association to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, Proceedings of the National Convention to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States: Held in Cincinnati, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 1872: With an Account of the Origin and Progress of the Movement.
National Convention to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, Proceedings of the National Convention to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States: Held in New York, Feb. 26 and 27, 1873: With an Account of the Origin and Progress of the Movement, 1873.
http://archive.org/details/proceedingsofn00nati
National Association to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, Proceedings of the National Convention to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States: Held in Pittsburgh, Feb. 4,5, 1874: With an Account of the Origin and Progress of the Movement.
National Reform Association, Is the United States a Christian Nation? 1907.
Neilson, Thomas, Evils, Constitutional and Practical, of the Prelatic Establishment of the British Empire, 1841.
"Being No. III of a course of lectures on the Second Reformation."
North, Gary, Blasphemy and Civil Rights. Available in LEVITICUS: AN ECONOMIC COMMENTARY, Gary North.
http://entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/html/gnbd/Chapter23.htm
*North, Gary, Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Origins of the U.S. Constitution, an e-book.
"In addition to primary sources, North relies on the work of the most well respected members of the historical community -- Bailyn, Wood, Mcdonald, Gaustad, Boller, Koch, Adair, and Rakove to name a few.
"The thesis of the book is that the key U.S. Founders -- the ones who pushed through the ideas upon which America declared independence and then constructed the Constitution -- were secret theological unitarians, whose heterodox religious creed inspired them to found American government upon the notion of religious neutrality, and consequently break the tradition of covenanting with the Triune Christian God. His book focuses on Article VI Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution (no religious tests) as the device for achieving secular government.
"From what I have researched, North is correct in his essential claim. Other scholars have noted something similar. For instance, in this post I noted Thomas Pangle and Cushing Stout, whose work North cites, concluding that there is a connection between the U.S. Constitution's benign approach to religion and the key Founders' enlightened and benign personal religious creed. Indeed, one could argue, as does Dr. Gregg Frazer, that the Founders' unitarianism or theistic rationalism was the political theology of the American Founding.
"Ideas have consequences and it was these heterodox unitarian ideas, not orthodox Christianity, that drove the U.S. Founding's approach to religion and government. However, such heterodoxy or heresy wasn't a popular creed, but rather was disproportionately believed in by the elite Whigs. Whatever the religion of a majority of the U.S. population (either nominal Protestant Christianity, which itself can tend towards Deism, or orthodox Protestant Christianity), orthodox Churches held a great deal of institutional power. With such power, they had to essentially consent to the elite Whig's new plan on government. And they did. But not all of them, for instance, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (Covenanters) to whom North dedicates his book. From the very beginning they smelled a rat in Philadelphia.
"So the notion that there was a secret coup, a bait and switch as Michael Zuckert put it, to sell a Christian audience non-authentically Christian ideas is not new. James Renwick Willson was one of those covenanters who in 1832 made arguments very similar to North's. And he was burned in effigy for this sermon which called all of the Presidents from Washington to Jackson infidels and not more than unitarians. I think Willson got at the truth, but did so by shattering a sacred cow -- a social myth. The kernel of truth that David Barton et al. have is that many folks in the 19th century did believe in the Christian America social myth as a cultural prejudice. And many of their bogus, unconfirmed quotations source back to 19th century places that pushed this social myth.
"Now the non-respectable has become the respectable and secular scholars more or less agree with the claims of James Renwick Willson and Gary North that America didn't have an authentically orthodox Christian founding. . . ." -- Jonathan Rowe, June 8, 2008 (http://www.positiveliberty.com/2008/06/gary-norths-ebook.html)
Download a copy at:
Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Origins of the U.S. Constitution
https://www.garynorth.com/philadelphia.pdf
Conspiracy in Philadelphia, an article by Gary North
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north291.html
*North, Gary, Political Polytheism: The Myth of Pluralism, ISBN: 093046432X 9780930464325.
"Political pluralism is not simply a political philosophy; it is a theology. This theology teaches that there must never be a nation that identifies itself with any religion." -- Publisher
"This book presents a new vision of politics and a new vision of America, a vision self-consciously tied to the Bible. . . . Dr. North, a trained historian, seeks to lead us from this downward spiral to full recovery." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus, ISBN: 0930464109 9780930464103.
Regarding Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, "the Framers knew that religious oaths were required for testifying in local and state courts. They knew that religious oaths were sometimes required for exercising the franchise in state elections, but they made it clear: Federal jurisdiction is governed by another covenant, and therefore by another god. It is therefore a rival system of hierarchy. It is not a complementary system of courts; it is a rival system, for an oath to the God of the Bible is prohibited by law in one of those hierarchies." -- Gary North in Appendix H: "Selling the Birthright: The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution," pages 1190-1216.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Gary North, Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
North, Gary, Victim's Rights: The Biblical View of Civil Justice, ISBN: 0930464176 9780930464172. Alternate title: THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF VICTIM'S RIGHTS.
"A study of what the Bible says our judicial systems should be like. North contends that Scripture clearly shows that (in ancient days), they were 'harsh on criminals' in order to be 'soft on victims' -- the reverse of the modern approach in our culture." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/sidefrm4.htm
Perks, Stephen C., Alfred, King of England, Christianity and Law: An Enquiry Into the Influence of Christianity on the Development of English Common Law: With an Appendix Containing a Translation of The laws of King Alfred the Great, ISBN: 0951889915 9780951889916.
Perry, Richard L., Sources of our Liberties: Documentary Origins of Individual Liberties in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Peters, Madison Clinton, The Masons as Makers of America: The True Story of The American Revolution, 80 pages.
It is said that George Washington became a Freemason at an early age, that his lieutenants during the American Revolution were Masons, and that Benjamin Franklin was able to solicit war support during a trip to France because of his Masonic connections among government officials there. It is claimed that a delegation of Masons, headed by President Washington, who was dressed in formal Masonic attire, including apron, laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol and dedicated it as a "Temple of the People" were there would be government by the people and for the people.
Masonry attracted men who rejected the authority of the Church in favor of freedom of conscience and the rule of reason. Of course, both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution excluded the authority of the Triune God in favor of government by men who ignore the highest ethical standard known to mankind.
See: THE ANTI-MASONIC PARTY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1826-1843, and "The Anti-Masonic Party" a Wikipedia article.
Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Origins of the U.S. Constitution
https://www.garynorth.com/philadelphia.pdf
Conspiracy in Philadelphia, an article by Gary North
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north291.html
Pettit, Philip, Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government, ISBN: 0198296428 9780198296423.
"A full-length presentation of a republican alternative to the liberal and communitarian theories that have dominated political philosophy in recent years. The author opens with an examination of the traditional republican conception of freedom as non-domination, contrasting this with established negative and positive views of liberalism. The book examines what the implementation of the ideal would imply for substantive policy-making, constitutional and democratic design, regulatory control and the relation between state and civil society. Professor Pettit's work offers not only a unified, theoretical overview of the many strands of republican ideas, it also provides a sophisticated perspective on studies in related fields including the history of ideas, jurisprudence, and criminology. The author has included a postscript to this edition, which offers a sketch of the crucial republican ideas, and to reinforce the argument that the republican tradition deserves more attention than it has generally received among contemporary political theorists." -- Editorial Review
Pierce, Franklin, Federal Usurpation (Crown Rights Book Company, 2002, 1908).
"This book is a plea for the sacredness of the Constitution of the United States.
"The bloated and all-pervasive Federal bureaucracy which now rules the American people from Washington, D.C. did not arise overnight. Instead, as the author of this important volume documents, the usurpations of the Lincoln Administration during the War of 1861 and that of the Radical Republican Congress during Reconstruction were the fundamental causes of the existing political conditions of today. Pierce also discusses the inherent flaws in the Constitution which were the result of compromise between the quarreling factions at the Convention of 1787, and which would later lead to corruptions dangerous to the liberties of the people of the several States. The book concludes with a chapter entitled, 'How to Restore the Democratic Republic'." -- Publisher
*Price, Greg L., Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"This is the best modern testimony for the biblical principles of civil magistracy -- which were so prominent during the height of the Second Reformation -- that we have seen. Price documents the teachings of many of the major Reformers (and some of the church fathers), and in an easy reading manner simplifies what can at times become a very complex subject. This particular Reformation message, proclaiming Christ's Kingship over the nations (and the practical outworking of the same), has been buried from the view of the general public for some time now, but is once again being brought to light in this very helpful introductory book. A sobering appendix has been added (written by a friend of the Covenanted Reformation), which shows why it is unlawful for a Christian to swear any oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. This appendix also compares the points of difference between classic (or historic), Reformed teaching and modern Reformed teaching regarding magistracy and religion. Special attention is given to the OPC, the PCA and the RPCNA and the changes that these groups have made to Second Reformation confessional standards (concerning matters related to the civil magistrate). Statements by B.B. Warfield are also contrasted to the older Reformed views. You won't find a better easy-to-read and easy to understand introduction to this important topic -- a topic which impacts directly on every Christian's testimony for the crown rights of King Jesus!" -- Publisher
"It is this author's contention that the modern churches have let go of this important piece of the faith [Christ's Kingship over the nations -- compiler], once for all delivered to the saints. Thereby they have delivered the church, not to kings as nursing fathers, but to the cruel civil domination of the enemies of the true religion, their sheep being taught that they must submit passively to every pretended civil authority as the ordinance of God. By this defection, these leaders of the flock have also undermined the magistracy, allowing and even encouraging wicked men to remove this blessed ordinance from its foundation in God its creator, and from its subjection to Christ His King, thereby directly opposing God's benevolent ends in instituting civil government: Thus have [they] made the commandment of God of none effect by [their] tradition. . . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:6,9). Furthermore, by their false teaching regarding civil government, they have made themselves guilty of the very sin of which we are often accused: opposing the ordinance of God. If this wasn't enough, however, consider that their sin is worse than that of the garden variety rebel, inasmuch as their opposition to God's institution is not so much practical as it is principal; and because of their position as teachers and guides of the flock of God. 'Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. . . . For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.' (James 3:1; II Cor. 13:8 [2 Corinthians 13:8]) -- Greg Price, Biblical Civil Government Verses the Beast, p. 64
Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance, Greg Price
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/BibCG_GP.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, Witness Committee; Christian Amendment Movement; Christian Government Movement, The Christian Patriot.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest." The Roman Catholic Institution is the ultimate "negative guide to the positive," the reformers ultimate "opposite guide to political and economic reform."
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century.
"This article was originally written in 1996. It was first published in 2006 in FREEDOM AND CAPITALISM: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS by John W. Robbins.
"By almost any measure, by virtually any criterion one selects, our fathers were freer and more civilized than we are, and their fathers had been freer and more civilized than they were."
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/281-Rebuilding_Freedom_in_America.pdf
Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Covenanting Martyrs and the Revival of the Covenants! (From THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM)
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CovMart.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), On the Duty of Covenanting and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants Being Section 11 in THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, 1853. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1, #27.
"Excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM below, this book deals with an almost forgotten ordinance of God. It explains what covenants are, while contrasting them with oaths, vows and law. Furthermore, it distinguishes between civil and religious covenants and shows how the individual, family, church or nation can (and should), enter into covenants -- especially religious covenants. Explains why, when and how covenants are binding on posterity, citing abundant Scriptural proof for each assertion made. Here is a sample argument from this book, demonstrating how even covenants made between men are viewed as binding upon posterity by God himself: 'Another instance in which posterity is recognized in covenant obligation is found in Joshua 9:15. This covenant was made between the children of Israel and the Gibeonites. Between four and five hundred years after that time, the children of Israel are visited with a very severe famine, in the days of David. 2 Sam. 21:1 [2 Samuel 21:1]. And it is expressly declared by the Lord that, 'It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.' And at the same time, v. 2 [2 Samuel 21:2], that very covenant is recognized, and the breach of it is stated, as being the formal reason of the divine displeasure. Now, had it not been for this covenant, the extirpation of the Gibeonites would not have been imputed to Israel as a thing criminal; for they were comprehended in Canaanitish nations, which God had commanded them to root out.' (pp. 139-140). Take the time to look these verses up. This subject has great bearing on the unity of the church, the Christian's response to godless covenant-breaking nations, hermeneutics, the family and general faithfulness to God (because many today -- individually, ecclesiastically, and nationally -- are breaking covenants which God still views as binding though they are oblivious to this obligation)." -- Publisher
On the Duty of Covenanting and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants.
Being Section 11 in THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM by William L. Roberts
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PresCatCov.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), and Larry Birger, The Form and Function of Apostolic Church Government: Excerpted From Chapter Two of The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism." Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #24.
Roberts, William Louis, D.D., (1798-1864), The Higher Law, or, The Law of the Most High: A Discourse, Delivered at the Baptist Church, in Sterling Centre, Wednesday Evening, Jan. 22d, 1851.
*Roberts, William Louis (1798-1864), The Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, ISBN: 0524065543 9780524065549. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available from ATLA 1991-2638.
A magnificent catechism that sets forth the Crown Rights of The King of Glory and Lord of Lords. It also presents incontrovertible evidence that the United States Constitution is not a Christian document, and that it is, in fact, a slavery document.
"A manual of instruction, drawing from such notable authors as William Symington and J.R. Willson, presenting arguments and facts confirming and illustrating the 'Distinctive Principles' of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Chapters deal with: 'Christ's Mediatorial Dominion in General;' Christ's Exclusive Headship Over the Church;' 'The Supreme and Ultimate Authority of the Word of God in the Church;' Civil Government, the Moral Ordinance of God;' Christ's Headship Over the Nations;' 'The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ;' The Word, or Revealed Will of God, the Supreme Law in the State;' 'The Duty of Nations, in Their National Capacity, to Acknowledge and Support the True Religion:' 'The Spiritual Independence of the Church of Christ:' 'The Right and Duty of Dissent From an Immoral Constitution of Civil Government;' 'The Duty of Covenanting, and the Permanent Obligations of Religious Covenants;' 'The Application of These Principles to the Governments, Where Reformed Presbyterians Reside, in the Form of a Practical Testimony;' and finally 'Application of the Testimony to the British Empire. . . '." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
On the Mediatorial Dominion of The Lord Jesus Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_01_mediatorial_dominion.html
The Exclusive Headship of The Lord Jesus Christ Over the Church of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_02_christs_headship_over_the_church.html
Civil Government the Moral Ordinance of God, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_04_civil_government.html
On Christ's Headship Over the Nations, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_05_christs_headship_over_nations.html
The Subjection of the Nations to God and to Christ, excerpted from THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM.
http://www.truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/roberts_rp_catechism_section_06_subjection_of_nations_to_christ.html
See also: The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; CONSPIRACY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, and A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
Roberts, William L., D.D. (1798-1864), Submission to "the Powers That be" Scripturally Illustrated: A Discourse in Three Parts, 1828. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
Rockwell, Llewellyn H. Jr., Speaking of Liberty, ISBN: 0945466382 9780945466383.
"Ludwig von Mises said that teaching the public was just as important as addressing scholars -- maybe more so. That is what Lew Rockwell specializes in: history and theory and analysis in defense of the free society, written in clear prose to reach a broad audience. Rockwell's new book is as pro-liberty as it is brutally critical of government. It is relentlessly forthright yet hopeful about the prospects for liberty. It is rigorous enough to withstand the enemy's closest scrutiny, and chock full of the energy and enthusiasm that will keep you reading.
"SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is a collection of speeches delivered by Rockwell over a period of ten years. The book begins with economics, and explains why Austrian economics matters, how the Federal Reserve brings on the business cycle, why we need private property and free enterprise, the unrecognized glories of the capitalist economy, and why the gold standard is still the best monetary system. Other sections deal with war, Mises and his work, other important thinkers in the libertarian tradition, and the culture and morality of liberty.
"The book is united by a set of fixed principles: the corruption of politics, the universality and immutability of the ideas of freedom, the centrality of sound money and free enterprise, the moral imperative of peace and trade, the importance of hope and tenacity in the struggle for liberty, and the need for everyone to join the intellectual fight. We all have searched for the book we could give to friends and neighbors, business associates and family members, to explain why we believe in the cause of liberty. SPEAKING OF LIBERTY is that book." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas John (1916-2001), The Foundations of Social Order: Studies in the Creed and Councils of the Early Church, ISBN: 1879998122 9781879998124. Available through Exodus Books.
"Tampering with our basic social order is tampering with the religious beliefs that underlie it." -- GCB
"One of the seminal works of Christian scholarship, by one of the few men who actually believed that the Bible is authoritative. A study in the early Church's battles with various forms of heresy, that were then put down in creeds. But Rushdoony does something more: he puts these creeds in philosophical context, showing that these creeds actually do much more than simply make a statement about the faith.
"Should be read in conjunction with his THE ONE AND THE MANY." -- Reader's Comment
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The Messianic Character of American Education.
"Charts the growth of public education in America and its function as a government tool of indoctrination into the secular humanist worldview."
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), The Nature of the American System. Available through Exodus Books.
"Originally published in 1965, these essays were a continuation of the author's previous work, THIS INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC, and examine the interpretations and concepts which have attempted to remake and rewrite America's past and present. 'The writing of history then, because man is neither autonomous, objective or ultimately creative, is always in terms of a framework, a philosophical and ultimately religious framework in the mind of the historian.' To the orthodox Christian, the shabby incarnations of the reigning historiographies are both absurd and offensive. They are idols, and he is forbidden to bow down to them and must indeed wage war against them." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The One and the Many: Studies in the Philosophy of Order and Ultimacy. Available through Exodus Books.
"The author deals with an age-old problem: the question of the one and the many and their relationship. As you might guess, the way one answers (or avoids), this question will affect views of justice, government, taxes, welfare, war, property, and freedom in general." -- GCB
See also: The Question of the One and the Many
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#onemany
Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum.
"Many -- not just Christian educators -- will appreciate this thoughtful study of the integration of the Christian worldview with the education of our children." -- GCB
Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), R.J. Rushdoony's Selected Works. Available through Exodus Books.
"Six important books dealing with social, political, and civic [issues]." -- GCB
Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The Roots of Inflation.
"Inflation is only in part and on the surface an economic problem. It is at heart a religious and moral problem. Our world economy is today bankrupt, because the world is morally and religiously bankrupt. This book will help us understand some of the problems." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), This Independent Republic: Studies in the Nature and Meaning of American History. Available through Exodus Books.
"First published in 1964 and out of print for many years, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction.
"These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence; Sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution; The desire for land as a consequence of the belief in 'inheriting the land' as a future blessing, not an immediate economic asset; Federalism's localism as an inheritance of feudalism; The local control of property as a guarantee of liberty; Why federal elections were long considered of less importance than local politics; How early American ideas attributed to democratic thought were based on religious ideals of communion and community; and The absurdity of a mathematical concept of equality being applied to people. With index." -- Publisher
Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), and Edward A. Powell, Tithing and Dominion. Available through Exodus Books.
"Discusses Biblical tithing, government taxation, and the validity of each. Under the tithe, Powell discusses taxation, first fruits, firstborn, the tithe, the social tithe, the rejoicing tithe, the poor tithe, and enforcing God's taxes." -- GCB
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, 1649. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #9, #25, and #26.
"Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, though scarce, is still one of his most important works with maybe only a few copies of the actual book left in existence. Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. A sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment and an affront to the holy God of Scripture). He also deals with conscience, toleration, penology (punishment), and the judicial laws, as related to both the civil and ecclesiastical realms. Excellent sections are also included which address questions related to determining the fundamentals of religion, how covenants bind us, the perpetual obligation of social covenants (with direct application to the Solemn League and Covenant and the covenant-breaking of Cromwell and his sectarian supporters), whether the punishing of seducing teachers be persecution of conscience, and much more. Walker adds these comments and context regarding Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION, 'The principle of toleration was beginning to be broached in England, and in a modified shape to find acceptance there. Samuel Rutherford was alarmed, or rather, I should say, he was horrified, for he neither feared the face of man or argument. He rushed to the rescue of the good old view . . . It is not so easy to find a theoretical ground for toleration; and Rutherford has many plausible things to say against it. With the most perfect confidence, he argues that it is alike against Scripture and common sense that you should have two religions side by side. It is outrageous ecclesiastically, it is sinful civilly. He does not, however, take what I call the essentially persecuting ground. He does not hold that the magistrate is to punish religion as religion. Nay, he strongly maintains that the civil magistrate never aims at the conscience. The magistrate, he urges, does not send anyone, whether a heretic (who is a soul murderer -- RB), or a murderer, to the scaffold with the idea of producing conversion or other spiritual result, but to strengthen the foundations of civil order. But if he gives so much power to the king, he is no lover of despotism withal: the king himself must be under law. To vindicate this great doctrine is the object of another book, the celebrated LEX, REX; of which it has been said by one competent to judge, that it first clearly developed the constitutionalism which all men now accept.' (Theology and Theologians . . . pp. 11-12). In our day Francis Schaeffer, and numerous others, have critiqued many of the problems found in modern society, but most have spent little time developing explicitly Biblical solutions especially regarding the theoretical foundations that Rutherford addresses here. Rutherford's FREE DISPUTATION provides a detailed blueprint for laying the foundations that must be laid before any lasting, God-honoring solutions will be found. Furthermore, Rutherford and his writings were the enemies of all governments not covenanted with Christ. This book will give you a very clear picture as to why 'the beast' (civil and ecclesiastical), has reserved his special hatred for such teaching. As Samuel Wylie noted 'the dispute, then, will not turn upon the point whether religion should be civilly established . . . but it is concerning what religion ought to be civilly established and protected, -- whether the religion of Jesus alone should be countenanced by civil authority, or every blasphemous, heretical, and idolatrous abomination which the subtle malignity of the old serpent and a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, can frame and devise, should be put on an equal footing therewith." -- The two Sons of oil; or, The Faithful Witness for Magistracy and Ministry Upon a Scriptural Basis. Can our generation swallow Rutherford's hard, anti-pluralistic, Covenanter medicine, poured forth from the bottle of the first commandment, without choking on their carnal dreams of a free and righteous society divorced from God (and His absolute claims upon everyone and everything)? Not without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit -- that is for sure! In summary, this book answers all the hardest questions theonomists (and their wisest and best opponents), have been asking for the last 20-30 years (and these answers are much more in depth than any we have seen in the last couple of millennia. [less about a century to account for the apostles]). As the reader will discover, Rutherford was a wealthy man when it came to wisdom (and much advanced theologically), and those who take the time to gaze into the King's treasure house, as exhibited in this book, will find that they are greatly rewarded. Furthermore, because of its uncompromising stand upon the Word of God, this book is sure to be unpopular among a wicked and adulterous generation. However, on the other hand, it is sure to be popular among the covenanted servants of King Jesus! This is one of the best books (in the top five anyway), for advanced study of the Christian faith. We have now obtained an easy-to-read, amazingly clear copy of this very rare, old treasure. Great price too, considering that a copy of the 1649 edition, containing this quality of print, would likely cost upwards of $1000 on the rare book market -- though it is unlikely you would ever see a copy for sale!" -- Publisher
A Brotherly and Free Epistle to the Patrons and Friends of Pretended Liberty of Conscience, Samuel Rutherford
http://www.truecovenanter.com/anti_toleration/rutherfurd_epistle_against_pretendedlibertyofconscience.html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, ISBN: 0873779517. Alternate title: A TREATISE OF CIVIL POLICY: BEING A RESOLUTION OF FORTY THREE QUESTIONS CONCERNING PREROGATIVE, RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE, IN REFERENCE TO THE SUPREME PRINCE AND THE PEOPLE. / BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY OF ST ANDREWS IN SCOTLAND. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #10, #25.
" 'Lex, rex' is Latin for 'law is king.'
"LEX, REX is 'the great political text of the Covenanters.' (Johnston citing Innes in Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 305). 'Rutherford was the first to formulate the great constitutional principle Lex est Rex -- the law is King . . . much of the doctrine has become the constitutional inheritance of all countries in modern times.'
"Gilmour writes [in SAMUEL RUTHERFORD], 'that, as regards religious fervour, scholastic subtlety of intellect, and intensity of ecclesiastical conviction, Samuel Rutherford is the most distinctively representative Scotsman in the first half of the seventeenth century'." -- Publisher
"Without a doubt one of the greatest books on political philosophy ever written. Rutherford here has penned a great Christian charter of liberty against all forms of civil tyranny -- vindicating the Scriptural duty to resist tyrants as an act of loyalty to God." -- Publisher
"That resistance to lawful authority -- even when that authority so called has, in point of fact, set at nought 'all law' -- is in no instance to be vindicated, will be held by those only who are the devotees of arbitrary power and passive obedience. The principles of Mr. Rutherford's LEX, REX, however obnoxious they may be to such men, are substantially the principles on which all government is founded, and without which the civil magistrate would become a curse rather than a blessing to a country. They are the very principles which lie at the basis of the British Constitution, and by whose tenure the House of Brunswick does at this very moment hold possession of the throne of these realms." -- Rev. Robert Burns, D.D., in his "Preliminary Dissertation" to Wodrow's Church History
Additional sources of text related to LEX REX are as follows:
"Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX, his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked, for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book [A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE -- compiler] should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. It is a sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment, and an affront to the holy God of Scripture)." -- Publisher
A HIND LET LOOSE by Alexander Shields is sometimes referred to as 'Lex, Rex, Volume Two.'
A Hind let Loose; or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose; or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ
"This book sets forth the Crown rights of King Jesus, against all usurpers in both church and state, giving a history of some of faithful sufferings endured by the elect, in maintaining this truth." -- Publisher
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
"This [THE DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES OR A PEACEABLE PLEA FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], could be considered the LEX, REX of church government -- another exceedingly rare masterpiece of Presbyterianism! Characterized by Walker as sweeping 'over a wider field than most'." -- Publisher
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex: The law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People (1843)
http://archive.org/details/lexrexlawandpri00ruthgoog
Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, Samuel Rutherford
"Rutherford is to be praised for his teaching that the king is subject to the law of God. The Bible has nothing but condemnation for those who frame mischief by a law and declares rhetorically, Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? (Psalm 94:20). Deuteronomy 17 is the classic passage in defense of LEX, REX, wherein the king is charged to read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 17:19)." -- Publisher
http://www.constitution.org/sr/lexrex.htm
Lex, rex: the law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People, containing the reasons and causes of the defensive wars of the kingdom of Scotland, and of their expedition for the ayd and help of their brethren of England. In which a full answer is given to a seditious pamphlet, intituled, Sacro-sancta regum majestas, penned by J. Maxwell. By S. Rutherford. [Followed by], De jure regni apud Scotos; a dialogue, tr. by R. Macfarlan (repr. from the ed. of 1799).
http://books.google.com/books?id=jtYDAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
Ryken, Leland, Windows to the World: Literature in Christian Perspective.
"It is Ryken's observation that the biases Christians bring to literature can either prove helpful in opening up a whole new vista of understanding or becloud the issues and perpetuate a shallow experience of reality. In this book he examines such topics as truth, morality, and imagination in literature and then places these concepts within a Christian framework. His book is written for both Christians and non-Christians. . . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
Sandoz, Ellis, The Politics of Truth and Other Untimely Essays: The Crisis of Civic Consciousness, ISBN: 0826212131 9780826212139.
"THE POLITICS OF TRUTH AND OTHER UNTIMELY ESSAYS explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of personal liberty and free government and provides a trenchant analysis of the crisis of civic consciousness endangering both of them today. The book addresses a range of issues in contemporary political philosophy and constitutional theory. These are seen to be all the more urgent in importance because of the surging aspirations for liberty in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire and the post-Cold War anomaly of crisis, malaise, and disarray in free government itself in America and in other bastions of modern democracy." -- Publisher
Schaeffer, Francis A. (1912-1984), and Udo Middlemann, Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology, ISBN: 0842348409 9780842348409.
"A study of the relationship between man and nature in respect to worldviews. How this effects our view of ecology is set forth (in this reissue of an earlier book), from a Christian perspective. A subject of continual discussion." -- GCB
*Schwertley, Brian M., and Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. Publications Committee, National Covenanting and Christ's Victory Over the Nations. Available at Reformed Online.
"This is the first book-length, scholarly exposition and defense of national covenanting since 1843. This comprehensive treatment includes the binding nature of covenants, covenant renewals under the godly kings of Israel, objections to covenanting answered, the unbiblical nature of the U.S. Constitution, the unscriptural alteration of the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1789, the necessity of the Old Testament moral law for a Christian nation and the biblical requirements for civil office. In the book, Rev. Schwertley not only sets forth the biblical case for social or national covenanting in a simple and organized manner but also critiques the modern pluralistic alternatives to the original Presbyterian teaching on this topic." -- Publisher
It was preceded by 'Social Covenanting,' a series of 31 sermons in MP3 format, given by the author starting in the summer of 2012.
Social Covenanting series of 31 sermons [audio files] by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=ccc&keyword=National+Covenanting&keyworddesc=National+Covenanting
Simms, Samuel, The Oath of Allegiance: What it Imports, 1877.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), Calvinism: The Summit of Reformation Theology in JOHN CALVIN: HIS ROOTS AND FRUITS, (pp. 7-19).
"For Calvin, God was a true sovereign, who is only limited in the sense that He cannot do anything which would negate His attributes. . . . (p. 11)
"In his treatment of the atonement, Calvin surpassed not only the Scholastics but Augustine as well. Calvin had a greater insight into this Biblical doctrine than any other theologian before or after him. . . . (p. 11)
"Calvin clearly saw the Scriptural relationship of the sovereignty of God and the total depravity of the whole human race to the doctrines of atonement and election. Divine election is the means ordained of God for making the death of Christ effective." (p. 16) -- C. Gregg Singer
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), From Rationalism to Irrationality: The Decline of the Western Mind From the Renaissance to the Present, ISBN: 0875524281 9780875524283, and a reprint of the P&R Publishing edition of 1979 (Wipf and Stock, 2006), 479 pp.
"Now, frankly students, this course is presented from obviously the Reformed Theology. I hold unabashedly, unashamedly to the whole of Reformed Theology as we find it specifically in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Longer and Shorter Catechisms.
"At the same time I hold to a position in regard to Apologetics generally known as Presuppositionalism, and particularly that view held by Cornelius Van Til.
"This book is an attempt to enlarge and to broaden the scope of Van Til's own Apologetical system, and also his Epistemology. By that I mean, and I worked this book with him, so anything that I say is not to be construed as a criticism of Cornelius Van Til. I might add he wrote me a letter. He is delighted with this book. But what I did was to take his principles, both of Apologetics and of Epistemology, and apply them to all realms of modern thought.
"Dr. Van Til, for good and sufficient reason, sought to limit to the main stream of what we might call pure Philosophy, that is from Saint Thomas, well even before then, back to the Greeks, but particularly in the more modern period, from Saint Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham (Occam), down through Descartes, the Rationalists, the Empiricists, down to Kant and Hegel, and of course Modern Philosophy and Modern Theology. Very seldom has he gone into what we might call the arena of Political Philosophy, or the arena of Social Thought, or the arena of Psychology and Psychiatry, the realm of Educational Philosophy, and into Art, Music, and so on, to the Fine Arts.
"This book is an attempt to apply his system, and show what happens when the Western mind has forsaken his principles, or the principles which he has espoused, and turned into its own way. And thus the book is called FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY. [Notice Singer seems to have gracefully embraced the best of Van Til in this work that, on a grand scale, disproves Van Til's inconsistent statements relating to epistemology. See the Robbins article below. -- compiler]. The thesis being that the irrationalism inherent in Saint Thomas and the post-Thomists, and more particularly, and more openly, in the Philosophy of the Renaissance, and Descartes, and Spinosa, and Leibniz has, as it's gained momentum in the modern world, brought Western Culture to its knees. We are living, as I would think, in the death throws of the Western Cultures, the Western Civilization." -- Dr. C. Gregg Singer, in the introductory address to his course in Apologetics soon after FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY came off the press in 1979
Apologetics: #01: Classical and Medieval Thought #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 56 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453
"Locke endeavored to set forth a political philosophy which would anchor his democratic political thought on what he felt were the firm foundations of his empiricism. However, his insistence that nature has bestowed upon mankind certain basic and inalienable rights was an assumption quite contrary to his empiricism. His denial of conscience as an innate possession or quality makes it impossible for men to know that they possess the rights of life, liberty, and property. The very concept of a human right is moral in nature and has its basis of authority in the human conscience. It is thus impossible for men to know through the senses that they have these cherished human rights. Granted that it was far from Locke's intention to undermine or destroy the traditional English concept of personal rights, his empiricism removed from his political thought the necessary foundations on which a government could be built for the protection of these rights. His empiricism supported neither the idea that men have such rights nor that they are inalienable. (p. 61)
"Underlying the secular and naturalistic assumptions of the thought of the Enlightenment was a related and equally serious problem. In their political and economic thought the leaders of this era were passionately devoted to the pursuit of freedom, and yet they seemed to be completely unaware of this incompatibility between their quest for freedom on the one hand and their reliance upon natural law on the other. How can an impersonal and deterministic concept of law produce and sustain a meaningful concept of freedom? Blindly convinced that there was no problem involved in the contradiction, the leaders of the Enlightenment pushed boldly ahead in the quest for political and economic liberty. However, their failure to recognize the issues involved in this quest led not only to the disaster of the French Revolution but to the growth of the totalitarian political and economic philosophies which first appeared in Hegel and Marx during the nineteenth century and reached their culmination in the totalitarianism of the twentieth century." (p. 73) -- quoted at the blog, Imago Veritatis: Post-modern Reformed Paleo-orthodoxy
Singer used this as the textbook for his course in Apologetics. Epistemology is a recurring theme throughout the textbook and the course. The series of 24 addresses on Apologetics is available free online. See: "Apologetics" under:
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
Cornelius Van Til, John W. Robbins
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=33
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society." -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice"
Notes: "Appeared in volume II of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIANITY . . . and was later printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company . . . 1967, for their Philosophical and historical studies series."
Contents: The author; Preface; I. The patristic foundations of calvinism; II. Calvinism: the summit of reformation theology; III. The later history of calvinism; IV. Influence of calvinism on western history and culture; V. Calvinism and economic thought and practice; VI. Calvinism and Philosophy; VII. Calvinism and education; VIII. Calvinism and social thought and practice; Bibliography.
*Singer, Charles Gregg (1910-1999), South Carolina in the Confederation (Perspectives in American History; No. 39), ISBN: 0879913630 9780879913632.
"Singer's dissertation in Confederation History, The Articles of Confederation, 1781-1789. Treats States Rights in this constitutional document. It has been the standard work on this subject since 1941."
Notes: Reprint of the author's thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1940. Includes index. Description: viii, 183 p.: map.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1994, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1964), ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Sklar, Martin J., The Corporate Reconstruction of American Capitalism, 1890-1916: The Market, the Law, and Politics, ISBN: 0521313821 9780521313827.
"This is a major work, its insights and reconceptualizations comparable to those of such books as Morton J. Horwitz's THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF AMERICAN LAW, 1790-1860 (Cambridge, 1977), and Ellis W. Hawley's THE NEW DEAL AND THE PROBLEM OF MONOPOLY (Princeton, 1966). Like these works, Martin J. Sklar's book fuses legal history with economic and intellectual history. In addition, Sklar provides a powerful overlay of political theory. The result is the most arresting reinterpretation of the Progressive Era to appear in two decades. . . .
"Here Sklar exhibits rich and original insight grounded in political theory and also in an appreciation of the gravity of what was going on within the economy and the inordinate difficulty of coming to terms with it. . . . Here Sklar has engaged, with remarkable wisdom and originality, the most difficult questions in one of the most complex periods of American history; and he has written a masterpiece that places us all in his debt." -- Thomas K. McCraw, The American Journal of Legal History
"This book is a judicious, immensely learned, thorough, and, in many places, brilliant analysis of the regulatory response to the corporate transformation of American capitalism." -- Donald J. Pisani, Texas A&M University, in The Journal of American History
"Of all the theories of contemporary society we have, Sklar's, it seems to me, is the only one that even begins to give adequate attention to the continued play of private interests, not only in the economy but in politics and culture as well. If his interpretation is correct, he has certainly provided a key to understanding the twentieth century." -- Eli Zaretsky, Journal of Social History
"The opening portion of the book deals also, as background, with the impetus in America toward economic imperialism beginning not later than the post-Civil War era and in doing so presents another means of understanding it, in addition to that presented by the British economist John A. Hobson in his 1902 book, IMPERIALISM, and especially in its chapter "The Economic Taproot of Imperialism." Hobson's work was well known to the players in Sklar's work, and the topic was discussed frankly and openly by mainstream capitalists and theorists of the day." -- Reader's Comment
Smyth, Thomas (1808-1873), Presbyterianism, the Revolution: the Declaration, and the Constitution. May be available in COMPLETE WORKS OF REV. THOMAS SMYTH, D.D.
Smyth, Thomas (1808-1873), John William Flinn, and Jean Adger Flinn, Complete Works of Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D. 10 volumes.
Complete Works of Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D., vol. 1 of 10.
http://archive.org/details/completeworks01smytuoft
Sperry, Paul, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington, ISBN: 9781595552488 1595552480. Also available as e-book.
"The most sinister terrorists won't be sneaking through our borders from the Middle East. They're already here. This is the untold story about the silent, yet extremely dangerous threat from the Muslim establishment in America'an alarming exposé of how Muslims have for years been secretly infiltrating American society, government, and culture, pretending to be peace-loving and patriotic, while supporting violent jihad and working to turn America into an Islamic state. In this powder keg of a book, you'll learn: -How radical Muslims have penetrated the U.S. military, the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, and even the White House'where subversive Muslims and Arabs have received top-secret clearance.-How they've infiltrated the chaplains program in the federal and state prison systems'a top recruiting ground for al-Qaida.-How they've successfully run influence operations against our political system with the help of both Democrats and Republicans, badgering corporate boards into Islamizing the workplace.-How we've been utterly duped about what the Quran does and doesn't teach. Sadly, much of anti-Western terrorism is simply Islam in practice, the text of the Quran in action. In a time when religious and political leaders are scrambling to smooth over differences in faith and beliefs, this book gives the terrifying truth abaout the very real, very deadly agenda of Islam and how it has already infiltrated key American institutions with agents, spies, and subversives." -- Publisher
"As Americans continue to worship at the altar of cultural diversity and endorse religious tolerance for tolerance sake, Muslims masquerading as 'moderates' have insinuated themselves into the very fabric of American society, taking advantage of our blind trust and gaining footholds in our education system, government, workplace, law enforcement, and military. In this startling book, investigative journalist Paul Sperry uses revealing new interviews and classified documents to courageously explain how, for the past thirty years, these Islamist extremists have been covertly working to destroy our constitutional government and the Judeo-Christian ethics on which our nation was built. Their goal, according to Sperry, is to replace the U.S. Constitution with the Quran and turn America into an Islamic state. And, as Sperry details point-by-point, they have been unwittingly aided in their sinister aims by the politically correct media, government, and citizens, who don't fully understand the dangers of the Muslim faith.
"INFILTRATION explodes the façade of moderation and patriotism that Muslim scholars, imams, clerics, businessmen, and other leaders in the burgeoning Muslim community in America have conveyed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In reality, the Muslim establishment that publicly decries the radical fringe-represented by al-Qaida's brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, the official religion of Saudi Arabia -- is actually a part of it. The only difference is that they use words and money instead of bombs to accomplish their goals.
"Now, thanks to Sperry's peerless research, piquant prose, and forthright presentation, their cover is blown. He will not only make readers forget nearly everything they've been told about these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, he will expose the true agenda of these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, and he will explain the full scope of the dangerous threat of Islam in America.
"With everyone still on edge after 9/11, this book will garner wide interest, appealing specifically to people interested in current events and/or religion. Additionally, the book will appeal strongly to women whose roles, values, and rights are greatly threatened by fundamentalist Islam." -- Publisher
"As someone who has closely monitored the machinations of militant Muslim activists as chronicled by Pipes and Emerson and other Islamist hawks, there is a helluva lot of new disturbing stuff in this book, which forgiving the pun, looks to be the new bible on Islamism and the Islamic threat inside America. And much of it is supported by fairly sensitive-looking internal Homeland Security documents and real estate/tax/lobbying and other records posted on a companion website -- sperryfiles.com. Most alarming is how the FBI is bending over for Muslim muscle groups and is blindly letting its Arabic translation desk in DC become a Muslim 'mole house' generating some dozen espionage cases, per CIA vets at FBI. And Sperry found that one of the groups the FBI is genuflecting before -- Council on American-Islamic Relations -- is bankrolled by an Arab government, UAE, which was the transit point for 9/11 cash and a formal backer of the Taliban. Dubai holds the deed to CAIR's headquarters, even as CAIR claims it gets no foreign support! And there are classified docs that are sure to embarrass DC big shots. Remember the hard-line cleric who counseled the 9/11 hijackers behind closed doors? the guy the FBI is now looking for after the 9/11 commission concluded was 'suspicious' and should be brought in for questioning? well he was released from U.S. custody a year after 9/11 and allowed to leave the country on a Saudi airplane. DC pulled back a warrant for him even though he was on the terror watch list and subject of terror finance probes by treasury/customs. There's even word in book of a Pakistani cleric who privately counseled the Pakistani terrorist who mowed down CIA employees at Langley, who according to records Sperry uncovered is starting a large Wahhabi mosque just down the way from Langley where he can no doubt inspire other jihadists. He also reveals new details about Norman 'No Profiling' Mineta and his diversity happy aides that I haven't read anywhere else. At bottom this is the tale of PC gone wild in DC, which is lulling Americans into a false sense of security about the Islamic threat inside the country. With Bin Laden still at large and his sleeper cells no doubt still in place here, it's a pretty frightening wake-up call. Their agents and sympathizers have done an alarmingly good job of penetrating U.S. institutions and culture, but DC hasn't penetrated theirs. The FBI says it can't find evidence of sleeper cells? Yeah, that's reassuring. Isn't that what they said before 9/11?" -- Reader's Comment
*Sproull, Thomas (1803-1892), The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced: A Sermon Preached March 14th, 1841, in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Allegheny. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
The Duty of Social Covenanting Illustrated and Enforced, Thomas Sproull
http://www.covenanter.org/TSproull/dutyofsocialcovenanting.htm
*Stiglitz, Joseph E., The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers our Future, ISBN: 9780393088694 0393088693.
"A forceful argument against America's vicious circle of growing inequality by the Nobel Prize-winning economist.
"The top 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the nation's wealth. And, as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains, while those at the top enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits of wealth, they fail to realize that 'their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.'
"Stiglitz draws on his deep understanding of economics to show that growing inequality is not inevitable: moneyed interests compound their wealth by stifling true, dynamic capitalism. They have made America the most unequal advanced industrial country while crippling growth, trampling on the rule of law, and undermining democracy. The result: a divided society that cannot tackle its most pressing problems. With characteristic insight, Stiglitz examines our current state, then teases out its implications for democracy, for monetary and budgetary policy, and for globalization. He closes with a plan for a more just and prosperous future.
"Winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, Joseph E. Stiglitz is the bestselling author of MAKING GLOBALIZATION WORK; GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS; and, with Linda Bilmes, THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR WAR. He was chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and served as senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in New York City.
C-Span 2 BookTV address by the author
http://www.booktv.org/Program/13586/The+Price+of+Inequality+How+Todays+Divided+Society+Endangers+Our+Future.aspx
Swancara, Frank, Thomas Jefferson Versus Religious Oppression.
"Swancara was a journalist, wrote book in his old age, apparently had an obsession with 'religious oppression,' Jefferson was a hero of his, he actually studied the collection of Jefferson's library, Jefferson gave it to the Library of Congress when it was formed.
"Swancara was godless and argued everything from the wrong side, but it is the best listing of public documents and legislation calling for religious tests for office holders that I have seen, goes back to English law which prohibited a man from being a member of Parliament unless he believed there was going to be a final judgment and our actions have eternal consequences. Swancara unwittingly produced a valuable work for the reformer." -- Reader's Comment
Thoburn, Robert L., The Children Trap: The Biblical Blueprint for Education.
"One of today's outstanding educators sees the peril our children are in. What can Christians do to avert even greater problems in the future? Why do so many Christians still believe that the public schools are neutral concerning Christianity? What should true education consist of?" -- GCB
*Thoburn, Robert, The Christian and Politics.
"In Part II he develops a Biblical view of civil government. He analyzes economics, education, welfare, tax policy, planning and zoning, and foreign policy from a Biblical Perspective. . . .
The author "served in the Virginia house of Delegates from 1978-1980." -- Publisher
Thornwell, James H. (1812-1862), Relation of the State to Christ (A Memorial). Available in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF JAMES HENLEY THORNWELL. VOL. IV: ECCLESIASTICAL, pp. 549-56.
*Trewhella, Matthew J., The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Resistance to Tyranny and a Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government, ISBN: 1482327686 9781482327687.
"America has entered troubling times. The rule of law is crumbling. The massive expansion of Federal government power with its destructive laws and policies is of grave concern to many. But what can be done to quell the abuse of power by civil authority? Are unjust or immoral actions by the government simply to be accepted and their lawless commands obeyed? How do we know when the government has acted tyrannically? Which actions constitute proper and legitimate resistance? This book places in your hands a hopeful blueprint for freedom. Appealing to history and the Word of God, Pastor Matthew Trewhella answers these questions and shows how Americans can successfully resist the Federal government's attempts to trample our Constitution, assault our liberty, and impugn the law of God. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates declares that when the superior or higher civil authority makes an unjust/immoral law or decree, the lesser or lower ranking civil authority has both the right and duty to refuse obedience to that superior authority. If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority. Historically, this doctrine was practiced before the time of Christ and Christianity. It was Christian men, however, who formalized and embedded it into their political institutions throughout Western Civilization. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates is a historic tool that provides proven guidelines for proper and legitimate resistance to tyranny, often without causing any major upheaval in society. The doctrine teaches us how to rein in lawless acts by government and restore justice in our nation. 'Use this sword against my enemies, if I give righteous commands; but if I give unrighteous commands, use it against me.' -- Roman Emperor Trajan, speaking to one of his subordinates. This is the first book published solely addressing the doctrine of the lesser magistrates in over 400 years. Matthew Trewhella is the pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church. He is a graduate of Valley Forge Christian College. He and his wife, Clara, have eleven children and nine grandchildren, and reside in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. His research and teaching on the lesser magistrate doctrine is reshaping the thinking of Americans. He was instrumental in publishing The Magdeburg Confession: 13th of April 1550 AD, in 2012 -- the first English translation of the document since it was written in 1550." -- Publisher
"Wow! Please get this book and read it. And then read it again! And then send it to your lesser magistrates (specifically your local sheriffs, county judges, and State governors).
"The subtitle says it all: A PROPER RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY AND A REPUDIATION OF UNLIMITED OBEDIENCE TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
"Romans 13:1-7 has caused a great deal of confusion to modern Christian evangelicals. On the whole it tends to get interpreted as 'we must obey the government [with an implied unlimited obedience].' Of course that doesn't feel right, and we know of the passage that says 'we must obey God rather than men.' But how do we reconcile these?
"THE DOCTRINE OF THE LESSER MAGISTRATES helps us figure that out. Government has been instituted by God as His instrument to do His work. But when government ceases to do God's work in carrying out just laws, there needs to be a way to hold back the tyranny. Will revolt and riot work, or is that what Christians are called to do? No.
"Enter the lesser magistrate -- also known as the government office holder who is inferior to the one giving the orders but has a legitimate role in government nonetheless. He has the ability and the duty to resist carrying out unjust laws or orders. And he has the ability and duty to interpose on behalf of the citizens against whom the tyrannical governing authority is trying to carry out his power.
"Trewhella shows historical examples of how the application of this doctrine has worked and provides compelling Biblical exegesis of how this doctrine is clearly taught in Scripture.
"I highly recommend reading this book! It's short enough to be read in one sitting, but powerful enough to transform your understanding of how to properly resist tyranny -- in God's power and by God's prescription." -- Reader's Comment
Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate
http://www.LesserMagistrate.com
Defy Tyrants
http://www.DefyTyrants.com
The Magdeburg Confession
http://magdeburgconfession.com/mag/
United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Constitution Restoration Act of 2004: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 3799, September 13, 2004, ISBN: 0160740762 9780160740763.
Van Ness, Daniel W., Crime and its Victims, ISBN: 0877845123 9780877845126.
"Along with the high praise and commendation by Cal Thomas, Mark Hatfield, and Carl Henry, Charles Colson (Prison Fellowship Ministries), gives this book an important foreword. It is an excellent start. Implementing advice in this book would begin a revolution of our criminal justice system." -- GCB
Vandenberg, Frank, Abraham Kuyper, 1837-1920, ISBN: 0888150156 9780888150158.
"This book is not fine literature, not nearly worthy of such a great Christian as Abraham Kuyper. Still, it is worth reading just for the lift in your spirit that it will bring when you see how the man was blessed. It might be added that his predictions regarding how the Gospel would be spread after his death have been amazingly accurate." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
H. Henry Meeter is the leading American exponent of Abraham Kuyper's life and worldview.
Various, Miscellaneous, Vol. 6.
Contents: Church fellowship, a sermon preached at the opening of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, May 16, 1816. / John Black -- Divine and human rights, or, the Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States tested by the Holy Scripture. / Chauncey Webster -- A circular addressed to the ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, requesting them to meet in convention in the city of Pittsburgh, on the sixth day of August, 1834. / Ebenezer Cooper and Gavin M'Millan -- Argument on the Arminian controversy. / [Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America] -- Extracts from the minutes of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. -- [Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church] Notices of particular offenses, necessary to be attended to as objects of censure, in the present state of the church. / [Anonymous] -- The true deaconship, or, strictures on a pamphlet entitled 'The scriptural deacon, &c.' / David Smith -- An essay on the application of reformation principles to the American government. / John Knox Jr. -- Review of extracts of minutes and other papers. / David Scott -- An address on a scriptural education. / [Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod]. -- Letter on the higher powers. / Thomas Sproull -- The anti-slavery examiner, no. 8; correspondence between the hon. F.H. Elmore, one of the South Carolina delegation in Congress, and James G. Birney, one of the secretaries of the American Anti-Slavery Society. -- Protestantism, the parent and guardian of civil and religious liberty. / John N. McLeod -- O'Connell and the Wesleyans; the calumnies, falsehoods and religion of O'Connell exposed, and Protestantism defended, in seven letters; with Babylon fallen, a poem in 32 stanzas. / Daniel M'Afee -- Provisional committee of the proposed evangelical alliance, Dublin branch. / J.S. Blackwood . . . [et al.] -- Address to the members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church on covenant-renovation. / [Reformed Presbyterian Synod in Ireland] -- Plan of education for the ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland. / [Reformed Presbyterian Synod in Ireland] -- The Sabbath; its adaptation to man's intellectual and moral nature. / James Hamilton -- The Sabbath. / Edward Bickersteth -- The Christian Sabbath. / Richard Winter Hamilton -- The key of knowledge taken away by the National Board of Education; with strictures on a sermon entitled, 'Education, religion and liberty, ' lately preached and published by the Rev. William Johnston, Belfast. / Thomas Carlile.
Various, Political Sermons of the Founding Era -- 1730-1805, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0865970904 9780865970908 0865970912 9780865970915.
"The two volumes total 1,737 pages and include a 137 page subject index and a Biblical citation index referencing Scripture used in the sermons."
Vieira, Edwin, Constitutional Homeland Security: A Call for Americans to Revitalize the Militia of the Several States. Volume I, The Nation in Arms, unabridged, ISBN: 0967175925 9780967175928.
"Presently, our republic is seething with citizen discontent on a range of important issues: the burgeoning police state under a proto-fascist 'homeland security' banner . . . the cultural and economic threat of unchecked Mexican immigration . . . the increasing strictures on our God-given right (reiterated by the Second Amendment) . . . the hokey 'War on Terror.'
"How in the world can the citizens of these 50 sovereign States, return to the liberty and self-government that we supposedly assured ourselves when 'We the People' assented to the U.S. Constitution as our means of limiting the Leviathan State?
"In this trenchant little guidebook for American citizens, constitutional scholar Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr. leads us back to the rule of law, step by constitutional step! What an erudite, plain-speaking, and eminently 'do-able' plan the author presents!
"This is no guidebook for rifle-toting 'Montana Freemen' nut-cases; it is a measured, historically documented plan of action for truly reclaiming our liberty and our 'homeland security,' one neighborhood at a time, in concert with local 'first responders' (police, fire dept., EMS, et al.), but entirely on a volunteer basis: orderly, law-abiding, serious-minded citizenship, just as our colonial-era forefathers -- and the framers of the Constitution -- intended!
"After you read this book (believe me, you'll be full of hope and ready to say, 'Let's Roll!'), just imagine the 4th of July, 2010 . . . in 535 American towns and cities, holding an 'AMERICA AGAIN!' rally, to institute the 'Citizens' Homeland Security Associations' that Dr. Vieira introduces in this masterful book! I tell you, never in my life have I had such hope in the future of this republic -- if only people will read such books as this one, and actually take them to heart.
"Are you sick of the repetitive news cycles and foreign wars? Tired of being told that America is inexorably becoming a police state, or will soon be overrun by illegal immigrants?
"Get this book TODAY; you'll finish the last page with more hope than you've had for years." -- Reader's Comment
*Von Mises, Ludwig, Liberty and Property, ISBN: 9781579703783 157970378X.
"Originally delivered as a lecture at Princeton University, October 1958, at the 9th meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society." Includes bibliographical references.
Wallace, James, The Amendment of the Federal Constitution. An Address Before the Christian Association for National Reformation of Southern Illinois, November 8, 1864, 15 pages. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"An address before the Christian Association for National Reformation, of Southern Illinois. Wallace contends, 'The duty of nations to acknowledge the true God, and submit themselves to Jesus Christ as their Lawgiver and King, is of the highest importance, and underlies all moral and political questions.' Though of historical interest, this short piece sets forth a somewhat muted 'Covenanter' stance." -- Publisher
Walton, Rus, Biblical Solutions to Contemporary Problems: A Handbook, ISBN: 0943497159 9780943497150.
See: "Gambling (and State Lotteries)," pp. 117-126.
"The Organized Crime Section of the Department of Justice report that 'the rate of illegal gambling in those states which have some legalized form of gambling was three times as high as in those states where there was no legalized gambling . . . .'
"Anti-gambling forces insist that it is immoral for the state to encourage or condone or profit from immorality. They cite statistics that show gambling brings with it crime (organized and unorganized), and vice (prostitution, assault, robbery, drugs). Rev. Timothy Kehl, chairman of the Wisconsin Conference of Churches' Gambling Issue Task Force, which opposed that state's lottery, said the issue is whether 'it's right or wrong for the government to be involved in a multi-million dollar numbers racket' that exploits its citizens by luring them into gambling. 'We believe the role of government . . . is to promote the general welfare, not to devise schemes to swindle people out of their hard-earned money'. . . ."
World history and the Gallop Polls are replete with evidence that, generally speaking, time and space do not allow the whole argument here, the populace follows the example of leaders of state and the actions of their government. There is no doubt in this writer's mind that after the federal government legalized state lotteries about 1976, that investment bankers and big business followed the example of the government, and began using strategies that amount to gambling, to maximize profits by risking capital assets. The financial 'house of cards' eventually lead to the meltdown of 2008, one of the greatest global economic depression in history. See:
Meltdown: The Depression of 2008
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#gdprnh
*Weaver, Henry Grady, Mainspring of Human Progress.
A monograph on the history of freedom.
Includes bibliography.
Weaver, John, The Christian and Civil Government, ISBN: 0962637920 9780962637926.
Available on video or audio cassettes [audio file]. Seven lectures include:
The Institution and Nature of Government"These lectures on THE CHRISTIAN AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT are powerful. Powerful in the tradition of those early American pastors whose pulpits were the cradle of America's liberty." -- Publisher
"God is The Supreme Sovereign, all authority rests with Him, lesser authorities are accountable and responsible to Him."
The Covenantal Nature of Government
"We are responsible to stop wickedness in high places. If we do not strive to do so, we will be judged along with the wicked."
The Purpose of Government
"Government is to serve and glorify God. It's twofold purpose is (a) to protect those who do good and (b) to punish those who do evil."
Are we Always Required to Obey our Rulers?
"When man's law goes against God's law 'we must obey God rather than men'."
Is it Always Rebellion to Resist Authority?
"Resistance is rebellion only when it goes against lawful authority (Acts 4:19)."
Methods of Resistance
"Covers verbal defiance, legislation and the courts, flight, self-defense."
The Pastor as Magistrate
"The pastor is the spiritual magistrate. In his responsibility and accountability to the higher authority he is the equal of the civil magistrate.
*Weaver, Richard M., Ideas Have Consequences, ISBN: 9780226090061 022609006X.
"Originally published in 1948, at the height of post-World War II optimism and confidence in collective security, IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES uses 'words hard as cannonballs' to present an unsparing diagnosis of the ills of the modern age. Widely read and debated at the time of its first publication, the book is now seen as one of the foundational texts of the modern conservative movement. In its pages, Richard M. Weaver argues that the decline of Western civilization resulted from the rising acceptance of relativism over absolute reality. In spite of increased knowledge, this retreat from the realist intellectual tradition has weakened the Western capacity to reason, with catastrophic consequences for social order and individual rights. But Weaver also offers a realistic remedy. These difficulties are the product not of necessity but of intelligent choice. And, today, as decades ago, the remedy lies in the renewed acceptance of absolute reality and the recognition that ideas-like actions-have consequences. This expanded edition of the classic work contains a foreword by New Criterion editor Roger Kimball that offers insight into the rich intellectual and historical contexts of Weaver and his work and an afterword by Ted J. Smith III that relates the remarkable story of the book's writing and publication." -- Publisher
"Before THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND, there was IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. Nearly two decades before Bloom, Richard M. Weaver rhetorician, Southern agrarian sage, and a founding father of the postwar conservative revival published this spirited disquisition on the Western intellectual tradition." -- Reader's Comment
*Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: The Relationship Between Religion and the Economic and Social Life of Modern Culture, ISBN: 0024248606 9780024248602.
*Weeks, Noel, The Sufficiency of Scripture.
"Weeks is currently a Lecturer in History at the University of Sydney. He has a B.S. (Zoology), B.D., Th.M., and Ph.D. To be guilty of understatement, the man is highly and broadly educated.
"Weeks believes firmly that Scripture is sufficient for faith and practice. And he affirms that all disciplines of life are governed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that His providential actions impact on every individual, and every area of knowledge. This rule is not only declared by the Scripture, but the Scriptures themselves enunciate the response due from each person. Whether it may be culture, or science, or nation, all are subject to the Scripture; that is, all will be judged by the Scriptures in the end. Therefore, it follows that we are daily to judge all things by the Scriptures.
"Weeks makes application of all this. And in doing so he again and again points out that the more we dilute the influence of the Scriptures, the further we go into doubt and confusion. The many apostasies which are today in evidence are the result of the diluting of, or the abandoning of, the authority of the Scriptures. . . .
"In the matter of translations, Weeks shows that there is no solid scriptural reason for the dynamic equivalence form of translation. Rather there is a great disservice to believers. He also shows that making the 'receptor language' the governing language in translation is to subvert the original God-breathed words.
"His conclusion is excellent, in which he notes that we are acquiescing in a limitation of inspiration throughout our Christian practice. And this leaves a Christian without power; yea, and also without excuse before God. God's words are absolute, just as His power is absolute. To seek to accommodate the Christian message to what the world is willing to hear, is to doom it to failure, even ridicule. Paul and Barnabas confronted the Greeks with God's commands. And they turned the world upside down. We must return to this practice of announcing to the world what God has said, and present it as authoritative. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Webster, Chauncey, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. Found in MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.
Wilkes, Henry, Christianity the Restorer, or, Man's Dominion Over the Earth, Disturbed by sin, Restored by Christ: A Sermon Preached in Zion Church, Montreal, April 17, 1859, ISBN: 0665899599 9780665899591.
*Williams, Daniel (1643?-1716), What Repentance of National Sins God Doth Require, as Ever we Expect National Mercies? [Sermon on Hosea x. 12. (Hosea 10:12)], 1690. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Bible Magistracy: or, Christ's Dominion Over the Nations: With an Examination of the Civil Institutions of the United States, 1842. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #12.
"A Covenanter examination of the Biblical doctrine of the Kingship of Christ and the Civil Magistrate. Written in 1842 by James McLeod Willson, the son of James Renwick Willson, this book also contains a critique of the United States' Constitution in Light of Scripture." -- Publisher
Willson, James McLeod, Bible Magistracy
http://archive.org/details/BibleMagistracyChristsDominionOverTheNations
Willson, James McLeod, Bible Magistracy
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/29/bible-magistracy-or-christs-dominion-over-the-nations-with-an-examination-of-the-civil-institutions-of-the-united-states
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7 (1853), ISBN: 0524079293 9780524079294. Alternate title: THE ESTABLISHMENT AND LIMITS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT: AN EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 13:1-7. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in THE DEACON: AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE, DUTIES AND EXERCISE OF THE OFFICE OF DEACON, IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
"Does the Bible give any qualifications for Christians to judge whether or not a given civil magistrate is a lawful or unlawful 'power' in the eyes of God? Does the very existence of a civil 'power' (say Hitler's Nazi state), make them a legitimate government according to Romans 13? Or, can a civil government obtain its 'power' from 'the beast' -- as some 'churches' do? Should civil 'authorities' be judged according to the secret or revealed will of God? This is a fine piece of exegetical work, well nigh irrefutable, arguing that God has given clear revelation regarding the lawfulness and unlawfulness of any given civil magistrate. Willson's Scriptural conclusion will surprise many, anger not a few, and, we believe, be found honoring to God. Though the book is easy reading, these are deep waters with implications that are among the most far-reaching. It is a very controversial publication based on the idea that 'unholy republics refuse to acknowledge Him (Christ) as Lord of all.' This failure to covenant with Christ, as nations, exposes the fact that these national governments are the enemies of Christ (as with the individual or church who will not covenant with Christ). They are thus in violation of the first commandment and therefore treasonous usurpers who will not have the one true king to rule over them. Their laws and actions bare this out, as they refuse to rule by the law of God, but rather, as dupes of Satan, rule by their own autonomous standards. And, though it is their duty to be a terror to evil and promote the good, they, in the main, do the opposite. They protect and support murders (e.g. abortionists), continence and permit perversity (e.g. homosexuality, pornography, etc.), and take no action to establish the Reformed faith (but rather extend constitution rights to all manner of cults, sectarians, satanists and Roman Catholics) -- to name but a few of the more obvious areas of government rebellion against King Jesus. Willson's father's application of the principles put forth in this book are found just below as they related to the United States government specifically. Knox, Rutherford and Gillespie would be proud!" -- Publisher
Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/6/2/civil-government-an-eexposition-of-romans-xiii-1-7
*Willson, James McLeod (1809-1866), Social Religious Covenanting, 1856. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27,
Social Religious Covenanting, 1856.
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/7/27/social-religious-covenanting
*Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over all Governments: and the Disregard of His Authority by the United States in the Federal Constitution, 1832. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (PRINCE MESSIAH'S CLAIMS TO DOMINION, PDF and MP3) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #12, #13, #25.
"Why treat thus all religion? Why disfranchise, by a solemn act the church of the living God? Is the benevolent, pure, holy, heaven born religion of Emmanuel, hostile to the happiness of the republic? Shall commerce, agriculture, the arts, literature -- all the other lawful pursuits, be countenanced, fostered, protected, and established on as permanent a basis, as possible and the true religion be put under the ban of the empire? But they say, let religion alone. Do they, however, adopt the laissez nous faire, in relation to manufactures and trade? No. We cherish all, but respecting the advancement of religion, Congress shall never do any thing. When the child is born, were the father and mother to say, laissez l'infant faire -- leave the babe to itself -- would that lie to act as a nursing father and mother? Surely no. There must be a far different kind of constitution among the nations, when the promise is fulfilled, that 'Kings shall be nursing fathers.' God Almighty says, in the text quoted above, that civil rulers shall nurse the church -- the Constitution says they shall not. Which is right? 'Ah! sinful nation, laden with iniquity.' God spares thee for the sake of his redeemed, that his moral subjects on earth may be, by the gospel of his Son, reclaimed from sin and rebellion -- that on the earth, through his own holy religion, he may expatiate the glories of redemption. The Constitution says religion shall be discountenanced by the Congress of the United States." -- James Renwick Willson
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath be kindled but a little. (Psalm 2:12). This book will go a long way to exposing the fact, as Willson writes, that 'ungodly men have occupied, and do now occupy, many of the official stations, in the government,' and that 'Tyrants are yet on their thrones, and unholy republics refuse to acknowledge Him (Christ -- RB), as Lord of all'." -- Publisher
Willson, James Renwick, Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over all Governments
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2016/4/24/prince-messiahs-claims-to-dominion-over-all-governments-and-the-disregard-of-his-authority-by-the-united-states-in-the-federal-constitution
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), The Shaking of the Nations, Alias the Anti-Christian Empire Overthrown, 1809. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
The Shaking of the Nations, Alias the Anti-Christian Empire Overthrown
http://www.covenanter.org/JRWillson/jamesrenwickwillson.htm
Wines, E.C., and Louis F. DeBoer, The Hebrew Republic. Alternate title: BOOK II OF COMMENTARY ON THE LAWS OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A fascinating treatise in political science showing that the ideological origins of the American Republic lie in the ancient Hebrew Republic, in the institutions that God gave Moses at Mount Sinai." -- Publisher
" 'I confess that before I read this book I misapprehended that the American republic was founded on the models of Greece and Rome. Wines clearly and ineluctably shows that the model for the United States constitution and form of government was none other than that of the Hebrew Republic,' writes Franklin Sanders in HEILAND (Bermuda: Machrihanish Ltd, 1986, p. 275). But though the Hebrew Republic may have been a model for the U.S. constitution in general, some of the most important and foundational specifics of the Hebrew model have clearly been ignored or even set aside totally (as Willson's Prince Messiah, above, demonstrates). Samuel Wylie, in his TWO SONS OF OIL also outlines many reasons why the U.S. federal government is not modelled after the Hebrew Republic. Among them he lists: 'The federal constitution, or instrument of national union, does not even recognize the existence of God, the Kings of the Nations;' 'the State constitutions (are allowed to -- RB) contain positive immorality;' 'the government gives a legal security and establishment to gross heresy, blasphemy, and idolatry (Romanism and other false religions -- RB), under the notion of liberty of conscience;' 'its officers are sworn, by necessary implication, to support what God Almighty forbids;' 'they make no provision for the interest of true religion;' 'Deists, and even atheists may be chief magistrates;' and they overtly reject the law of God -- especially the first commandment as it applies to national leaders and the constitution (cf. pp. 7-42 in the 1995 reprint, of the 1850 edition, by Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Publishing). On the other hand, some useful insights can be gleaned from this title as this book demonstrates the impossibility of pluralistic polytheism (many gods -- many laws) ever bringing real peace and blessing to any society. It also shows that Christian monotheism (the one true and living God and His one absolute law) is the only road to blessing -- but as noted above has muted is point considerably. Wines also proclaims the foundational nature of self-government to all the other spheres of government (i.e. family, church and state)." -- Publisher
Wines, E.C., and Paul R. McDade, The Roots of the American Republic, ISBN: 0942516230 9780942516234.
"Wines' work is eminently practical and thoroughly spiritual as it gives us systematic exposition of the divine principles and everlasting truths that under girded the Old Testament Hebrew Commonwealth. This book baptizes the U.S. Constitution in Scripture, but fails to recognize fatal omissions in the realm of covenant and the religious test oath. Extremely valuable nonetheless." -- Publisher
Wolterstorff, Nicholas P., Educating for Responsible Action, ISBN: 0802818579 9780802818577.
"Helpful theories and strategies for moral education." -- Mark Branson
Wood, Stephen D., Christ and Civil Government: An Exposition of Psalm 2, an article.
"The author answers questions concerning authority. Rather than go to the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, rulings of the Supreme Court, the laws of the land, or the President he goes to the second Psalm [Psalm 2]. Here is where true authority resides; in the Word of God and the Christ He has placed on His throne!" -- GCB
*Wylie, James A. (1808-1890), Story of the Covenant and the Service of the Covenanters to the Reformation in Christendom and the Liberties of Great Britain, 1880. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A fine historical introduction to the battle for Godly government and liberty against the forces of anti-Christian bondage (to national sin and Satanic deception). The Covenanters are responsible, more than any other group historically, for maintaining 'the crown rights of King Jesus' -- even at peril of severe torture and the loss of their earthly lives. Their covenanting principles are still the purest and most faithful form of Christianity known to man, and the revival of these eminently Biblical views are a sure hope for the future! For a more extensive 'Cameronian' treatment of this subject: Howie's SCOTS WORTHIES." -- Publisher
Wylie, Richard Cameron, Collapse of Christless Civilizations, 1918.
Wylie, Richard Cameron, Social Covenanting, 1900.
*Yeadon, Glen, and John Hawkins, The Nazi Hydra in America: Suppressed History of a Century, Wall Street and the Rise of the Fourth Reich, ISBN: 9780930852443 0930852443.
The Nazi Hydra in America
"Nearly 700 pages detailing the subversion of democracy leading to the creation of a fascist state is now available in HTML format on CD. Included is a proposed amendment that will stop corporate fascism dead in its tracks."
http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/noon.html
Zanchius, Jerom (1516-1590, Girolamo Zanchi, Augustus Toplady, and Justus Lipsius, The Doctrine of Absolute Predestination, ISBN: 0801099277. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #4, #19.
"Translated by Toplady at the age of nineteen and held from publication for some time, it was later requested by Dr. Gill that it be released to the public. After good circulation in North America and overseas, 'John Wesley attempted to circulate a few mutilated extracts from the book, signed with the initials of Toplady's name. This forgery of Mr. Wesley caused Toplady to issue another edition, and this is the edition that we have reprinted,' notes Atherton in the introduction. Furthermore, Atherton calls this 'one of the best, if not the best book ever issued on Absolute Predestination.' He also notes that 'in our day so-called Protestants not only deny and reject these truths, but very zealously support the popish theory of free-will. There is one thing all history testifies to, namely, that what the world calls Calvinism is the only doctrine that produces civil and religious liberty, pure and undefiled religion, national independence and prosperity, whilst all other systems produce superstition, worldliness and national decay, only to end in lawlessness, Bolshevism and destruction. It is forgotten that only the pure truth of God can make a nation great or save a sinner. To our Triune Covenant Lord be all the praise and glory'." -- Publisher
The Doctrine of Absolute Predestination
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/zanchius_absolute_predestination.html
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The mediatorial reign of christ: the crown rights of christ, The National Covenant, The Solemn League and Covenant, Jeremiah, A Theological Interpretation of American History, The ten commandments: the moral law, The courts, the law base, and the judicial system, Reform of the church, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, The Covenanted Reformation, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The mediatorial reign of christ: the crown rights of christ, Political and economic freedom, Bible magistracy turns back the wrath of god, The doctrine of the lesser magistrates, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism, and corporatism, The destruction of american liberty, The christian foundation of america, colonial history, Biblical civil government and the basis for civil resistance, Political and economic freedom, The banking system, The federal reserve, Voluntary association and ungodly alliance, The covenanted reformation, and so forth, and so on.
Apologetics #07: Irrationalism and Theistic Rationalism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 86 min
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3105182032
Apologetics #24: The Recovery of Christian Theism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 58 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=3205142039
Appendix B: The United States Constitution: and Classic Verses National Establishments of Religion. Found in BIBLICAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT VERSUS THE BEAST; AND, THE BASIS FOR CIVIL RESISTANCE. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Hence it ought to be observed that something remarkable is here demanded from princes, besides an ordinary profession of faith; for the Lord has bestowed on them authority and power to defend the Church and to promote the glory of God. This is indeed the duty of all; but kings, in proportion as their power is greater, ought to devote themselves to it more earnestly, and to labor in it more diligently." -- John Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah (1550).
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/national-establishments-of-religion
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School Articles of Confederation
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm
The Christian and Politics #04: Enemies of our Christian Heritage #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182945
The Constitution has Already Been Terminated, John Whitehead, December 6, 2022
"As I make clear in my book BATTLEFIELD AMERICA: THE WAR ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE and in its fictional counterpart THE ERIK BLAIR DIARIES, when we forget that, when we allow the 'Me' of a self-absorbed, narcissistic, politically polarizing culture to override our civic duties as citizens to collectively stand up to tyranny and make the government play by the rules of the Constitution, there can be no surprise when tyranny rises and freedom falls."
https://bit.ly/3h6J3FC
The Constitution Restoration Act of 2004: The Most Important Legislation in the Last Fifty Years
"The passage of H.R. 3799 and S. 2082 should be regarded as the most important item on the conservative agenda this year! It is no hyperbole to say that the passage of this bill is significantly more important than who wins the White House this November." -- Chuck Baldwin
http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/feb2004/restoration.htm
Decline in Education
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=9902215826
Decline Through the 1840's: Philosophical Revolution in Political Thought
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=9202112914
The Departure From the Biblical View in Constitutional Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=82602124719
The Departure from the Puritan Heritage
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Puritan Heritage, 52 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92903104657
The Electoral College Still Makes Sense Because We're not a Democracy
" 'Pure democracy' is just another phrase for 'mob rule.' Dictatorship of the majority means 51 percent of the citizenry rule the other 49 percent. That minority has no rights except those the condescending majority grants. It works well for those in the 51 percent, not so much for those in the 49. Plato knew it, and James Madison, who knew his Plato, did too. Plato and Madison both recognized that justice and liberty for the minority is possible only when power is shared between groups in society." -- Donna Carol Voss
http://thefederalist.com/2016/09/16/the-electoral-college-still-makes-sense-because-were-not-a-democracy/
A few of the Many Notorious and Habitual Violations of God's Moral law Which are Legally Protected by National Constitutions and Civil Ordinances in Nations Today, Appendix B: The United States Constitution: and Classic Verses Modern Reformed Teachings Concerning Magistracy and Religion. Found in BIBLICAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT VERSUS THE BEAST; AND, THE BASIS FOR CIVIL RESISTANCE. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Functional Illiteracy
"Functional illiteracy is a term used to describe reading and writing skills that are inadequate 'to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.' Functional illiteracy is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense, meaning the inability to read or write simple sentences in any language. . . .
"Links with poverty and crime
"In developed countries, the level of functional literacy of an individual is proportional to his/her income level and risk of committing crime. For example, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics in the United States:
"According to BeginToRead.com:Over 60 percent of adults in the U.S. Prison System read at or below the fourth grade level
85 percent of U.S. juvenile inmates are functionally illiterate.
Adult inmates who received educational services while in prison had a 16 percent chance of returning to prison, as opposed to 70 percent for those who received no instruction. [this statistic not in citation given -- compiler]
43 percent of adults at the lowest level of literacy lived below the poverty line, as opposed to 4 percent of those with the highest levels of literacy.
"The National Center for Education Statistics provides more detail. Literacy is broken down into three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. Each parameter has four levels: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a person can look at a short piece of text to get a small piece of uncomplicated information, while a person who is below basic in quantitative literacy would be able to do simple addition. In the US, 14 percent of the adult population is at the 'below basic' level for prose literacy; 12 percent are at the 'below basic' level for document literacy; and 22 percent are at that level for quantitative literacy. Only 13 percent of the population is proficient in these three areas -- able to compare viewpoints in two editorials; interpret a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity; or compute and compare the cost per ounce of food items."Two thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
Three out of four individuals who receive food stamps read on the two lowest levels of literacy.
16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts. . . .
Great Moments in Presbyterian History #4: Colonial Presbyterianism and the Great Awakening
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037179
Great Moments in Presbyterian History #8: What the Bible has to say About the Nature of Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=12160372131
Hi-tech Polygraphy as a Means of Broadscale Reform
http://www.lettermen2.com/polytech.html
Noah Webster on Republican Principles
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7947/NoahWeb.html
Conspiracy in Philadelphia, Gary North
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north291.html
Questions and Answers on The Constitution Restoration Act "CRA" 2004, HR 3799 IH, 108th CONGRESS, 2d Session
"An advocate for constitutional government says activist judges could be dealt a fatal blow if Congress would follow its mandate and use the authority granted to the legislature by the Constitution to keep the courts in check. Many conservatives feel that liberal judges who make law rather than interpret the Constitution have been leading an assault on the traditional values on which America was founded. But Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus says that could all end if the U.S. Congress would act. 'Article Three gives Congress the power to abolish every federal court except the Supreme Court, and to limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court,' he says. He goes on to explain that this empowers Congress to prevent the courts by statute from ruling against the public display of the Ten Commandments, the inclusion of 'one nation under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer in schools, and similar religious freedom and freedom of expression issues. Phillips says these rights are guaranteed. 'You don't need a Constitutional Amendment -- it's in the Constitution.' Unfortunately, he says, Congress has been derelict in its duty to protect these rights by failing to oversee the courts more closely." -- Bill Fancher
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
Restoring the Republic With Truth and Fearlessness, Karen Kwiatkowski
"The agreement put forth in the Articles of Confederation established a classical and workable Republic. That is, a 'mixed constitutional government which embodies civic duty, virtue, social cohesion and where there is a high devotion, fidelity and regard for the rule of law.' One thing comes through for all types of republican forms of government. This is the idea of partnership -- consenting, agreeable, aware and free partnerships, between large and small states, between those people and states with very different talents, skills, resources -- but joined together for peacefulness and profitability. The Articles put forth such a partnership, with a presiding administrative president."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski184.html
Selling the Birthright: The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Appendix H, Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus, by Gary North, pages 1190-1216.
Gary North, Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Synopsis of Scriptural Magistracy and Evaluation of the U.S. Constitution, Appendix B: The United States Constitution: and Classic Verses Modern Reformed Teachings Concerning Magistracy and Religion. Found in BIBLICAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT VERSUS THE BEAST; AND, THE BASIS FOR CIVIL RESISTANCE.
NULLIFICATION, the process of making null or of no effect (Lat. nuii'us, none). In United States history the term is applied to the process by which a state either (a) in fact suspended, or (b) claimed a constitutional right of suspending, the operation of a federal law within its own territory. The doctrine of nullification as a constitutional theory was probably never held by a majority of the states or of the American people at any one time, though before 1860 most of the states asserted or practiced it. The belief in nullification was based on the theory that the union of the states was a voluntary one, each member retaining its sovereignty, though for purposes of convenience delegating certain powers of government to an agent, the federal government. The powers of this agent were strictly limited by the Constitution, arid should it transcend these powers the states must interpose to protect their rights. This view held that the Supreme Court created by the Constitution was not a proper tribunal to decide causes arising beyond the Constitution or relating to the nature of the Union, but that its jurisdiction was limited to cases arising under the Constitution. Literal. The Federal government usurped a right belonging to the state, the latter, being a sovereignty, must judge for itself.Where powers are assumed which have not been delegated a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy: that every state has a natural right, in cases not within the compact [casus non foederis] to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits: that without this right, they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them. -- Thomas Jefferson
Centralizing government in the name of liberty will always fail. You might get a few crumbs from the table now and then. The Supreme Court will occasionally issue an opinion that protects liberty. But most of the time, it will hand down garbage that empowers government at the expense of your rights. -- Michael Maharrey
States' rights had to be covered under a blanket of lies and usurpations by those who thought they could rule us better than we can rule ourselves. At the most critical time, the War Between the States, states' rights was suppressed by force, and the American idea of consent of the governed was replaced by the European idea of obedience. But force can only settle questions of power, not right. -- "Confederate Nullification Could Cause Second Civil War" in the National Review
Calhoun, John C. (1782-1850), On Nullification and the Force Bill, ISBN: 0585011885 9780585011882.
Cogan, Neil H., Union and States' Rights: A History and Interpretation of Interposition, Nullification, and Secession, 150 Years After Sumter, ISBN: 9781937378134 1937378136.
Maharrey, Michael, Our Last Hope: The Forgotten Road to Liberty, ISBN: 9780615709871 0615709877.
*Woods, Thomas E., Jr., Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century, ISBN: 9781596986398 1596986395.
"Citizens across the country are fed up with the politicians in Washington telling us how to live our lives -- and then sticking us with the bill. But what can we do? Actually, we can just say 'no.' As New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., explains, 'nullification' allows states to reject unconstitutional federal laws. For many tea partiers nationwide, nullification is rapidly becoming the only way to stop an over-reaching government drunk on power. From privacy to national healthcare, Woods shows how this growing and popular movement is sweeping across America and empowering." -- Publisher
See also: Politics, The courts, the law base, and the judicial system, Church and state, The destruction of american liberty, Christian liberty, Christian self-government, Freedom with responsibility to god, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Socialism, communism, marxism, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, Political and economic freedom, Theft, fraud, stealing: property rights and freedom, Politics and economics, and so forth, and so on.
John C. Calhoun, "The Fort Hill Address" (1831)
"In this speech John C. Calhoun explains the principles that underlie South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification. Calhoun offers the classic states' rights argument."
http://www.pinzler.com/ushistory/forthillsupp.html
Nullification
http://47.1911encyclopedia.org/N/NU/NULLIFICATION.htm
State Interposition: State Nullification of Federal Laws
http://users.snowcrest.net/siskfarm/interpos.html
*State of the Nullification Movement Report | Tenth Amendment Center
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/report/?fbclid=IwAR2j5Q5j_paKO0xW5xGTX1fLWADkRk8oVTHPMaeqYPw4dQAdLoZMFQWlaIc
A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks. -- John C. Calhoun (1782-1850)The Civil War was complex, with many different layers. It has been argued that it was a "type" of the Protestant Reformation, with the South taking the higher ground. Readers will have to teach themselves, and come to their own conclusions.
Adams, Charles, When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession, ISBN: 0847697231 9780847697236.
"Some of the most interesting and worthwhile works of history increasingly come from outside of academe, where researchers and writers are much more free to pursue the truth as they see it without having to kowtow to the petty academic 'gatekeepers.' The work of Paul Johnson would be a good example, or Gore Vidal, John Steele Gordon, and others. Indeed, when Charles Adams proposed to his former publisher, Simon and Schuster, that he turn the chapter on the 'Civil War' from his book, FOR GOOD AND EVIL: THE IMPACT OF TAXES ON THE COURSE OF CIVILIZATION into a book, the publisher loved the idea but told him that the 'gatekeepers' would not give it a fair hearing, and so they declined. (The book was subsequently published as WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS: ARGUING THE CASE FOR SOUTHERN SECESSION, by Rowman and Littlefield)." -- Publisher
"In case anyone doubted Garry Wills' argument in A NECESSARY EVIL [A necessary evil: a history of American distrust of government -- compiler] that the peculiar myths and distortions surrounding the nature, formation, and meaning of the U.S. regularly stir movements committed to myth rather than reality, Adams, a historian of taxation, delivers a polemic that proves it. The Civil War, Adams argues, was not about slavery or the Union; it was about tariffs! The Southern states had a right to secede. Slavery would have ended at some point, but Lincoln did not particularly threaten it. It was, Adams maintains, the 'dueling tariffs' of the Union and the Confederacy that caused the war. Within his states' rights argument, Adams maintains secession's legality should have been determined by the courts, and slaveholders should have been compensated for the property they lost through emancipation. Adams relies heavily on the European press; he asserts, but does not prove, that U.S. abolitionists were a fanatical lunatic fringe. The author clearly anticipates controversy; it should not be long in coming." -- Mary Carroll
Bovard, James, Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen, ISBN: 0312229674 9780312229672.
"Bovard (LOST RIGHTS), throws more red meat to angry libertarians in this anti-government jeremiad. While he provides some frightening examples of how governments -- mostly the U.S. federal -- do more harm than good, his passion leads him to some hyperbolic conclusions. There are many passages that will make readers -- not only welfare-state liberals but also moderate Democrats and Republicans -- wonder whether they live in the same country as Bovard. One of his biggest targets is the notion of state sovereignty: 'The doctrine of "sovereignty" often does nothing more than provide a respectable gloss for some people's lust to control other people's behaviors, or to seize the fruits of other people's labor.' That last clause is telling, for it could just as well be turned against Bovard. It is precisely to stop nongovernmental entities (e.g., factory owners), from seizing the fruit of other people's labor (e.g., factory workers), that so many of the regulations and laws Bovard decries (e.g., a minimum wage or corporate taxes), were instituted. But Bovard is well-read and makes entertaining use of Rousseau, Hegel, Hobbes (he's very fond of Leviathan), and other thinkers. He's also consistent and intellectually honest enough to follow his own ideology to its logical conclusion about, for instance, marijuana (legalize it, he says). Few readers will agree with Bovard that the dominant spirit in America today is one that idolizes the state, but most will find that he makes a rousing theoretical case against statism." -- Publishers Weekly
Burin, Eric, Slavery and the Peculiar Solution: A History of the American Colonization Society, ISBN: 9780813037028 0813037026.
"An examination of the ACS's activities in America and Africa; Eric Burin assesses the organization's impact on slavery and race relations." -- Publisher
Dabney, Robert L. (1820-1898), Biographical Sketch of R.L. Dabney. Available in THE SENSUALISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY CONSIDERED. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"B.B. Warfield called Dabney, 'the most conspicuous figure and the leading theological guide of the Southern Presbyterian Church, the most prolific theological writer that Church has as yet produced, and for a period of over forty years one of the most distinguished and probably the most impressive teacher of its candidates for the ministry.' An old school Presbyterian, Dabney served as chief of staff to General 'Stonewall' Jackson. Heavily influenced by Francis Turretin and John Dick, he was born in 1820 and died in 1898." -- Publisher
*Dabney, Robert Lewis (1820-1898), Memoir of a Narrative Received of Col. John B. Baldwin, of Staunton, Touching the Origin of the war.
*Dabney, Robert Lewis (1820-1898), On the War Between the States. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Three articles by Dabney (94 pages) including his 'True Courage,' and 'Stonewall Jackson,' for whom he was Chief of Staff during this war." -- Publisher
Dabney, Robert Lewis (1820-1898), Secession.
Notes: Pages 1-52 "excerpted from his biography of Stonewall Jackson written in 1865." (pp. 53-62). "Taken from Dabney's A DEFENSE OF VIRGINIA, published in 1867." "Biographical notes": pp. 63-64.
Dabney, Robert Lewis (1820-1898), and William Chalmers, Life of Lieut. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), 2 volumes (OCoLC)663123972.
Life of Lieut. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), 1864
http://archive.org/details/cu31924092912934
Davies, Samuel (1723-1761), Letters From the Rev. Samuel Davies, &c. Shewing the State of Religion in Virginia, Particularly Among the Negroes. Likewise an extract of a letter from a gentleman in London to his friend in the country, containing some observations on the same, 1757.
Davis, Jefferson, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, ISBN: 0306804182 9780306804182 0306804190 9780306804199.
"Anyone who enjoyed this book MUST also read AMERICA'S CAESAR by Durand . . . . His book goes into much more detail over the question of state sovereignty. The right to secede wasn't questioned until all of the founding fathers had passed away and their personal reactions and testimony could no longer be given. Also, one much remember that in 1830, the transcripts of the debates at the constitutional convention were still 'locked' and were not available to the public. The right of secession was not only acknowledged prior to the 1830's, but it was one of the most sacred rights. William Rawle's (a Federalist even), textbook 'A View to the Constitution of the US' even held that states had the right to secede and this book was used as a textbook at West Point up until the early 1840's and is still in the West Point library to this day. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"While there is plenty of information for virtually anyone interested in that period (there is detailed information about battles, insights by the president on figures living at the time, etc.), what truly makes the book such a fascinating read is the constitutional analysis (particularly regarding the secession question, but also going into the grievances by the Confederate states as well), found therein.
"I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a magnum opus in Southern literature. . . .
"If there is a negative to this book, it is the poorly-written introduction by leftist and Lincoln apologist McPhearson. I don't know why he was chosen to write the forward, but it is best ignored. -- Reader's Comment
Dumm, Samuel Milligan, and Reid W. Stewart, Samuel Milligan Dumm's History of the 78th Civil War PA Volunteer Infantry and his Diary of the Civil War.
Durand, Greg Loren, America's Caesar, ISBN: 0970852509 9780970852502.
"Beginning with the usurpations of Abraham Lincoln, this book explains how the so-called emergency powers of the President of the United States developed over a period of seven decades and finally culminated in the virtual supplanting of the Constitution by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal democracy. The author draws heavily from a wealth of rare political literature from the past two centuries, as well as long-forgotten Government documents to paint an unsettling picture of American history and to show why nothing ever seems to change in Washington, no matter which political party is in power." -- Publisher
"Greg Loren Durand has authored over twenty books in the last fifteen years. He's been the editor of four magazines, two newsletters and one newspaper. He is the author and designer of several Internet sites. He is the owner of Crown Rights Book Company and the Director of an historical research center in southern Mississippi."
America's Caesar
A history of the decline and fall of republican government in the United States of America. Online copy of book.
http://www.americascaesar.com/
Dwyer, John J., The war Between the States: America's Uncivil war, ISBN: 9780976822400 0976822407.
"What caused the rift between North and South? What were the worldviews in conflict that led to this bloody conflagration? What role did slavery play in the process? What happened in the various fields of battle, and who were the heroes who emerged from the fog of war? And what is the legacy of Reconstruction -- both good and bad? John Dwyer's personal study into the dusty records from the past answers these and a host of other questions, providing keen insights into this 19th-century conflict that has important parallels to specific challenges our nation faces today. Few events in America's history have been as influential -- or as complicated -- as the bloody war between our southern and northern states. Yet Dwyer deftly cuts through the 'politically correct' and revisionist confusion to present clear lessons from America's uncivil war. To set the conflict in context, Dwyer has compiled numerous source documents on the development of social and religious ideas that preceded secession and war, excerpts of which are featured in sidebars throughout the book. The key battles and military campaigns are described in detail as well, depicting how they affected soldiers and civilians alike. And the changes to American society, attitudes, and new trends in Constitutional legislation that followed the war are also carefully explained in this groundbreaking work. Featuring research and articles from George Grant, J. Steven Wilkins, Douglas Wilson, and Tom Spencer, this beautifully designed, 700-page hardback resource also showcases the paintings of John Paul Strain, and includes nearly 500 photographs, maps, and charts, as well as dozens of biographies of politicians, theologians, writers, soldiers, inventors, spies, nurses, and journalists." -- Publisher
Finkelman, Paul, Joseph Calder Miller, Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery, ISBN: 002864607X 9780028646077 0028647807 9780028647807 0028647815 9780028647814.
Gay, Mary A.H., Life in Dixie During the War.
"The 'official' account of the Civil War is well known by many, but this sweeping narrative often overlooks the experiences and impressions of individuals. LIFE IN DIXIE DURING THE WAR offers up a fascinating first-hand account of what it was like to actually live through this tumultuous period in American history. According to some, this book was part of the inspiration for Margaret Mitchell's novel GONE WITH THE WIND." -- Publisher
Said to be one of the best diaries of the Civil War.
Graham, John Remington, and Donald Livingston, A Constitutional History of Secession, ISBN: 1589800664 9781589800663.
"That any State had a Constitutional right to secede is undeniable, the author makes that case airtight. From the dust cover, where Professor Clyde Wilson, University of South Carolina was quoted, 'Had I the power, I would require every professor of history, political science, and law in America to read Graham's work. Nowhere is there a truer and more thorough treatment of the origins and nature of freedom and self-government. This work is essential for those who would like to recover those great blessings'." -- Reader's Comment
"I found this book by accident. After I started reading I could not put it down! John Graham has written the most comprehensive study on the late War Between the States. He brings to light the causes of war, little know facts about the people who conducted the war to the conduct carried out by Stanton through his insane generals. After reading this book everyone will know that the United States was destroyed by the war and through the illegal acts of President Abraham Lincoln. History, law, truth and justice were only part of the things lost during the war. The 600,000 men, untold numbers of civilians and the 8 billion dollars spent to destroy the south were a waste that can all be attributed to Lincoln. What a price was paid for the government we have today! A must read for all students of law and history. I would give ten stars if I could!" -- Reader's Comment
Hummel, Jeffrey Rogers, Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War, ISBN: 0812693116 9780812693119 0812693124 9780812693126.
"The main thing I got out of this book was just how damaging Lincoln was to the cause of freedom in America. Lincoln trampled individual rights, jailing people indefinitely on his whim, initiating the draft, even assaulting freedom of speech (which I think is one of the few freedoms left). From Hummel's Libertarian perspective, Lincoln was probably the worst president in history. The one thing that should be pointed out in Lincoln's defense is that war always involves curtailments of liberty and requires an essentially fascistic operation of the government. The problem is that the increased governmental power doesn't go away after the war ends. I think this book is very timely at this moment in history, as our current president is about to lead us into yet another war. The Constitution says that only Congress can declare war. That means that the United States cannot engage in any military action with another country unless two-thirds of Congress approves it. Yet, look at all the presidents who have committed U.S. troops to war without a Congressional declaration. Why isn't this seen as unconstitutional? Why aren't they talking about it on Face the Nation? What gave Truman the right to commit U.S. forces to fight in Korea? Why does everyone in the media assume that George Bush has the right to start a war with Iraq when he has no such constitutional authority? What gave Clinton the power to bomb an aspirin factory in the Sudan to divert attention from his sex scandals? I'll tell you who: it was Lincoln. He started the whole trend." -- Reader's Comment
"In this insightful treatment of the Civil War (addressing the causes, the war itself and Reconstruction), Hummel's text argues against the thesis that armed confrontation was inevitable. 'As an excuse for civil war,' he says, 'maintaining the States territorial integrity is bankrupt and reprehensible. Slavery's elimination is the only morally worthy justification.' But slavery, he suggests, was on its way out in any case. Not only was it a political liability, but the institution's many-faceted costs (social cost, enforcement, uprisings, mistreatment) outweighed any profits. If, after decades of unsuccessful compromise, the North had recognized the South's revolutionary right to self-determination and had let the Gulf states secede, slavery would have succumbed in the border states. Hummel goes on to argue, as have many others before, that after a devastating war and the disappointment of Reconstruction, a federal government that once interfered only a little in the affairs of individual states 'had been transformed into an overbearing bureaucracy that intruded into daily life with taxes, drafts, surveillance, subsidies and regulations.' Hummel, a professor of history and economics at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, quotes David H. Donald, saying, 'Before the Civil War, many politicians and writers referred to the United States in the plural' -- i.e., the United States are, a grammatical agreement no longer used after 1865. With its insightful analysis (not to mention the extensive bibliographical essays that elaborate each chapter), EMANCIPATING SLAVES, ENSLAVING FREE MEN will supply both the academic and Civil War buff with an added perspective on the causes and consequences of the Civil War." -- Publishers Weekly
Herran, Kathy Neill, They Married Confederate Officers: The Intimate Story of Anna Morrison, Wife of Stonewall Jackson, and her Five Sisters, ISBN: 1886057249 9781886057241.
James, Charles F., Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia Including the Essay "The Presbyterian Church and Religious Liberty in Virginia," by William Wirt Henry, ISBN: 0306719770 9780306719776.
Reprinted in conjunction with the 400 year celebration of the founding of Virginia and the settlement of Jamestown (1607-2007).
"Both the book and essay were originally printed in the same year -- 1900. The timely importance of this reprint is based on the fact that the religious liberty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution was born in the struggle for religious liberty in Virginia. This volume deals with Virginia Baptists and their great suffering for religious or soul liberty. By this is meant the natural and inalienable right of every soul to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and that religion is, and must be, a voluntary service; and that no earthly power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, has any right to compel conformity to any creed or to any species of worship, or to tax a man for its support. The author, Charles James, became a convert to Christ and the Baptist faith during the War Between the States in 1864. From his memoriam, he was a soldier of the Confederacy, a soldier of the Cross, a patriot, loyal friend, devout Christian, diligent student, accurate scholar, able minister, and a skilled educator. He began serious research on this volume around 1883, never stopping his research until this volume was published with his own funds through J.P. Bell in 1900, only two years before his death." -- Publisher
James, Charles F., and William Wirt Henry, Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia. Alternate title: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN VIRGINIA, ISBN: 9781594421549 1594421544.
Jones, J. William, J.C. Granberry, Christ in the Camp, or, Religion in the Confederate Army, ISBN: 1594420629 9781594420627 1929241003 9781929241002.
*Kelly, Marjorie, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, ISBN: 1576752372 9781576752371.
First published just prior to the Enron debacle, the new paperback edition (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, paperback edition 2003), includes new material on Enron.
"Wealth inequality, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are symptoms -- the fevers and chills of the economy. The underlying illness, says Business Ethics magazine founder Marjorie Kelly, is shareholder primacy: the corporate drive to make profits for shareholders, no matter who pays the cost. In THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly argues that focusing on the interests of stockholders to the exclusion of everyone else's interests is a form of discrimination based on property or wealth. She shows how this bias is held by our institutional structures, much as they once held biases against blacks and women. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL exposes six aristocratic principles that corporations are built on, principles that we would never accept in our modern democratic society but which we accept unquestioningly in our economy. Wealth bias is a holdover from our pre-democratic past. It has enabled shareholders to become a kind of economic aristocracy. Kelly shows how to design more equitable alternatives -- new property rights, new forms of corporate governance, new ways of looking at corporate performance -- that build on both free-market and democratic principles. We think of shareholder primacy as the natural law of the free market, much as our forebears thought of monarchy as the most natural form of government. But in THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly brilliantly demonstrates that it is no more 'natural' than any other human creation. People designed this system and people can change it. We need a change of mind as profound as that of the American Revolution. We must question the legitimacy of a system that gives the wealthy few -- the ten percent of Americans who own ninety percent of all stock -- a disproportionate power over the many. In so doing, we can fulfill the democratic principles of our nation not only in the political sphere, but in the economic sphere as well." -- Publisher
"Brilliant. So simple. So direct. And so beautifully written. I think we have found our Thomas Paine for the new millennium." -- David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Marjorie Kelly is the cofounder and editor of Business Ethics, a national publication on corporate social responsibility. Kelly's writing has appeared in publications such as The Utne Reader, The Progressive Populist, Tikkun, Earth Island Journal, Hope Magazine, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Her work has been anthologized in a half-dozen books, including THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS and THE NEW PARADIGM IN BUSINESS. Kelly is a regular speaker and commentator on business ethics and corporate social responsibility featured in The Wall Street Journal, quoted in the New York Times, and interviewed frequently on NPR and other radio networks." -- Publisher
Divine Right of Capital
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/
Business Ethics Magazine
http://www.business-ethics.com/
An Opening for Change: Understanding the Enron Crisis
Excerpted from THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL: DETHRONING THE CORPORATE ARISTOCRACY, by Marjorie Kelly, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, paperback edition 2003
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/new_agenda.htm
Corporate Accountability Project
http://www.corporations.org/
Corporate Governance
http://corpgov.net/
Code for Corporate Responsibility
http://www.c4cr.org/
*Kennedy, Walter Donald, Myths of American Slavery, ISBN: 1589800478 9781589800472.
"I agree. The Civil War created the foundation for the New Slavery, called Federal Slavery. Modern American slaves are victims to more confiscation than 19th century slaves.
"I do not agree with all author Kennedy's points. Slavery was certainly a partial cause shown by reading Jefferson Davis's first inaugural speech in the 'new' confederate union. It had slavery all over it. But, agreed, the primary cause was taxation, likewise with most wars. The history of the world is one group living off the labor of another. I love how Kennedy speaks the truth here.
"Even today, we are forced to choose between being a slave or a master. Parents, teach your children not to be the slave. Books like this give profound historical insight. The game never ends.
"This book further highlights that the master and slave relationship has not, and will not go away until people, black and white, have the courage to leave the modern Federal plantation. When forced, like in the USA, choose the master but embrace liberty. Great book!" -- Reader's Comment
Ketcham, Ralph (editor), The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates, ISBN: 0451528840 9780451528841.
"The Anti-Federalists Papers revealed the dissenting opinions of such statesmen as Patrick Henry and John DeWitt, who saw in the document threats to rights and liberties so recently won from England ["I smell a rat" is attributed to Patrick Henry. -- compiler]. Although the Anti-Federalists lost, they came close to winning, and their opinions represent an important contribution to the American political tradition." -- Publisher
The War Between the States was a continuation of this struggle for State sovereignty.
Leftwich, W.M., Martyrdom in Missouri: A History of Religious Proscription, the Seizure of Churches, and the Persecution of Ministers of the Gospel, in the state of Missouri . . . of the new constitution, ISBN: 1425548105 9781425548100.
Two volumes exist. The second is very rare. Both volumes are available, Cerlox bound, from Dominion Ministry.
McKivigan, John R., The War Against Proslavery Religion: Abolitionism and the Northern Churches, 1830-1865, ISBN: 0801415896 9780801415890.
Minor, Charles L.C. (Landon Carter, 1835-1903), Berkeley Minor (1842-1930), and Mary Willis Minor, The Real Lincoln From the Testimony of his Contemporaries, ISBN: 1175991341 9781175991348.
"Enhances the understanding of Abraham Lincoln and his times." -- Lloyd T. Sprinkle
Newell, John, and John C. Lord, "The Higher law," in its Application to the Fugitive Slave Bill: Review of Dr. John C. Lord's Sermon, on the Duties men owe to God and to Governments, 1851.
Noll, Mark A., The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, ISBN: 0807830127 9780807830123.
O'Brien, Michael, Conjectures of Order: Intellectual Life and the American South, 1810-1860, ISBN: 0807828009 9780807828007.
"O'Brien writes with assurance, subtlety, and imagination about the intellectual life of the Old South, showing that it was more vibrant, diverse, and modern than we have ever realized. His work is a triumph of humane letters." -- Daniel Walker Howe, Oxford University
Palmer, B.M., and William Thomas Leacock, The Rights of the South Defended in the Pulpits.
Palmer, B.M., and John Perkins, The Oath of Allegiance to the United States: Discussed in its Moral and Political Bearings.
Pierce, Franklin, Federal Usurpation (Crown Rights Book Company, 2002, 1908).
"This book is a plea for the sacredness of the Constitution of the United States.
"The bloated and all-pervasive Federal bureaucracy which now rules the American people from Washington, D.C. did not arise overnight. Instead, as the author of this important volume documents, the usurpations of the Lincoln Administration during the War of 1861 and that of the Radical Republican Congress during Reconstruction were the fundamental causes of the existing political conditions of today. Pierce also discusses the inherent flaws in the Constitution which were the result of compromise between the quarreling factions at the Convention of 1787, and which would later lead to corruptions dangerous to the liberties of the people of the several States. The book concludes with a chapter entitled, 'How to Restore the Democratic Republic'." -- Publisher
Potter, William, Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to his Wife, ISBN: 1929241631 9781929241637.
"He called her 'my beloved esposa' because Anna was his dearest love on this earth. Ironically, while the great military exploits of General Stonewall Jackson are studied in military schools the world over and his iron will and stern self-discipline have become legendary, little is said about his remarkable marriage. The real Thomas J. Jackson was a humble Christian and loving husband and father. The tender and instructive letters he wrote to his wife Anna are a model of godly leadership and covenantal faithfulness. From their courtship to their final days together, trace the true story of this remarkable couple through the letters of General Jackson to his bride. Even in the midst of the most arduous military campaigns, Stonewall took the time to send home extensive letters of love and devotion. Through all of this, General Jackson proves himself to be a model example for Christian husbands of the twenty-first century -- especially through his dedication to living for God's glory and trusting in His providential care.
"This special edition book features a foreword by Stephen Lang, the actor who portrays 'Stonewall' Jackson in the film 'Gods and Generals.'
"William Potter currently serves as staff historian for the Vision Forum Ministries Faith and Freedom Tours. He holds a B.A. in American History from Cedarville College and a M.A. in American History from the University of Dayton where he taught military history for a time. He and his wife Leslie reside in Charles City, Virginia. They have home schooled their eight children for twenty years." -- Publisher
Potter, William, Providential Battles: Twenty Battles that Changed the World, audio CD, ISBN: 193343130X.
"In this four-part album, "Providential Battles," Christian historian William Potter provides a providential interpretation of twenty of the greatest military battles in the world, which altered the course of history, serving strategic roles in God's unfolding plan. Including battles from ancient history, to the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, to the American War for Independence, to the Alamo and Civil War events, Mr. Potter presents a panorama of providential military highlights. This album concludes with the mysteries of providence that engulfed the Axis powers of WWII in the air, on land, and at sea. 257 minutes on 4 CDs.
"William Potter currently serves as staff historian for the Vision Forum Ministries Faith and Freedom Tours. He holds a B.A. in American History from Cedarville College, and an M.A. in American History from the University of Dayton where he taught military history for a time. He and his wife Leslie reside in Williamsburg, Virginia. They have home schooled their eight children for more than twenty years." -- Publisher
Potter, William, Yankees vs. Rebels, an audio CD, ISBN: 1929241690 9781929241699.
"Understanding the True Causes of the American Civil War -- Slavery? States Rights? Economic pressure? Regional politics? What were the true causes of the War Between the States? How was it possible for so many 'great' men, many of whom were Christians, to disagree so fundamentally on the defining war of American history? For years, Christian students have either been befuddled by the controversies or bamboozled into believing nonsense spouted by secular commentators. Into the historical fray steps historian Bill Potter with a scholarly, Christian response to the controversy. Approximately 90 min." -- Publisher
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Presbytery of Edinburgh, Deliverance of the Reformed Presbytery of Edinburgh on American Slavery and Church-fellowship with Slave-holders.
Reformed Presbyterian Synod, Scotland, An Expostulation With Those Christians and Christian Churches, in the United States of America, That are Implicated in the Sin of Slaveholding 1848. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Christians and the Civil War, The Trinity Review, Number 279, October -- November 2008).
"Living in the South for the past ten years has made it clear to me that many citizens of the South, even in the 21st century, are still fighting a guerrilla war with disinformation, wishful thinking, and propaganda. Some of these Latter Day Confederates seem to be people who were born and reared in the North and now feel they must prove their fidelity to the Lost Cause. Apparently their Northern roots have given them a guilty conscience. What is worse, many of these men profess to be Christians and mix their religion with their love for the Confederacy, making the two inseparable. This has done much damage to the cause of Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel in the South.
"Men like Steve Wilkins and Douglas Wilson, who have concocted a false theology they call Federal Vision, fooling thousands, have recently published a book giving a false account of the Civil War. Organizations such as American Vision in Atlanta (Gary DeMar), and Vision Forum in San Antonio (Douglas Phillips), are promoting Confederate propaganda. (Oddly, these groups all have vision in their names, yet they are blind to both soteriological and historical truth). Wannabe Romanists themselves, their efforts are applauded by genuine papists like Thomas DiLorenzo." -- Publisher
Robertson, James, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend, ISBN: 0028646851 9780028646855.
"Robertson (JACKSON AND LEE, Rutledge Hill, 1995), has put together an exhaustive account of the life of Stonewall Jackson from his early years as an orphan until his death after being accidentally shot by his own troops. Robertson describes Jackson as 'a man of arms surrounded by the tenets of faith,' and so he was. He was a devout, reticent man who surrendered himself to the will of God. Even the deaths of his first wife and his children and his own agonizingly slow death didn't shake his faith. Yet he was also a great military strategist and stern disciplinarian who inspired great loyalty in his troops. Lee considered him his best general and was shaken by his death. Extensively researched and well written, this compares well with Byron Farwell's masterly STONEWALL: A BIOGRAPHY (LJ 9/1/92). Recommended for Civil War and American history collections." -- Library Journal
"Stonewall Jackson had the most Christian command of anyone in the civil war. He hand picked his commanders, many of whom were either ministers themselves or were ministers' sons. 'Rejoice in that day when they cast out your name as evil,' Christ foretold. I don't think there was ever a more Christ-led soldier that has EVER lived on the face of this earth. Everything Jackson did was accepted by him as God's will. God's will was sought through daily prayer. Thomas Jonathan Jackson's life was a testimony to His great God. He was unassuming in character and dress. He never became arrogant, nor basked in any of his accomplishments, he was simply doing God's will. Anyone would have mistaken Jackson as a simple farmer by his bearing as Robertson reveals from soldiers' written descriptions of him. (What a hothead he was in combat though with all that artillery knowledge inside that Scots-Irish noggin). Who in their last hours would talk about the Amalekites in the Bible and talk about how soldiers ought to observe the sabbath!" -- Reader's Comment
Roulston, William, The Abolition Church: Covenanters and the Fight Against Slavery in Nineteenth-Century America, Bulletin of the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, 36 (2012): 16.
Rumburg, H. Rondel, John Pelham of Alabama: The Gallant Chief of J.E.B. Stuart's Horse Artillery, ISBN: 0963973045 9780963973047.
Rumburg, H. Rondel, Stonewall Jackson's Verse.
Sage, Bernard Janin, The Republic of Republics: Or, American Federal Liberty (Crown Rights Book Company, 2003, 1878).
"This is one of the most comprehensive treatises ever published on the doctrine of State sovereignty and the inherent right of a State to secede from the Union. Written by an English barrister who was to have been one of Jefferson Davis' counsel in the treason trial which never occurred, this book compiles extensive quotations from the earliest American statesmen, both before and after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, which prove beyond all argument that the American people were never organized into a consolidated democracy, but had existed in their colonial condition as separate political bodies and continued to do so after their independence from Great Britain. The author singles out the tortured logic of Webster and Lincoln for heavy criticism, and shows that allegiance and treason are terms which have no meaning constitutionally if not in reference to a sovereign State. Also included are nine lengthy appendices outlining the ordaining acts of the original thirteen States in the Union, the changes made to the Constitution by the Southern States in 1861, the original forms of the Tenth Amendment, a review of Alexander Stephens' CONSTITUTIONAL VIEW OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, etc." -- Crown Rights Books Company
Sebesta, Edward H., and Euan Hague, The US Civil War as a Theological War: Confederate Christian Nationalism and the League of the South
This position is centered upon what we identify as the theological war thesis, an assessment that interprets the nineteenth-century CSA to be an orthodox Christian nation and understands the 1861 -- 1865 US Civil War to have been a theological war over the future of American religiosity fought between devout Confederate and heretical Union states."
Edward H. Sebesta is the leading national researcher on the Neo-Confederate Movement.
http://gis.depaul.edu/ehague/Articles/PUBLISHED%20CRAS%20ARTICLE.pdf
Simpson, Brooks D., Stephen W. Sears, and Aaron Charles Sheehan-Dean, The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those who Lived it, ISBN: 9781598530889 1598530887.
"Drawn from letters, diaries, speeches, articles, poems, songs, military reports, legal opinions, and memoirs, this collection brings together over 120 pieces by more than 60 men and women to create a firsthand narrative of the first year of the Civil War. Beginning on the eve of Lincoln's election in 1860 and ending in January 1862 with the appointment of Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War, the selections provide a sense of the immediacy, uncertainty, and urgency of events as the nation was torn asunder. Includes headnotes, a chronology of events, and biographical and explanatory endnotes." -- Publisher
Singer, Charles Gregg (1910-1999), South Carolina in the Confederation (Perspectives in American History; No. 39), ISBN: 0879913630 9780879913632.
Singer's dissertation in Confederation History, The Articles of Confederation, 1781-1789. Treats States Rights in this constitutional document. It has been the standard work on this subject since 1941.
Skinner, E. Benjamin, A Crime so Monstrous: A Shocking Exposé of Modern-day Sex Slavery, Human Trafficking and Urban Child Markets, ISBN: 9781845963460 1845963466.
"Today there are more slaves than at any time in history, according to journalist Skinner's report on current and former slaves and slave dealers." -- Publisher
Smith, Timothy Lawrence, Revivalism and Social Reform: American Protestantism on the Eve of the Civil War, ISBN: 080182477X 9780801824777. Alternate title: REVIVALISM AND SOCIAL REFORM IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA.
Includes bibliography and index.
Sommerville, William (1800-1878), Southern Slavery not Founded on Scripture, 1864, ISBN: 066590830X 9780665908309.
Tise, Larry E., Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in America, 1701-1840, ISBN: 0820309273 9780820309279 0820312282 9780820312286 0820323969 9780820323961.
"Probing at the very core of the American political consciousness from the colonial period through the early republic, this thorough and unprecedented study by Larry E. Tise suggests that American proslavery thought, far from being an invention of the slave-holding South, had its origins in the crucible of conservative New England. Proslavery rhetoric, Tise shows, came late to the South, where the heritage of Jefferson's ideals was strongest and where, as late as the 1830s, most slave owners would have agreed that slavery was an evil to be removed as soon as possible. When the rhetoric did come, it was often in the portmanteau [large traveling bag -- compiler] of ministers who moved south from New England, and it arrived as part of a full-blown ideology. When the South finally did embrace proslavery, the region was placed not at the periphery of American thought but in its mainstream." -- Publisher
Van Deusen, John G., Economic Bases of Disunion in South Carolina (Crown Rights Book Company, 2003, 1928).
"As most wars have been throughout history, the War Between the States was at bottom a financial conflict. More precisely, it was a fatal clash between the politically-diverse nations within the greater Republic which resulted from a gradual departure on the part of the North from the old ways toward large-scale industry, toward giant capitalism, and toward a centralized, national economy, and a firm resistance to such change on the part of the South. Drawing from a plethora of antebellum editorials and congressional records, the author focuses on the economic factors which ultimately forced South Carolinians to choose the perils of independence over continued subjugation within the Union." -- Publisher
Various, [Miscellaneous, vol. 2].
Contents: Address, delivered before the Phi Sigma and Hermean Societies of the University of Mississippi, Oxford. / Jefferson Davis -- Letter to his excellency Governor Manning on public instruction in South Carolina. / James Henley Thornwell -- The state of the country. / James Henley Thornwell -- Review of Paley's moral philosophy. / [Anonymous] -- Letters to Thomas Cooper, M.D. / [Samuel P. Pressley] -- Pastoral letter on the observance of the Sabbath. / [Anonymous] -- An address delivered before the Philomathean and Euphemian literary societies of Erskine College at the annual commencement. / B.M. Palmer -- Our historic mission; an address delivered before the Eunomian and Phi-Mu societies of La Grange Synodical College. / B.M. Palmer -- Inaugural address delivered on the 7th July, 1858, before the trustees of the La Grange Synodical College. / John H. Gray -- Address on occasion of laying the foundation of the Presbyterial Fem. Col. Institute, at Pontotoc. / John Newton Waddel -- Address on public education, delivered in the Hall of Representatives, by joint invitation of the Senate and House of Representatives, in Jackson, Miss. / John Newton Waddel -- Inaugural address on the nature and advantages of the course of study in institutions of higher learning. / John Newton Waddel -- Farewell letter. / William Swan Plumer -- Christian missions and african colonization. / John Bailey Adger -- A rejoinder to the Princeton Review, upon the Elohim Revealed, touching the doctrine of imputation and kindred topics. / Samuel J. Baird -- Reply to the attack of Rev. R.J. Breckinridge, D.D., Ll.D., upon the Louisville Presbytery, and defense of the Declaration and Testimony made in the Synod of Kentucky. / Samuel Ramsey Wilson -- Signals from the Atlantic cable. / Cortlandt van Renssellaer -- Speech of the Rev. C.A. Davis, of Memphis, Tennessee, before the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, on a motion to nullify certain political and radical deliverances of previous assemblies upon rebellion and slavery. / Claiborne Albert Davis -- Testimony of distinguished laymen to the value of the sacred Scriptures. / [Francis Bacon, John Milton, et al.] -- An address on behalf of the society for the relief of superannuated ministers and the indigent families of deceased ministers of the Synod of South Carolina. / John Lafayette Girardeau.
Weisman, Steven R., The Great Tax Wars: Lincoln to Wilson -- The Fierce Battles Over Money and Power That Transformed the Nation, ISBN: 0684850680 9780684850689.
White, Andrew Dickson, To the Christians of the United States of America: "The empire of Christ is peace".
"Notes: Part of the Samuel J. May anti-slavery collection donated to Cornell University Library. Advocates ending the Civil War immediately, and letting the Confederate States remain outside the Union. Description: 12 p.; 25 cm."
White, John H., From Slavery to Servanthood -- Tracing the Exodus Throughout Scripture, 1987, ISBN: 0934688419 9780934688413.
Wilcox, D. Ray, The Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Antislavery Movement. (Unpublished MA thesis, Colorado State College of Education, 1948).
Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Address on the Subject of African Slavery: Delivered in Fayetteville, September 14, 1837.
See also: Nullification, the 10th amendment, Politics and economics, Political and economic freedom, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Church and state, Power, The aristocracy of wealth, Feudalism, Tyranny, Christianity and democracy, Friendly fascism, Leadership by crisis, War, The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The utter failure of the u.s. constitution as a social deed of covenant, and so forth, and so on.
*Biblical Slavery: It's Meaning and Necessity, a sermon [audio file], by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=74101315272
Books of the South
652 Sixteenth Avenue, N.W.
Birmingham, Alabama 35215
Tel: (205) 854-2690 or (205) 853-0967
Specialize in books about the South and the Civil War.
Request a listing of publications (approximately 600, June 2007).
Boston Public Library Anti-Slavery Collection
http://archive.org/browse.php?field=subject&mediatype=texts&collection=bplscas
John C. Calhoun, "The Fort Hill Address" (1831)
"In this speech, John C. Calhoun explains the principles that underlie South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification. Calhoun offers the classic states' rights argument."
http://www.pinzler.com/ushistory/forthillsupp.html
Crown Rights Book Company
http://www.crownrights.com/books/
In Defense of the Constitution and the Republic
"Dixie Daily News is the most visited Southern news, heritage and history site on the Internet advancing the cause for a return to limited constitutional government and individual liberty in the South and across these United States."
http://www.southerncaucus.org
God's and Generals
http://www.godsandgenerals.com/
God's and Generals
http://www.movieguide.org/index.cgi?Playing&02/15/200317.48.32#02/15/200317.48.32
Libris Hardback Book Shop at abebooks.com
"Libris Hardback Book Shop is located in Penn Laird, Virginia and their specialties are Civil War and Religion." You can browse their inventory by author, title, subject, or publisher. They carry all Sprinkle Publications titles and Gano Books.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookSearchPL?vci=8338702
Libris Hardback Book Shop at amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/shops/wandmclark
Long Live Secession! Christopher Ketcham
"It will never work, but that doesn't stop blue-state radicals from insisting they have the right to break up Bush's -- and Lincoln's -- 'imperial' union. A revolutionary guide to American history.
"Although secessionism today is politically impossible, if tenuously legal, the secession specter has arisen again, waking to the Declaration's call to self-governance. In 2005, it is the blue-state Northerners, bitter from the defeat of Nov. 2, who are, ironically, wearing its robes.
"If their plaints have an epicenter, it is in Charlotte, Vermont, in the wood-frame house of Thomas Naylor, professor emeritus, agitator, author, Rage Against the Machine fan, and founder and chair of the 'Second Vermont Republic.' Naylor seeks the rebirth of Vermont as the independent nation it was between 1777 and 1791."
http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/secession.html
Presbyterianism in the 20th Century
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 42 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160371916
Restoring the Republic With Truth and Fearlessness, Karen Kwiatkowski
"The agreement put forth in the Articles of Confederation established a classical and workable Republic. That is, a 'mixed constitutional government which embodies civic duty, virtue, social cohesion and where there is a high devotion, fidelity and regard for the rule of law.' One thing comes through for all types of republican forms of government. This is the idea of partnership -- consenting, agreeable, aware and free partnerships, between large and small states, between those people and states with very different talents, skills, resources -- but joined together for peacefulness and profitability. The Articles put forth such a partnership, with a presiding administrative president."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski184.html
Rethinking the Articles of Confederation, H.A. Scott Trask
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1296
Revivals in the 19th Century
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of Evangelism/Revivals
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=98039332
Sons of Confederate Veterans
"The SCV is the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans, and the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Organized at Richmond, Virginia in 1896, the SCV continues to serve as a historical, patriotic, and non-political organization dedicated to ensuring that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved."
http://www.scv.org/
Sprinkle Publications
http://www.sprinklepub.com/aboutus.htm
State Interposition: State Nullification of Federal Laws
http://users.snowcrest.net/siskfarm/interpos.html
Theological Tensions of the 19th Century: Old School -- New School
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 34 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1216037188
United States Casualties of War
"The American Civil War resulted, by far, in the largest number of total American deaths by war."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_casualties_of_war
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. (Psalm 22:3-5)Bainton, Roland H., Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace, ISBN: 0687070279 9780687070275.The whole of the prophecies of Isaiah are precious, and should be read by us constantly in private. -- C.H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Devotional Bible
The prophets are advocates for God in a covenantal lawsuit. For their arguments for the continued obligation of covenantal faithfulness and the hope of God's covenantal faithfulness see:
Isaiah, a covenant prosecutor, Jeremiah's theme of judgment for covenant breaking, The themes of the wrath, severity, covenant faithfulness, trustworthiness, and ultimate goodness of God in the book of Lamentations, Ezekiel's message of judgment against Israel, then judgment against foreign nations, and then grace and mercy to Israel, and the themes of the holiness, transcendence, grace, mercy, and sovereignty of God along with individual responsibility, Daniel, the covenant head, with his theme of the absolute sovereignty of God in the affairs of man, Hosea's theme of covenant relationship, Joel's themes of covenant, the day of the Lord, and repentance unfeigned, Amos furthering the prosecution's case for the covenantal lawsuit with themes of idolatry and social injustice, The emphasis on God's sovereign justice by Obadiah, Jonah's themes of the sovereignty of God and the universality of God's goodness, The themes of Micah, covenant relationship, salvation is of the Lord, the church rebellious and perverse, and judgment followed by restoration, Nahum's theme of God's government of history according to his covenant, Habakkuk, the forefather of the Reformation, and his themes of God is sovereign in history and persistence in prayer, Zephaniah's themes of covenant, the day of the Lord, and the restorative nature of God's wrath, Haggai's theme of covenant, Zechariah's themes of the presence, kingship and deliverance of God and Christ, and Christ dwelling among his people, and Malachi, another advocate of God in the covenant lawsuit, with his themes of the continued obligation of covenantal faithfulness, and hope.
Barna, George, The Barna Report 1992-93: America Renews its Search for God.
"Barna's WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE captures a snapshot of American Christianity in 1991. This totally-new election-year edition updates the picture! . . . Vital information is easy to grasp with key charts and graphs (more detailed tables appear in the appendix), and easy to apply practical action steps." -- CBD
*Barna, George, What Americans Believe: An Annual Survey of Values and Religious Views in the United States, ISBN: 0830715053 9780830715053.
"Our society is changing in ways that have dramatic implications for the future of morality, ethics, and the Christian church. Three quarters of young adults in this country believe there is no absolute truth -- a major change from older generations which tend to believe in absolute truth. WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE gives a clear, up-to-the-minute picture of the mores, beliefs, and religious attitudes of Americans. It is based on an annual survey conducted by the Barna Research Group and covers 65 questions about values, life-style, and religious beliefs." A tool to reshape ministerial strategies.
*Boettner, Loraine, The Christian Attitude Toward War, ISBN: 0875521185 9780875521183.
"Boettner is a well-known theologian, now retired. He is best known for his books on predestination and on Roman Catholicism.
"At a time when war has held the interest of much of the globe, Boettner poses the following questions: What causes war? Can there be a just war? What are the premises of pacifism? What are the consequences of war? What are the limits of obedience of a Christian to his government? How does God use war as a judgment on nations? Are nuclear weapons justified? . . . .
"Under God's teaching, it is not inconsistent to offer one to be at the same time a soldier and a follower of the Lord God of Hosts. At one place the Scriptures say plainly, 'Jehovah is a man of war.' To say with the pacifists that all war is unrighteous is to fly in the face of God's words. Yet in the Scripture war is to be avoided if possible, if God's glory or name were not involved. And war was never glorified. . . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"First done in 1940, this excellent work has been brought up to date. If you need answers on this subject you just may not have to go any further than this." -- GCB
Bratt, James D, Dutch Calvinism in Modern America: A History of a Conservative Subculture, ISBN: 0802800092: 9780802800091.
*Bucy, Ralph D. (editor), The New Laity Between Church and World, ISBN: 0849928338 9780849928338.
*Burges, Cornelius (1589?-1665), The First Sermon Preached to the Honorable House of Commons now Assembled in Parliament at Their Public Fast, Nov. 17, 1640. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
"A beautifully clear facsimile copy of this amazing sermon (published by order of the British House of Commons in 1641), exhorting this Parliament to 'stand to the covenant' of God; by, 'endeavouring of a further Sanction of, and stronger Guard about our true Palladium, the true Religion, already established among us; in the perfecting of the Reformation of it; in the erecting, maintaining, protecting, and encouraging of an able, godly, faithful, zealous, profitable, Preaching Ministry, in every Parish Church and Chapel throughout England and Wales; in interceding to the Kings sacred Majesty for the setting up of a Faithful, Judicious, and Zealous Magistracy, where yet the same is wanting, to be ever at hand to back such a Ministry: without either of which, not only the power of Godliness will sooner degenerate into formality, and zeal into lukewarmness; but Popery, Arminianism, Socinianism, Profaneness, Apostasy, and Atheism itself will more and more crowd in upon us, and prevail against us, do You all You can be all other means.' Points out that where a godly ministry and magistracy are lacking, society degenerates into a godless mob, headed by one of the above named heresies -- as we have seen in our day. Presses national covenant renewal, from Jer. 50:5 [Jeremiah 50:5], and explains from scripture how and why this should take place. Cites many biblical examples of the great Scriptural blessing that has followed previous national covenanting; while making practical application to the situation of the day. This sermon foreshadows chapter 23, of the celebrated Westminster Confession of Faith [1646], on 'the Civil Magistrate,' and gives much insight into this watershed period of Christian political development. It is highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in seeing their nation prosper politically and ecclesiastically. Furthermore, it will be a great help for anyone seeking to formulate a biblical doctrine explaining the four way relationship between: loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; Jesus Christ as mediator; the everlasting covenant (and covenanting); and the state, as set forth in Scripture. A very rare item. A Covenanter's delight! 70 pages." -- Publisher
Carden, Allen, Puritan Christianity in America: Religion and Life in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts, ISBN: 0801025435 9780801025433.
"After exploring the Biblical basis of the Puritan movement, Carden's thematic study examines all aspects of Puritan theology as well as the Puritan's approach to the Christian life, social ethics, politics, family life, education, and culture. He concludes with an overview of the legacy bequeathed to American culture." -- GCB
Coalition on Revival, A Manifesto for the Christian Church: Declaration and Covenant, July 4, 1986, 19 pages.
Coolridge, John S., The Pauline Renaissance in England: Puritanism and the Bible, ISBN: 0198264305 9780198264309.
*Craighead, Alexander (1707-1766), Renewal of the Covenants, National and Solemn League; A Confession of Sins; An Engagement to Duties; and a Testimony; as They Were Carried on at Middle Octorara in Pennsylvania, November 11, 1743. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27. A microform copy is held at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Presbyterian Historical Society.
"A fascinating Covenanter document proclaiming that 'to the Calvinistic system of principles, and the Presbyterian form of government, this nation (the United States), is largely indebted for its civil independence and republican polity. John Calvin and John Knox are the real founders of American liberties. Their teachings, plainly deducible from the Word of God, were disseminated by the persecuted remnant of the Church of Scotland, and were generally incorporated in the structure of American independence.' Furthermore, Glasgow, in his introduction, points out that Craighead's covenanting work formed a basis for the national Declaration of Independence, which followed shorter thereafter. 'For seven years Mr. Craighead labored among the Covenanter societies; but failing to receive assistance from Scotland, he removed, in 1749, to Virginia, thence to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. There he became identified with the Presbytery in connection with the Presbyterian Church. Being thoroughly imbued, however, with the principles of the Scotch Covenanters, Mr. Craighead taught them to his people around Charlotte. They in turn formulated them into the First Declaration of Independence, emitted at Charlotte, NC, May, 1775. According to a reliable author (Wheeler's Reminiscences, p. 278). Thomas Jefferson says in his autobiography that when he was engaged in preparing the National Declaration of Independence, that he and his colleagues searched everywhere for formulas, and that the printed proceedings of Octorara, as well as the Mecklenburg Declaration, were before him, and that he freely used ideas therein contained. It is difficult to determine, therefore, the real author of American Independence. Undoubtedly the principles of the Covenanters at Octarara in 1743, the sentiments of the Presbyterians at Charlotte in 1775, and the Declaration submitted by Jefferson in 1776, contain one and the same great principles. 'Honor to whom honor is due.' However, Glasgow also reports, 'hence the Declaration of American Independence was justifiable. But when the newly-born nation ignored the God of battles, rejected the authority of the Prince of the kings of the earth, and refused to administer the government in accordance with the requirements of the Divine Law, then the same loyal Covenanters, faithful to their principles and consistent with their history through all the struggles of the centuries, dissented from the Constitution of the United States, and are justifiable in the continuance of this position of political dissent so long as the government retains its character of political atheism. We may rightfully declare our independence of wicked men and rebellious nations, but we cannot declare our independence of God, and set up a government regardless of His authority, without incurring His wrath and suffering from His desolating judgements. 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' This rare book contains much that is exceedingly valuable and the section titled 'The Declaration, Protestation, and Testimony of a Suffering Remnant of the Anti-Popish, Anti-Lutheran, Anti-Prelatic, Anti-Erastian, Anti-Latitudinarian, Anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ, in America,' is well worth the price of the book itself. With Glasgow, we set this book forth 'trusting that his work will be of historical value to all Covenanters, and interesting to all other readers,' with the hope of 'enkindling a flame of love for the glorious principles of the Word of God, and arousing an interest in the great work of National Reformation'." -- Publisher
"The first RP church in America was established at Paxtang, Pa., in 1721, and the second at Middle Octorara, Pa., in 1732, both by immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. A third edition was published in 1895 in Beaver Falls, PA." -- Gordon J. Keddie
Craighead, Renewal of the Covenants at Middle Octorara, Pennsylvania
http://www.truecovenanter.com/covenants/octorara_covenant_renewal.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Davis, D. Clair, The Church in the Modern Age: Kuyper and the Dutch Church (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette CD231 [audio file].
Davis, D. Clair, The Church in the Modern Age: Kuyper and Educational Reformation, a series of 46 audio files, (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette CD234 [audio file].
"The Church in the Modern Age" is a series including "The Church in the Modern Age: Kuyper and the Dutch Church," and "The Medieval Church: Authority," among many other lectures.
Davis, D. Clair, The Issue of Biblical Authority in the Reformation.
DeJong, Norman, Christianity and Democracy.
"He will convince you that democracy is foreign to, and is the enemy of Christianity. And in that you will see why the Christians are again facing the lion's den, being overwhelmed by the democratic society that does not consent to their rule, or even to their peaceful existence." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
De Jong, Norman, Christianity vs. Democracy
(Westminster Media), An audio file.
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), The Meaning of the City.
"Shows that the Bible contains a complete, sophisticated, coherent, teaching about cities and city life. A remarkable treatise." -- Cyril J. Barber
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Money and Power, ISBN: 0551013923 9780551013926.
"Discusses the ethics of wealth and incidentally elucidates the Biblical teaching on money and its use. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
"In this one of many brilliant books by Ellul, he exposes the folly of a purely collective, societal approach, such as that offered by communism, or capitalism. Instead, through a study of various Biblical references in the Old and New Testament, puts the responsibility on the individual. The new covenant of Jesus is compared to the Old Testament pattern of wealth as a sign of blessing. He examines the teaching of Jesus on God and Mammon. Contemporary models of stewardship are exposed as inadequate. Further, he clearly shows the underlying power money has over a person, despite any feelings of control we may think we have. The teachings of Jesus about giving and trusting provide the path to freedom -- every hair is numbered. Only by God's grace and transforming love are we able to overcome this subtle and insidious power. Highly recommended, especially at a time in our history when many have lost faith in the market." -- Reader's Comment
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Technological Bluff, ISBN: 080283678X 9780802836786.
Ericson, Edward E., Jr., Solzhenitsyn: The Moral Vision, ISBN: 0802835279 9780802835277.
Godfrey, W., Bible and Culture, (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette NP142 [audio file].
Graham, Billy (1918-2018), The A to Z Guide to Bible Application, ISBN: 0913367869 9780913367865.
Griffiths, Brian, The Creation of Wealth: A Christian's Case for Capitalism, ISBN: 0877845662: 9780877845669.
"Few people have attempted a Biblical approach to economics. Griffiths considers the theological implications after divesting contemporary theories of their humanistic values. The result is a major step forward and the proposal of solutions to the abuses that presently prevail." -- Cyril J. Barber
Grimstead, Jay (general editor), A Manifesto for the Christian Church: An act of Contrition and Humble Repentance, a Solemn Covenant, a Statement of Essential Truths, and a Call to Action, and The Essentials of a Christian Worldview (42 Articles of Affirmations and Denials) (Sunnyvale, CA [Coalition on Revival, 789 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale 94087]: Coalition on Revival, 1986).
An abridged version of the 17 sphere documents and other pertinent COR documents.
Grimstead, Jay, E., Calvin Beisner, and the Coalition on Revival (U.S.), The Foundation Documents, 59 pages. The Christian World View Series.
Coalition on Revival, A Manifesto for the Christian Church: Declaration and Covenant, July 4, 1986, 19 pages.
Grimstead, Jay, and Eugene Calvin Clingman, Rebuilding Civilization on the Bible: Proclaiming Truth on 24 Controversial Issues, ISBN: 9780988297685 098829768X.
"Contents: Biblical inerrancy | Biblical hermeneutics | The 42 articles on the Christian worldview | The 25 articles on the kingdom of God | The omniscience of God | The Pelagian controversy | The judicial and substitutionary nature of salvation | The trinity | The eternal fate of unbelievers | The lordship of Christ | Unity of the body of Christ | Church discipline | Culture, contextualization and missions | Christians' civic duties | Biblical economic systems | Marriage, divorce, and remarriage | Biblical distinctives between males and females | Homosexuality | A Biblical approach to counseling | Israel and the church | The education of Christian children | The sanctity of human life | God's law for all societies | The Biblical perspective on environmental stewardship | Closing words."
Hayes, Carlton J., Christianity and Western Civilization.
Hazlitt, Henry, The Foundations of Morality.
Includes bibliography and index.
Holmes, Arthur Frank, The Idea of a Christian College, ISBN: 0802815928 9780802815927.
"In this timely treatise Holmes sets forth the sine qua non of Christian higher education: The integration of faith and learning." -- Cyril J. Barber
"This is a revised edition of the book that first appeared in 1975. It provided a concise case for the Christian college and defines its distinctive mission and contribution. Also includes two new chapters: Liberal Arts as Career Preparation and The Marks of an Educated Person." -- GCB
*Grant, George, Bringing in the Sheaves: Transforming Poverty Into Productivity, ISBN: 0915815036 9780915815036 0915815044 9780915815043. Alternate title: PRAYING IN THE SHEAVES: TRANSFORMING POVERTY INTO PRODUCTIVITY.
"The Biblical mandate is to care for the poor, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised -- to take the salve of Gospel love to the stranger, the hungry, and the misbegotten. Rev. Grant knows the dismal failures and the Biblical solutions. He believes the Bible and the blueprint it offers can transform poverty into productivity. Unlike most other books on poverty, it is not primarily theory; it is primarily practice, Biblical practice. This is the single most helpful book on the subject." -- Publisher
Grant, George, The Dispossessed: Homelessness in America, ISBN: 0891074112: 9780891074113.
"Grant has a solution to the problem of the homeless that really works. How does he know his ideas work; he practices them. He says that the Bible speaks directly to this problem. The answer is not more government control. His ideas on homelessness and social policy are really different." -- Publisher
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
*Kantzer, Kenneth S. (editor), Applying the Scriptures: Papers From ICBI Summit III.
"This book includes 17 papers and the responses given at the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy [infallibility] in December 1986. The debate is heated at times and offers a good representation from the evangelical community. The thrust of the book is the application of God's Word to all of life." -- GCB
*Kettler, Steven C. (compiler), Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal. An Annotated Topical Bibliography of Works Containing Biblical Counsel for Persons Seeking Lasting Solutions to Life's Problems, ISBN: 0963682113 9780963682116.
A book-length annotated bibliography containing over 5700 citations by 2550 authors cross-referenced under 440 topic headings. Includes author and title, scripture, and subject indexes.
An edited version of the 1993 edition of BIBLICAL COUNSEL: RESOURCES FOR RENEWAL (1997), is available on CD-ROM in Logos Library System (LLS), format.
"This unique book-length bibliography enables the reader to bring known Biblical counselors into the home via book, audio cassette [audio file], video cassette, and the World Wide Web. Painstakingly researched over a 15-year period, it is a gold mine of Biblical wisdom. The 5,700 titles by 2,300 authors include little known and hard to find books, for example, 273 Reformed classics. The breadth of the collection evidences the interrelationship of absolute truth, life, moral behavior, the law, freedom, obedience, social stability, and the positive sanctions of God. Therefore, it is a strong apologetic for the Biblical Christianity of our forefathers, that aimed to be true to Christ." -- Publisher
Logos Research Systems
http://www.logos.com
The Web Edition of Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrrhome.html
Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal
http://books.google.com/books?id=j4vzqat_dqEC&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Some Complementary Works
http://www.lettermen2.com/somecomp.html
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Kuyper, Abraham, Lectures on Calvinism, ISBN: 9781598564440 1598564447. Alternate title: CHRISTIANITY AS A LIFE-SYSTEM: THE WITNESS OF A WORLD VIEW.
"A reprint of the Stone Lectures delivered at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898 focusing attention on the fundamental problem facing Christianity in Europe and America: the secularization of church and society."
Leming, James S. (compiler), Foundations of Moral Education: An Annotated Bibliography, ISBN: 0313241651 9780313241659.
"This bibliography is designed to be used in two ways. The first, through the author and subject indexes, should enable the user to identify items and subjects of interest. The second approach may be more efficient. The arrangement of the bibliography allows the user to peruse related items of interest and determine the amount of information available on a given subject. Whichever method is chosen, the information contained within these covers would help to facilitate research on the all-important issue of moral education." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Machen, J. Gresham (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, ISBN: 0802811213.
"Machen's classic was written in the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA (the most prominent of the "mainline denominations), and defines with brilliance the battle lines between liberal (so-called), Christianity and the orthodox faith. Moreover, it points out exactly what is at stake: the true faith, or a perverse shadow of that faith, a shadow based on subjectivism which elevates man's sovereignty over God's and ends in believing nothing at all.
"The one problem with this book (and it made good rhetorical sense at the time, but is somewhat misleading concerning the true nature of the struggle), is Machen's categories. Machen deals with theological conservatives and liberals (legitimate in terms of the Bible's own theological dichotomy between saved and lost), but misses the inescapable fact that there was a third faction at work (a fact which eventually resulted in his defrocking). That third faction was a great mushy evanjellyfish middle, a pietistic/mystical majority which was neither willing to accept the liberal position nor fight for the conservative one. As Machen rightly pointed out two years earlier in his address to incoming students at Princeton (and again, much later, in the last two years of the struggle), these were the Christians who said '"Peace, peace",' when there was no peace,' and elevated that 'peace' over truth. As in all other endeavors, 'peace at any price' resulted in defeat, and in the end, it was that great mushy middle which delivered the PCUSA to the left and off the cliff.
"But it wasn't them alone. To see the mistakes of the conservative side, I strongly recommend North's CROSSED FINGERS, the only definitive history of this fight.
"Yet at the end of the day, you must read Machen. This book is vital for Christians defending their churches and denominations against increasing liberal encroachment, and indeed more so by the day. A great read." -- Reader's Comment
"Still stands, after many years, as one of the strongest books ever written against liberalism. A complete and thorough critique." -- GCB
*Machen, Gresham J., Education, Christianity and the State, ISBN: 0940931192 9780940931190.
"Machen was one of the foremost educators, theologians, and defenders of Christianity in the twentieth century. The author of numerous scholarly books, Machen saw clearly that if Christianity is to survive and flourish, a system of Christian grade schools must be established. This collection of essays captures his thought on education over nearly three decades.
"What role does the government have to play in education? What is the relationship between faith and knowledge? Is scholarship important, or is education the same as training? This book has been adopted as required reading by a large college in Florida. It may be studied with profit by teachers, parents, and students. Contents include: Faith and Knowledge, The Importance of Christian Scholarship, Christianity and Culture, Reforming the Government Schools, The Necessity of The Christian School, Shall We Have a Federal Department of Education? Proposed Department of Education, The Christian School: The Hope of America, Westminster Theological Seminary: Its Purpose and Plan." -- The Trinity Foundation
Marshall, John Lewis, Natural Law and the Covenant: The Place of Natural Law in the Covenantal Framework of Samuel Rutherford's "Lex, Rex."
A dissertation. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Theological Seminary, 1995.
Martin, Hugh (editor, 1822-1885), Christian Social Reformers of the Nineteenth Century, ISBN: 0836915267 9780836915266.
Mason, Archibald (d. 1831), The Fall of Babylon the Great, by the Agency of Christ, and Through the Instrumentality of His Witnesses: In Four Discourses, 1821. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #14.
"This book is made up of six sermons and one lengthy lecture. The first two sermons (on Rev. 8:5 [Revelation 8:5]), deal with 'Christ the Mediatorial Angel, Casting the Fire of Divine Judgments Into the Earth.' The next two sermons (on Rev. 11:6 [Revelation 11:6]), treat 'Christ's Two Witnesses Smiting the anti-Christian Earth With All Plagues, As Often As They Will.' The first four sermons cover 112 pages. These works are followed with 'Remarks on the Sixth Vial, Symbolizing the Fall of the Turkish Empire' on Rev. 16:12 [Revelation 16:12], (24 pages), 'Remarks on the Seventh Vial, Symbolizing the Fall of Popery and Despotism' Rev. 16:17 [Revelation 16:17], and 21:5,6 [Revelation 21:5,6], (24 pages), and the final discourse, 'Observations on the Public Covenants Between God and the Church' (104 pages), taking off from, They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. (Jer. 11:10 [Jeremiah 11:10]). David Steele, in his classic NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE includes Mason among his list of 'distinguished and approved interpreters of the book of Revelation'." -- Publisher
McKnight, William John (1865-1951), The Scriptures the Supreme Guide in the Affairs of Men.
Medved, Michael, Hollywood vs. America: Popular Culture and the war Against Traditional Values, ISBN: 0060924357 9780060924355.
"The author exposes the attacks by the motion picture industry, television, and music stars against the church and Christians. He expresses our frustrations. He not only suggests a way out for Hollywood, but also concrete suggestions for concerned citizens who want to protect themselves and their children." -- GCB
Miller, C. John (1928-1996), A Christian View of Sexuality (parts 1 and 2) (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassettes CM108 and CM108A [audio file].
Miller, Darrow L., and Stan Guthrie, Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures, ISBN: 1576580156 9781576580158.
"In DISCIPLING NATIONS, Darrow Miller walks us through the ever-unfolding nature of the relationship between God and man-the Scriptures-revealing a very clear, evidential and logical Development Ethic that can only be understood, and therefore, realized, in the context of the Biblical worldview. Unveiling the other prevailing worldviews, Miller exposes the inevitable implications and consequences they have on human development and boldly builds a case for intolerance of these lies -- lies that impoverish individual souls and entire nations.
"Having implications not only upon Relief and Development, DISCIPLING NATIONS is a must-read for every Christian! Pastors, Counselors, Educators, Scientists, Mathematicians, Physicists, Astronomers and Technologists, as well as Christian Fundamentalists and Apologist, can all derive benefit from the continuity and comprehensiveness of this book. I think they will find many ground-breaking, certainly thought-provoking, and, hopefully, transformational, Truths and ideas, that, to this point, and for many reasons, have not yet had the impact that God intended on their lives and/or their vocations. Such has been the case for me. For others, especially those already engaged in Relief and Development work, it will be controversial -- challenging their worldviews and calling for the transformation of their own minds before even considering developing others." -- Reader's Comment
Mooney, S.C., Usury: Destroyer of Nations.
"Nothing quite like this book to be found anywhere which thoroughly covers this important topic of usury (charging interest), from a foundation of God's Word. A definition and history of usury is given along with a survey of Biblical texts and popular excuses for usury. Mooney concludes with a call to repentance." -- GCB
Includes bibliographical references.
Nash, Ronald H., Poverty and Wealth: The Christian Debate Over Capitalism, ISBN: 0891074023 9780891074021.
"This book demonstrates that of all economic systems that are in use on this planet capitalism is the one based on the Bible's whole teaching. Some systems emphasize one teaching of the Bible to the exclusion of the others. True capitalism takes the whole of the Bible into view. Nash is right-on!" -- GCB
Nelson, Robert H., Reaching for the Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of Economics, ISBN: 0822630249 9780822630241.
"Nelson has labeled the two great traditions the Roman and the Protestant. Thinkers whom he categorizes as Roman tend to believe deeply in reason, that mankind can improve his lot, find salvation even, by applying reason. Thinkers in the Protestant tradition do not have such faith. They see mankind as depraved and alienated, to be saved by grace or some other force outside its own power. They despair of the institution set up to govern mankind, pointing out that such creations do not perform as intended (that is, as reason might dictate), but willy-nilly. They become bureaucratic, if not corrupt, and need to be overthrown. . . . Nelson is an economist by training, and one of his aims is to show the roots of modern economic ideas in these Roman and Protestant traditions. . . . ." -- Jean A. Briggs
Newell, John, and John C. Lord, "The Higher law," in its Application to the Fugitive Slave Bill: Review of Dr. John C. Lord's Sermon, on the Duties men owe to God and to Governments, 1851.
Noll, Mark A., The Image of the United States as a Biblical Nation: 1776-1865 (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette RR102 [audio file].
Noll, Mark A. (editor), and David F. Wells (editor), Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology From an Evangelical Point of View, ISBN: 0802802796 9780802802798.
A collection of various addresses.
North, Gary, Victim's Rights: The Biblical View of Civil Justice, ISBN: 0930464176 9780930464172. Alternate title: THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF VICTIM'S RIGHTS.
"A study of what the Bible says our judicial systems should be like. North contends that Scripture clearly shows that (in ancient days), they were 'harsh on criminals' in order to be 'soft on victims' -- the reverse of the modern approach in our culture." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/sidefrm4.htm
*Perks, Stephen C., The Christian Philosophy of Education Explained, ISBN: 0951889907 9780951889909.
"The editor of Calvinism Today magazine has written a book which, in the words of Samuel L. Blumenfeld, demonstrates with simplicity the cogent argument that the Christian and humanist worldviews are mutually exclusive, and that it is 'treason against God' to put children in the hands of non-believers for their education. Every Christian parent should read this challenging, forthright, insightful book before deciding where and how to educate his or her children." -- GCB
*Price, Greg L., Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
"This is the best modern testimony for the biblical principles of civil magistracy -- which were so prominent during the height of the Second Reformation -- that we have seen. Price documents the teachings of many of the major Reformers (and some of the church fathers), and in an easy reading manner simplifies what can at times become a very complex subject. This particular Reformation message, proclaiming Christ's Kingship over the nations (and the practical outworking of the same), has been buried from the view of the general public for some time now, but is once again being brought to light in this very helpful introductory book. A sobering appendix has been added (written by a friend of the Covenanted Reformation), which shows why it is unlawful for a Christian to swear any oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. This appendix also compares the points of difference between classic (or historic), Reformed teaching and modern Reformed teaching regarding magistracy and religion. Special attention is given to the OPC, the PCA and the RPCNA and the changes that these groups have made to Second Reformation confessional standards (concerning matters related to the civil magistrate). Statements by B.B. Warfield are also contrasted to the older Reformed views. You won't find a better easy-to-read and easy to understand introduction to this important topic -- a topic which impacts directly on every Christian's testimony for the crown rights of King Jesus!" -- Publisher
"It is this author's contention that the modern churches have let go of this important piece of the faith [Christ's Kingship over the nations -- compiler], once for all delivered to the saints. Thereby they have delivered the church, not to kings as nursing fathers, but to the cruel civil domination of the enemies of the true religion, their sheep being taught that they must submit passively to every pretended civil authority as the ordinance of God. By this defection, these leaders of the flock have also undermined the magistracy, allowing and even encouraging wicked men to remove this blessed ordinance from its foundation in God its creator, and from its subjection to Christ His King, thereby directly opposing God's benevolent ends in instituting civil government: Thus have [they] made the commandment of God of none effect by [their] tradition. . . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:6,9). Furthermore, by their false teaching regarding civil government, they have made themselves guilty of the very sin of which we are often accused: opposing the ordinance of God. If this wasn't enough, however, consider that their sin is worse than that of the garden variety rebel, inasmuch as their opposition to God's institution is not so much practical as it is principal; and because of their position as teachers and guides of the flock of God. 'Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. . . . For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.' (James 3:1; II Cor. 13:8 [2 Corinthians 13:8]) -- Greg Price (Biblical Civil Government Verses the Beast, pp. 64)
Biblical Civil Government Versus the Beast; and, the Basis for Civil Resistance, Greg Price
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/BibCG_GP.htm
Price, Greg L., Biblical Civil Rule Expounded, (Micah 3:1-4), an audio file. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Following in the footsteps of Samuel Rutherford, when he said, 'Truth to Christ cannot be treason to Caesar' LEX, REX, Price here demonstrates why Covenanters love lawful civil magistrates and why they can't own the authority of unlawful civil rulers. He also answers a number of questions on the Scriptural view of civil authority. What is a faithful civil magistrate? How do we recognize an unfaithful civil governor? Should a Christian vote in covenant breaking lands? How should we pray for lawful and unlawful civil rulers? Why should we distinguish between the office and the person in the office, and what does this mean? When should we consider an unjust ruler or government a tyrant and what should we do about tyranny? How does this relate to Reformation eschatology? Calvin, Rutherford, the Synod of Dort [Dordt], the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646], Diodati's Annotations, the Belgic Confession and many other Reformation standards and authors are cited to witness to the biblical position on civil rule. Objections against the biblical Reformation position are also answered, while Price shows the importance of faithful civil rulers to national and international Reformation." -- Publisher
*Price, Greg L., Covenant Theology and its Implications. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27 and #28.
"An easy-to-understand introduction to the basics of Covenant Theology. Explains what Covenant Theology is, while adducing a number of practical and theological implications which must follow when this view of Scripture is adopted. Shows how Covenant Theology is (and was), foundational to all true Reformation. Refutes Dispensationalism. Includes overviews (with Scripture proofs), of the covenant of Redemption, the covenant of Works and the covenant of Grace. In short, Price proclaims the classic Reformed position on covenants (and the implications of covenant theology), as it has been declared in the best Reformed Confessions (e.g. The Westminster Confession of Faith [1646]) and in books like THE MARROW OF MODERN DIVINITY (by Fisher and Boston), THE COVENANT OF LIFE OPENED (by Samuel Rutherford), THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OPENED and THE ARK OF THE TESTAMENT OPENED by Patrick Gillespie and THE LIFE OF JUSTIFICATION OPENED (by John Brown of Wamphray). This is the best single tape sermon on Covenant Theology that we have knowledge of." -- Publisher
Covenant Theology and its Implications a sermon by Greg Price
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=22801202653
*Price, Greg L., The Extent of God's Law, Antichrist, Beastly Civil Governments, the Family, Christian Education, Contentment and the Eight Commandment, MP3. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"An amazing unfolding of the eighth commandment, as well as the rest of the decalogue, which includes numerous specific applications to various areas of thought and life (most relevant to the contemporary Christian). Price explains how to avoid the extremes of legalism and antinomianism, while expounding the classic Reformed view of the law as it applies to the individual, family, church and state." -- Publisher
Reed, Kevin, Presbyterian Government in Extraordinary Times. Available in LIBRARY OF PRESBYTERIAN HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS AND PROTESTANT HERITAGE PRESS CD-ROM LIBRARY.
Presbyterian Government in Extraordinary Times
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/PGET_ch0.htm
Reid, W. Stanford, Christianity and Scholarship.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008, editor), Christ and Civilization, ISBN: 1891777246 9781891777240.
"A new 48-page booklet. Includes a complete listing (in an additional 16 pages), of the books currently available from The Trinity Foundation."
Christ and Civilization
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/200a-ChristandCivilization.pdf
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, John Owen, Thomas Manton, The Westminster Assembly, James Renwick, Archibald Mason, Christopher Ness, Francis Turretin, The Reformed Presbytery, David Steel, James R. Willson, Alexander M'Leod, William L. Roberts, James Aiken Wylie, Andrew Wilet, Henry Wilkinson, James Wylie, Patrick Fairbairn, James Aiken, Andrew Wilet, Alexander Hislop, Francis Nigel Lee, Arthur W. Pink, and so forth, and so on, have all believed and argued in print that the seated Pope is the Antichrist of the Bible.
The Roman Church-State is "the world's oldest, largest, most powerful and most influential politico-ecclesiastical institution" and it "may also be the world's wealthiest." The Roman Catholic Institution is the ultimate "negative guide to the positive," the reformers ultimate "opposite guide to political and economic reform."
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Money, Freedom and the Bible.
"Paul does not regard government as provider of income, health care, education, national parks, money, or any of the other services common to our modern welfare states; its function is quite simple: to punish wrongdoers." A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation Conference, August 1989.
Rookmaaker, H., Toward a Christian View of Culture (part 1 and 2), (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette RR101 [audio file].
Rose, Tom, Economics: Principles and Policy From a Christian Perspective, ISBN: 0915134225 9780915134229.
"This book covers the nature of economics and the nature of man, the Bible and economics, basic economics, the distribution and market system, and more. Here is a good place to start for a proper understanding of money. Could easily be used as a textbook." -- GCB
*Rush, Myron D., Management: A Biblical Approach, ISBN: 0882076078 9780882076072.
"Help for the Christian leader from the president of Management Training Systems. The author combines sound management techniques and Biblical principles. The result is management that the Christian can live and work with." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, Rousas John (1916-2001), The Foundations of Social Order: Studies in the Creed and Councils of the Early Church, ISBN: 1879998122 9781879998124. Available through Exodus Books.
"Tampering with our basic social order is tampering with the religious beliefs that underlie it." -- GCB
"One of the seminal works of Christian scholarship, by one of the few men who actually believed that the Bible is authoritative. A study in the early Church's battles with various forms of heresy, that were then put down in creeds. But Rushdoony does something more: he puts these creeds in philosophical context, showing that these creeds actually do much more than simply make a statement about the faith.
"Should be read in conjunction with his THE ONE AND THE MANY." -- Reader's Comment
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Institutes of Biblical Law, 3 volumes, ISBN: 1879998130. Available through Exodus Books.
Volume 1: Institutes of Biblical Law, ISBN: 0875524109.*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), The Nature of the American System. Available through Exodus Books.
"A monumental volume . . . Deeply explores the meaning and application of the Ten Commandments for today in civil government, social ethics, and personal conduct." -- GCB
"Many consider this to be the author's most important work. With indices." -- Publisher
Volume 2: Law and Society, ISBN: 1879998238.
"The relationship of Biblical Law to communion and community, the sociology of the Sabbath, the family and inheritance, and much more are covered in the second volume. Contains an appendix by Herbert Titus. With indices." -- Publisher
Volume 3: The Intent of the Law, ISBN: 1879998130.
" 'God's law is much more than a legal code; it is a covenantal law. It establishes a personal relationship between God and man.' The first section summarizes the case laws. The author tenderly illustrates how the law is for our good, and makes clear the difference between the sacrificial laws and those that apply today. The second section vividly shows the practical implications of the law. The examples catch the reader's attention; the author clearly has had much experience discussing God's law. The third section shows that would-be challengers to God's law produce only poison and death. Only God's law can claim to express God's 'covenant grace in helping us'. With indices." -- Publisher
See also: Theft: Commentary and Cases of Conscience. A Listing Excerpted From The Institutes of Biblical Law by Rousas John Rushdoony, 1973 edition
http://www.lettermen2.com/theft.html
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Salvation and Godly Rule, ISBN: 999144789X. Available through Exodus Books.
"The Christian is commissioned to bring all things into captivity to Christ. Godly rule in our personal, family, social, vocation, political, and economic life is a consequence of salvation. Includes 72 short chapters, over 500 pages." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, R.J. (1916-2001), This Independent Republic: Studies in the Nature and Meaning of American History. Available through Exodus Books.
"First published in 1964 and out of print for many years, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction.
"These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence; Sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution; The desire for land as a consequence of the belief in 'inheriting the land' as a future blessing, not an immediate economic asset; Federalism's localism as an inheritance of feudalism; The local control of property as a guarantee of liberty; Why federal elections were long considered of less importance than local politics; How early American ideas attributed to democratic thought were based on religious ideals of communion and community; and The absurdity of a mathematical concept of equality being applied to people. With index." -- Publisher
*Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, ISBN: 0873779517. Alternate title: A TREATISE OF CIVIL POLICY: BEING A RESOLUTION OF FORTY THREE QUESTIONS CONCERNING PREROGATIVE, RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE, IN REFERENCE TO THE SUPREME PRINCE AND THE PEOPLE. / BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY OF ST ANDREWS IN SCOTLAND. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #10, #25.
" 'Lex, rex' is Latin for 'law is king.'
"LEX, REX is 'the great political text of the Covenanters.' (Johnston citing Innes in Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 305). 'Rutherford was the first to formulate the great constitutional principle Lex est Rex -- the law is King . . . much of the doctrine has become the constitutional inheritance of all countries in modern times.'
"Gilmour writes [in SAMUEL RUTHERFORD], 'that, as regards religious fervour, scholastic subtlety of intellect, and intensity of ecclesiastical conviction, Samuel Rutherford is the most distinctively representative Scotsman in the first half of the seventeenth century'." -- Publisher
"Without a doubt one of the greatest books on political philosophy ever written. Rutherford here has penned a great Christian charter of liberty against all forms of civil tyranny -- vindicating the Scriptural duty to resist tyrants as an act of loyalty to God." -- Publisher
"That resistance to lawful authority -- even when that authority so called has, in point of fact, set at nought 'all law' -- is in no instance to be vindicated, will be held by those only who are the devotees of arbitrary power and passive obedience. The principles of Mr. Rutherford's LEX, REX, however obnoxious they may be to such men, are substantially the principles on which all government is founded, and without which the civil magistrate would become a curse rather than a blessing to a country. They are the very principles which lie at the basis of the British Constitution, and by whose tenure the House of Brunswick does at this very moment hold possession of the throne of these realms." -- Rev. Robert Burns, D.D., in his "Preliminary Dissertation" to Wodrow's Church History
Additional sources of text related to LEX REX are as follows:
"Though Rutherford is affectionately remembered in our day for his LETTERS, or for laying the foundations of constitutional government (against the divine right of kings), in his unsurpassed LEX, REX, his FREE DISPUTATION should not be overlooked, for it contains the same searing insights as LEX, REX. In fact, this book [A FREE DISPUTATION AGAINST PRETENDED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE -- compiler] should probably be known as Rutherford's 'politically incorrect' companion volume to LEX, REX. It is a sort of sequel aimed at driving pluralists and antinomians insane. Written against 'the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious Tolerations of Sects and Heresies,' Rutherford explains the undiluted Biblical solution to moral relativism, especially as it is expressed in ecclesiastical and civil pluralism! (Corporate pluralism being a violation of the first commandment, and an affront to the holy God of Scripture)." -- Publisher
A HIND LET LOOSE by Alexander Shields is sometimes referred to as 'Lex, Rex, Volume Two.'
A Hind let Loose; or An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. . . . by Mr. Alexander Shields, Minister of the Gospel, in St. Andrews
http://www.truecovenanter.com/shields/
A Hind let Loose; or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ
"This book sets forth the Crown rights of King Jesus, against all usurpers in both church and state, giving a history of some of faithful sufferings endured by the elect, in maintaining this truth." -- Publisher
http://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie
"This [THE DUE RIGHT OF PRESBYTERIES OR A PEACEABLE PLEA FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], could be considered the LEX, REX of church government -- another exceedingly rare masterpiece of Presbyterianism! Characterized by Walker as sweeping 'over a wider field than most'." -- Publisher
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), Lex, rex: The law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People (1843)
http://archive.org/details/lexrexlawandpri00ruthgoog
Lex, rex, or The law and the Prince, Samuel Rutherford
"Rutherford is to be praised for his teaching that the king is subject to the law of God. The Bible has nothing but condemnation for those who frame mischief by a law and declares rhetorically, Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? (Psalm 94:20). Deuteronomy 17 is the classic passage in defense of LEX, REX, wherein the king is charged to read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 17:19)." -- Publisher
http://www.constitution.org/sr/lexrex.htm
Lex, rex: the law and the Prince, a Dispute for the Just Prerogative of King and People, containing the reasons and causes of the defensive wars of the kingdom of Scotland, and of their expedition for the ayd and help of their brethren of England. In which a full answer is given to a seditious pamphlet, intituled, Sacro-sancta regum majestas, penned by J. Maxwell. By S. Rutherford. [Followed by], De jure regni apud Scotos; a dialogue, tr. by R. Macfarlan (repr. from the ed. of 1799).
http://books.google.com/books?id=jtYDAAAAQAAJ&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Brutus, Junius, The Covenant Between God and Kings, from A DEFENSE OF LIBERTY
http://www.constitution.org/vct/vindiciae1a.htm
*Shaw, J.W., Hephzibah Beulah. Our Covenants the National and Solemn League; and Covenanting by the Reformed Presbyterian Synod in America: Considered, 1872. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
"A very useful, easy-to-read, introductory work (by an RPCNA minister), to the topics it deals with. General Scriptural principles upon which this book is based are:
1. Departure from former laudable attainments, is a great evil, severely threatened in the Holy Scriptures; and that for which every one, who is guilty, must be accountable to the Righteous Judge of all the earth."Chapters include: The National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant reviewed; Their Binding Obligations Shown; The Possibility That Adherence to Them may be Professed, While They are Virtually Abandoned; The Covenant Sworn and Subscribed by Synod at Pittsburgh, May 27th, 1871; Is it a Renovation or a new Covenant?; The Covenant Does not Contain all That the Church is Bound to in America; Charges Against the Covenant; Reason why Some who do not Like it, Swear it; The Covenants National and Solemn League Must Be Maintained." -- Publisher
2. They who consent unto the unrighteous deeds of others, are chargeable with guilt, as well as the principal actors.
3. Societies, or individuals, having once publicly and solemnly vowed unto the Most High God; and still, after the strictest enquiry, remain satisfied in their own mind, that their vows were scriptural; should seriously endeavor to act up to the true spirit and intention of these vows; and no power upon earth, nor any class of men, whether majority or minority, in a nation, can ever possibly dissolve the obligation.
Simms, Samuel, The Covenanter's Catechism, or, An Exposition of the Scriptural Doctrine of Public Social, or National Covenanting: With an Examination of the British Covenants, and Their Bearing Upon the Present Position of Affairs, Civil and Ecclesiastic. Alternate title: EXPOSITION OF THE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF PUBLIC SOCIAL, OR NATIONAL COVENANTING.
*Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich (1918-2008), One Word of Truth: The Nobel Speech on Literature 1970, ISBN: 0060139439 9780060139438. A Christian classic.
The author saw the Christian faith as "the only force capable of undertaking the spiritual healing of Russia."
Translated from the Russian by the members of the BBC Russian Service.
One Word of Truth . . .
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html
Sproull, Thomas (1803-1892), The Loyal Archite: or, The Attributes of Legitimate Civil Government.
http://www.covenanter.org/TSproull/archite.htm
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The ten commandments: the moral law, Words of christ appearing in the web edition of biblical counsel: resources for renewal, Acts of faithful assemblies, Separation, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Mind control, intimidation, and coercion, Biblical economics, Modern myths and fallacies, Divine providence, Calvinism, The doctrine of man, The law and the court base, Education, Systematic theology, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Homelessness, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Christianity in the workplace, and so forth, and so on.
Apologetics #24: The Recovery of Christian Theism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 58 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=3205142039
The Christian and Politics #02: The Christian Heritage of America (American Background)
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1270518276
The Christian and Politics #06: The Effects of Deism and Democracy on our Christian Heritage
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183120
Institute for Christian Economics
Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Puritan Downloads, The Puritan Hard Drive
http://www.puritandownloads.com/swrb-puritan-hard-drive.html
Selling the Birthright: The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Appendix H, Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus, by Gary North, pages 1190-1216.
Gary North, Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
The Trinity Foundation
http://trinityfoundation.org/
*Brakel, Wilhelmus à (1635-1711), The Christian's Reasonable Service: in Which Divine Truths Concerning the Covenant of Grace are Expounded, defended against opposing parties, and their practice advocated, as well as the administration of this Covenant in the Old and New Testaments, vol. 1 and 2. A Christian classic.
Brakel "blends doctrine, experience, and practice with great skill and power. There is here a vast amount of nourishment for both mind and heart." -- J.I. Packer
"The four volume set so beautifully published by Soli Deo Gloria is a Calvinistic set of theology that is warm, practical and extremely Biblical. A' Brakel was often dubbed the 'Dutch Calvin.' Dr. Joel Beeke considers this set to be his favorite Dutch theological work. If you are looking for a systematic theology shot through with pastoral warmth, look no further." -- Reader's Comment
The Pastoral and Practical Theology of Wilhelmus à Brakel: A Brief Evaluation of THE CHRISTIAN'S REASONABLE SERVICE, Bartel Elshout, B.A.
http://www.frcna.org/Data/StudentSocietySpeeches/The%20Pastoral%20and%20%20Practical%20Theology%20of%20%20Wilhelmus%20%20%20Brakel%20-%20Rev.%20Bartel%20Elshout.pdf
*De Graaf, Simon Gerrit, Promise and Deliverance, 4 volumes (Scarsdale, NY [Westminster Discount Book Service, P.O. Box 125H, Scarsdale 10583]: Westminster Discount Book Service, 1977) ISBN: 0888150024 9780888150028 0888150067 9780888150066 0888150083 9780888150080 0888150105 9780888150103 0887560547 9780887560545. Translated from the Dutch by H. Evan Runner and Elisabeth Wichers Runner. A Christian classic.
"A landmark in interpreting the simple stories of the Bible . . . an invaluable resource for teachers, ministers, and parents." -- Christianity Today
"In Scripture, religion means covenant. By His Word, God called into being an order of creation culminating in man. By that Word He also gave man His favor and brought him into a life of conscious covenantal fellowship with Himself. As De Graaf himself puts it: 'Without covenant, there is no religion, no conscious fellowship between man and God, no exchange of love and faithfulness. Without the covenant, man would be just an instrument in God's hand. When God created man, He had more than an instrument in mind: He made a creature that could respond to Him. . . .'
"This renewed insight into Biblical revelation is the perspective undergirding De Graaf's treatment of all Bible stories. It makes his book a unique presentation of God's revelation of Himself in the covenant and keeps his interpretations of the stories from degenerating into mere moralizing. Religion is not morality." -- H. Evan Runner
"I highly recommend this book. One of the best books available." -- R.C. Sproul
*Kuyper, Abraham, Lectures on Calvinism, ISBN: 9781598564440 1598564447. Alternate title: CHRISTIANITY AS A LIFE-SYSTEM: THE WITNESS OF A WORLD VIEW.
"A reprint of the Stone Lectures delivered at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898 focusing attention on the fundamental problem facing Christianity in Europe and America: the secularization of church and society."
*Kuyper, Abraham, The Work of the Holy Spirit. A Christian classic.
"One of the most important and comprehensive contributions to the study of this great theme." -- William J. Grier
*Witsius, Herman (1636-1708), The Economy of the Covenants. Alternate title: THE OECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, COMPREHENDING A COMPLETE BODY OF DIVINITY. BY HERMAN WITSIUS, . . . FAITHFULLY TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN, AND CAREFULLY REVISED, BY WILLIAM CROOKSHANK, D.D. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. . . . VOL. 1. DUBLIN, 1774, 3 vols., ISBN: 0875528708. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #27.
Witsius is considered to be the father of Covenant Theology.
"Witsius (1636-1708), was a Dutch theologian, professor of Divinity at the Universities of Frankes, Utrecht, and Leyden. . . . In the very full introduction by J.I. Packer, you can get a very good overview. And at the same time you will get a succinct but amazingly appropriate overview of the scriptural covenants. . . . Packer compares Witsius to John Owen as a thorough, meticulous scholar who thought through everything before he set his pen to paper. It was this reviewer's blessing to obtain a set of Witsius in his early Christian life, and can testify to much help from them." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Witsius, Herman, The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man: Comprehending a Complete Body of Divinity (1837)
http://archive.org/details/MN41373ucmf_5
Witsius, Herman, Of Election from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_election.html
Witsius, Herman, Of Justification, from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_justification.html
Witsius, Herman, Of the Violation of the Covenant of Works on the Part of Man from ECONOMY OF THE COVENANTS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gospel/witsius_violation_of_the_Covenant_of_Works.html
Wylie, James Aiken (1808-1890), History of Protestantism in the Netherlands. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #30.
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, and so forth, and so on.
These are the things that ye shall do; speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord. (Zechariah 8:16, 17)A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it: and a flattering mouth worketh ruin. (Proverbs 26:28)
If we listen closely to others, then we may get a warning that they may eventually harm us. The warning, of course, is any falsehood in their words.There are three kinds of lies: a lie told, a lie taught, a lie acted out. -- Joseph Caryl
The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality, but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact. (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21b; Ecclesiastes 9:3b; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3-5) -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990). See John Calvin's Commentary on Isaiah Chapter 33 [Isaiah 33:1-66].
Love to God is armour of proof against error. For want of hearts full of love, men have heads full of error; unholy opinions are for want of holy affections. -- Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
We are an illiterate nation incapable of understanding great truth. -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999)
Historical orthodox Christian beliefs are being validated by modern information technology, while at the same time modern myths are crumbling under the powerful research capabilities of the information age. Some modern myths that have crumbled in recent years are as follows:
1. The United States of America is a Christian Nation. The secularization of America stems from the fact that the Philadelphia lawyers overturned the "existing Trinitarian judicial foundations of colonial citizenship. . . . The ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 created a new nation based on a new covenant. The nation had broken with its Christian judicial roots by covenanting with a new god, the sovereign People. . . ." See:
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
Selling the Birthright: The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Appendix H, Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus, by Gary North, pages 1190-1216.
Gary North, Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
2. The myth of the separation of Church and State. See: Church and State and The Covenanted Reformation of Scotland Author/Title Listing. States, in fact, become religious entities.
3. The hoax of evolution has been disproven with incontrovertible evidence. See: Biblical Creationism (Intelligent Design), and Evolutionism.
4. The hoax of Higher Criticism has been exposed and the invalid texts discredited. Furthermore, it has been shown that a literal translation of the Holy Bible is intelligible to anyone with an elementary school education, therefore practically everyone can read the authentic text of the Bible without learning Greek and Hebrew. See: Textual Criticism.
5. The things of God can not be expressed in human language.
6. Dispensationalism, the prescribed belief of mainline Protestant Christianity for the last century, has fallen. Christian scholarship has brought to light the doctrinal fallacies of dispensationalism and is returning us to the position of the Puritan Divines of the seventeenth century. The Golden Age of Theology gave us much of our classic Christian literature as well as "our first written constitutions, regular elections, the secret ballot, the federalist principle, and separation of church and state (interpreted in its true sense).
There is an awareness today of the broadly crippling effect of dispensational theology and premillenial eschatology on the social impact of Christianity.
7. The reports of Kinsey on sexuality have been conclusively proven to be one of the most egregious falsehoods of our time.
8. Psychology has been proven to be a religion in and of itself.
9. The myth of the compatibility of Christianity and the cults has been thoroughly disproven. See: Pseudo-Christian Movements: A Selection of Works."
The four "Servant Songs" of Isaiah are Isaiah 42:1-9; Isaiah 49:1-7; Isaiah 50:4-11; and Isaiah 52:13 -- Isaiah 53:12. See the annotations in The Reformation Study Bible.
Our Triune God has ordained that the preeminent leader of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God Man, Our Righteousness. (John 1:1-18; Matthew 19:30; Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 49:7; Colossians 1:16-19; Colossians 2:9,10; Hebrews 12:1,2; Revelation 5:1-14; Revelation 19:11-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 22:12, and so forth, and so on). Human leadership is also divinely ordained and tends to devolve to those who are most perfectly at one with Christ, and to those who also know the most Truth (the Apostle Paul, Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Puritan leaders, The Scots Worthies, and so forth, and so on).
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:28). See: (Matthew 19:28, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then his master said unto him, It is well done good servant and faithful, Thou hast been faithful in little, I will make thee ruler over much: enter into thy master's joy. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:21) (Matthew 25:21 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:34). See: (Matthew 25:34, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he said unto him, Well, good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little thing, take thou authority over ten cities. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:17) (Luke 19:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:29) (Luke 22:29, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17). See: (Romans 8:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:3). See: (1 Corinthians 6:3, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6). See: (Ephesians 2:6, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and corrections among the people:
To bind their kings in chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,
That they may execute upon them the judgment that is written: this honor shall be to all his Saints. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 149:7-9) (Psalm 149:7-9, 1599 Geneva Bible)
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:12), (1 Timothy 2:12, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:26). See: (Revelation 2:26, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To serve God is to reign. -- Seneca (4 BC -- 65 AD)The notion that additional government expenditures magically increase national output is ingrained in the national psyche. Keynesian economics professors can certainly take credit for this mindset; it is they who have schooled multiple generations of college students in Keynesian multiplier analysis.
The professors' counter intuitive tease in this effort has always been what is called the 'balanced budget multiplier.' (BBM) That is, even with equal increases in government spending and taxes increase output, output should supposedly rise by the same amount that spending and taxes rise . . .
The BBM is so at odds with simple economic logic that it should be an embarrassment for the economics profession. Strong words? Yes. But how else to describe economic nonsense? If output and taxes rise by the same amount, producers' after-tax income is unaltered by the fiscal action. -- T. Norman Van Cott, "Keynesian Multipliers are Like Dogs Chasing Their Tails"But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. (1 Timothy 4:7)
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:44)
If the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Bible, the God of historic, orthodox Christianity, is in fact Absolute Truth. If in fact Truth is one of His attributes, then political polytheism, pluralism, and political correctness are all a myth and false.
A simple democracy is the devil's own government. -- Benjamin Rush (1746-1813)
If the people be governors, who shall be governed? -- John Cotton (1584-1652)
Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. -- William Penn (1644-1718)
Probably the most carefully perpetrated lie of the Devil is "sin is pleasurable." -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007)
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:25-26)
This clause ought to be carefully noticed; for we here learn that we ought to shun as a deadly poison whatever cannot be enjoyed without offending God; for the pleasures of sin he calls all the allurements of the world which draw us away from God and our calling. But the comforts of our earthly life, which we are allowed by pure conscience, and God's permission to enjoy, are not included here. Let us then ever remember that we ought to know and understand what God allows us. There are indeed some things in themselves lawful, but the use of which is prohibited to us, owing to circumstances as to time, place, or other things. Hence as to all the blessings connected with the present life, what is ever to be regarded is, that they should be to us helps and aids to follow God and not hindrances. And he calls these pleasures of sin temporary or for a time, because they soon vanish away together with life itself.
"In opposition to these he sets the reproach of Christ, which all the godly ought willingly to undergo. For those whom God has chosen, he has also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his own son; not that he exercises them all by the same kind of reproaches or by the same cross, but that they are all to be so minded as not to decline to undertake the cross in common with Christ. Let every one then bear in mind, that as he is called to this fellowship he is to throw off all hindrances. Nor must we omit to say, that he reckons among the reproaches of Christ all the ignominious trials which the faithful have had to endure from the beginning of the world; for as they were the member of the same body, so they had nothing different from what we have. As all sorrows are indeed the rewards of sin, so they are also the fruits of the curse pronounced on the first man: but whatever wrongs we endure from the ungodly on account of Christ, these he regards as his own. Hence Paul gloried that he made up what was wanting as to the sufferings of Christ. Were we rightly to consider this, it would not be so grievous and bitter for us to suffer for Christ.
"He also explains more fully what he means in this clause by the reproach of Christ, by what he has previously declared when he said, that Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. He could not have otherwise avowed himself as one of God's people, except he had made himself a companion to his own nation in their miseries. Since, then, this is the end, let us not separate ourselves from the body of the Church: whatever we suffer, let us know that it is consecrated on account of the head. So on the other hand he calls those things the treasures of Egypt, which no one can otherwise possess than by renouncing and forsaking the Church. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward, or for he looked to the remuneration. He proves by the description he gives, that the magnanimity of Moses' mind was owing to faith; for he had his eyes fixed on the promise of God. For he could not have hoped that it would be better for him to be with the people of Israel than with the Egyptians, had he not trusted in the promise and in nothing else.
By faith he forsook Egypt, etc.
This may be said of his first as well as of his second departure, that is, when he brought out the people with him. He then indeed left Egypt when he fled from the house of Pharaoh. Add to this, that his going out is recorded by the Apostle before he mentions the celebration of the Passover. He seems then to speak of the flight of Moses; nor is what he adds, that he feared not the wrath of the king, any objection to this, though Moses himself relates that he was constrained to do so by fear. For if we look at the beginning of his course he did not fear, that is, when he avowed himself to be the avenger of his people. However, when I consider all the circumstances, I am inclined to regard this as his second departure; for it was then that he bravely disregarded the fierce wrath of the king, being armed with such power by God's Spirit, that he often of his own accord defied the fury of that wild beast. It was doubtless an instance of the wonderful strength of faith, that he brought out a multitude untrained for war and burdened with many encumbrances, and yet hoped that a way would be opened to him by God's hand through innumerable difficulties. He saw a most powerful king in a furious rage, and he knew that he would not cease till he had tried his utmost. But as he knew that God had commanded him to depart, he committed the event to him, nor did he doubt but that he would in dug time restrain all the assaults of the Egyptians.
As seeing him who is invisible. Nay, but he had seen God in the midst of the burning bush: this then seems to have been said improperly, and not very suitable to the present subject. I indeed allow, that Moses was strengthened in his faith by that vision, before he took in hand the glorious work of delivering the people; but I do not admit that it was such a view of God, as divested him of his bodily senses, and transferred him beyond the trials of this world. God at that time only showed him a certain symbol of his presence; but he was far from seeing God as he is. Now, the Apostle means, that Moses so endured, as though he was taken up to heaven, and had God only before his eyes; and as though he had nothing to do with men, was not exposed to the perils of this world and had no contests with Pharaoh. And yet, it is certain, that he was surrounded with so many difficulties, that he could not but think sometimes that God was far away from him, or at least, that the obstinacy of the king, furnished as it was with so many means of resistance, would at length overcome him. In short, God appeared to Moses in such a way, as still to leave room for faith; and Moses, when beset by terrors on every side, turned all his thoughts to God. He was indeed assisted to do this, by the vision which we have mentioned; but yet he saw more in God than what that symbol intimated: for he understood his power, and that absorbed all his fears and dangers. Relying on God's promise, he felt assured that the people, though then oppressed by the tyranny of the Egyptians, were already, as it were, the lords of the promised land.
We hence learn, that the true character of faith is to set God always before our eyes; secondly, that faith beholds higher and more hidden things in God than what our senses can perceive; and thirdly, that a view of God alone is sufficient to strengthen our weakness, so that we may become firmer than rocks to withstand all the assaults of Satan. It hence follows, that the weaker and the less resolute any one is, the less faith he has. -- John Calvin commenting on Hebrew 11:25-27It is quite evident that in all of this Calvin was setting forth a view of free enterprise which is strictly Biblical. Free enterprise is that means adapted for man by which he fulfills the conditions of his stewardship. Enterprise that is truly free is constantly governed by the law of God. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler], and the laissez faire school of economic thought. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, p. 46
The third perspective is that "the Bible can only be correctly interpreted by people who have years of intense training in theology." This argument, which goes back to the Protestant Reformation of several hundred years ago, was rejected by 76 percent of adults [19 percent agreed]. The segments most likely to agree with this idea were African-Americans and Hispanics (24 percent of each group), and Catholics (22 percent). Even among those segments, however, less than one-quarter believes that accurate comprehension of the Bible is beyond the capacity of the average person. -- George Barna in Americans Draw Theological Beliefs From Diverse Points of View, October 8, 2002
We will never know what motivated them to shoot their classmates. -- Dan Rather, on the CBS Evening News after reporting another school shooting
It takes a long time to untangle vast webs of falsehood that engulf entire societies.
*Adams, Jay E. (1929-2020), From Forgiven to Forgiving: Discover the Path to Biblical Forgiveness, ISBN: 1879737124 9781879737129.
"For the 'average Christian,' to shed light on all aspects of forgiveness seeking and granting, and to counter erroneous views. How do forgiven persons -- God's children -- become forgiving persons? Defines, illustrates, motivates and challenges people to deal with forgiveness issues biblically. Clear thinking is essential: 'Labels are important not only as signs of the thing they signify but also as signposts that point to solutions to the problems they categorize.' Tackles unbiblical concepts such as forgiving self, forgiving God, apologizing, 'forgive and forget'." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"A detailed look at forgiveness from the Bible. He finds that much of what passes for Biblical teaching on this subject just plain misses the mark." -- GCB
Almy, Gary, and Carol Tharp Almy, with Jerry Jenkins, Addicted to Recovery: Exposing the False Gospel of Psychotherapy: Escaping the Trap of Victim Mentality, ISBN: 1565071859 9781565071858.
"The Almys are medical doctors who have written a polemic against the pop psychologies that have recently swept into the church. Through a series of detailed case studies, they portray the dynamics operative in therapeutically-induced false memories, the healing of memories, multiple personality disorder, unmet love needs, and codependency." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon, The Myth of Safe sex: The Devastating Consequences of Violating God's Plan, ISBN: 0802456391 9780802456397. Alternate title: THE MYTH OF SAFE SEX: THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATING GOD'S PLAN.
Apel, Pat, Nine Great American Myths: Ways we Confuse the American Dream With the Christian Faith, ISBN: 1561210641 9781561210640.
"Are Americans God's chosen people? Are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness the Biblical goals of the Christian Faith? This book will cause you to re-examine the most fundamental beliefs you have, measuring them by the truth of the Word of God." -- GCB
Baer, Robert, See no Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, ISBN: 0609609874 9780609609873 0609810278 9780609810279.
"This book is a memoir of one foot soldier's career in the other cold war, the one against terrorist networks. It's a story about places most Americans will never travel to, about people many Americans would prefer to think we don't need to do business with.
"This memoir, I hope, will show the reader how spying is supposed to work, where the CIA lost its way, and how we can bring it back again. But I hope this book will accomplish one more purpose as well: I hope it will show why I am angry about what happened to the CIA. And I want to show why every American and everyone who cares about the preservation of this country should be angry and alarmed, too.
"The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad. Defanged and dispirited, the CIA went along for the ride. And then on September 11, 2001, the reckoning for such vast carelessness was presented for all the world to see." -- Preface
"Robert Baer was a case officer in the Directorate of Operations for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1997. He served in places such as Iraq, Dushanbe, Rabat, Beirut, Khartoum, and New Delhi, and received the Career Intelligence Medal in 1997. He now divides his time between Washington, D.C., and France." -- Publisher
"SEE NO EVIL is not only a candid memoir of the education and disillusionment of an intelligence operative but also an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism. Baer reveals some of the disturbing details he uncovered in his work, including:
Barna, George, The Barna Report 1992-93: America Renews its Search for God.
"Barna's WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE captures a snapshot of American Christianity in 1991. This totally-new election-year edition updates the picture! . . . Vital information is easy to grasp with key charts and graphs (more detailed tables appear in the appendix), and easy to apply practical action steps." -- CBD
*Barna, George, What Americans Believe: An Annual Survey of Values and Religious Views in the United States, ISBN: 0830715053 9780830715053.
"Our society is changing in ways that have dramatic implications for the future of morality, ethics, and the Christian church. Three quarters of young adults in this country believe there is no absolute truth -- a major change from older generations which tend to believe in absolute truth. WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE gives a clear, up-to-the-minute picture of the mores, beliefs, and religious attitudes of Americans. It is based on an annual survey conducted by the Barna Research Group and covers 65 questions about values, life-style, and religious beliefs." A tool to reshape ministerial strategies.
Bobgan, Martin, and Deidre Bobgan, 12 Steps to Destruction: Codependency Recovery Heresies, ISBN: 0941717054 9780941717052.
"The people labeled 'codependent' have serious problems and need help. 'However, we question the diagnoses, answers, formulas and systems that are being offered in the name of help, in the name of love, and even in the name of Christ. Beneath many programs that purport to be Christian lurk ideas, philosophies, psychologies, and religious notions that are antithetical to biblical Christianity.' Extensive criticism of 12 Step programs." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
*Bobgan, Martin, and Deidre Bobgan, Psycho-Heresy: The Seduction of Christianity by Psychoanalysis, ISBN: 0941717003.
"Some people will say the Bobgans are hitting too hard -- naming names and all that -- but I don't think so. Whenever someone writes for the Christian public he sets forth his views to the scrutiny of others, but if others think that what he says is dangerous to the church, they, like Paul (who names names, too), have an obligation to say so. The chapter 'Amalgamania' is the best. Indeed it should be enlarged and made into an entire book." -- Jay Adams
"Psychology is an anti-biblical religious system not a science. The church has bought the system, rather than building counseling from the Bible. Labels and categories matter, because they either describe things truly or falsely, e.g., the myth of mental illness. Psychotherapy is quackery, with very little documentable success. 'Although some disciplines in the broad field of psychological study have contributed some information about people, much of the information that has filtered down into popular literature and into the psychological office is spurious. The most seductively dangerous area of psychology is that part which seeks to explain why people are the way they are and how they change.' Includes critiques of evangelicals who 'amalgamate' psychology and Christianity: Richard Dobbins, H. Norman Wright, Larry Crabb, Paul Tournier, M. Scott Peck, H. Newton Maloney, Charles Solomon, and others." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"In the 'Amalgamania' chapter (5), the authors use 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, the separation between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial, between believers and unbelievers, to point out the unbiblical practice of mixing Bible and psychology, with the palm going to the latter. Note the many 'How to' books being produced, the fact that they do not have the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. It is the Bible plus something else that will solve your problems. Just as teens think that the wisdom of their parents is pass‚, so the writers of today's books in effect regard the Bible's teaching in the same way. To hear the psychologists is to find that they think that the Bible is not adequate for this present age . . . . Find a church 'counselor' who sticks strictly to God's Word, and you will know that you have seen a rare bird indeed. . . . The truth of the matter is that the Christian counselor who determines by the grace of God to know and use the Scriptures in his counseling is the only one who can ever have a solid basis for what he says and does (p. 203). Read the Puritan sermons, for instance. They expounded the Word fully, and then they gave application after application to everyday life to show that every situation was covered by the Scriptures." -- Jay P. Green Sr.
"Analyzes attempts to integrate psychology with the Bible, exposes fallacies of psychological counseling, examines four commonly held myths about psychology, and encourages a return to sound Biblical foundations for Christian living. Praised by Jay Adams, Ed Payne, et al." -- GCB
Psychoheresy Awareness Ministries
http://www.pamweb.org/
*Boller, Paul, George Washington and Religion.
"Was George Washington an evangelical Christian? The debate has raged for over two centuries. Paul Boller looks at Washington's spiritual life from the perspective of an evangelical, not a skeptic, and concludes that in all likelihood he was not a born-again Christian. The questionable motives and methods of Washington's earliest biographers are examined." -- Publisher
Botkin-Maher, Jennifer, Nice Girls Don't get Raped, ISBN: 0898401577: 9780898401578.
"A sensitive account of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual effects of rape on a woman and her family. NICE GIRLS DON'T GET RAPED also shares Jennifer's personal walk from trauma to triumph. She guides you through the healing process to a life free from the bondage of fear." -- GCB
Breese, Dave, Satan's Ten Most Believable Lies, ISBN: 0802476759 9780802476753.
Brown, Harold O.J., Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church, ISBN: 1565633652 9781565633650.
"Dr. Brown is currently with the Reformed Theological Seminary Resident Faculty, in Charlotte NC. Heresies is a comprehensive history book as well as a copious treatise of various heresies since the first century A.D. This would explain its renaming for the current editions.
"Dr. Brown brings this to us in a logical, well written, chronological narrative. It is easy reading, chock full of interesting details and bibliography/footnoting par excellence. He discusses the early persecutions and shows that even some heretics were genuine martyrs. Most importantly to the layman, he explains clearly the ramifications of any particular heresy. He does not stop with an explanation of why it is wrong, but discusses thoroughly the logical implications, conclusions, even actions to which this variant belief brings the heretic." -- Reader's Comment
Brownback, Paul, The Danger of Self-Love: Re-Examining a Popular Myth, ISBN: 0802420680 9780802420688.
"I appreciated the fact that he used the Bible to support his arguments, which will cause me to look deeper on this subject in the future. It's a good read for anyone willing to tackle the subject of self-love and its implications for our culture and theology." -- Reader's Comment
*Brzezinski, Zbigniew, Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the eve of the Twenty-first Century, ISBN: 0684196301 9780684196305.
"Rarely has there been a book as explosive and challenging as this brilliant analysis of today's massive geopolitical disorder. The triumphant collapse of communism has brought neither economic stability nor social democracy to the former Soviet Union. Nor, for that matter, to the rest of the world. We are living in a time of fragmentation: increasing disunity in Europe, dangerous eruptions in the Islamic republics, growing disparity between the world's rich and poor, and the evils of the 'permissive cornucopia' in America which, through overstimulation of material desires and sensual self-gratification, is leading to the collapse of Western moral and spiritual values. In short, we are living in a philosophical climate that is 'out of control.' It is Zbigniew Brzezinski's firm belief that we must draw both moral and political lessons from the 'megadeaths' of the twentieth century, a century in which at least 167 million people were slaughtered in the name of the 'politics of organized insanity,' or the 'metamyths' of such dictators as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, among others. Unless we can practice self-restraint derived from a moral commitment in the quest for global democratic 'interdependence,' we stand destined to risk again our very own survival.
"Lives deliberately extinguished by politically motivated carnage: 167,000,000 to 175,000,000. Including: War Dead: 87,500,000, Military War Dead: 33,500,000, Civilian War Dead: 54,000,000, Not-war Dead: 80,000,000, Communist Oppression: 60,000,000." -- Publisher
*Burgon, John W., and Jay P. Green, Sr. (editor, 1918-2008), Unholy Hands on the Bible, Volume I: An Introduction to Textual Criticism Including the Complete Works of John W. Burgon, Dean of Chichester, ISBN: 1878442635 9781878442635.
"With much renewed interest in the textual question of the Holy Bible, it is timely to be able to offer this monumental work which features: The Causes of Corruption of the New Testament Text; The Last 12 Verses of Mark; The Traditional Text; The Revision Revised; The Woman Taken in Adultery; and God Manifest in the Flesh. Bound in bonded leather for style and durability . . ." -- GCB
"When the English Bible (KING JAMES VERSION), was revised in 1881, the revision (REVISED VERSION), abandoned the Greek text of the New Testament that had been used until then, not only for the English Bible but also for all the Bibles of the Reformation, e.g., Luther's Bible and the Dutch Bible authorized by the Synod of Dordt. The revision chose the newly discovered Greek text advocated by the textual scholars, Wescott and Hort. All subsequent English versions, except the New King James, have used the Westcott-Hort (W-H), text, regarding the Greek Text of the KJV as an inferior text.
"One godly scholar opposed the change at the time of the revision in the late 19th century -- the English textual scholar, John W. Burgon. Burgon defended the Greek text of the KJV, which he called the Traditional Text and which is referred to today as the Majority Text or Textus Receptus, as the authentic text of the New Testament Scripture. He criticized the W-H text as false and dangerous.
"UNHOLY HANDS ON THE BIBLE is basically the complete work of Burgon on the issue of the Greek text of Holy Scripture. It is, therefore, a powerful defense of the KJV and a devastating attack on all modern English translations of Scripture with the exception of the New King James. . . .
"Fundamental to all of Burgon's thinking and work with the text of Scripture was his conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God -- a divine book. Following from this was his conviction that God has providentially preserved the text. These convictions have implications for textual criticism. The lack of these convictions also has implications for textual criticism.
"The publisher, Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008), informs us that Volume II 'will take up the individual modern translations and relate them to the factual information conveyed in this volume'." -- David J. Engelsma
*Burnham, James, Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism, ISBN: 0895268221 9780895268228.
"Through studious research into past civilizations, Burnham diagnoses the twentieth century and finds it afflicted with destructive, nay, 'suicidal' tendencies -- all of which emit from the 'Liberal syndrome' and its inherent applications. The book explores several important questions including: Why Liberalism clashes with Christianity and how Liberalism is a root cause of race riots and the rapid growth of crime.
"James Burnham has written a book about Liberalism for which the world has been aching. It is worth more to the West than the year's gross national product, more than all the planes and bombs . . ." -- William F. Buckley, Jr.
Canfield, Joseph, The Incredible Scofield and his Book. Available through Exodus Books.
"This is a powerful book. The material is well documented. Anyone who gets this book and reads it will find here some amazing things about a man whose book is well known, but whose life we believe concerning many of its most important features has been purposely concealed lest it be found to contradict his teachings. . . . Here is a book that dispensationalists as well as others will do well to read. It is powerful, so powerful we dare say, that if dispensationalists would read it carefully, perhaps half of them would turn from that system." -- Loraine Boettner
"This powerful and fully documented study exposes the questionable background and faulty theology of the man responsible for the popular SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE, which did much to promote the dispensational system. The story is disturbing in its historical account of the elusive personality canonized as a dispensational saint and calls into question the seriousness of his motives and scholarship." -- Publisher
Carl, Frank, and Joan H. Robie, Courting the King of Terrors: Is Satan Having the Last Laugh? ISBN: 0914984187 9780914984184.
"Why are so many people turning to mental, spiritual, and physical suicide? This book gives an answer. Its purpose is two-fold: to sound the trumpet of concern about sins creeping into the church, and to offer practical help and hope in working with those who have fallen prey to Satan's lies." -- GCB
Chesser, Barbara, 21 Myths That can Wreck Your Marriage, ISBN: 0849931614 9780849931611 0849908205 9780849908200.
*Clark, Gordon H., (1902-1985), The Hoax of Scientific Creationism.
*Clark, Gordon H., (1902-1985), The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God, ISBN: 0940931850 9780940931855.
"Through most of its history, modern science has been at war with Christianity. This little book ends the battles, for it demonstrates that science cannot argue against the truth of Scripture, for the methods of science can never prove anything true. Written by the chairman of the philosophy department at Butler University, this book may be studied with profit by teachers, parents, and students." -- The Trinity Foundation
"THIS IS THE BOOK to confound anyone who is putting faith and trust in science." -- Jay P. Green Sr.
Includes bibliography and indexes.
"In this book the late philosopher Gordon H. Clark takes a critical look at the fundamental workings of the scientific method and demonstrates that science is incapable of discovering truth. Science is a collection of useful falsehoods, which we may use to manipulate and control nature. It is useful for giving us technology and for providing working theories of the natural world, but these theories are forever that -- theories. They can be proven false, and often are proven false, but no scientific theory can ever be proven true. Therefore the modern fascination with science (which borders almost on idolization), is misguided. Since science cannot discover truth, science has nothing to say about the existence of God, or the truths of Christianity and the Bible. These things are outside the domain of science. This means that there is no fundamental conflict between religion and science, once science is properly understood. Truth does not come from science, but is, rather, a gift revealed to us by God in the pages of the Bible. This book is well worth one's careful study." -- Reader's Comment
*Conference on Biblical Inerrancy [Infallibility -- compiler], The Proceedings of the Conference on Biblical Inerrancy, 1987, ISBN: 0805460047 9780805460049.
"Sponsored by the seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), these papers were delivered between May 4-7, 1987, and cover a variety of timely themes." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Conn, Harry, Four Trojan Horses of Humanism, ISBN: 0880620099 9780880620093. Alternate title: FOUR TROJAN HORSES.
"This is one of the most important works to be published on this subject. The recollections brought before the reader of the fall of Troy are intentional. This time, however, it is the citadels of psychology, sociology, politics, and theology that have taken the deceptive 'trophy' in their midst. The result is the overthrow of the truth in these disciplines." -- Cyril J. Barber
"Includes the Humanist Manifesto I and II."
*Culver, Robert D., The Peace-Mongers: A Biblical Answer to Pacifism and Nuclear Disarmament, ISBN: 0842347895 9780842347891.
"This is a valuable, timely book. . . . Recent writers (e.g. Ronald Sider), have advocated views that have been widely disseminated as Biblical. Culver has performed a valuable service by exposing these fallacious theories. He has given us in their place a definitive and reliable work. It is hoped that this carefully prepared monograph will enjoy widespread acceptance." -- Cyril J. Barber
Dabney, Robert Lewis (1820-1898), Broad Churchism, ISBN: 0851513506 9780851513508. Alternate title: DISCUSSIONS OF ROBERT LEWIS DABNEY. "Transcribed from a sermon preached before the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, Huntsville, Alabama, 18 May 1871." Available in DISCUSSIONS: EVANGELICAL AND THEOLOGICAL, 2 volumes. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #23.
"Warfield called Dabney 'the most conspicuous figure and the leading theological guide of the Southern Presbyterian Church, the most prolific theological writer that Church has as yet produced.' These three volumes of articles and essays vindicate Warfield's statement. 'This is not a book to be read and returned to the library shelf,' states the well known Baptist minister Al Martin, 'rather, as I have found to my own profit, it ought to be read, digested, and kept close at hand as a guide, companion and constant prod to us.' Dr. Archibald Alexander called Dabney, 'the best teacher of theology in the United States, if not the world.' Freundt notes, 'Dabney championed the doctrines of Calvinism and applied them consistently and practically to the great issues of his times'." -- Publisher
Broad Churchism, R.L. Dabney
http://www.westminsterconfession.org/the-church/broad-churchism.php
Discussions of Robert Lewis Dabney Vol. 1: Evangelical and Theological.
http://archive.org/details/DiscussionsOfRobertLewisDabneyVol.1EvangelicalAndTheological
*Day, Lorraine, AIDS: What the Government Isn't Telling you, ISBN: 0963094009 9780963094001.
deParrie, Paul, Romanced to Death: Sexual Seduction of American Culture, ISBN: 0943497906 9780943497907.
"The author exposes what he calls the 'skin trade,' the commercial sexuality that has seduced America. He traces the misconception of love that has resulted in high divorce rates, promiscuity, infidelity, and abortion." -- GCB
deParrie, Paul, Satan's Seven Schemes: An Overcomer's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, ISBN: 1561210501 9781561210503.
"Paul deParrie explores and exposes the seven lies Satan uses and shows you how to combat spiritual warfare effectively."
Dittes, James E., When Work Goes Sour, ISBN: 0664240453 9780664240455.
"This is an excellent treatise. Dittes take a long, hard look at the ways in which work permeates the lives of men and explores the myths that often rule a man's relationship with his career. . . . Then, using Biblical data as well as contemporary case studies, he discusses the pain of work, the problems that arise, and how to deal with the disappointment that inevitably occurs when work fails to bring the expected rewards. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
Downes, Stephen, Stephen Downes Guide to the Logical Fallacies.
"Stephen Downes, an information architect with a background in philosophy, created this site with the aim of identifying, indexing, and describing 'all known logical fallacies.' A logical fallacy can be defined as an error in reasoning in which a conclusion appears to follow from a set of premises but in reality does not. Downes groups the fallacies into thirteen categories, such as Fallacies of Distraction, Inductive Fallacies, and Syllogistic Errors. Each fallacy (over 50 in all), is described with its name, definition, examples of how it might be used in an argument, and how the argument can be proven fallacious. The How to Use this Guide section of the site provides a helpful introduction, and a robust bibliography offers possibilities for further study of logic. In addition, users may register at the site (no fee), to gain access to discussion boards on the topic. The author notes that his Guide "is intended to help you in your own thinking, not to help you demolish someone else's argument." Regardless of how a reader uses the information, however, the site remains an interesting and fun investigation of how logical arguments are constructed."
"Lists all known logical fallacies, with definitions, examples, and the steps needed to prove that the fallacy is committed. Site also includes links to logic references and resources."
Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies
http://www.fallacies.ca/welcome.htm
Downing, David C. (compiler), What you Know Might not be so: 220 Misinterpretations of Bible Texts Explained, ISBN: 0801029759 9780801029752.
"Nontechnical terms are used to correct 220 common misunderstandings concerning the Bible. The entries focus on matters of simple miscomprehension." -- GCB
Du Plessis, Susan, and Jan Strydom, The Myth of ADHD and Other Learning Disabilities: Parenting Without Ritalin, ISBN: 1563841800 9781563841804.
"If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD or some other behavior disorder, be careful. This diagnosis might be false. . . . The authors of this book explain how parents can teach their children the skills of concentration and self-control without drugging them into submission. Book jacket." -- Publisher
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Hope in Time of Abandonment, ISBN: 0816421382 9780816421381.
"Written with conviction and insight, this book exposes a host of false hopes that are common to our age. It warns against a false optimism and urges readers to place their confidence solely in God's lovingkindness and providence. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Living Faith: Belief and Doubt in a Perilous World, ISBN: 0060622385 9780060622381.
Fitzgerald, Randall, The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself From the Chemicals That are Destroying Your Health, ISBN: 0525949518 9780525949510.
"In a devastating exposé in the tradition of SILENT SPRING and FAST FOOD NATION, investigative journalist Randall Fitzgerald warns how thousands of man-made chemicals in our food, water, medicine, and environment are making humans the most polluted species on the planet. A century ago in 1906, when Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act, Americans were promised 'better living through chemistry.' Fitzgerald provides overwhelming evidence to shatter this myth, and many others perpetrated by the chemical, pharmaceutical, and processed foods industries. In the face of this national health crisis, Fitzgerald also presents informed and practical suggestions for what we can do to turn the tide and live healthier lives.
Human beings are fast becoming one of the most polluted species on the planet. Learn why your body has become so toxic that you would never pass an FDA inspection:
Ganz, Richard L., Psychobabble: The Failure of Modern Psychology and the Biblical Alternative, ISBN: 0891077340 9780891077343.
"First person, passionate statement of the case for nouthetic counseling, Ganz's Competent to Counsel. The first half tells a good bit of Ganz's own story -- a psychotherapist who has become a pastor and nouthetic counselor -- and critiques secular psychology. The second half unpacks the positive vision in broad strokes. The church of Jesus Christ ministers to people whose lives have been torn apart by sin. The Christian life is a Holy War conducted in God's power. 'Christianity does not work when there is a false expectation regarding what the Christian life is all about. . . . Most important, it does not work apart from the saving grace of God through Christ. But Christianity does work for sinners'." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"PSYCHOBABBLE explains the dichotomy between secular and Biblical counseling and shows the danger of incorporating secular techniques into a Christian approach. This book will provide scriptural answers to the hurts of a broken world." -- Editorial Review
"I've been on both sides of the fence concerning integration (Psychology and Christianity), and I've always believed that the two could coexist; however, I was wrong despite my sincerity. PSYCHOBABBLE: THE FAILURE OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY AND THE BIBLICAL ALTERNATIVE opened my eyes. Richard Ganz shows his readers that Psychology and Christianity cannot be united. Throughout this book Ganz shares insights from his own personal journey, and encourages his readers to take a bold stance for Christ. This is a book that confronts modern psychotherapy with the Word of God. Within its pages we see Ganz cutting away the fluff of this 'feel good' theology that has crept into our homes and churches; he reveals the 'Psycho . . .' fields true motives. Armed with only the Bible he successfully confronts many of societies crutches (self-esteem, etc.). I would highly recommend this book for those who truly believe God's Word is sufficient for ever need." -- Reader's Comment
Ganz, Richard, and William Edgar, Sold out: How the Evangelical Church is Abandoning God for Self-Fulfillment, a Warning, ISBN: 0969469004 9780969469001.
"Takes on the faulty world-views of Western culture, and the destructive influence of error on individuals, churches, and society. Sets out the hope of the Bible for rebuilding." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
Gebelein, Bob, Dirty Science: How Unscientific Methods are Blocking our Cultural Advancement, ISBN: 9780961461140 0961461144.
"DIRTY SCIENCE exposes the unscientific, illegitimate, and irrational arguments that are used in the name of 'science' by people with high scientific credentials, corrupting our cultural knowledge. This is not 'science bashing,' but is an accurate and responsible book, written with compassion for the people who are caught up in the system. It is not seeking the approval of establishment scientists as 'authority' figures, but is appealing to the intelligent reading public (which includes all academic people) to recognize the unscientific methods and cause the people who use those methods to lose credibility. As a start, every undergraduate student of critical thinking needs to read this book." -- Publisher
Green, Michael, Ten Myths About Christianity, ISBN: 0745914411 9780745914411.
Griffith, Leonard, Illusions of our Culture, ISBN: 0340107138 9780340107133.
"Analyzes the 'appearance of reality' of our present culture and shows how these illusions degenerate into the 'leafy trees of a desert mirage.' Among the topics considered are affluence, security, independence, happiness, and freedom." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Gross, Edward N., Miracles, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare, ISBN: 0801038359 9780801038358.
"Encouraged by GCB to publish this book, Baker Book House has given us a sound and reliable study on such questions as: Are miracles for today? Does anyone have the gifts of healing today? Is tongue speaking an evidence of Spirit-baptism? Can believers be demon-possessed? While everyone may not agree on Dr. Gross' conclusions, this book is, nevertheless, one of the most readable, comprehensive, and thoughtful studies on these subjects of vital concern to Christians today." -- GCB
*Haldane, Robert (1764-1842), Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures: In opposition to the erroneous opinions that are circulated on the subject, ISBN: 0865241821.
"Few works are as deserving of careful study as this one, and few are as rewarding. Haldane's evidence is presented with clarity and insight . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
Ham, Ken, The Lie: Evolution, ISBN: 9780890514467 0890514461.
"This book deals with the significance and relevance of a literal Genesis and aims to help people realize the real nature of the creation/evolution issue. It is authored by a member of the Institute for Creation Research." -- GCB
Heine, Max, Children: Blessing or Burden? ISBN: 0884192318 9780884192312.
"This author ably seeks to explore seven myths of the small family that Christians have swallowed from the culture of the world. Since the Bible says children are a blessing, why do we feel that they are such a burden? Here is a clarion call for Christians to rethink the current trends toward small families and childlessness and, instead, begin to gain a Biblical perspective. Heine raises some searching questions about birth control and whether such practices are truly honoring to God." -- GCB
Hodge, Ian, Baptized Inflation: A Critique of 'Christian' Keynesianism, ISBN: 0930464087 9780930464080.
"This book is a refutation of the writings of Douglas Vickers. But it is more than this. It is a Bible-based critique of the monstrous lies of Keynesian economics, and written in clear language, unlike the books of Keynes and Vickers. It also sets forth the Biblical case for the free market economy." -- Publisher
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Hughes, R.D., Satan's Whispers: Breaking the Lies That Bind, ISBN: 0805460527 9780805460520 0913367214 9780913367216.
Kauffman, Joel M., Malignant Medical Myths: Why Medical Treatment Causes 200,000 Deaths in the USA Each Year, and how to Protect Yourself, ISBN: 0741429098 9780741429094. Includes bibliographical references and index.
"A fearless exposé of mainstream medicine's most revered dogma, MALIGNANT MEDICAL MYTHS is solidly based on trusted medical and nutritional books and journals. Americans spend $2 trillion per year on health care, about $7,000 each, yet it buys almost the poorest healthcare among developed countries, with 200,000 deaths per year from medical treatment. Find out why advice from authorities on screening tests, drugs, diet, exercise, alcohol, radiation, radon, and water fluoridation is often wrong and commercially motivated. See how clinical trials are slanted. Understand how 'sickness' is created to sell treatments, and which government agencies support these shenanigans.
"Joel M. Kauffman obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, now called University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP), and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After 11 years of experience in the chemical industry, Dr. Kauffman joined USP in 1979, rising to Professor of Chemistry. His experience includes about 10 years of exploratory drug development at USP and 4 years at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He obtained grants and contracts from many sources including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research and the Army Research Office and several manufacturing companies. With 80 papers on chemical and medical topics, and 11 patents, including 2 on antituberculosis drugs, Dr. Kauffman has turned his attention to exposing fraud in medicine." -- Publisher
"In MALIGNANT MEDICAL MYTHS, he questions the following medical myths, as he calls them, put forth by health and medical 'experts:'
1. Taking an aspirin a day will make you live longer."If you believe ANY of the above statements as medically accurate, then you need to get MALIGNANT MEDICAL MYTHS. Kauffman outlines for you his extensive research on each of these and explains to you the truth using scientific studies and information so you can be armed for battle when you come up against these myths again in the future. -- Reader's Comment
2. Low-carb diets are unsafe and don't work for weight loss.
3. Using statin drugs to lower cholesterol will improve health.
4. People over 50 should take medicine for hypertension.
5. A drink a day keeps the doctor away.
6. Exercise! Run for your life! No pain, no gain.
7. EDTA chelation therapy for atherosclerosis is dangerous.
8. Radiation is dangerous except when administered by an oncologist.
9. Yearly mammograms extend life.
10. Cancer treatments have cure rates of 60 percent.
11. Fluoride in the water prevents tooth decay and is safe.
Kjos, Berit, Brave New Schools, ISBN: 1565073886 9781565073883.
"With concrete examples from public school material, Berit Kjos demonstrates how myths, feelings, and imagination have replaced facts, logic, and history in our classrooms. You can make a positive difference in your children's education by educating yourself first." -- Publisher
Kjos, Berit, and Evelyn Christenson (foreword), Under the Spell of Mother Earth, ISBN: 0896938506 9780896938502.
"Concern for the environment has joined with mysticism to spark a return to ancient forms of nature worship. Paganism is on the rise, and the 'Earth Goddess' is beckoning. Indeed, pagan beliefs are subtly entering peoples' lives through media, schools, and even the church." -- Publisher
Kupelian, David, The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-experts Sell us Corruption Disguised as Freedom, ISBN: 1581824599 9781581824599.
"Americans have come to tolerate, embrace and even champion many things that would have horrified their parents' generation -- from easy divorce and unrestricted abortion-on-demand to extreme body piercing and teaching homosexuality to grade-schoolers. Does that mean today's Americans are inherently more morally confused and depraved than previous generations? Of course not, says veteran journalist David Kupelian. But they have fallen victim to some of the most stunningly brilliant and compelling marketing campaigns in modern history. THE MARKETING OF EVIL reveals how much of what Americans once almost universally abhorred has been packaged, perfumed, gift-wrapped and sold to them as though it had great value. Highly skilled marketers, playing on our deeply felt national values of fairness, generosity, and tolerance, have persuaded us to embrace as enlightened and noble that which all previous generations since America's founding regarded as grossly self-destructive -- in a word, evil." -- Publisher
LeBow, Robert H., and C. Rocky White, Health Care Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and Fixing our Failing System, ISBN: 0911469303 9780911469301.
"This book is very timely and amazingly lucid on a topic seen by many as beyond comprehension. LeBow has sifted through the complexity and pinpointed the key players and the major causes of a system that has 'melted down' -- i.e. become dysfunctional for millions of Americans. The book documents how vested interests -- people who make a great deal of money by maintaining the status quo -- have systematically worked to keep Americans clueless about the extent of the health care meltdown, the causes of the meltdown, and the real story about feasible alternatives. One of the greatest values of the book is found in the opening chapter that identifies and examines thirteen myths that have been perpetuated about the American health care system. LeBow's contention is, quite correctly, that unless these myths get debunked, Americans are not likely to have the necessary will to fix the system. In fact, one of the myths is that old adage 'We don't need to fix what isn't broken' applies to our health care system. LeBow's personal accounts of patients' experiences with our system illustrate poignantly just how broken it is. Fortunately, LeBow goes beyond the compelling critique to offer a solution, in the form of a single-payer, single risk-pool model. Recognizing the extent to which interest groups have propagandized the American public against such a model, he argues effectively that this is the ONLY model that will allow this country to resolve its access problems without spending even more on health care than we do already. His arguments are strong, his personal illustrations reinforce his points in well-chosen fashion, and he offers hope for something better. His book is somewhat of a primer for those who are motivated to work for change at a grass-roots level, as well as at a macro level. And the reading is easy, on a complicated subject, including nice tight summaries of key points at the end of each chapter. Very worthwhile reading." -- Reader's Comment
*Levin, Mark R., American Marxism, ISBN: 9781501135972 150113597X.
"The six-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, Fox News star, and radio host Mark R. Levin explains how the dangers he warned against in the 'timely yet timeless' (David Limbaugh, author of JESUS IS RISEN) bestseller LIBERTY AND TYRANNY have come to pass.
"In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto LIBERTY AND TYRANNY, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism's threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we're fully over that precipice and paying the price.
"In AMERICAN MARXISM, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture -- from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency -- and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like 'progressivism,' 'democratic socialism,' 'social activism,' and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them.
"As Levin writes: 'The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.' And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty." -- Publisher
"This is a must-read for anyone who values freedoms. Levin scrutinizes the Marxist practices in place, and anyone with half a brain can see what is happening to our Republic. He is detailed and documented in his examples. The last chapter outlines some ways to retaliate and to work to regain our freedom and our Republic. I highly recommend this book that is a necessary blueprint for our future." -- Reader's Comment
*Levitt, Steven, and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, ISBN: 9780062132345 0062132342 9788466645775 8466645772.
"Nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused. . . .
"Though extraordinarily diverse, these crimes all have a common trait: they were sins of information. Most of them involved an expert, or a gang of experts, promoting false information or hiding true information; in each case the experts were trying to keep the information asymmetry as asymmetrical as possible.
"The practitioners of such acts, especially in the realm of high finance, inevitably offer this defense: 'Everybody else was doing it.' Which may be largely true. One characteristic of information crimes is that very few of them are detected." -- Levitt and Dubner
"More than 4 million copies sold worldwide. Published in 35 languages. . . . Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life 'from cheating and crime to parenting and sports' and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. FREAKONOMICS is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more." -- Publisher
London, Herbert Ira, and Albert L. Weeks, Myths That Rule America, ISBN: 0819114464 9780819114464.
"A candid look at American life and culture based on an astute assessment of our contemporary milieu." -- Cyril J. Barber
Lutzer, Erwin W., Twelve Myths Americans Believe, ISBN: 0802490174 9780802490179. A revised edition of: EXPLODING THE MYTHS THAT COULD DESTROY AMERICA.
Lyon, David, The Steeple's Shadow: On the Myths and Realities of Secularization, ISBN: 0802802613 9780802802613.
"Lyon argues that there is a fundamental fault in the sociology which predicts an inevitable withering away of the Church's influence in people's lives. Although secularization is an interesting concept for understanding the apparent decline and isolation of churches, it is misleading to assume that religion is dying." -- GCB
Macpherson, Dave, The Incredible Cover-up, ISBN: 0882701436 9780882701431 0882701444 9780882701448.
"The two books, THE UNBELIEVABLE PRE-TRIB ORIGIN and THE LATE GREAT PRE-TRIB RAPTURE, have been combined into one volume here in this title. Newsman, Dave Macpherson, researches the history of the Pre-Trib view of prophecy. What he discovered is startling. First published in 1975." -- GCB
Magnuson, Roger J., Are gay Rights Right? ISBN: 0880703369 9780880703369.
"Magnuson is a trial lawyer in Minneapolis. He has authored a 3-volume legal treatise, SHAREHOLDER LITIGATION, that is used in law schools. He often is called on to debate homosexuals. It is to the shame of everyone of us that homosexuals have come to the point where they can flaunt their perversion, and call on the courts to protect their imaginary 'rights.' In God's law they have no rights, but instead are condemned to be executed.
"In Maine and in Oregon this book was consulted by legislators before rejecting a so-called 'gay rights bill.' Now we have an updated edition, and it is hoped it will continue to be of use in defeating the aims of these vicious and abusive persons. For they are everywhere attempting to intimidate city councils, state and federal legislatures. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Maier, Pauline, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, ISBN: 0679779086 9780679779087.
"This is a well-written, well-researched, entertaining account of the creation of the United States' Declaration of Independence as well as an analysis of how the declaration has been enshrined as something of a sacred document (a place it did not always hold). Pauline Maier, a history professor at MIT, will no doubt surprise many readers with detective work demonstrating that Jefferson's Declaration of Independence was actually preceded by many local declarations, which have been generally overlooked by historians but which were published throughout the colonies and were well known in their day. American Scripture holds many surprises as it details Jefferson's drafting of the document, the editing process, and the varying regard with which the Declaration of Independence has been held in the past two centuries." -- Publisher
*Marrs, Wanda, New Age Lies to Women, ISBN: 096200863X 9780962008634.
"The first [book] to completely reveal the New Age campaign to deceive and seduce women. . . . She also explains how the New Age has successfully been able to damage and hurt women psychologically, break up marriages, lure our children into Satanism, cults and the occult, kill unborn babies, and undermine women's faith in God. Must reading for every woman in America!" -- Publisher
Bibliographic footnotes.
Martin, Paul R., Dispelling the Myths: The Psychological Consequences of Cultic Involvement, Christian Research Journal, Winter/Spring 1989 (San Juan Capistrano, CA: Christian Research Institute International).
Dispels six myths and gives seven steps to recovery for those who have been taken in by a cult. Includes bibliographic footnotes.
See: Martin, Paul R., CULT PROOFING YOUR KIDS.
Martin, Walter R., Screwtape Writes Again, ISBN: 088449022X 9780884490227.
"Writing in the vein of C.S. Lewis, Martin comments on some modern forms of temptation. He explains certain illusions of our culture and deals with the supposed maxim of the underworld, 'If you can't convince them, confuse them'." -- Cyril J. Barber
McRoberts, Kerry D., New Age, or Old Lie? ISBN: 0943575303 9780943575308.
"According to McRoberts, the New Age movement is not simply another new cult, but an emerging worldview which weds the humanism of the West with the spirituality of the East. The mixture offers optimism and hope to the educated, affluent, and successful." -- Edwin P. Elliott, Jr.
Mendelsohn, Robert S., How to Raise a Healthy Child: In Spite of Your Doctor, ISBN: 0345342763 9780345342768.
"This book explodes many of the medical myths that get passed on from doctors to parents (it also explodes the myth of doctor as all-knowing and all-powerful). It also is a source of support for parents who want to avoid constant trips to the pediatrician. Dr. Mendelsohn advocates homebirth, extended breastfeeding and questions many of the standard vaccination practices. A real voice in the wilderness concerning current medical practices!" -- Publisher
Monsma, John Clover (editor), et al., Science and Religion; Twenty-three Prominent Churchmen Express Their Opinions.
*Morison, Frank (pseudonym for Albert Henry Ross), Who Moved the Stone? new edition. A Christian classic.
"Combines Moule's inimitable exposition of John 20-21 with Orr's theological treatise. Together these works provide pastors and students with a rare combination of excellence in exposition coupled with a clear enunciation of theological truth." -- Cyril J. Barber
"The strangeness of the Resurrection story had captured Frank Morison's attention, and, influenced by skeptic thinkers at the turn of the century, he set out to prove that the story of Christ's Resurrection was only a myth. His probings, however, led him to discover the validity of the biblical record in a moving, personal way. WHO MOVED THE STONE? is considered by many to be a classic apologetic on the subject of the Resurrection. Morison includes a vivid and poignant account of Christ's betrayal, trial, and death as a backdrop to his retelling of the climactic Resurrection itself. . . . WHO MOVED THE STONE? is a well-researched book that is as fascinating in its appeal to reason as it is accurate to the truthfulness of the Resurrection.
Frank Morison was an English journalist." -- Publisher
Morris, Henry, Men of Science, men of God: Great Scientists who Believe the Bible, revised, ISBN: 0890510806 9780890510803.
"One of the most serious fallacies of modern thought is the widespread notion that genuine scientists cannot believe the Bible. This book dispels that myth." -- GCB
Murray, Iain H., The Undercover Revolution: How Fiction Changed Britain, ISBN: 9781848710122 1848710127.
"Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain saw a mega-change in reading habits. For the first time fiction took the primary place in book publishing, and the medium was taken up by brilliant and entertaining authors with an agenda for 'a brave new world.' Such men as Thomas Hardy, H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw were the opinion-makers for coming generations." -- Publisher
This book . . . focused on a particular class and era of novelists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas Hardy. It devotes a chapter to each of those two men and seeks to show that their lives tell a very different story than their books. Their books paint the 'new morality' or rather immorality of 'free love' and other sins in glowing colors and soft lights. They make sin look happy. But when you look at their lives as they seek to live this way, the picture is very different. Their lives are not like the lives of their characters. Reality shows sin in all of its ugly colors and there is nothing happy about it. I think this is a danger in much of fiction. It is dangerous to be able to write the world anyway we want. Even Christian fiction writers can fall into describing the world the way they want it to be (i.e. Christians always prosper) and not the way God in his wisdom allows it to be." -- Reader's Comment
North, Gary, The Hoax of Higher Criticism, ISBN: 0930464303 9780930464301.
"The techniques of higher criticism are creeping into evangelical circles. Dr. North deals with the origin of higher criticism, and both the techniques and ethics of this attack on the Christian faith. He shows how these attacks on the trustworthiness of the Old Testament has crippled Christians in the use of the Old Testament as a guide to civil law." -- GCB
Institute for Christian Economics Freebooks.com
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Petersen, J. Allan, The Myth of the Greener Grass, ISBN: 1889032379 9780891076377.
"Challenges the disease concept of alcoholism, the 'useful lie' of the recovery movement. This lie underlies the widespread mistreatment of alcoholism and of other fundamentally moral problems, e.g., 'codependency.' Posits biblically based intervention that treats such problems as sins to be repented of. Opposes sending a person to the recovery industry because 'He will be told his sin is a sickness; he will never be confronted with his real and most basic moral and spiritual problem. And he will more than likely be introduced to the any god of Twelve Stepdom, who is, by Biblical criteria, a false god'." -- David Powlison (1949-2019)
"Dr. Playfair is a medical consultant to the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation/West in San Diego. He also is a board member of Family Research Institute. The theme and purpose of this book is to debunk the claims that alcoholism is a disease. This claim, says the doctor, contradicts science and medicine; it contradicts the Bible, which is more important; and it simply does not work in breaking the addiction of alcohol. . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
"This book provided all the necessary evidence to blow the whistle on the recovery industry and also points toward genuine freedom from addiction." -- GCB
*Reisman, Judith A. (editor), Edward W. Eichel (editor), John H. Court (editor), and J. Gordon Muir (editor), Kinsey, Sex, and Fraud: The Indoctrination of a People: An Investigation Into the Human Sexuality Research of Alfred C. Kinsey, Wardell B. Pomeroy, Clyde E. Martin, and Paul H. Gebhard, ISBN: 091031120X 9780910311205 156384057X 9781563840579.
"Alfred Kinsey is the father of the sexual revolution. He has almost single-handedly redefined for Western civilization the terms 'normal' and 'abnormal' in regard to sexual behavior. The authors of this book demonstrate that Kinsey's research was the most egregious example of scientific deception in this century. He openly promoted sex between children and adults, sex between humans and animals, and homosexuality. Kinsey's philosophy is being taught in sex and AIDS education classes across the nation. This book could put an end to that." -- GCB
*Reisman, Judith A., Eunice V. Ray (editor), and Alfred Moreschi (illustrator), Kinsey: Crimes and Consequences the Red Queen and the Grand Scheme, ISBN: 0966662415 9780966662412.
"Dr. Judith Reisman's new book, KINSEY: CRIMES AND CONSEQUENCES THE RED QUEEN AND THE GRAND SCHEME, presents sinister material on the man who seduced America.
"The 1960s' sexual revolution was based on the most elaborate and carefully crafted scientific fraud of this century, writes author Judith Reisman. Early sexologist Alfred C. Kinsey, with his two famous reports just 50 years ago, seemingly legitimized both profligacy and deviancy, and thus established 'the sexual license he [personally] espoused.' SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE HUMAN MALE (1948) and its female equivalent (1953) kicked off no-fault divorce, the wife-swapping era, the gay rights movement, classroom sex education, sex 'therapy' as a growth industry, explicit imagery in the media and entertainment industry, and an avalanche of pornography and obscenity.
"Although Kinsey was a sexual revolutionary, Dr. Reisman contends, he was falsely portrayed by Indiana University where he worked, and the Rockefeller Foundation which funded him, 'as just a normal American guy/husband/family man who simply "discovered" the "really" that most American men commonly engaged in sexually aberrant and outlaw behaviour.' Kinsey's 'research' alleged that 10 percent of American males were homosexual, that all of us were bisexual, that children were sexual from birth, and could engage in sexual activity with adults without harm, plus a whole broad spectrum of things taught today in our schools and practiced today in courts of law as fact and as true . . . It was fraud then, it is fraud now, and it revolutionized this nation and turned us into Kinsey's [psychological] clones.
"His 'Grand Scheme' was to eliminate normal families in favour of selective breeding predicated upon racial and sexual eugenics, she charges, and his 'scientific conclusions' were concocted to advance it. The reference is to the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland who wanted the sentence (beheading) carried out first and the verdict pronounced afterwards.
"Disturbing information about Kinsey's work and private life has been accumulating since his death in 1956 at age 62. (The official cause was pneumonia due to overwork, but his extensive homosexual and sadomasochistic activities were likely contributors). Dr. Reisman revealed much of it in 1990, for example, in KINSEY, SEX AND FRAUD. Even last year's resolutely non-condemnatory biography by fellow Indiana University scholar James H. Jones, ALFRED C. KINSEY: A PUBLIC/PRIVATE LIFE (Norton), is replete with gruesomely shocking details.
"KINSEY: CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES cannot be described as non-condemnatory. Its central figure, Dr. Reisman asserts, 'fits the classic definition of a sexual psychopath.' Had the public known that he 'and his male population were sexually abnormal, the popular use of their data to change [our] law, education and public policy would have come to a screeching halt.' He was able, however, to blackmail into silence associates who knew about 'his extensive use of deviants, his large prison population or, worse, his active child molesters.'
"Still, she thinks his 'findings' should have roused suspicion. 'When I first read Kinsey's research, I thought this man is not reporting on America -- he's reporting on himself and then projecting that onto the nation. Kinsey prostituted his own wife Clara . . . into acts of sodomy with fellow "researchers," which Kinsey filmed. He seduced his own students at Indiana University -- male, not female students. He devised sexual activities with his "co-workers," who then became his co-authors. He [personally] engaged in violent sadistic activity, in which he harmed himself terribly . . . and appears to have died, frankly, as a result of the trauma to his body.'
"But his famed reports were carefully phrased to obscure the fact that words like 'contacts,' 'partners' and 'sex play' could signify grown men sodomizing children. He was also both racist and cautious about his colleagues, avoiding Jews, blacks and moral traditionalists. Dr. Reisman quotes Kinsey co-author Wardell Pomeroy (KINSEY AND THE INSTITUTE FOR SEX RESEARCH, Harper & Row, 1972), on his hiring technique: 'As usual . . . we took his sexual history first . . . [Then] Kinsey put down his pen and said, "I don't think you want to work for us." "But I do," the researcher insisted. "Well," Kinsey observed, "you have just said that premarital intercourse might lead to later difficulties in marriage, that extramarital relations would break up a marriage, that homosexuality is abnormal, and intercourse with animals is ludicrous. Apparently you have all the answers. . . . Why do you want to do research'?"
"Biographer Jones describes Kinsey as 'one of the scholarly eugenicists of pre-WWII' who favoured mass sterilization for the lower classes and selective breeding for the 'better classes.' Moreover, Judith Reisman emphasizes, the Rockefeller Foundation was early interested in population control and in using the media to popularize it. The Reece Committee, investigating U.S. tax-exempt foundations in 1953-54, concluded that this 'plutocratic control' was accomplished by 'funding the "right" university research by the "right" researchers, then by funding mass media dissemination of the "right" science data to the public.' Kinsey's numbers made him a perfect fit for anyone eager to alter what he would call human 'breeding patterns.'
"Dr. Reisman, a specialist in content analysis studies of written and visual media, lost many family members in the Holocaust. In that context she raises further sinister questions about Kinsey's data. For instance, who was the 'lone pedophile,' the 'elderly gentleman' cited by Kinsey for his sexual molestation of 800 children? Who were 'The Children of Table 34' and what became of them? How did Kinsey's 'technically trained' observers gain access to the claimed 1,800 American children for illegal genital experiments? 'To this day,' she observes, 'the Kinsey Institute and Indiana University have repeatedly . . . refused to reveal any names of the subjects or the experimenters.' Nor has any one of these children ever come forward, although the institute seems an excellent target for lawsuits.
"Even in the destitute 1930s, at the cited rate of a dollar a day, she doubts that children as young as three months were obtainable in such numbers around Bloomington, Indiana. She suggests an ominous but credible alternative: a collaborative link between Kinsey and Nazi Germany, then a police state where such 'experimentation' could easily be conducted 'as part of an ongoing collegial, cross-cultural, multinational, "fact-finding" research project.' She cites significant links, such as one George Sylvester Viereck, who worked for the German embassy in Washington, D.C., in those years, setting up Nazi front groups, and who is known to have been a Kinsey correspondent. Furthermore, the Rockefeller Foundation was simultaneously funding eugenics projects in Berlin.
"Kinsey consistently kept secret his hypotheses and the basic facts upon which his conclusions rested, Dr. Reisman charges. 'Neither Kinsey nor any of his team can rightly be termed "scientists." Their methodology was not scientific, for it was neither able to be replicated nor validated. Their data was anonymous, forced, secretly altered at will, and fraudulent. With the aid of the elite academic world and institutions and the support of public funds and the social planning foundations, Kinsey and his associates, who served as his own private male harem, conducted thousands of sexual interviews to present a false view of American sexual behaviours.'
"Amazingly, however, use of Kinsey data as authoritative has never been seriously challenged -- until now. It must not continue, Dr. Reisman declares: 'There [must] be a full and open public investigation into Kinsey's fraudulent data and its impact upon lawmakers, the military, the church, the press, the academic world, the family and all our institutions'." -- Kevin E. Abrams, co-author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality In The Nazi Party
Reisman, Judith A., Sexual Sabotage: How one mad Scientist Unleashed a Plague of Corruption and Contagion on America, ISBN: 9781935071853 1935071858.
"Alfred Kinsey's statistics on American sexual behavior was greatly skewed towards unusual sexual practices. Subsequent researchers at the Kinsey Institute have claimed that they have cleaned up the data, and found the same incidence rates. It is not possible to clean up data that was drawn from a sample that was not representative of the American people as a whole. The psychologist Abraham Maslow pointed out that Kinsey's data suffered from volunteer bias. And eminent statisticians pointed out that his statistics were invalid.
"Reisman points out that if sex outside of marriage had really been as common as Kinsey claimed, there would have been much more abortion, divorce, children born out of wedlock, and sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s than there actually was.
"Kinsey's books did much to weaken the laws against sex outside of marriage, because it did not seem reasonable to outlaw behavior that was commonplace. Reisman documents how the American Law Institute Model Penal Code was substantially changed by the Kinsey reports. The ALI MPC frequently quoted Kinsey as a reference when reducing or eliminating penalties for sex crimes. Kinsey's assertion that children desire sex has lead to efforts to lower the age of consent. Marriage was originally a contract designed to enforce sexual exclusivity, to provide for the care of children, and to prevent women from being abandoned. Kinsey's promotion of hedonism has weakened the institution of marriage, to the detriment of women and children.
"Judith Reisman is a voice in the wilderness, repeatedly drawing attention to one of the biggest crimes of the 20th century. Alfred Kinsey lied about the sex lives of the American people, in particular, about the Greatest Generation, the people who carried America through the Great Depression and World War II. Kinsey claimed that sex outside of marriage was common, when, in fact, it was unusual. Kinsey caused the children of the greatest generation to believe that their parents were hypocrites, who preached traditional sexual morality, but practiced sexual immorality." -- Reader's Comment
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Cornelius Van Til: The Man and the Myth.
"The actual teaching of this eminent Philadelphia theologian have been obscured by the myths that surround him. This book penetrates those myths and criticizes Van Til's surprisingly unorthodox views of God and the Bible." -- John W. Robbins
Cornelius Van Til, John W. Robbins
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.(Dallas?id=33
Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN 0-9636821-1-3 0-9636821-1-3: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)"As the world focuses it attention on the papacy, we ought to recall Lord Acton, the great Roman Catholic historian of the 19th century. Many have heard the aphorism, 'Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,' though it is usually misquoted as 'Power corrupts.' Few who have heard it, however, know who its author was: John Emerich Edward Dalberg, better known as Lord Acton. Fewer still realize that Acton used the aphorism in opposing the papacy, the absolute monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
The object of the Inquisition was not to combat sin -- for the sin was not judged by it unless accompanied by theological error. Nor even to put down error. For it punished untimely and unseemly remarks the same as blasphemy. Only unity. This became an outward, fictitious, hypocritical unity. The gravest sin was pardoned, but it was death to deny the donation of Constantine. [The Donation of Constantine was a document forged in the eighth century in which the Roman Emperor Constantine willed the Western Roman Empire to the Pope. The Roman Church taught that the Donation was genuine, and the legal basis for the pope's civil authority, for centuries. -- JR]. So men learnt that outward submission must be given. All this [was] to promote authority more than faith. When ideas were punished more severely than actions -- for all this time the Church was softening the criminal law, and saving men from the consequences of crime: -- and the Donation was put on a level with God's own law -- men understood that authority went before sincerity."Acton believed that the Inquisition was the institution by which the medieval papacy had to be condemned or acquitted. Just as a man charged with murder is judged for a single act, though be may be kind to his mother and a great philanthropist, so the papacy must be judged for the Inquisition. To Mandell Creighton, an Anglican priest, Acton wrote:
I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. . . . For many years my view of Catholic controversy has been governed by the following chain of reasoning: 1. A crime does not become a good deed by being committed for the good of a church. 2. The theorist who approves the act is no better than the culprit who commits it. 3. The divine or historian who defends the theorist incurs the same blame. . . . To commit murder is the mark of a moment, exceptional. To defend it is constant, and shows a more perverted conscience."Acton turned his attention to other crimes of the Roman Church as well. Beginning on Sunday, August 24, 1572, tens of thousands of French Huguenots were massacred by the Catholics. Overnight, thousands were murdered, and the murders continued for several months. The massacre began in Paris. The sign of the cross was everywhere, and the murders took on the air of a crusade, a holy war against the infidels. The banks of the Seine became a slaughterhouse. Men, women, children, and infants were stabbed or dragged by a rope around the neck to be thrown into the river. The murder, looting, and rape went on for days in Paris.
The story is much more abominable than we all believed. . . . S.B. [St. Bartholomew's], is the greatest crime of modern times. It was committed on principles professed by Rome. It was approved, sanctioned, and praised by the papacy. The Holy See went out of its way to signify to the world, by permanent and solemn acts, how entirely it admired a king who slaughtered his subjects treacherously, because they were Protestants. To proclaim forever that because a man is a Protestant it is a pious deed to cut his throat in the night. . . ."For three centuries the Roman church's canon law had affirmed that the killing of an excommunicated person was not murder, and that allegiance need not be kept with heretical rulers. Murder and treason were part of the Roman church's official teachings. Charles IX was acting as a good Catholic, and he was highly praised by the pope for his murders.
A man is not honest who accepts all the Papal decisions in questions of morality, for they have often been distinctly immoral; or who approves the conduct of the Popes in engrossing power, for it was stained with perfidy and falsehood; or who is ready to alter his convictions at their command, for his conscience is guided by no principle."After studying the history of the popes, Acton wrote:
The papacy contrived murder and massacre on the largest and also on the most cruel and inhuman scale. They were not only wholesale assassins but they made the principle of assassination a law of the Christian Church and a condition of salvation. . . . [The Papacy], is the fiend skulking behind the Crucifix.Pope's Visit Means 3 White House Firsts
Roche, George Charles, A World Without Heroes: The Modern Tragedy, ISBN: 0916308898 9780916308896.
"Harshly rebukes secular humanism as the most dehumanizing force in our modern age. This ringing defense of Christianity, humorous, insightful, and uncompromising, takes careful and timeless aim at those ideas which have shriveled the will of the West and the faith of millions." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Mythology of Science. Available through Exodus Books.
"A study of creationism that succeeds in exposing many of the naive theories long held by scientists." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Ryken, Leland, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were, ISBN: 0310325005 9780310325000.
"Seeks to disabuse the term 'Puritan' of the stigma that has long been associated with the movement. Succeeds in totally revamping this era of history. Shows the Puritans to be conscientious, and cultured citizens, persons of principle, determined and disciplined, excelling in the domestic virtues, and with no obvious shortcomings save the tendency to run to words when saying anything important." -- J.I. Packer
Sampson, Philip, Six Modern Myths About Christianity and Western Civilization, ISBN: 083082281X 9780830822812.
*Scott, Otto, R.J. Rushdoony, M.R. Rushdoony, Martin G. Selbrede, and John Lofton, Jr., The Great Christian Revolution: The Myths of Paganism and Arminianism, ISBN: 1879998025 9781879998025.
"Dr. Warfield noted that Calvinism represents the Christian religion in its highest and purest form, for Calvinism alone acknowledges the totality of God's kingly prerogatives over every square inch of our world. This volume supports these powerful truths from three different perspectives, with each author supplying cumulative weight to the proposition that God rules in the affairs of all men, from the least to the greatest. This book will help you sort out much of the current error in theology in our day." -- GCB
"Never has so broad a sweep of Christian history been so swiftly or dramatically told. From the savage tribes of Europe to the rise of the most wealthy and intellectual civilization in the world; from the Dark Ages to the Reformation; from the tyranny of English kings to the spirit of freedom in Philadelphia. Otto Scott takes you on a gripping journey through the rise and fall of men and empires, while the Christian faith has always shined through every generation. Get this book for your library." -- Publisher
Sire, James, Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible, ISBN: 0877846111 9780877846116.
"James Sire has isolated twenty separate kinds of reading errors which are characteristically made by cultists as they interpret the Bible. He covers the full range from simple misquotation to complex argumentation. Sire also handles twisted translation, overspecification, virtue by association, ignoring the context, and others. It's a book to help us all become better readers of the Scriptures. . . ." -- Hank Hanegraaff
*Smith, Guy, Guns and Control: A Nonpartisan Guide to Understanding Mass Public Shootings, Gun Accidents, Crime, Public Carry, Suicides, Defensive use, and More, ISBN: 1510760075 9781510760073.
"Non-aligned voters are often baffled by gun control. This book is designed to be a guide to thoughtful discussion; it arms readers with facts and observations behind the conflicting arguments, leaves emotional rhetoric to the pundits, and focuses on the thorny perspectives underlying the debate." -- Publisher
"Guy Smith is a man after my own heart. He's curious, doesn't accept pronouncements of truth by authority, and digs deeper in order to prove it himself. His entry into the topsy-turvy world of contrafactual 'research' by, shall we say, skeptics about guns, parallels my own. We both moved from accepting popular disapproval of firearms in society, to wondering why, to making our own inquiries and analyses. We both discovered the truth is opposite: Firearms are an important part of American culture, are overwhelmingly safely, responsibly owned and used, and help protect more citizens from harm than they are involved in hurting them.
"There are differences in his favor. Smith has been at this over 20 years and has developed an encyclopedic website called GunFacts. He posts everything he learns there (now with help from a dedicated group of volunteer researchers as the Gun Facts Project). I go back 10 years as an amateur -- DRGO is a volunteer project run by practicing physicians. You can learn a lot from searching DRGO, but all that and more is on Smith's GunFacts website, and better organized.
"All those years and thousands of facts later, he has collected in GUNS AND CONTROL everything you need to know about gun ownership and the efforts to weaponize research to justify restricting it. Its title precisely states the conflict we face, in this election year and every day. The activists who argue for licensing users, banning guns and other infringements on our natural, constitutional rights are primarily motivated by and depend on emotional arguments. Smith cuts through that and focuses on 'Just the facts, ma'am.' The subtitle, A NONPARTISAN GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING MASS PUBLIC SHOOTINGS, GUN ACCIDENTS, CRIME, PUBLIC CARRY, SUICIDES, DEFENSIVE USE, AND MORE makes that clear." -- Reader's Comment
Sowell, Thomas, Economic Facts and Fallacies, ISBN: 9780465003495 0465003494.
"From one of America's most distinguished economists, a short, brilliant and revelatory book: the fundamental ideas people most commonly get wrong about economics, and how to think about the subject better.
"ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues -- and does so in a lively manner and without requiring any prior knowledge of economics by the readers. These fallacies include many beliefs widely disseminated in the media and by politicians, such as fallacies about urban problems, income differences, male-female economic differences, as well as economics fallacies about academia, about race, and about Third World countries.
"One of the themes of ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES is that fallacies are not simply crazy ideas but in fact have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power -- and makes careful examination of their flaws both necessary and important, as well as sometimes humorous.
"Written in the easy to follow style of the author's BASIC ECONOMICS, this latest book is able to go into greater depth, with real world examples, on specific issues.
"Thomas Sowell has taught economics at a number of colleges and universities, including Cornell University, University of California, Los Angeles and Amherst College. He has published both scholarly and popular articles and books on economics, and is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
"In this slim volume, Sowell exposes, refutes and debunks six of the major economic fallacies of our time:
1. Urban Facts and Fallacies"As you've probably noticed, these are six of the major flashpoint issues of our times -- and Sowell knocks down the myths and lies the left-wing has worked so hard to spread.
2. Male-Female Facts and Fallacies
3. Academic Facts and Fallacies
4. Income Facts and Fallacies
5. Racial Facts and Fallacies
6. Third World Facts and Fallacies
Stowell, Joseph M., The Dawn's Early Light, ISBN: 0802471714 9780802471710.
"Christianity is losing the battle for the Christian mind. Stowell exposes the fuzzy thinking, misconceptions and lies we've learned to live with -- and often to love." -- GCB
Strydom, Jan, and Susan Du Plessis, The Myth of ADHD and Other Learning Disabilities: Parenting Without Ritalin, ISBN: 1563841800 9781563841804.
"If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD or some other behavior disorder, be careful. This diagnosis might be false. . . . "The authors of this book explain how parents can teach their children the skills of concentration and self-control without drugging them into submission." -- Publisher
Thompson, Arthur R., To the Victor go the Myths and Monuments: The History of the First 100 Years of the War Against God and the Constitution, 1776-1876, and its Modern Impact, ISBN: 9781936698011 1936698013.
"A concise and devastating revelation dispelling the myth that our present straits of moral decline and socio-political upheaval are the result of the inexorable march of chance occurrences of history. Thompson brilliantly and painstakingly unpeels the onion of conspiracy using nothing more than truth, availble historical records, and simple logic. Far from a doom and gloom report, readers will thrill at the end with his salient action plan to defeat the enemies of freedom! This is a must read for all true Americanists and freedom lovers." -- Reader's Comment
*Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the Union 2021.
*The National Debt is Worse Than Advertised
"When you include unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, that actual US debt stands at $123.11 trillion, according to the 'Financial State of the Union 2021' published by Truth in Accounting.
"In order to pay off all of Uncle Sam's liabilities, every taxpayer in the US would have to write a check for $796,000. . . .
"The federal government has $5.95 trillion in assets and $129.06 trillion in liabilities. If it were a private company, the US government would be bankrupt."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2021/04/23/the-national-debt-is-worse-than-advertised/
About our National Debt
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/about/our_national_debt
*Welch, Edward T., Blame it on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience, ISBN: 0875526020 9780875526027.
"Dr. Welch has a Ph.D. in psychology as well as theology degrees, and has been a counselor for years. His doctoral work was on brain physiology, so Blame it on the Brain is the fruit of 20 years of reflection on the subject.
"Welch wonders if the brain 'has been given too much credit.' (p. 12). Many have held the brain responsible for some bad behavior: 'My disease did it!' (p. 13). While the observations of the rapidly expanding field of brain sciences can be very helpful, when interpreted through a biblical lens they can be put in a more modest and helpful perspective. How do these discoveries illustrate biblical truths that can be applied to people's lives? Instead, too often sin problems are mislabeled as solely brain problems, and thus the true cause is left unaddressed. (p. 25)
"Four very practical principles emerge from this approach to mind-body issues: 1. The brain cannot by itself 'make' a person sin. (p. 49f). 2. Each person's abilities (brain strengths and weaknesses), are unique. (p. 53f). 3. Brain problems can expose heart problems. (p. 56f). 4. Sinful hearts can lead to physical illness; upright hearts can contribute to good health. (p. 58f)
"In part two of the book these principles are then concisely but thoughtfully applied to a series of examples. First are apparently physical issues: Alzheimer's disease (p. 67f), and head injury (p. 85f). Next are more psychiatric issues: depression (p. 115f), 'A.D.D.' (p. 131f), homosexuality (p. 151f), and alcoholism. (p. 183f)
"Welch's treatments of these problems abound with practical, sensitive insight. In the process he clearly defines the deeper issues at stake: what is the soul?; what is the body?; what is sin?
"For me, a crucial component of the book is the section on the mind-body relationships, especially pp. 43-48. Welch is careful to distinguish the heart from the body, but without separating them. Drawing upon rich Trinitarian analogies, he is careful to outline a model that seeks not to over-emphasize either the duality or the unity. This understanding enables us to try to distinguish between sin and sickness. As Welch ably defines it: 'any behavior that does not conform to biblical commands or any behavior that transgresses biblical prohibitions proceeds form the heart and is sin.' (p. 43). Conversely, 'any behavior that is more accurately called a weakness proceeds from the body and is sickness or suffering.' (p. 44). We are to repent of sin. But things that reflect only our creaturely limitations are not immoral, but proceed from our fallen bodies.
"The example Welch uses of hallucinations is illustrative. The Bible does not prohibit them, so we can not admonish someone for experiencing them. We are called to compassion for them. The hallucination may have been caused by a prior sinful choice, and the hallucinatory may respond to them with sin, but the hallucination itself is not sinful. A helpful chart on page 45 lists out some examples of body problems (broken bones, mental retardation, feelings of depression, hallucinations), and heart (mind) problems (anger, pride, drunkenness). Of course, many problems involve both the body and the heart or mind, and in unequal and obscured proportions. How do we separate out the differences? And why is it helpful to try?
"Each summer during high school and college I worked in a nursing home. The changes I witnessed in particular residents after being away from them for almost a year were often shocking and tragic. I think of a seemingly kind and affable man named D., who in a few months seemed to transform into an unrecognizably profane and lewd bore. Welch demonstrates convincingly that such brain or body problems as D.'s Alzheimer's can expose what is in the heart. The brain appears to have led the person into bad behavior, when it is more accurate to say that the brain problem allowed certain otherwise hidden parts of their heart to be uncovered. Welch contends, 'In some case brain problems function like truth serum for the heart.' (p. 58)
"Welch's treatment of the subject is fairly comprehensive but far from exhaustive. Questions of application remain. If meds can only, at their best, address the body issues and not the heart, how do we know which needs addressing? Welch addresses this in a wise, but frustratingly brief section in pp. 125-127. Adopting Welch's guidelines is easy enough, but applying them to real life situations, I know from experience, is another matter. What about the person who meets some but not all of the criteria listed on p. 127 (they are over forty; have had no prior history of problems with depression; are taking prescription drugs, etc.)? This is not a flaw in Welch's treatment of the topic, just a limitation of its brief explication here.
"I have known a person, for example, who had his first bout with depression at age 62. But it was extremely serious. He became despondent and delusional and was checked into a residential treatment facility. His case meets the first of the two criteria listed by Welch, but not the last two. Clearly, his depression was triggered by some circumstances in his life (some the direct result of some horrible choices, others not). Yet, just as clearly it seems that the depression, while largely originating from his sinful behavior, now had a physical component. His medications, while wrought with multiple serious side effects, did seem to successfully contribute to his ability to function. Yet, if I were given a decision making role in his 'treatment,' I would want to somehow know: were the drugs really helpful, or was it their placebo effect? And if they did reduce his anxiety, is that all necessarily good? Did he not need discomfort to drive him to make changes in his absolutely horrendous behavior? And if so, how much and what type of discomfort?
"Anyway, Welch's book wrestles with some deep issues and presents them in a lucid and readable format." -- Raymond Cannata
" 'What is needed is not necessarily more sophistication in understanding the brain. Instead, what is needed is a more in-depth and practical examination of Scripture that is relevant to these questions.' (pp. 19-20). In this chapter, he remains resolute in affirming the supreme authority of God's Word in understanding and applying the deluge of information which our secular society is bent on giving us. . . .
'Heart and body are both two and one. They are two in that the body cannot be reduced to heart or spirit, and heart cannot be reduced to body. But they are mutually independent. They need each other. Human life cannot even be imagined without both the inner and the outer person. . . .' (p. 47)
"In chapters 4 and 5, we read about legitimate brain dysfunctions which are the result of Alzheimer's disease (and dementia), or serious head injury stemming from an accident. Here, Welch wants the reader to understand that there are indeed cases where the brain can suffer illness or injury to the extent that the behavior and mental capacity of the individual will be directly affected. He is quick to point out that though these conditions may harm the outer man, they do not necessarily mean that the inner man will also begin to dissipate.
"In chapters 7 and 8, we read about psychiatric problems such as depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD) which may or may not be the result of the brain's alleged deficiencies. . . . He is also quick to point out that the depression or ADD may be the result of a spiritual problem and that the care of the individual and their relation to God ought to factor in the treatment every bit as much as medicinal treatments.
"In chapters 9 and 10 we read about two areas of human behavior which the brain is often held responsible for -- homosexuality and alcoholism. In both cases, Welch is insistent that the brain cannot the cause of one's sinful behavior. As he says so plainly, " 'The ultimate cause of sin is always the human heart,' (p. 169). He argues that when these behaviors are seen as proceeding directly from the brain's activity, then the connection that exists between human beings as morally accountable agents and a holy and righteous God is severed. What needs to take place is repentance from such sinful behavior in light of the promise of God's gracious provision of forgiveness which can be found in Jesus Christ. Though these sins present particularly strong forms of bondage, God's mercy can break even their stronghold." -- Daniel Mark Donovan
Whitehead, Neil, and Blair Whitehead, My Genes Made me do it! A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation, ISBN: 1563841657 9781563841651.
"We believe the book is the most current, thorough, and clear account, of the extent to which homosexuality is inborn. It also explains how we become heterosexual. Subjects include incidence, brain studies, hormone studies, twin studies, and culture. It summarizes 8 years study on 1700 books, chapters and papers. The first author has 30 years research experience." -- Dr. Neil Whitehead
"Co-author, Dr. Neil Whitehead (Ph.D. Biochemistry), has worked as a research scientist in New Zealand for 25 years. This book presents objective scientific findings into the debate about homosexual orientation and its true origins. It examines the widely-publicized "gay gene" and twin studies and shows why they don't prove what is often claimed.
"The Whiteheads present the most detailed and current arguments available on this important topic. This would be a powerful book to hand anyone involved in gay behavior who thinks change is not possible." -- Reader's Comment
My Genes Made be do it!
http://www.mygenes.co.nz/
Wilkes, Peter (editor), Christianity Challenges the University, ISBN: 0877844747 9780877844747.
"Exposes the fallacy of an anthropocentric education, and demonstrates the superiority and viability of a Christocentric approach." -- Cyril J. Barber
Young, Mary de, The Ritual Abuse Controversy: An Annotated Bibliography, ISBN: 0786412593 9780786412594, indexes.
"The ritual abuse of children is the most controversial issue in the child maltreatment field, but much of what has been written about ritual abuse over the past twenty years is in the form of unpublished and endlessly reproduced 'stuff' -- curious mixture of conjecture, folkloric and pop-culture representations of satanism, devil worship, occultism and witchcraft, and Christian Fundamentalist images of premillennarian evil. What remains after this 'stuff' is excluded is an intriguing body of international literature that seriously examines the controversy.
"This annotated bibliography dissects the literature, objectively and thoroughly annotates published articles, books and reports, legal opinions, and occasionally, thought-provoking newspaper and magazine articles.
"Chapters deal with the definition of ritual abuse, ritual abuse cases in the United States, cases in American families and neighborhoods, cases in Canada, Europe and Australasia, clinical features of ritual abuse in children and adults, the controversy's impact on professionals and systems, the controversy and American law, ritual abuse reports and narratives, and anthropological, folkloric and sociological perspectives.
"Mary de Young, a professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology at Grand Valley State University, lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the author of THE DAY CARE RITUAL ABUSE MORAL PANIC, published by McFarland and Company." -- Publisher
"There may be something of interest here. We have not seen this bibliography. However, we feel it is highly unlikely that a secular compiler could produce an unbiased bibliography on ritual child abuse considering: 1) the most dangerous place for a child in America today is in their mother's womb, 2) most parents have given up their children's education to the public education system, and in 1983 The National Commission on Excellence in Education, in their report, A NATION AT RISK: THE IMPERATIVE FOR EDUCATIONAL REFORM, concluded that had public education been carried out by enemies of the United States, it could not be more harmful to the country, 3) The court system refuses to acknowledge the Ten Commandments (the summation of which is to love God and neighbor) as an ethical basis for modern, relative, arbitrary law, and 4) "although heterosexuals outnumber homosexuals by a ratio of at least 20 to 1, homosexual pedophiles commit about one-third of the total number of child sex offenses," and the courts are recognizing homosexual marriages as of equal status as heterosexual marriages, and so forth, and so on." -- compiler
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Absolute truth and relativism, Epistemology, The protestant reformation, The covenanted reformation, Biblical creationism (intelligent design), and evolutionism, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Suffrage, Mind control, Zionism, What your doctor may not tell you, Healthcare reform, Logic, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Revisionist history, and so forth, and so on.
The Christian and Politics #04: Enemies of our Christian Heritage #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182945
Dispelling Vaccination Myths
http://chetday.com/vaccinationmyths.htm
*DNA Science Disproves Human Evolution, Jeffrey P. Tomkins
"This article will evaluate the popular myth of human-chimpanzee DNA similarity along with recent research showing that a broad and unbridgeable chasm exists between the human and chimpanzee genomes. . . ."
"So, what does 85 percent DNA similarity really mean? First of all, it's important to note that for human evolution to seem plausible, a DNA similarity of 99 percent is required. This is based on known current mutation rates in humans and an alleged splitting of humans from a common ancestor with chimpanzees about three to six million years ago. This length of time is a mere second on the evolutionary timescale. Any level of similarity much less than 99 percent is evolutionarily impossible. This is why evolutionists rely on all sorts of monkey business when it comes to comparing human and chimpanzee DNA -- they must achieve a figure close to 99 percent or their model collapses."
https://www.icr.org/article/dna-science-disproves-human-evolution
*DNA: The Tiny Miracle That's Toppling Evolution,
Mario Seiglie, May 21, 2005
"If the information in the book was spoken aloud, written in chalk or electronically reproduced in a computer, the information does not suffer qualitatively from the means of transporting it. 'In fact the content of the message,' says professor Phillip Johnson, 'is independent of the physical makeup of the medium' (Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, 1997, p. 71).
"The same principle is found in the genetic code. The DNA molecule carries the genetic language, but the language itself is independent of its carrier. The same genetic information can be written in a book, stored in a compact disk or sent over the Internet, and yet the quality or content of the message has not changed by changing the means of conveying it.
"As George Williams puts it: 'The gene is a package of information, not an object. The pattern of base pairs in a DNA molecule specifies the gene. But the DNA molecule is the medium, it's not the message' (quoted by Johnson, p. 70)."
https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/dna-the-tiny-code-thats-toppling-evolution
Fallacy Files
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/
Functional Illiteracy
"Functional illiteracy is a term used to describe reading and writing skills that are inadequate 'to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.' Functional illiteracy is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense, meaning the inability to read or write simple sentences in any language. . . .
"Links with poverty and crime
"In developed countries, the level of functional literacy of an individual is proportional to his/her income level and risk of committing crime. For example, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics in the United States:
"According to BeginToRead.com:Over 60 percent of adults in the U.S. Prison System read at or below the fourth grade level
85 percent of U.S. juvenile inmates are functionally illiterate.
Adult inmates who received educational services while in prison had a 16 percent chance of returning to prison, as opposed to 70 percent for those who received no instruction. [this statistic not in citation given -- compiler]
43 percent of adults at the lowest level of literacy lived below the poverty line, as opposed to 4 percent of those with the highest levels of literacy.
"The National Center for Education Statistics provides more detail. Literacy is broken down into three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. Each parameter has four levels: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a person can look at a short piece of text to get a small piece of uncomplicated information, while a person who is below basic in quantitative literacy would be able to do simple addition. In the US, 14 percent of the adult population is at the 'below basic' level for prose literacy; 12 percent are at the 'below basic' level for document literacy; and 22 percent are at that level for quantitative literacy. Only 13 percent of the population is proficient in these three areas -- able to compare viewpoints in two editorials; interpret a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity; or compute and compare the cost per ounce of food items."Two thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
Three out of four individuals who receive food stamps read on the two lowest levels of literacy.
16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts. . . .
Great Moments in Presbyterian History #4: Colonial Presbyterianism and the Great Awakening
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037179
Gun Deaths are Cultural, B.J. Campbell, August 11, 2020
Gun suicides account for about two-thirds of gun deaths.
"My colleagues at Open Source Defense and I were recently pointed to a pretty amazing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) project hosted by The Oregonian, which uses CDC data and population rate data to determine the gun deaths rate, gun homicide rate, and gun suicide rate within the country on a county-by-county basis. They used data from 2004 through 2010 to have enough data to apply meaningfully to counties with sparse populations. They produced an interactive website, where you can zoom in to any area of the country. Anyone can go to the website itself and zoom in or around any of the maps in this article, to look at them yourself, and we encourage you to do so "don't just take our word for it'."
https://www.recoilweb.com/geographic-evidence-that-gun-deaths-are-cultural-162216.html
Hi-tech Polygraphy as a Means of Broadscale Reform
http://www.lettermen2.com/polytech.html
National Vaccine Information Center
"The general population believes that vaccinations are totally effective, totally safe and everyone has to have them. The truth is, however, they are not totally safe and effective, and not mandatory.
"Vaccinations are not absolutely mandatory. There are three types of exemptions available to parents: Medical, Religious, and Philosophical. . . . Most states allow at least two of the three."
For more information on the myth of 'No shots, no school' visit:
http://www.909shot.com
Or call: National Vaccine Information Center: 1-800-909-SHOT.
Our National Debt is Trillions of Dollars More Than you Think, Merrill Matthews, February 9, 2016,
"Thus, when Federal Reserve Bank debt is included, total federal debt rises to $21 trillion -- and that doesn't include the additional long-term Social Security and Medicare obligations the country has incurred. . . .
"When Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff added those obligations to total federal debt, he came up with $222 trillion."
http://rare.us/story/our-national-debt-is-trillions-of-dollars-more-than-you-think/
Psychology and Psychiatry
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrrappc.html
Quackwatch
Extensive resources compiled by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
"Quackwatch, Inc., which was a member of Consumer Federation of America from 1973 through 2003, is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by Dr. Stephen Barrett in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, it was incorporated in 1970. In 1997, it assumed its current name and began developing a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisers.
"To avoid semantic problems, quackery could be broadly defined as "anything involving overpromotion in the field of health." This definition would include questionable ideas as well as questionable products and services, regardless of the sincerity of their promoters. In line with this definition, the word 'fraud' would be reserved only for situations in which deliberate deception is involved."
http://www.quackwatch.org/
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
A Resolution That Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Disprove the Modern Myth That Sunday Work Maximizes Profits
http://http://www.lettermen2.com/wmresol1.html
The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration
http://www.lettermen2.com/craig.html
The Sins of men not Chargeable on God, John M'Laurin (1693-1754)
http://www.westminsterconfession.org/godly-living/the-sins-of-men-not-chargeable-on-god.php
Who Knew? 2 percent of American Counties Account for 51 percent of Murders Nationwide, but 54 percent had no Murders at all (We did), L.A. Paredes, May 22, 2019
"A recent post on AmmoLand brings these stats back into focus, because sometimes even the good guys (pro 2A folks) fall into the nasty trap that we need more restrictions on firearms. In his piece entitled 'Gun Crime is a Made-Up Word From the Anti-Gun World, Here are the Real Numbers,' Don McDougall writes 'If not for gangs and drugs, the number of murders by guns is below 1,700 in a county of 330,000,000 people. Remove the gangs and drugs, and the US is one of the SAFEST countries in the world.' He reports that the total number of gun deaths annually hovers around 38,000 -- and calls to attention what the Left loves to overlook, which is that 28,500 are from suicides and that gang and drug activity accounts for 7,885 deaths. These numbers turn the anti-gunners fearful bellyaching right on their heads. (McDougall cites the FBI's Uniform Crime Report and John Lott's Crime Prevention Research Center).
https://www.gunownersca.com/2019/05/22/knew-2-american-counties-account-51-murders-nationwide-54-no-murders/
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)See the Theological Notes: "The Image of God," at Genesis 1:27 in The Reformation Study Bible.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Nehemiah 9:6)
Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Isaiah 40 "is perhaps the most famous passage in the Old Testament on God's work of creation." -- John Gill commenting on Isaiah 40:28-31Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. (Colossians 1:16-19)
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)
"Ideas have consequences."See the Theological Notes: "God the Creator," at Psalm 148:5 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Let them priase the name of the Lord: for he commanded and they were created. (Psalm 148:5)For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. (Colossians 1:16-19)Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty;
just and true are thy ways,
thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
for though only art holy:
for all the nations shall come and worship before thee;
for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:3b,4)For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us. (Isaiah 33:22)
Isaiah's Prophesy after the Angel of the Lord smote Sennacherib's army for good King Hezekiah.See the Theological Notes: "The Greatness of God," at 1 Chronicles 29:11 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chronicles 29:11)
He is the fountain and centre of every thing that is bright and blessed. All that we can, in our most exalted praises, attribute to him he has an unquestionable title to. His is the greatness; his greatness is immense and incomprehensible; and all others are little, are nothing, in comparison of him. His is the power, and it is almighty and irresistible; power belongs to him, and all the power of all the creatures is derived from him and depends upon him. His is the glory; for his glory is his own end and the end of the whole creation. All the glory we can give him with our hearts, lips, and lives, comes infinitely short of what is his due. His is the victory; he transcends and surpasses all, and is able to conquer and subdue all things to himself; and his victories are incontestable and uncontrollable. And his is the majesty, real and personal; with him is terrible majesty, inexpressible and inconceivable. . . . His sovereign dominion, as rightful owner and possessor of all: "All that is in the heaven, and in the earth, is thine, and at thy disposal, by the indisputable right of creation, and as supreme ruler and commander of all: thine is the kingdom, and all kings are thy subjects; for thou art head, and art to be exalted and worshipped as head above all." -- Matthew Henry (1662-1714), An Exposition of the Old and New TestamentsSee the Theological Notes: "The Self-existence of God," at Psalm 90:2 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "God the Creator," at Psalm 148:5 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Let them priase the name of the Lord: for he commanded and they were created. (Psalm 148:5)See the Theological Notes: "General Revelation," at Psalm 19:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
What a wonderful thing is the memory -- one of the many precious faculties with which the Creator has endowed us. By it we are enabled . . .
By it, we may review the Lord's dealings with us in grace and in providence, call back to mind His interventions on our behalf, delivering us when in straits -- or rejoicing our hearts while He talked with us along the way. By it, we can turn over the pages of our chequered lives, and read what is recorded both for and against us.
- to live the past over again in our minds,
- to revive the early experiences of childhood,
- to recall the words of those who are no longer with us.
Memory is the power of retention, the storehouse in which all our knowledge is preserved. It is not possible to assess its value in silver and gold. How much poorer would we be, if everything were erased from its tablets! One of the greatest tragedies of life, is for a person to lose his mind and memory. It is indeed hard to part with any faculty, but, if compelled to make the choice, probably most of us would rather be deprived of our limbs, our hearing, or even our sight, than our mentality -- yet comparatively few cultivate and use it as they should.
The memory is indeed of vast importance, for it is the treasurer of the soul. What the understanding takes in -- the memory stores up. Knowledge, intellectual growth, social fellowship, the spiritual life -- all have their roots in this faculty of retention. But this invaluable gift, like all others, entails a corresponding obligation. Each talent that God has bestowed upon us is for use -- and if it is not employed, it will deteriorate. As unexercised limbs become stiff, and muscles flabby -- so an unused memory becomes enfeebled. The memory may be developed and controlled, though time and trouble are required for this, as for everything else of worth.
Memory is largely a matter of volition. Said the Psalmist, "I will not forget your word" (119:16). Definiteness of purpose is required, whether we shall recall a thing or dismiss it from our minds. Remembering is a setting of knowledge to work, reviewing the notions and impressions we have received, by exercising our thoughts about, and meditating upon them.
The seat of the memory is the heart. Of Mary it is said, that she kept all these things "in her heart" (Luke 2:19, 51) -- things kept there, are never lost.
This leads us to point out that there is both a notional or speculative remembering -- and a practical or influential one. The former is where we barely think of things, and receive no profit or benefit from them. The latter is where the mind is so engaged with the object recalled, that the affections are fired and the will moved by it. Thus the faculty of memory is given us by God as a means unto an end -- to be a help in promoting piety.
The Scriptures abound with exhortations to remembrance. At the fore of them, we would place that one where those of tender years are bidden, Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come. (Ecclesiastes 12:1) Bear in mind that, since He is your Maker, He is therefore your rightful Lord and Owner -- so conduct toward Him as such, rendering unto Him the homage and honor that are His due. Meditate much upon His glorious perfections; call Him to mind constantly while your heart is yet impressionable, and habits for good or evil are being formed for life; and thereby you will be fortified against the temptations of youth. All of men's wickedness and misery comes through forgetting God, hence the warning, Beware that you forget not the LORD your God!" (Deuteronomy 8:11) -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), ForgettingWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. -- John Muir (1848-1914)
Mathematics, like all branches of science, confirms God's character and God's Word. Indeed, no matter where we look in the universe or what branch of science we use, God's Word is confirmed over and over again because it is true from the very beginning (Psalm 119:160). God is the Creator who has carefully fashioned this universe, imposed order on it, and upholds it (Colossians 1:16,17). Pi, logic, physics, math, and the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1) -- no amount of math, science, or technology has ever falsified that. We can trust His Word from the very beginning. -- Answers in Genesis
See the Theological Notes: "Mankind's Guilty Knowledge of God," at Romans 1:29 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "The Wisdom and Will of God," at Daniel 2:20 in The Reformation Study Bible.
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. (2 Samuel 23:3)
Thou art He, O Jehovah, Thyself -- Thou hast made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that are on it, the seas and all that are in them, and Thou art keeping all of them alive, and the host of the heavens to Thee are bowing themselves. (Nehemiah 9:6, YLTHB)
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. . . (Colossians 1:16-19)The different conception of God begins to affect the philosophy of history with the doctrine of creation. None of the Greek philosophies had any notion of creation. Aristotle earlier and Plotinus later both argued for the eternity of the world. Christianity on the other hand teaches that God created the world out of nothing at a point in the finite past. This is an event which happened just once and forms the temporal basis of all those unique events of history to which Christianity attaches so much significance. The concept of creation therefore produces a worldview in which humanity plays the central role while nature is the stage setting, as opposed to Greek and all other naturalism in which man is minor detail. -- Gordon H. Clark in A Christian View of Men and Things, p. 85
I have taught about 4,000 students. I have never had two students quite alike. I sit in the Atlanta terminal waiting for my plane after I leave you all. I see the throngs of people walking up and down the Eastern section. All right, there are no two people alike. When my wife and I get off the Eastern plane at New York and try to get on a bus to go to Kennedy, into Kennedy Center, to go over to the TWA terminal, I saw people everywhere. In the Kennedy Airport they are everywhere. In the Heathrow Airport they were everywhere. In London they were everywhere. In New York City they are everywhere. No two people alike. . . . The Creationist view of the origin of the soul does solve a philosophical and theological problem and that is, why we are all different. If God creates an individual soul for each person, then that person will be an individual entity. -- Dr. C. Gregg Singer, in a lecture, "Augustine and his Basic Theology"
If God does not exist, everything is permitted. -- Fyodor Dostoevski (1821-1881)
Someone said that Evolution is not a scientific theory, but rather it is a philosophy.
Without the belief in a Creator there is no basis for theology and law.
The appearance of Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES marked the beginning of the arrogance of liberal religions in the Western world, including the religion of Secular Humanism. -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007)
I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning; consequently, assumed it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. -- The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics; he is also concerned to prove there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do. -- For myself, as no doubt for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. -- Aldous Huxley in an article titled "Confessions of a Professed Atheist," in Report: Perspective on the News, vol. 3 (June 1966), p. 19
I suppose the idea of God interfered with our sexual mores. -- Sir Julian Huxley on the reason for the rise of evolutionary theory
The Fourfold Treasure, a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon delivered on Thursday Evening, April 27th, 1871, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, Sermon No. 991.
Sermon topic: 1 Corinthians 1:30,31, Christ is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
This is to be wise, to have Christ's teaching, Christ's example, and above all, Christ's presence; so may the poorest find the Lord Jesus made of God unto them wisdom.
Pause just a minute. Let none of us ever be so foolish as to suppose that when we have received Jesus and his gospel, we have occasion to blush when we are in the company of the very wisest of the present day. Carry a bold face when you confront the brazen faced philosophy which insults your Lord. The man who does not believe the Bible does not know so much as thou dost. Blush not, though with mimic wisdom the unbeliever tries to laugh or argue thee down. He who knows not Christ, though he propounds wonderful theories as to the creation of mankind and the formation of the world, and though he has a glib tongue, is only an educated fool, a learned idiot, who thinks his own rushlight brighter than God's own sun. "Ah! but he has been to college, and he has a degree, and he is esteemed by men; for he has written books that nobody can comprehend." The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God; and I do not care even if he be a Solon, if he has said that there is no God, he is a fool. Do not blush, then, if you find yourself in his company, do not make yourself the blushing one because the fool is there. Self-conceit were to be avoided and loathed; but this is not self-conceit, but a holy courage in a case which demands of you to be courageous. To know Christ is the best of all philosophy, the highest of all sciences. [emphasis added -- compiler]. Angels desire to look into this; but I do not know that they care a fig for half the sciences so valued among men. If you know Christ you never need be afraid of being ashamed and confounded whatever company you may be in. If you stood in a senate of emperors, or amidst a parliament of philosophers, and only told them of the God that came in human flesh, and loved, and lived, and died to redeem mankind, you would have told them a greater mystery and a profounder secret than reason could discover. Be not ashamed, then, amid the intellectual pride of this boastful age. -- C.H. Spurgeon in a sermon, The Fourfold TreasureThere is not one little blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make men rejoice. -- John Calvin
Keep close to Nature's heart . . . and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. -- John Muir (1848-1914)
Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. -- John Muir, in Our National Parks (1901)
The alpenglow is the most impressive of all the terrestrial manifestations of God. -- John Muir
"alpenglow: the rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains."The real value of an object is that which one who knows its worth will give for it. He who made the soul, knew its worth, and gave His life for it. -- Arthur Jackson
I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially to the extent to which it has been applied, will be one of the greatest jokes in the history books of the future. Posterity will marvel that so very flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity it has. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
Adams, Ansel, and William A. Turnage, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, ISBN: 082125717X 9780821257173.
American Portrait Films, Robert V. Gentry, David W. Gentry, Mike Lee Beesley, Glenn Aufderhar, E. Lonnie Melashenko, The Young Age of the Earth, DVD, ISBN: 0934837899 9780934837897.
"Provides revolutionary new scientific evidence which clearly shows that the Earth is actually quite young (i.e. less than 10,000 years old)."
American Portrait Films
We now offer (2002), over 30 Christian creation science videos, young earth creationism videos, creation science videos, and videos on other creationist topics as well as 100 other thought provoking pro life, pro family videos.
http://www.americanportraitfilms.com/
Axe, Douglas, Undeniable: How Biology Confirms our Intuition That Life is Designed, ISBN: 9780062349583 0062349589.
"Axe argues that the key to understanding our origin is the 'design intuition:' the innate belief held by all humans that tasks we would need knowledge to accomplish can only be accomplished by someone who has that knowledge. For the ingenious task of inventing life, this knower can only be God. He explains in plain English the science that proves our design intuition scientifically valid, and then uses everyday experience to empower ordinary people to defend their design intuition." -- Publisher
Bailey, Liberty Hyde, Manual of Cultivated Plants: Most Commonly Grown in the Continental United States and Canada, revised edition.
*Baker, Sylvia, Evolution: Bone of Contention, ISBN: 0852342268 9780852342268.
"The reason young people most often give for disbelieving the Bible is that it has been disproven in the first chapter . . ." -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007)
*Behe, Michael J., Darwin Devolves: The new Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution, ISBN: 0062842668 9780062842664.
"The scientist who has been dubbed the Father of Intelligent Design and author of the groundbreaking book DARWIN'S BLACK BOX contends that recent scientific discoveries further disprove Darwinism and strengthen the case for an intelligent creator.
"In his controversial bestseller DARWIN'S BLACK BOX, biochemist Michael Behe challenged Darwin's theory of evolution, arguing that science itself has proven that intelligent design is a better explanation for the origin of life. In DARWIN DEVOLVES, Behe advances his argument, presenting new research that offers a startling reconsideration of how Darwin's mechanism works, weakening the theory's validity even more.
"A system of natural selection acting on random mutation, evolution can help make something look and act differently. But evolution never creates something organically. Behe contends that Darwinism actually works by a process of devolution -- damaging cells in DNA in order to create something new at the lowest biological levels. This is important, he makes clear, because it shows the Darwinian process cannot explain the creation of life itself. A process that so easily tears down sophisticated machinery is not one which will build complex, functional systems, he writes.
"In addition to disputing the methodology of Darwinism and how it conflicts with the concept of creation, Behe reveals that what makes Intelligent Design unique -- and right -- is that it acknowledges causation. Evolution proposes that organisms living today are descended with modification from organisms that lived in the distant past. But Intelligent Design goes a step further asking, what caused such astounding changes to take place? What is the reason or mechanism for evolution? For Behe, this is what makes Intelligent Design so important." -- Publisher
*Bell, Robert, Impure Science: Fraud, Compromise, and Political Influence in Scientific Research, ISBN: 0471529133 9780471529132.
"The author lifts the veil of secrecy from scientific research conducted in this country. He presents a shattering indictment of the scientific community from the halls of government to the research centers at major universities and corporations. Documents case after case of influence peddling, doctored research and outright fraud, and reveals how the twin forces of money and status compromise and corrupt the pursuit of scientific truth." -- Publisher
Brickell, Christopher, Trevor J. Cole, and American Horticultural Society, American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers, ISBN: 0789489937 9780789489937.
Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion, 1817. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7.
Buchsbaum, Ralph, National Audubon Society, et al. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of Animal Life, ISBN: 0517546574 9780517546574.
*Bunyan, John (1628-1688), and Robert Philip (1791-1858), The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate. Alternate title: THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL, AND UNSPEAKABLENESS OF THE LOSS THEREOF: WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT: FIRST PREACHED AT PINNERS HALL, AND NOW ENLARGED, AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"In the 1660s, Charles II, King of England, asked John Owen (1616-1683), why he went to hear the preaching of an uneducated tinker. [John Bunyan -- compiler]. Looking the King in the eye, Owen answered, 'May it please your Majesty, could I possess the tinker's ability for preaching, I would willingly relinquish all my learning'." -- Andrew Thomson, John Owen, Prince of Puritans
Owen would not have been surprised to learn that Bunyan's most influential work, PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, would be translated into more languages over the next 400 years than any book except the Bible.
The Greatness of the Soul: and The Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; No way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ; The Strait Gate
http://archive.org/details/greatnessofsoulu00bunyuoft
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
This is the complete set of THE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN, George Offor edition, reprinted by The Banner of Truth. It is free online, and is downloadable in the following formats: HTML, RTF, TEXT, and PDF.
http://www.chapellibrary.org/literature/bunyan/
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN BUNYAN is also available at Project Gutenberg.
Casey, George, Paul Novros, Mose Richards, Phillip Clarke, and Rosalind Ayres, The Great Barrier Reef, DVD, ISBN: 1584480351 9781584480358.
"Viewers will experience not only the beauty of the reef, but will learn of its complex ecosystem, symbiotic relationships and the extreme fragility of its environment." -- Publisher
*Clark, Gordon H., (1902-1985), The Hoax of Scientific Creationism.
*Clark, Gordon H. (1902-1985), The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God, ISBN: 0940931850 9780940931855.
"Through most of its history, modern science has been at war with Christianity. This little book ends the battles, for it demonstrates that science cannot argue against the truth of Scripture, for the methods of science can never prove anything true. Written by the chairman of the philosophy department at Butler University, this book may be studied with profit by teachers, parents, and students." -- Publisher
"THIS IS THE BOOK to confound anyone who is putting faith and trust in science." -- Jay P. Green Sr.
Includes bibliography and indexes.
"In this book the late philosopher Gordon H. Clark takes a critical look at the fundamental workings of the scientific method and demonstrates that science is incapable of discovering truth. Science is a collection of useful falsehoods, which we may use to manipulate and control nature. It is useful for giving us technology and for providing working theories of the natural world, but these theories are forever that -- theories. They can be proven false, and often are proven false, but no scientific theory can ever be proven true. Therefore the modern fascination with science (which borders almost on idolization), is misguided. Since science cannot discover truth, science has nothing to say about the existence of God, or the truths of Christianity and the Bible. These things are outside the domain of science. This means that there is no fundamental conflict between religion and science, once science is properly understood. Truth does not come from science, but is, rather, a gift revealed to us by God in the pages of the Bible. This book is well worth one's careful study." -- Reader's Comment
Cook, Richard, and Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (2008, 9th edition), ISBN: 9780141034010 0141034017.
"THE PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ RECORDINGS is now firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful -- often wittily trenchant -- criticism. For this completely revised ninth edition, Richard Cook and Brian Morton have reassessed each artist's entry, and updated the text to incorporate thousands of additional CDs. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike." -- Publisher
Crocker, Caroline, Free to Think: Why Scientific Integrity Matters, ISBN: 9780981873442 0981873448.
"FREE TO THINK is about one politically incorrect professor's foray into the academic world. Dr. Crocker, a widely published scientist with numerous peer reviewed publications, goes into detail about both what she taught at George Mason University and how she taught it. In the end, the University did not like her challenging dogmatic fundamentalist Darwinism. What is really upsetting, documented by pages of photocopies of University documents, is how they ended her career. To be blunt, they unethically connived to censor her by very underhanded and unethical tactics, to say the least. To detail what they did here would cause one to lose credibility. You must read the original documents to comprehend what the University did to this excellent professor and how. Reading this book will make your blood boil and, if it doesn't, you need to take a good look at yourself. No one should be treated the way she was in America, the land known for its freedom to think. The book also documents the failure of the American "justice" system. The introduction by Ben Stein was also very helpful in understanding what happened to this bright scholar." -- Reader's Comment
*Croft, Laurence Raymond, How Life Began, ISBN: 0852342543 9780852342541.
*Davidheiser, Bolton, Evolution and the Christian Faith.
"This spiritually converted biologist and geneticist wields a mean whip on the back of all evolutionists, whether atheistic or theistic. He has plaited his whip from the statements of the evolutionists themselves, both the oldest and the newest. Having been one of them, he is able to tear holes in their methods and in their conclusions." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
*Denton, Michael, Evolution: Still a Theory in Crisis, ISBN: 9781936599325 1936599325.
"Michael Denton's EVOLUTION: STILL A THEORY IN CRISIS, is a sequel to his 1985 book -- EVOLUTION: A THEORY IN CRISIS -- this takes us up to date with the dazzling developments of life sciences over the past 30 years. Denton is a skeptic about Darwin's theory of evolution on purely scientific grounds. It is hard to see how anyone reading his book could not be persuaded. Paleontology provides abundant evidence of evolution within species, but none of one species morphing into another. Denton is fascinatingly clear in his exposition of the science of genetics, and how it destroys the Darwinian position. A truly great book." -- Reader's Comment
Dickey, Page, and Marion Brenner, Outstanding American Gardens: A Celebration: 25 Years of the Garden Conservancy, ISBN: 1617691658 978-1617691652.
"The Garden Conservancy is celebrating its 25th anniversary with this beautifully illustrated book that documents a selection of the outstanding public and private gardens it has worked with since its founding in 1989. The book showcases eight gardens the conservancy has helped preserve and 43 of the more than 3,000 private gardens across the country that have been opened to the public through its Open Days Program. The private gardens cover a wide variety of regions, habitats, designs, and plants, from early spring through autumn. Featured private gardens include Panayoti Kelaidis's rock garden in Denver, Colorado; Deborah Whigham and Gary Ratway's collection of native and Mediterranean plants and earth walls in Albion, California; and James David's imaginative mix of heat-tolerant plants, rills, and pools in Austin, Texas." -- Publisher
Downes, Stephen, Stephen Downes Guide to the Logical Fallacies.
"Stephen Downes, an information architect with a background in philosophy, created this site with the aim of identifying, indexing, and describing 'all known logical fallacies.' A logical fallacy can be defined as an error in reasoning in which a conclusion appears to follow from a set of premises but in reality does not. Downes groups the fallacies into thirteen categories, such as Fallacies of Distraction, Inductive Fallacies, and Syllogistic Errors. Each fallacy (over 50 in all), is described with its name, definition, examples of how it might be used in an argument, and how the argument can be proven fallacious. The How to Use this Guide section of the site provides a helpful introduction, and a robust bibliography offers possibilities for further study of logic. In addition, users may register at the site (no fee), to gain access to discussion boards on the topic. The author notes that his Guide "is intended to help you in your own thinking, not to help you demolish someone else's argument." Regardless of how a reader uses the information, however, the site remains an interesting and fun investigation of how logical arguments are constructed."
"Lists all known logical fallacies, with definitions, examples, and the steps needed to prove that the fallacy is committed. Site also includes links to logic references and resources."
Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies
http://www.fallacies.ca/welcome.htm
Duncan, Dayton, Ken Burns, Peter Coyote, Florentine Films, WETA-TV (Washington, D.C.), The National Parks: America's Best Idea, DVD, ISBN: 1415749515 9781415749517 0793694876 9780793694877.
"Traces the birth of the national park idea in the mid-1800s and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories and analysis from more than 40 interviews, and what Burns believes is the most stunning cinematography in Florentine Films' history, the series chronicles the steady addition of new parks through the stories of the people who helped create them and save them from destruction." -- Abstract
*Eternal Productions (firm), Jim Tetlow, John Clement Whitcomb, and Dan Sheedy, God of Wonders: Exploring the Wonders of Creation, Conscience, and the Glory of God, DVD, ISBN: 1573411566 9781573411561.
Contents: Introduction | God of power | Thunderstorms | Sun/Stars | Universe | E=mc2 | God of wisdom | Snow crystals | DNA | Seeds | Flowering plants | Sea creatures | Birds | Hummingbirds | Butterflies | Mankind | God of justice | God of love.
"Join us on a remarkable journey of discovery as we explore the Creator's handiwork and what His creation reveals about His character. Survey the unimaginable size of the universe and ponder the vast energy present in all matter. Examine the elegant water molecule essential to all life and discover how God combines these molecules to form beautiful and symmetrical snow crystals. Learn about the incredible complexity of DNA and the miraculous workings of the tiny seed. From the functional design of birds to the transformation of butterflies, these and many other features of creation are highlighted in this visually stunning presentation." -- Publisher
Fay, Mike, and Michael Nichols (photographer), Last Place on Earth, 2 volumes, ISBN: 0792238818 9780792238812 0792238796 9780792238799.
"The photographs in THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH are the best wildlife images in the world today. The groundbreaking photography in Volume I presents wildlife as if the viewer is on the scene and closeup. This is accomplished with gadgetry developed at National Geographic under the guidance of Michael Nichols. The new technology allows Nichols to set aside the usual telephoto lenses that magnify and flatten subjects, freeing him to use more normal lenses with special lighting. The resulting pictures come the closest to bridging the gap between wildlife and humanity than any photographs have ever done. Pictures cover the rough and amazing beauty of central Africa's wildlife and terrain-many images have never been seen-for example, surfing hippos and sun-bathing buffalo.
"Volume II highlights a facsimile of Mike Fay's original journal. It is real-life drama at its very best. Nichols' stunning black and white images of the arduous journey illustrate Fay's detailed entries. Together the set constructs a portrait of central African forests before 'their greatness succumbs to the inexorable nibble of humanity.' Threats by armed-poachers, disease, and despair are offset by moments of utter astonishment: Fay befriends a gorilla, Ebobo, whom he first met seven years before. At one point along the trip the gorilla was seen waiting for Fay to catch up. As a result of Nichols' and Fay's work, the government of Gabon created 13 national parks protecting 11,294 square miles. -- Publisher
Gebelein, Bob, Dirty Science: How Unscientific Methods are Blocking our Cultural Advancement, ISBN: 9780961461140 0961461144.
"DIRTY SCIENCE exposes the unscientific, illegitimate, and irrational arguments that are used in the name of 'science' by people with high scientific credentials, corrupting our cultural knowledge. This is not 'science bashing,' but is an accurate and responsible book, written with compassion for the people who are caught up in the system. It is not seeking the approval of establishment scientists as 'authority' figures, but is appealing to the intelligent reading public (which includes all academic people) to recognize the unscientific methods and cause the people who use those methods to lose credibility. As a start, every undergraduate student of critical thinking needs to read this book." -- Publisher
Hall, David W., Did God Create in Six Days? ISBN: 0965036774 9780965036771.
"Pipa and Hall do a masterful job of defining the debate, answering the critics, and defending the Authority of Scripture." -- Ken Ham, President of Answers in Genesis
"David W. Hall, Senior Fellow at the Kuyper Institute in Oak Ridge, TN, is the author or editor of 14 books on political, historical, and theological subjects. He is the Executive Editor of PREMISE and Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oak Ridge, TN.
"Joseph Pipa, Jr. is President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the author of numerous works.
Ham, Ken, The Answer Book: Over 25 Questions on Creation/evolution and the Bible, ISBN: 0890515093 9780890515099.
Ham, Ken, The Lie: Evolution, ISBN: 9780890514467 0890514461.
"This book deals with the significance and relevance of a literal Genesis and aims to help people realize the real nature of the creation/evolution issue. It is authored by a member of the Institute for Creation Research." -- GCB
Ham, Ken, Carl Wieland, and Don Batten, One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism, ISBN: 0890512760 9780890512760.
"This book did an excellent job explaining their view on how all mankind goes back to one people group. The authors do a fantastic job explaining difficult scientific concepts in a layman's tone.
"They explain how the term 'race' changed meaning during the late 1800's after Darwin wrote his book, ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION, OR THE PRESERVATION OF FAVORED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. For example, before Darwin, races meant more of a culture like the Irish race or the Egyptian race and after the book, it mean different people groups developed from different types of apes.
"They spend some time unpacking the horrors done to Ota Benga, a Congolese Mbuti pygmy, by bringing him to the US and displaying him in a zoo with an orangutan. They describe how all humans are different shades of brown (through our melanin) and not white, black, red or yellow.
"I really hope more people will read this book and decide for themselves which worldview makes a better case to describe our origins. It would allow people to have more understanding that its the cultures that are different, not our 'races'." -- Reader's Comment
Hinch, Stephen W., Outdoor Navigation With GPS, ISBN: 0899976506 9780899976501.
"For outdoor adventurers who hike, fish, kayak, cross-country ski, or mountain bike in the backcountry, a GPS receiver can help them reach their destination and return safely -- but only if they know how to use it! Here is the guide to getting the most out of a GPS receiver, from basic consumer advice to advanced techniques. It even includes fun solo and team games that utilize GPS. Starting with essential definitions and moving on to creating waypoints, and using your GPS with a computer, this succinct book teaches the basics of navigation and outdoor GPS use. Advanced techniques are covered, such as creating custom maps, and new technologies are discussed, including using GPS-enabled mobile phones, and how to use GPS with Google Earth and Google Maps. With years of experience as a GPS instructor, Hinch is well-versed in all aspects of navigation and GPS use, and he covers them in a jargon-free, easy-to-follow style. . . .
"Stephen Hinch has taught courses in GPS navigation to police and fire personnel, park rangers, search-and-rescue staff, and recreational outdoor enthusiasts since 1998. When he was young, his avid rockhound parents would pack up the family and head out to remote desert locations in search of semi-precious stones nearly every weekend. These desert explorations honed his navigational skills and taught him the importance of not getting lost." -- Publisher
*Hodge, Charles (1797-1878), What is Darwinism? ISBN: 1425515282.
"Prof. Hodge was arguably America's most respected theologian for most of his 56 years teaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. . . . This book is chiefly known for its conclusion, What is Darwinism? It is atheism. . . .
"Hodge rarely made hasty judgments. He was one of the first theologians to comment on Darwin's THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (1859) in print -- 1861. Hodge spent many years studying all aspects of the theory. He identifies its strengths as well as its philosophical inconsistencies.
"This book is of great value not only to those interested in theology and 19th century history and culture, but also to those interested in the contemporary debates over the merits of Neo-Darwinism (Hodge would have surely been fascinated by the exciting new Intelligent Design [ID] theorists -- like William Dembski, Jonathan Wells, Hugh Ross, Michael Behe, etc.)." -- Reader's Comment
*Hugo, Nancy Ross, and Jeffrey Kirwan. With photographs by Robert Llewellyn, Remarkable Trees of Virginia, 216 pp., ISBN: 9780974270722 0974270725.
"This stunning collaboration between the noted garden writer Nancy Ross Hugo and the photographer Robert Llewellyn showcases the fruits of an effort begun in 2004 to research, locate, and photograph Virginia's most remarkable trees. Four years later, more than one thousand trees had been officially nominated to the project and many others suggested for possible inclusion. The results, presented in this elegant, four-color volume, are astounding. Hugo and Kirwan, the project coordinators, have selected a sample of trees and 'tree places' that illustrate the enormous variety, startling beauty, and fascinating history of Virginia's trees.
"Here you will see, through Llewellyn's incomparable lens, not only some of Virginia's largest trees, including a newly discovered national champion overcup oak in Isle of Wight County, but also some of the state's oldest, including baldcypress trees over 800 years old in Southampton County and red cedars over 450 years old in Giles. You will find unique trees like a willow oak in which a tricycle is embedded, fine specimens like the massive American beech in front of Sleepy Hollow Methodist Church in Falls Church, and outrageously shaped trees, like the water tupelos in the Cypress Bridge area of Southampton County. You will find trees associated with famous people and events as well as trees associated with ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Perhaps best of all, you will learn about communities that have gone to great lengths to protect their trees and about places where the public can visit some of the best trees and 'treescapes' in the state.
"REMARKABLE TREES OF VIRGINIA is a celebration of trees, but it doesn't dodge hard issues. In a section on urban forests, the authors describe the major problems facing trees in urban areas and point out strategies urban foresters are using to solve them. They describe the ecological services trees provide and issue a call for action both to protect trees in their existing habitats and to find more places where trees can 'grow large and long.'
"Nancy Ross Hugo is a lecturer and outdoor writer whose articles have appeared in Horticulture, Fine Gardening, American Forests, Virginia Forests, Country Journal, and other publications. She was a columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Virginia Wildlife. She is the author of a book of collected essays, EARTH WORKS: READINGS FOR BACKYARD GARDENERS (Virginia). Jeff Kirwan is Extension Specialist and Professor in the Department of Forestry at Virginia Tech. He serves on the state advisory committees for Project Learning Tree and the Master Naturalist Program. Robert Llewellyn has been photographing Virginia for over thirty years. His previous books include EMPIRES IN THE FOREST: JAMESTOWN AND THE BEGINNING OF AMERICA, created with writer Avery Chenoweth, which won five national awards in nonfiction and photography, and ALBEMARLE: A STORY OF LANDSCAPE AND AMERICAN IDENTITY." -- Publisher
Huse, Scott, M., The Collapse of Evolution, ISBN: 0801057744 9780801057748.
"The purpose of this book is three fold; to expose the scientific fallacies of the theory of organic evolution, to present scientific evidence for Biblical creationism, and to prove that evolution and Biblical creationism are mutually exclusive. Well illustrated, fully indexed, and with a glossary of terms." -- GCB
*Huxley, Anthony (editor), The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, 4 volumes, 3000 pages, ISBN: 1561590010 9781561590018.
Contents: Volume 1 (A-C), Volume 2 (D-J), Volume 3 (K-Q), Volume 4 (R-Z).
"This book encompasses a vast range of plants grown on a domestic or commercial scale in private gardens or present in specialist and botanical collections. They are plants grown for ornament, for amenity, or for economic use, and they include a selection of cultivars. 50,000 plants are described, including many hundreds of cultivars. It gives concise botanical accounts of species in cultivation throughout the world, in line with the latest taxonomic thinking, and it gives practical advice on how to grow every plant described. There are over 500 articles on horticultural science and practice, newly commissioned from leading authorities." -- Publisher
IMP, The Evolution Conspiracy (Jeremiah Films), DVD.
IMP, The Pagan Invasion Series (Jeremiah Films)
Volume 6: Evolution: Hoax of the Century? DVD.
Volume 7: Evolution: From Physics to Metaphysics, DVD.
Koster, John P., Jr., The Atheist Syndrome, ISBN: 0943497337 9780943497334.
"Many of the people who founded the modern faith of faithlessness all shared certain common experiences: Nietzsche, Darwin, Hitler, Stalin, Freud, Sartre, Rullell, et al. Koster defines this 'atheist syndrome' and then provides a means of recognizing it in our society today." -- GCB
"This hard-to-find book is an excellent introduction to social aetiology of clinical pyschosis and nuerocognitive behavior as they relate to atheism. It is the first work I've seen which convincingly demonstrates a direct causative bridge between an absence of faith in God to recognized symptoms of mental illness such as paranoia, loss of appetite, and bed-wetting. . . .
"The Atheist Syndrome" is definitely a useful first-year graduate text covering the inherent pitfalls of evolutionary theory, eigenvalue problems, and atheistic moral decomposition. Some of the more unique (and interesting), features of the book include a discussion of the impact of modern computer animation on atheism; a handy directory of atheists' homes and phone numbers; and a discussion of prominent modern atheists, ranging from Jacobi to Klismann and even De Llundum. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
Lacey, Stephen, Marilyn Inglis, and National Trust (Great Britain), Gardens of the National Trust, ISBN: 0810963213 9780810963214 0707801419 9780707801414.
"The gardens of Britain's National Trust are unmatched anywhere in the world for sheer number, diversity, and quality. Taken together, they form the world's most important collection of cultivated plants, distinguished for their beauty, rarity, historic interest, and scientific value, ever assembled under single ownership. With this incomparable palette, Stephen Lacey paints a vivid picture of a wide range of individual Trust gardens. He gives his own impressions, describing the present state of each, and placing it firmly within the context of gardening history in Britain. All the major periods are represented: a knot garden from a 1640 design at Moseley Old Hall in Staffordshire; great estate gardens such as Blickling, Cliveden, Killerton and Powis; magnificent eighteenth-century landscapes such as 'Capability' Brown's Petworth in Sussex as well as Stourhead, Stowe and Studley Royal; Victorian gardens like Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire with a wealth of new plants introduced from all over the globe; and the outstanding gardens of this century, such as Nymans in Sussex, Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, and Hidcote in Gloucestershire. This superbly designed volume serves as a practical guide to National Trust gardens as well as a source of reference and inspiration. Every entry gives details of soil and climate, while an appendix includes tables listing the special features of each garden. Last, but by no means least, the beauty of the gardens is conveyed in superb full-color images taken by leading photographers." -- Publisher
*Meyer, Stephen C., Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, ISBN: 9780062071477, 9780062071484, 9780062071491, 0062071475, 0062071483, 0062071491.
"Charles Darwin knew that there was a significant event in the history of life that his theory did not explain. In what is known today as the 'Cambrian explosion,' 530 million years ago many animals suddenly appeared in the fossil record without apparent ancestors in earlier layers of rock. In DARWIN'S DOUBT Stephen C. Meyer tells the story of the mystery surrounding this explosion of animal life -- a mystery that has intensified, not only because the expected ancestors of these animals have not been found, but also because scientists have learned more about what it takes to construct an animal. Expanding on the compelling case he presented in his last book, SIGNATURE IN THE CELL, Meyer argues that the theory of intelligent design -- which holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection -- is ultimately the best explanation for the origin of the Cambrian animals." -- Publisher
Lee, Francis Nigel, Communism Versus Creation.
Lewis, H.L., and J.M. Chalmers-Hunt, President of the British Entomological and Natural History Society (foreword), Butterflies of the World, ISBN: 0517481650 9780517481653.
"BUTTERFLIES OF THE WORLD depicts full-color illustrations ['In order to ensure the utmost accuracy in colour and detail, great care and painstaking skill have gone into each plate, so that these reproductions are among the most realistic in existence.' -- J.M. Chalmers-Hunt] of over 5,000 butterflies [more than 6,500 photographs -- compiler]. These photographs are taken from the world-renowned entomological collection in the British Museum's Natural History Department in London. The illustrations are amplified by a textual section which gives generic and specific names, locations, and other brief descriptive information.
"Includes butterflies from Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Indo-Australasia, and Asia. Virtually all groups of species are represented, and some 90 percent of all but the most elusive species can be identified from the plates, text, and index." -- Publisher
Linzey, Andrew, and Tom Regan, Animals and Christianity: A Book of Readings, ISBN: 0824509021 9780824509026.
Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn (1899-1981), and Christian Medical Fellowship, The Approach to Truth -- Scientific and Religious.
"An address given at a meeting of the Christian Medical Fellowship on 3 April, 1963."
Martin, James L., and John L. Girardeau, Dr. Girardeau's Anti-evolution: The Logic of his Reply, ISBN: 0837042992: 9780837042992.
McElheny, Victor K., Drawing the Map of Life: Inside the Human Genome Project, ISBN: 9780465043330 046504333X.
"DRAWING THE MAP OF LIFE takes the story of the Human Genome Project from its origins, through the race to its accomplishment, and on to today's vast efforts to exploit the complete, ordered sequence of the 3 billion subunits of DNA, the molecule of heredity. It is the first account to deal in depth and balance with the intellectual roots of the project, the motivations that drove it, and the hype that often masked genuine triumphs. McElheny profiles key people, such as David Botstein, Eric Lander, Francis Collins, Watson, Michael Hunkapiller and Craig Venter. He also shows that, besides being a major event in the history of science, one that is revolutionizing medicine, the Human Genome Project is a striking example of how new techniques and instruments (such as restriction enzymes and sequencing methods), often arriving first, shape the type of questions scientists then ask.
"Victor McElheny is a distinguished science journalist who has covered the revolution in molecular biology for the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Science for nearly three decades. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he ran the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts." -- Publisher
*Meyer, Stephen C., Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe, ISBN: 9780062071507 0062071505 9780063087620 0063087626.
"The anticipated third book from New York Times bestselling author and respected Intelligent Design scholar Stephen C. Meyer makes a compelling argument for the existence of God based on breakthroughs in physics, cosmology, and biology." -- Publisher
"Stephen C. Meyer received his PhD. in the Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. . . .
"In addition to Meyer's two landmark books -- SIGNATURE IN THE CELL (2009) and DARWIN'S DOUBT (2013) -- his many other publications include contributions to, and the editing of, the peer-reviewed volume DARWINISM, DESIGN AND PUBLIC EDUCATION (Michigan State University Press, 2004) and the innovative textbook EXPLORE EVOLUTION (Hill House Publishers, 2007)." -- Publisher
Return of the God Hypothesis
https://returnofthegodhypothesis.com/
*Morris, Henry M., The Biblical Basis for Modern Science, ISBN: 0801061784 9780801061783.
"The scientifically accurate, highly responsible, and articulate study provides comprehensive coverage of those salient and relevant issues supporting Biblical creationism. Recommended." -- Cyril J. Barber
Lists "some of the outstanding Bible-believing scientists who founded" various branches of science.
*Morris, Henry M., Evolution and the Modern Christian.
"This is an introduction to the considerations of the claims of evolution and the revelation of the Bible. It is intended for readers who are new to this subject, such as young readers. . . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
*Morris, Henry M., The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings, ISBN: 0801060044 9780801060045.
"Of great importance for the scientific data that has been included in the author's exposition. Should be consulted by all who wish to be well-informed on the issues alluded to by Moses." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Morris, Henry, M., The Long War Against God: The History and Impact of the Creation/evolution Conflict.
"Morris sets forth 1) the dominance of evolution in all modern disciplines of study; 2) the influence of evolution in the affairs of nations and societies; 3) the deleterious effect of evolution on religion, ethics, and morals; 4) the peculiar circumstances surrounding the ascendancy of modern Darwinism; and more." -- GCB
*Morris, Henry M., Many Infallible Proofs, ISBN: 0890510067 9780890510063 0890510059 9780890510056.
"Building on Christianity's historic reliability, the author develops a strong case for super-naturalism. He combines his mastery of scientific data with a careful evaluation of the Biblical material. An important work on Christian evidences." -- Cyril J. Barber
Morris, Henry M., Creation-Life Publishers, and The Institute for Creation Research, Many Infallible Proofs, a video [DVD].
From a series of videos of Creation Knowledge: Christian Evidences.
Morris, Henry M., The Remarkable Record of Job: The Ancient Wisdom, Scientific Accuracy, and Life-Changing Message of an Amazing Book, ISBN: 0801062381 9780801062384.
"Written from the creationist perspective, Morris demonstrates that the primary message of Job is not to explain suffering but rather to emphasize God's sovereignty in creation and providence. Morris reveals many surprising facts of modern science anticipated in Job." -- GCB
Morris, Henry, Science and the Bible, ISBN: 0802406564 9780802406569.
Morris, Henry, and John C. Whitcomb, The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications.
"A classic apologetic for Biblical creationism and the universality of the Flood described in the book of Genesis." -- GCB
Morris, Henry M. (editor), Scientific Creationism, revised and enlarged, ISBN: 0890510032 9780890510032 0890510040 9780890510049.
"Is written to explain the scientific basis of Scientific Creationism. This book could easily be used as a textbook for high school." -- GCB
Muir, John (1848-1914), and Tim Flinders, John Muir: Spiritual Writings, ISBN: 9781626980358 1626980357.
"John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, whose writings contributed to the preservation of Yosemite and other national parks, and, through his founding of the Sierra Club, helped spark the modern environmental movement. As his letters, journals, and other writings disclose, Muir's affinity with nature was grounded in a deep spirituality. Living for months and even years in the wilderness, he experienced a deep communion with the sacred. In exploring this little known aspect of Muir's work, this volume contributes to a distinctly American strain of spirituality that finds an echo in today's ecological movement." -- Publisher
Muir, John, and Edwin Way Teale, The Wilderness World of John Muir, ISBN: 0395240832 9780395240830.
"Selections from each of John Muir's published books." -- Publisher
Very glad to be reading this. Have dreamed of spending months in Yosemite observing the natural beauty and the wildlife there. Nothing could substitute for being there, but reading this extraordinary naturalist describe his observations in minuet, detailed and in beautiful English may be the next best thing to being there.
"One of my favorite books of all time. Muir is a tour de force. His casual easy-going writing style and his zest for life and all things natural are captivating in and of themselves but the true value of this book is the close-up view it provides of Muir's humble beginnings and unlikely rise to prominence. He faced considerably more obstacles than most of us, being pulled out of school early to work on the family farm for an ungrateful father and heading out into the world with virtually no money, family connections or education. All he took with him were a few weird and wonderful inventions created in isolation in his basement during the early hours of the morning (before heading out into the fields each day). Despite his family's harsh predictions, these inventions were surprisingly well received by the outside world and a truly astounding life path ensued." -- Reader's Comment
National Geographic Society (U.S.), Richard Kiley, Gail Willumsen, Barry Nye, and Jay Chattaway, 30 Years of National Geographic Specials.
Pakenham, Thomas, Remarkable Trees of the World, ISBN: 0393049116 9780393049114.
"A landmark volume celebrating the most remarkable trees on our planet. The Spirit of nineteenth-century exploration lives in British historian Thomas Pakenham, who has spent the last decade investigating the lives of the world's most dramatic trees, many of which are in danger of destruction. After the worldwide success of his previous work, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE TREES -- a stunning collection of 60 individual trees (and groups of trees), in Britain and Ireland chosen for their unusually strong personalities -- Pakenham decided to hunt down and photograph another 60 remarkable trees scattered throughout the globe. Many of these trees were already famous -- champions by girth, height, volume, or age -- while others had never previously been caught by the camera. Pakenham's five-year odyssey, sweating it out with a 30-pound Linhof camera and tripod, took him to most of the temperate and many of the tropical regions of the world. Although North American trees dominate this book, Pakenham also trekked to remote regions in Mexico, all over Europe, parts of Asia including Japan, northern and southern Africa. Madagascar, Australia, and New Zealand. Despite his expert knowledge, the book owes little to conventional botany. Like its predecessor, REMARKABLE TREES OF THE WORLD is arranged according to the characters of the trees themselves. There are Giants and Dwarfs, Methuselahs, Shrines, Dreams, Lovers and Dancers, Ghosts, and Trees in Peril. The chief Giant is General Sherman in the Sierra Nevada, California At over 1400 tons, the grizzled old general, a giant sequoia, is the world's largest tree, measured by volume -- indeed, the largest single living thing in the world. The height record, however, goes to another commanding Californian, a 368-foot high Coast redwood recently declared the tallest tree in the world. Among the Methuselahs, Pakenham describes the wind-blasted bristlecone pines of the White Mountains of California. One of them, Old Methuselah himself, was found to be 4,600 years old, making him the oldest tree yet measured by scientists. Shrines include some of the holiest trees in the world, like the immense camphor trees preserved in Shinto shrines in Japan and the 2,200-year-old Bo-tree in Sri Lanka, a cutting from the actual tree under which Buddha found enlightenment. Trees in Peril are the trees under attack by predatory loggers and impoverished farmers, including the exotic baobabs of Madagascar, now threatened by intensive farming, and the great spruce and Douglas fir and red cedars of Pacific North America in whose defense the conservationists have been fighting the loggers for decades. Remarkable Trees of the World is a magnificent new work that celebrates Pakenham's gifts as a writer and a photographer. It will be treasured for generations by all those who marvel at the wonders of nature." -- Publisher
Paley, William, Natural Theology: Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity. Collected From the Appearances of Nature, ISBN: 0935005625 9780935005622.
"I stumbled across this book quite by accident (or divine providence), and now it is one of my greatest treasures. Chapter One lays the foundation for Paley's argument for God's creation serving as the source of life and species. He poses two situations: if one stumbles upon a rock and questions its source, 'it has, perhaps, been there forever' seems a rational answer; if one finds a watch laying on the ground, the explanation for the source of the rock seems to fail as an explanation for the source of the watch. The balance of the book is devoted to pointing out the fallacy of assuming that life could emanate from chance happenings. This book is a 'must read' for Creation apologists, and it provides a challenging test to those who would rely on evolution as an explanation of the source of life." -- Reader's Comment
Phillips, Phil, Dinosaurs: The Bible, Barney and Beyond, ISBN: 0914984594: 9780914984597.
"In-depth look at evolution, creation science, and dinosaurs in the media and toys." -- Publisher
Purdom, Georgia, Paul Varnum, Ken Ham, and Answers in Genesis (Organization), The Code of Life: DNA, Information, and Mutation, a DVD.
"Dr. Georgia Purdom explores the world of DNA to show that 'junk' DNA is not junk, and that mutations and natural selection are headed in the wrong direction, corrupting and decreasing information in DNA, making evolution impossible." -- Publisher
Reader's Digest Association and Questar, Inc., America the Beautiful: A Tribute to God and Country, ISBN: 1568559119 9781568559117, a DVD.
"Presents video tours of various national parks, landmarks and other scenic wonders. Also presents musical tributes as America's most breathtaking scenery is accompanied by songs and inspirational hymns and melodies."
Richards, Lawrence O., It Couldn't Just Happen: Faith Building Evidences for Young People, ISBN: 0849907152 9780849907159 0849935830 9780849935831.
"An incredible book. Makes the study of astronomy and biology fascinating. Uses information from these disciplines to present the awesome wonder of creation in terms that will captivate teens (as well as those who teach them). Highly recommended." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Christianity and the State, ISBN: 9996717755. Available through Exodus Books.
"The need to return to a Biblical doctrine of civil government is evidenced by our century's worldwide drift into tyranny. Humanism invariably rushes in to fill the world's theological vacuums: the need of the hour is to restore a full-orbed, Biblical, theology of the state. This work sets forth that theology." -- GCB
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), Mythology of Science. Available through Exodus Books.
"A study of creationism that succeeds in exposing many of the naive theories long held by scientists." -- Cyril J. Barber
Sacks, Oliver W., Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, ISBN: 9781400040810 1400040817 9780676979787 0676979785.
"Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does -- humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and Oliver Sacks tells us why." -- Publisher
Sartore, Joel, National Geographic the Photo Ark Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals, ISBN: 9781426220593 1426220596.
"Celebrated National Geographic photojournalist Sartore continues his Photo Ark quest, photographing species around the world that are escaping extinction thanks to human efforts. The animals featured in these pages are either destined for extinction or already extinct in the wild but still alive today, thanks to dedication of a heroic group committed to their continued survival." -- Publisher
Sartore, Joel, Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species, an e-book.
"Sartore and National Geographic present 80 iconic images, representing a lifelong commitment to the natural world and a three-year investigation into the Endangered Species Act along with the creatures it exists to protect." -- Publisher
Sartore, Joel, Noah K. Strycker, and National Geographic Society, Birds of the Photo Ark, ISBN: 9781426218989 1426218982 9781426219825 1426219822.
"For avian enthusiasts, from armchair observers to dedicated life-listers, this brilliant book from acclaimed National Geographic photographer, Joel Sartore, celebrates the beauty of all birds, great and small. This elegantly packaged celebration of birds from around the world unites incredible animal portraits from Joel Sartore's distinguished National Geographic Photo Ark project with inspiring text by up-and-coming birder Noah Strycker. It includes hundreds of species, from tiny finches to charismatic eagles; brilliant toucans, intricate birds of paradise, and perennial favorites such as parrots, hummingbirds, and owls also make colorful appearances. Everyone who cares about birds -- from the family with a bird feeder outside the kitchen window to the serious birder with a life list of thousands -- will flock to this distinctive and uplifting book." -- Publisher
Sartore, Joel, Harrison Ford, Douglas H. Chadwick, and National Geographic Society, National Geographic, The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals, ISBN: 1426221584 9781426221583 (forthcoming 2020).
"This lush book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals, especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet. --Publisher
Sbordoni, Valerio, and Saverio Forestiero, Butterflies of the World, ISBN: 1552092100 9781552092101.
Sheldon, Joseph K., Rediscovery of Creation: A Bibliographical Study of the Church's Response to the Environmental Crisis (ATLA Bibliography Series, No. 29. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, Incorporated, 1992), ISBN: 0810825392 9780810825390.
Simpson, John (editor), and Edmund Weiner (editor), The Oxford English Dictionary (20 Vol. Set) (Oxford University Press, USA: 2nd edition, December 26, 2002), hardcover, 22,000 pages, 5 boxes ($995.00), ISBN: 0198611862 9780198611868.
Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, CD-ROM, ISBN: 0192687883 9780192687883. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language.
" 'Colonials' like me grew up in the shadow of this Everest of scholarship and the Himalayan series founded on its contents. And now, if we choose to, we can actually own the set, in its 2nd edition. This is a very desirable acquisition.
"Perhaps you worry that it might be an unwise purchase. We live in the age of the CD ROM, so why buy the printed volumes? The language seems to operate like a wheel rolling down a muddy slope picking up all manner of accretions as it progresses downhill. Will a work like this, then, become irrelevant? I think not. The citation formula used will always be relevant for readers interested in historical usage. The entire work constitutes, in a way, a history of the English Language, as well as a social history of English speaking peoples from the 12th century through to the end of the 20th century. Some scholars say it is unduly biased in the direction of English Victorian values, with a creeping predisposition toward a prescriptive rather than a descriptive stance on definitions. The compilers seem to want to position it to be a final arbiter on 'Correct Usage.' Who cares? It is manna in the wilderness to anyone who loves the language, who likes to browse, and is not stimulated by the inanity of television. If 'Political Correctness' is the filter through which all literature must pass for you, you'll probably not read very much of value, anyway.
"No other dictionary is so richly enjoyable as a work to read on its own. One does not go to the OED just to find the meaning of a word, one is beguiled, on opening a volume, to read many pages about all kinds of words. You'll never walk into the British Museum or the Louvre just to look at a single piece of Art and leave having looked only at that one piece. Here is the great exhibition of the language, its gallery.
"All speakers and students of the language are in Oxford's debt, and will forever be so. No dictionary comes close in comprehensiveness of coverage (its word count, i.e., the quantity of words defined, exceeds that covered in any other competing dictionary). This set, rightly, is the central jewel in OUP's crown of publications. If you're a writer, you can't afford not to purchase this set.
"Legend has it that a new 'improved' edition will be out some time between 2001 and 2003. I sense that the improvements will appeal particularly to the ultra-scholarly linguist/lexicographers among its readers. Improvements shall include the addition of citations that might, for instance, antedate the earliest citation shown in a previous edition. It might, however, not be utterly essential to you to know, for example, that the first user of the term 'Byronic' was Byron himself. The changes from the 2nd to the 3rd edition may be minimal, in print at least. Doubtless, there will be significant improvements to the search capability, appearance, and user friendliness of the software version. But, don't hesitate to purchase the printed 2nd edition. If you feel the CD ROM version is superior to the printed edition, this will boil down to whether or not you are a bibliophile. Nothing equals the tactile pleasure of the printed page, bound well. OED 2 is one of the handsomest printing jobs I've ever seen. The cloth binding is extremely rugged and well designed, elegant and solidly conservative in physical appearance. The paper is itself bright and smooth, the font/type clear and eminently readable. Even the dust jackets are beautiful, a real improvement over the previous design. 'Additions' volumes (times 3), are available for anyone interested in the vocabulary of the 90s. The 3rd edition will integrate these into the main work. But, a dictionary in the hand is worth two in the planning stage. And the beautiful volumes of the 2nd edition are available from Amazon.com at what amounts to bargain price.
"Buy this wonderful, beautifully produced and enduring work; it is a treasure for life that will never fail to impress you with the alluring beauty and quirky mutability of this most glorious of languages." -- Reader's Comment
"The 20-Volume OED and the new Version 3.0 CD-ROM [Version 3.1 was released December 10, 2004. A review of the CD-ROM version is included here because owners are dissatisfied with it. See reviews on Amazon.com. Understandably it is copy protected. However, 'Microsoft, in its quest to plug all of the gaping security holes in WinXP, implemented a security update August 8, 2006 that prevents this program and several others from launching. If you contact Microsoft and ask for HotFix KB924867, Microsoft will e-mail the HotFix to you.' If the user is not willing to 'walk this maze' then apparently the vendor leaves them high and dry -- with a expensive purchase that is non-functional. -- compiler]
"THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY is the internationally recognized authority on the evolution of the English language from 1150 to the present day. The DICTIONARY defines over 500,000 words and traces their usage through 2.5 million illustrative quotations from a wide range of literary and other sources. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, pronunciation, and history of the English language.
"This new version of THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (SECOND EDITION), ON CD-ROM thus offers unparalleled access to the world's most important reference work for the English language. The text of this version has been augmented with the inclusion of the OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY ADDITIONS SERIES (VOLUMES 1-3), published in 1993 and 1997, the BIBLIOGRAPHY TO THE SECOND EDITION, and other ancillary material. New Features:
Skilton, J., God as Ruler-king (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).
Audio cassette POG04 [audio file].
Smith, Chuck, Caryl Matrisciana, Jeremiah Films, Inc., and Cutting Edge Films International, Evolution: Hoax of the Century? DVD, ISBN: 1878993100 9781878993106.
Sunderland, Luther D., Darwin's Enigma: Fossils and Other Problems, ISBN: 089051108X 9780890511084.
Taylor, Paul S., The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible, ISBN: 0896362647 9780896362642.
"A wonderfully unique book. Children will find it fascinating, and adults will appreciate its unusual new insights. The record of the dinosaurs is placed into Biblical record of recent Creation and worldwide Flood. It is also a significant contribution to Biblical apologetics." -- Henry M. Morris
Time Warner, Inc., Time Life Plant Encyclopedia, 30 volumes.
"This series contains almost 3,000 species selected for general use in North American horticultural practice."
*Tortora, Gerard J., and Bryan Derrickson, Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 12th edition, 2009, ISBN: 9780470084717 0470084715.
"PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN ANATOMY, the market-leading text through its many editions, successfully blends visual and textual elements to illuminate the complexities of human anatomy. A host of carefully crafted pedagogical aids support both the succinctly written narrative as well as the outstanding illustration program. Applications representing a variety of clinical perspectives provide readers with both relevance and motivation. The eleventh edition of the book continues to break new ground by offering readers a glimpse into the fascinating history of how we have come to know what we do. In addition, readers are given the opportunity to explore structure from diverse perspectives, and gain insights into the vital contributions that anatomical knowledge brings to the understanding of functions, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
"PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN ANATOMY pared with WileyPLUS makes a wide variety of visual, audio, tactile, and blended resources easily accessible and provides ample opportunity to SEE, HEAR, and DO Anatomy.
"Visualizing human structure has never been clearer. Beautiful new illustrations, outstanding cadaver photographs, and clear micrographs grace every page of this new edition. Visual support for study also includes animations, new cadaver videos, and the dynamic new DVD, Real Anatomy.
"Recall what was said in lecture by listening to the MP3 downloads linked to key illustrations from each chapter. Build your vocabulary and learn the language of anatomy with a complete pronunciation dictionary.
"Actively engage with the content and review for exams and practicals with a wealth of activities, including the all new Visual Anatomy Exercises, Practice Quizzes, Flashcards, Review Sheets linked to animations and Real Anatomy.
"Jerry Tortora is Professor of Biology Coordinator at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, where he teaches human anatomy and physiology as well as microbiology. He received his bachelor's degree in biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his master's degree in science education from Montclair State College. He is a member of many professional organizations, including the Hyman Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), National Education Association (NEA), and the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB)." -- Publisher
"Covers the structure and function of human anatomy. Also emphasizes physiology, disorders, and the clinical applications of anatomy."
*Wenk, Elizabeth, and Kathy Morey, John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail, ISBN: 9780899974361 0899974368.
"Running from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada, the 212 mile John Muir Trail passes through some of the most dramatic mountain terrain in the United States. Each year, thousands of backpackers traverse some or all of the trail, relying on Wilderness Press's JOHN MUIR TRAIL. The completely updated edition of this Sierra classic includes significant information found nowhere else. The new JOHN MUIR TRAIL meticulously describes the entire trail and is written for today's hikers. The book includes GPS coordinates, not only for every junction, but also for every established campsite, bear box, and mountain pass that the trail crosses. The guide has separate descriptions for northbound and southbound hikers; for each direction, a junction chart shows all the trail's ups and downs." -- Publisher
*Whitcomb, John Clement, Jr., The Origin of the Solar System: Biblical Inerrancy and the Double-revelation Theory.
"Only the alert reader will be aware that, concealed behind the apparently conservative mathematics, there is a precarious invented pyramid of speculation after speculation, interlarded with slippery assumptions." -- Kirtly Mather
*Whitcomb, John Clement, Jr., The World That Perished, ISBN: 0801095379 9780801095375.
"This supplement to THE GENESIS FLOOD and its companion volume, THE EARLY EARTH, brings up to date the author's vast research into the primeval conditions prevailing on the earth before the Deluge, as well as the changes that took place following the Flood." -- Cyril J. Barber
Wilder-Smith, A.E., Evolution or Creation
Wilder-Smith, A.E., God, to be or not to be?: A Critical Analysis of Monod's Scientific Materialism.
Wilder-Smith, A.E., Man's Origin, Man's Destiny: A Critical Survey of the Principles of Evolution and Christianity
Wilder-Smith, A.E., The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution, ISBN: 0890510628 9780890510629.
"Today in nearly all colleges, universities, high schools and elementary schools the theory of evolution is taught as scientific fact, a theory that states that creation evolved from a single accident. But proof exists to dispute that theory as a hoax. Dr. Wilder-Smith gives one proof after another disputing the evolutionary philosophy of life. Every theory surrounding evolution is discussed and examined in length, and then compared with the undisputed truth that we were all created by God." -- Reader's Comment
Wilder-Smith, A.E., Terrorism, The Criminal Mind, Neo-Darwinism, Environmentalism, Marxism, Stalin, Hitler, God's Law, etc. (Creation/Evolution?)
An address by Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith on Matthew 15:15-20; Proverbs 4:23
"Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith was one of few scientists in the world to have three earned doctorates. . . .
"A devout born-again Christian, a devoted husband and father of 5 children, a young-earth creationist, and a highly qualified organic chemist, he authored over 70 scientific publications and more than 30 books, some published in 17 languages. Many of today's leading creationists consider him a major influence in their own intellectual development, and call him a pioneer in anti-evolution arguments. See: testimonies about Wilder-Smith by Duane Gish and other scientists and intellectuals."
He talks at length here about the Yochelson/Samenow 14 year study of the criminally insane [annotated elsewhere], at St. Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94071422010
Wilder-Smith, A.E., The Time Dimension: Its Relationship to the Origin of Life, ISBN: 0936728450 9780936728452.
Zimmerman, Paul A., Robert T. Ingram, Rousas John Rushdoony, C. Gregg Singer, and R. Clyde McCone, Papers Presented at Association for Christian Schools Conference, 92 pages.
"Contents: Can we accept theistic evolution? / Paul A. Zimmerman -- The law: Adam, Noah and Moses / T. Robert Ingram -- The dimension of victory / R.J. Rushdoony -- The dimension of time / R.J. Rushdoony -- Education: a house divided / Gregg Singer -- The origins of civilization: archaeological data and the problems of evolutionary explanation / R. Clyde McCone -- The origins of civilization: the Biblical record and problems of historical explanation / R.C. McCone."
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The love and justice of God, God's sovereign hand in history, History, "his-story," Epistemology of theology, the theory of knowledge, The inspiration and infallibility of scripture (the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of plenary inspiration, the doctrine of divine inspiration, the doctrine of verbal inspiration, theopneustia, sufficiency of scripture), Logic based on god's truth, Christian scholarship, Christ's influence on western civilization, The attributes of god, Biblical creationism (intelligent design), and evolutionism, A theological interpretation of american history, The christian foundation of america, colonial history, Church history and history of local churches, Works by and about puritans, Works of c. gregg singer, The religion of secular humanism: man as god, human autonomy, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Adultery, Incest, Gratuitous sex, a cause of violence, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Abortion and the sanctity of life, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Medical ethics, Casuistry, cases of consciousness, Logic based on god's truth, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Absolute truth and relativeness, Education, Mind control, The protestant reformation, The dutch reformation, Calvinism, Church history and history of local churches, The history of reformation of the church, The puritan revolution, Works by and about puritans, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Christian biography, The providence of god, Background, foundation, and history of the covenanted reformation of scotland, Persecution, The history of martyrs, Revisionist history, Modern myths and fallacies, Meltdown: the depression of 2008, God's deliverance of nations, and so forth, and so on.
Autumn Leaves, Sarah Vaughn with Joe Pass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XuLIQyMVPE&NR=1
Best of National Geographic on DVD
"General revelation is God's witness to Himself toward all men through creation, history, and the conscience of man. It is set forth in such Scripture passages as Psalm 19; Acts 14:8-18; Acts 17:16-34; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:12-16; etc."
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=242
Butterfly Exhibition at Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/03/butterfly-exhibition-at-rhs-garden.html
Creation Debate
http://www.tonguesrevisited.com/oxford_union_debate.htm
Creation Research Institute
http://www.icr.org/
*DNA Science Disproves Human Evolution, Jeffrey P. Tomkins
"This article will evaluate the popular myth of human-chimpanzee DNA similarity along with recent research showing that a broad and unbridgeable chasm exists between the human and chimpanzee genomes. . . ."
"So, what does 85 percent DNA similarity really mean? First of all, it's important to note that for human evolution to seem plausible, a DNA similarity of 99 percent is required. This is based on known current mutation rates in humans and an alleged splitting of humans from a common ancestor with chimpanzees about three to six million years ago. This length of time is a mere second on the evolutionary timescale. Any level of similarity much less than 99 percent is evolutionarily impossible. This is why evolutionists rely on all sorts of monkey business when it comes to comparing human and chimpanzee DNA -- they must achieve a figure close to 99 percent or their model collapses."
https://www.icr.org/article/dna-science-disproves-human-evolution
*DNA: The Tiny Miracle That's Toppling Evolution,
Mario Seiglie, May 21, 2005
"If the information in the book was spoken aloud, written in chalk or electronically reproduced in a computer, the information does not suffer qualitatively from the means of transporting it. 'In fact the content of the message,' says professor Phillip Johnson, 'is independent of the physical makeup of the medium' (Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, 1997, p. 71).
"The same principle is found in the genetic code. The DNA molecule carries the genetic language, but the language itself is independent of its carrier. The same genetic information can be written in a book, stored in a compact disk or sent over the Internet, and yet the quality or content of the message has not changed by changing the means of conveying it.
"As George Williams puts it: 'The gene is a package of information, not an object. The pattern of base pairs in a DNA molecule specifies the gene. But the DNA molecule is the medium, it's not the message' (quoted by Johnson, p. 70)."
https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/dna-the-tiny-code-thats-toppling-evolution
The Dr. Wilder-Smith and E. Andrews Debate With Richard Dawkins and J. Maynard Smith at Oxford
"Wilder-Smith is probably responsible for Richard Dawkins refusing to debate creationists any more. In 1986, he and E. Andrews debated the two leading evolutionists in Britain, Dawkins and J. Maynard Smith (the two strongest Darwinians in Europe), at Oxford."
See all the Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith addresses at SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_prodinfo.asp?PID=ad81206173621
The Evening sky map at Skymap.com
"The Evening Sky Map (PDF) is a 2-page monthly guide to the night sky suitable for all sky watchers including newcomers to Astronomy."
http://skymaps.com/downloads.html
Gardens in England
"England is the most garden-loving country in the world, with more gardens open to the public than anywhere else. London is the Garden Capital of the world, in the sense of having a higher proportion of garden-loving residents than any other capital city in the world. But there are disappointingly few great English gardens in London: one therefore has to travel by car or train to other English regions to find great gardens to visit. The most famous period in English garden history is the eighteenth century, when the original English landscape gardens were made. In addition to these English Garden Finder entries, please see Garden Tours in England for information on tours, self-guided visits tailor-made tours and gardens open to the public in England and our guide to Garden Hotels in the UK."
http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/in/england
Garden Visit -- The Garden Landscape Guide
A guide to outstanding gardens and nurseries around the world.
www.gardenvisit.com
God the Creator, J. Gresham Machen
http://www.westminsterconfession.org/introduction-to-the-christian-faith/god-the-creator.php
An Infinite Number of Monkeys, Bob Newhart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji_--Q1S9Gk&list=PLB483FB094383BC70&index=5&feature=plpp_video
The Innate-Immutable Argument Finds no Basis in Science
http://www.narth.com/docs/innate.html
Longwood Gardens
http://www.longwoodgardens.org
Macaulay Library
"The Macaulay Library is the world's largest and oldest scientific archive of biodiversity audio [audio file], and video recordings. Our mission is to collect and preserve recordings of each species' behavior and natural history, to facilitate the ability of others to collect and preserve such recordings, and to actively promote the use of these recordings for diverse purposes spanning scientific research, education, conservation, and the arts."
http://macaulaylibrary.org/
Oscar Peterson Trio, "Wave"
Evidence of Intelligent Design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUuB4UYe8nM
Physics Department, UC Santa Barbara
http://deepspace.physics.ucsb.edu
Images from the heavens.
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
The Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley
http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley
Soft Winds, The Oscar Peterson Quartet featuring Joe Pass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnrmFMnrxAU&feature=related
Terrorism, The Criminal Mind, Neo-Darwinism, Environmentalism, Marxism, Stalin, Hitler, God's Law, etc. (Creation/Evolution?)
An address by Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith on Matthew 15:15-20; Proverbs 4:23
"Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith was one of few scientists in the world to have three earned doctorates. . . .
"A devout born-again Christian, a devoted husband and father of 5 children, a young-earth creationist, and a highly qualified organic chemist, he authored over 70 scientific publications and more than 30 books, some published in 17 languages. Many of today's leading creationists consider him a major influence in their own intellectual development, and call him a pioneer in anti-evolution arguments. See: testimonies about Wilder-Smith by Duane Gish and other scientists and intellectuals."
He talks at length here about the Yochelson/Samenow 14 year study of the criminally insane [annotated elsewhere], at St. Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94071422010
Wes Montgomery, "Cariba" (1962)
Evidence of Intelligent Design. And a musical interlude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMf7v7oPNzA
Wes Montgomery, "The Shadow of Your Smile"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRTaxqE5Yq4
Why Darwin's Theory of Evolution Does not Explain Biodiversity, Otangelo Grasso
"NEVER, in over 150 years, since Darwin's book ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES was published, has even ONE, amongst hundreds or thousands, if not millions of science papers, provided ONE DEMONSTRATION, and empirical verifiable replicable evidence, that any of the evolutionary mechanisms proposed, could produce a primary macroevolutionary transition zone of speciation and population differentiation."
https://reasonandscience.catsboard.com/t2623-why-darwins-theory-of-evolution-does-not-explain-biodiversity
Why Sex is the Best Argument for Creation (and Against Evolution)
"I'm referring to everything from that first moment of attraction between a man and a woman, to the complementary anatomical structures and organs that work so well together, to the millions of interactions that happen on the physical/hormonal/emotional levels, to the love and pleasure of two people becoming one flesh, to cells smaller than the head of a pin contributing 1.5 billion letters of DNA each in order to form a new 3 billion-letter blueprint, to the nonstop application of that genome as it rapidly develops into over 20 trillion cells and 200 types of tissue and hundreds of organs and meters of blood vessels all interacting together, to the final moment a fully-functioning, crying, squirming baby emerges from its mother 6,480 hours later."
https://isgenesishistory.com/why-sex-is-the-best-argument-for-creation-against-evolution/
Wikispecies
"The free species directory that anyone can edit.
"It covers Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea, Protista and all other forms of life.
"So far we have 491,393 articles." (October 15, 2016)
https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wild and Scenic Film Festival
http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/
Witness Inc. and Jeremiah Films Video Tapes, DVD.
http://www.witnessiync.com/ordering_materials.html
All things must be referred to the Glory of God. -- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), the final sentence of The City of GodTo the orthodox Christian, the shabby incarnations of the reigning historiographies are both absurd and offensive. They are idols, and he is forbidden to bow down to them and must indeed wage war against them. -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001)
Those who cannot remember the past [who are ignorant of accurate Church History, and World History -- compiler], are condemned to repeat it. -- George Santayanan (1863-1952, an atheist)
Becker, Carl L., The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers, ISBN: 0300101503 9780300101508.
"Will remain a classic -- a beautifully finished literary product." -- Charles A. Beard, American Historical Review
"THE HEAVENLY CITY OF THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHERS remains one of the most distinctive American contributions to the historical literature on the Enlightenment. It is likely to beguile and provoke readers for a long time to come." -- Johnson Kent Wright, from the foreword
"This title challenges the belief that the 18th century was essentially modern in its temper. Carl Becker demonstrates that the period commonly described as the Age of Reason was, in fact, very far from that; that Voltaire, Hume, Diderot, and Locke were living in a medieval world, and that these philosophers 'demolished the Heavenly City of St. Augustine only to rebuild it with more up-to-date materials.' In a new foreword, Johnson Kent Wright looks at the book's continuing relevance within the context of current discussion about the Enlightenment.
"Carl L. Becker (1873-1945), a professor of European history at Cornell University, was one of the world's leading authorities on eighteenth-century thought. Johnson Kent Wright is associate professor in the department of history at Arizona State University and author of A CLASSICAL REPUBLICAN IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE: THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF MABLY." -- Publisher
Clark, Gordon H. (1902-1985), John W. Robbins (1949-2008, editor), Historiography: Secular and Religious, ISBN: 0940931397 9780940931398 (Unicoi, TN: The Trinity Foundation, 1994).
"The Christian doctrine of the sovereignty of God transformed the world's view of history, investing it with a meaning, importance, and grandeur that pagan historiography could never achieve. History is the unfolding of God's purpose and plan. Because God is rational, because God is sovereign, history is not a tale told by an idiot.
"The Bible is not only the earliest history book, it is also the most reliable. Centuries before the famed historians of Greece and Rome, Moses had already written the definitive account of mankind's early history as revealed to him by God. The account was not exhaustive, for no history can be, but it contained all that God wished it to contain and nothing else. God, writing through Moses, has given us true history.
"HISTORIOGRAPHY SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS will introduce the reader to the principles and problems of historiography and, in so doing, begin to suggest what an enormous debt we owe to the Bible in the study of history." -- Publisher
*Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), A History of the Work of Redemption (unfinished), ISBN: 0781227747. Alternate title: HISTORY OF REDEMPTION, ON A PLAN ENTIRELY ORIGINAL: EXHIBITING THE GRADUAL DISCOVERY AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE DIVINE PURPOSES IN THE SALVATION OF MAN . . . BY THE LATE REVEREND JONATHAN EDWARDS . . . TO WHICH ARE NOW ADDED NOTES, HISTORICAL, CRITICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL, WITH THE LIFE AND EXPERIENCE OF THE AUTHOR, LONDON, 1788. Available in THE WORKS OF JONATHAN EDWARDS. Available (THE WORKS OF JONATHAN EDWARDS), on the Puritan Hard Drive. An 18 volume edition is also available on
"Edwards powerfully shows how the work of redemption was carried on through the time from The Fall to the end of the world. It is truly amazing how Edwards cover the redemptive history with a strong link on the destruction of Jerusalem, the time of Constantine, Reformation, the rise of Antichrist, etc. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
This is an unfinished work.
The Works of Jonathan Edwards
http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/works/works.html
A History of the Work of Redemption, Jonathan Edwards
http://www.jonathanedwards.com/text/Hist%20of%20Redemption/Hist%20Outline.htm
Jonathan Edwards.com
http://www.jonathanedwards.com/
A History of the Work of Redemption, Jonathan Edwards
http://www.heritagebooks.org/item.asp?bookid=517
Himmelfarb, Gertrude, Past and Present: The Challenges of Modernity, From the Pre-Victorians to the Postmodernists, ISBN: 9781594039256 1594039259.
"PAST AND PRESENT brings together almost two dozen newly collected essays by the distinguished American historian and cultural critic, Gertrude Himmelfarb. Their common theme is the intriguing, often unexpected ways in which the past illuminates the present. The novelist William Faulkner wrote that 'The past is never dead. It's not even past.' In these essays, Himmelfarb shows the truth of this statement. She helps us find a new perspective on contemporary issues by bringing to bear a trenchant analysis of debates and thinkers of the past. She allows the past to inform the present without distorting either past or present. The essays, unified by the common theme of present and past, are varied. The topics range from the disorders of modern democracy to the challenges of postmodernism, from the Victorian ethos to the Jewish question. The thinkers range from Edmund Burke to Leo Strauss, from Cardinal Newman to Lionel Trilling. The political figures range from Benjamin Disraeli to Winston Churchill, from the American founders to Queen Elizabeth II. The underlying premise and principle of the essays is the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge and truth, however difficult or discomforting, eminently matters, in the 'practical life,' as Trilling put it, as in the 'moral life.' PAST AND PRESENT is a notable contribution to this endeavor to understanding where we have been, where we are now, and where we may be, or should be, going." -- Publisher
*Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), with Jim Nelson Black, Character and Destiny: A Nation in Search of its Soul, ISBN: 0310443806 9780310443803.
"America faces a crisis of moral authority. In this penetrating, informative book, Dr. D. James Kennedy takes readers to the core of today's cultural erosion. The United States' rich heritage of Christian liberty is now being corrupted by those who are trying to rewrite or reinterpret history. Even our traditional values are being undermined by our educational system. More than ever, we need to assert the truth -- the truth of the existence of sin and of the absolute nature of morality." -- Publisher
Dr. Kennedy regards this work as his most important book to date.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008, editor), Christ and Civilization, ISBN: 1891777246 9781891777240.
"A new 48-page booklet. Includes a complete listing (in an additional 16 pages), of the books currently available from The Trinity Foundation."
Christ and Civilization
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/200a-ChristandCivilization.pdf
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1994, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1964), ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Stone, Oliver, and Peter J. Kuznick, The Untold History of the United States, ISBN: 9780091949310 0091949319 9781451613520 1451613520.
"In this companion to the ten-part documentary series the authors outline a 'people's history' of the American empire and its rise and decline, aided by the latest archival findings and recently declassified documents and scholarly research. They challenge the prevailing orthodoxies of traditional history books in this look at the dark side of American history. They introduce readers to a pantheon of heroes and villains as they show not only how far the U.S. has drifted from its democratic traditions but the powerful forces that have struggle to get us back on track. They argue that the U.S. must face its troubling history honestly and forthrightly in order to set a new course for the future, and pose the question: Is it too late for America to change?" -- Publisher
Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, a DVD series directed, co-written, and narrated by Oliver Stone.
"From Academy Award-winning writer/director, Oliver Stone, and co-written by historian Prof. Peter Kuznick, this ten-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under reported, but that crucially shaped America's unique and complex history over the 20th century. From the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War and the fall of Communism, this in-depth, surprising, and totally riveting series demands to be watched again and again." -- Publisher
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Church and state, The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The love and justice of God, God's sovereign hand in history, History, "his-story," Christian scholarship, Christ's influence on western civilization, The protestant reformation, The dutch reformation, Calvinism, Church history and history of local churches, The history of reformation of the church, The puritan revolution, Works by and about puritans, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Christian biography, A theological interpretation of american history, The providence of god, Background, foundation, and history of the covenanted reformation of scotland, The christian foundation of america, colonial history, Church history and history of local churches, Works by and about puritans, Works of c. gregg singer, Persecution, The history of martyrs, Revisionist history, Modern myths and fallacies, The decline of american society, irrationality, the decline of western thought, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Meltdown: the depression of 2008, God's deliverance of nations, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Covenanting in America, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, and so forth, and so on.
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (Exodus 19:4-6a)For God often inveighs against that stupidity which is born with mankind, and leads them to attribute every event to fortune, and to neglect the hand of the smiter (Isaiah 9:13). This kind of teaching is to be met with everywhere in the prophets, who shew how nothing can be worse than to treat God's judgments as if they were accidents under the influence of chance. -- John Calvin commenting on Daniel 9:13,14
Come now, and let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18a).
The hard-heartedness of the Secular Humanist (man's "liberal, progressive, radical" way, "tax and spend," economic depression, stimulus spending, socialism, tyranny, loss of liberty, gun control, abortion, feminism, globalism, and so forth, and so on), parallels the hard-heartedness ofPharoah (Exodus 7 through Exodus 16 and context) [punished by the river turning to blood . . . locust swarms, thick darkness, the death of Egypt's firstborn, the Red Sea divided for Israel, the Red Sea closed upon the Egyptian army, and so forth.]
Moreover, it deserves to be noticed, that the plague ceased at the very time when Phinehas executed justice. From this we may learn, that the most effectual way to quench the fire of God's anger [evident in the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst since the Swine Flu of 1918-19, a record breaking hurricane season causing massive destruction along the Gulf coast, the August Complex fire, "The single-largest wildfire and the largest fire complex in recorded California history," the largest wildfire in Colorado history, and political corruption and tyranny (October 2020)], is when the sinner willingly sits in judgment upon himself for the punishment of his own transgressions; as Paul says, "If we would judge ourselves, verily we would not be judged of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:31)
And surely God confers no small honor upon us, in placing the punishment of our sins within our reach. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 106:29 and context
Epidemic, Pandemic, Plague, Natural Disaster
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#epdmcpd
Socialism, Communism, Marxism
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#sclsm
The Decline of American Society, Irrationality, the Decline of Western Thought
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#decamerica
and so forth, and so on.
If it is true that God is absolutely sovereign, and that man is totally depraved, then vote for what is true and right. (October 26, 2020)Some, professing belief in the Scriptures, seem to be much disturbed when the fearful casualties that befall men are declared to be the righteous judgments of God, thereby discovering their ignorance of the righteousness of the Judge of all the earth, their enmity to Him, and that they are more debased than the heathen of Greece and Rome, who attributed whatever befell them to their gods. A great and precious promise is given to those who observe God's providence. Ps. 107:43 [Psalm 107:43]: Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Fearful threatenings are denounced against those who pursue an opposite course. Ps. 28:5 [Psalm 28:5]: Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up. See also Isa. 5:11,12 [Isaiah 5:11,12], Ps. 107:7-13 [Psalm 107:7-13]. To deny God's providence is to deny his being. Those who do so are atheists, and their atheism is the fruit of the highest impiety. Ps. 36:1 [Psalm 36:1]: Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, thou wilt not require it. -- Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Meeting, Causes of Fasting (1898).
What has been said, is clearly proved by the fact, that while God has been pouring out his judgments on men, destroying life and property by war, famine, pestilence, fire, storm and flood, they generally ascribe these things to second causes, as if these were not under the control of Him who created them. Even the pulpit has been shamefully silent, not boldly and faithfully pointing the hand of God in these things and warning their hearers that if they do not repent, greater judgments will follow. To deny that the hand of God is in these things is flatly to contradict the Scriptures. Amos 6:1: Shall there be evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it? See also Jer. 10:5 [Jeremiah 10:5], Luke 12:7. The constant increase of this sin, although there are daily evidences that there is a God that judgeth in the earth, is an alarming sign of the times. -- Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Meeting, Causes of Fasting, (1898).
Is God speaking to the people of America through natural disasters? A resurgence of the China Pandemic [December 2020 -- compiler], an unprecedented number of California wildfires, riots, looting, and arson in Portland, Minneapolis, and Kenosha, hurricanes Michael and Laura hit the Gulf Coast simultaneously, Laura being one of the strongest hurricans to strike the US mainland, the Democratic National Convention (Luke 11:17b,18a), (1 Corinthians 1:13), and the Republican National Convention all converged during the latter part of August 2020.
Many would agree that God used natural disasters to deliver the children of Israel from the hardened heart of Pharaoh: turned the water of the river Nile to blood, sent frogs, lice, flies, sent a plague upon the animals of Egypt, sent hail, thunder, lightening, grasshoppers, darkness, took the life of all the first born in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, drowned the Egyptian army, guided the Israelites in the wilderness, provided them with food, and gave them the Promised Land. So it would seem to be far from speculation to conclude that God speaks to man by natural disasters or "Acts of God."
"There is no hypostatization [the treating or representation of something abstract as a concrete reality -- compiler] or personification of nature in the Bible as is found commonly in Greek philosophy, nor anywhere the enunciation of a full-blown cosmology [an account or theory of the origin of the universe -- compiler], for both the Old Testament and New Testament speak in terms of ultimates rather than secondary causation, and view creation primarily as a backdrop to redemption. . . . The emphasis in Scripture is on the facts that (a) God the Father is Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all (Genesis 1; Genesis 2; Isaiah 44:24; Amos 4:13); (b) God is omnipresent in all He has created (Psalm 139:7-12); (c) Christ the Son also must be spoken of in terms of Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16,17; Hebrews 1:10-12); (d) the order and beauty of the universe reflects and proclaim the existence, wisdom and power of God (Job 38:4-39; Psalm 8:1-4; Psalm 19:1-6; Psalm 104:1-32; Psalm 136:6-9; Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 1:19,20); and (e) one may learn from God's bounty and care in nature regarding God's provision and concern for man (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-31)." -- R.N. Longenecker, Professor of New Testament, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, in the article "Nature, Natural," in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, page 386.
Are Natural Disasters Sometimes an Instrument of God's Judgment?
http://billygraham.org/answer/are-natural-disasters-sometimes-an-instrument-of-gods-judgment-ive-wondered-sometimes-if-god-was-trying-to-speak-to-us-when-these-things-happen/Moreover, it deserves to be noticed, that the plague ceased at the very time when Phinehas executed justice. From this we may learn, that the most effectual way to quench the fire of God's anger, is when the sinner willingly sits in judgment upon himself for the punishment of his own transgressions; as Paul says, 1 Corinthians 11:31, If we would judge ourselves, verily we would not be judged of the Lord. And surely God confers no small honor upon us, in placing the punishment of our sins within our reach. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 106:29 and context
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
The Golden Sceptre Held Forth to the Humble, a commentary on 2 Chronicles 7:14
http://www.archive.org/details/TheGoldenSceptreHeldForthToTheHumbleBecause thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91:9,10)
This was encouragement to Spurgeon during the cholera outbreak of 1854.He then ascends to hail, snows, and storms, which he says fulfill the word of God; for it is not by an effect of chance that the heavens are clouded, or that a single drop of rain falls from the clouds, or that the thunders rage, but one and all of these changes depend upon the secret will of God, whether he will show his goodness to the children of men in irrigating the earth, or punish their sins by tempest, hail, or other calamities. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 148:7-10
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:10)
During Calvin's ministry, Geneva was terrorized by the plague on five occasions. During the first outbreak, in 1542, Calvin personally led visitations into plague-infected homes. Knowing that this effort likely carried a death sentence, the city fathers intervened to stop him because of their conviction that his leadership was indispensable. The pastors continued this heroic effort under Calvin's guidance, and they recounted the joy of multiple conversions. Many pastors lost their lives in this cause. Unknown to many, Calvin privately continued his own pastoral care in Geneva and other cities where the plague raged. Calvin's pastoral heart, already evidenced by the provision of hospitals for both citizens and immigrants, was further revealed as he collected the necessary resources to establish a separate hospital for plague victims. -- from John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Discipleship, p. 65
Abortion was the 20th Century's biggest killer of mankind worldwide, far surpassing disease, war, terrorism, governments, natural disasters, genocide, and so forth, and so on.
"Around 43.8 million abortions [2008 figures] occur each year in the world, with a little under half done unsafely." Could these souls be "precious in the sight the Lord"?The two greatest attacks of terror ever unleashed on America were perpetrated by the Supreme Court.
The first one was the legalizing of abortion in 1973. Subsequent to that, millions of babies slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers. The number is incomprehensible [56 million babies aborted from 1973 to 2014. The annual rate continues at 1.2 million babies per year. -- compiler]. The blood of those lives cries out from the ground for divine vengeance on this nation.
The second great act of terror perpetrated by the Supreme Court was the legalization of same-sex marriage this past June.
First, we saw the destruction of human life in the womb -- in a sense, the destruction of motherhood -- and now the intended destruction of the family itself. No bomb, no explosion, no attack, and no assault on people physically can come anywhere near that kind of terrorism. Our country is being terrorized by the very people most responsible to protect it -- by those who are to uphold the law.
No human court has the authority to redefine morality. But this human court has said murder is not murder, and marriage is not marriage, and family is not family. They have usurped the authority that belongs only to God, who is the creator of life, marriage, and family. . . .
Our nation, at its highest level, has now taken a position against God. Such blasphemous rebellion is energized by the corruption of the collection of sinful hearts that make up this nation -- and every nation. -- John MacArthur"The wicked and unbelieving must bow to the dictates of the God whom all serve."
1. Assertion. The natural conscience is not its own Lord in knowing, believing, and confessing something of God. For, first, Devils believe there is a God, but they tremble, Jam 2:19 [James 2:19]. They believe against their will, as a man condemned to death for a crime, believeth he must die, but his will is opposite to his faith. Judas awaked cannot choose but believe a vengeance. Light is a King, and a conqueror sometime. 2. You seldom find but enemies have given a testimony, now or then, for God. Exod. 14:25 [Exodus 14:25]. Let us flee, (say the Egyptians) for the Lord fighteth for them, against the Egyptians: Pharaoh being mastered in conscience with the plague of hail mingled with fire, saith, Exod. 9:27 [Exodus 9:27]. I have sinned [this] time: The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked: Deut. 32:31 [Deuteronomy 32:31]. For their rock is not as our rock, our enemies being Judges: Psal. 126:2 [Psalm 126:2]. Then said they amongst the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. Saul's conscience speaketh truth, in a dream, through his sleep, though he went to bed again, 1 Sam. 24:17 [1 Samuel 24:17]. Thou art more righteous then I, so speaketh he to David. The Devil can say no otherwise, Luke 4:34. I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God. Pilate must say of Christ, I find no fault in him. Caligula his fear must make his faith a liar, and when he heareth a thunder, say, Mine ears hear the God which my heart denieth to have any being. Nero cannot say but hell is begun in his soul before the time. The Apostate Julian said, Vicisti tandem Galilæe, At length, O Jesus, thou art victorious. Paul the third, a monster of men, said dying, I shall now be resolved of three things: 1. If the soul be immortal: 2. If there be a God: 3. If there be a hell. Plinius the second wrote to the Emperour, that Jesus Christ was a great Prophet, and a holy man. Many Papists of old gave testimony that the Waldenses were holy men. Many at Rome, said Luther, was for the truth, and counselled that Leo the tenth would reform the Church, as Guiciard. hist. l. 3. saith. Malignants on their death-bed have said, the Parliament of England is for justice and religion, and Scotland contend for the purity of the Gospel; and let but adversaries ask at their conscience in cold-blood, whether the world, and their own ease, or the truth of God bottomed their conscience in following the ways of Cavaliers; and ask, on whose side are lies, perjury, blaspheming, mocking of godliness, the idolatry of the mass. --Samuel Rutherfurd [Rutherford], Westminster Divine, sermon (1644).Saints must be best in worst times. -- John Trapp
The New England Journal of Medicine reported Tuesday [March 2020] that the coronavirus can survive for 72 hours [three days] on steel and plastic, which may be one of the factors that has caused "community spread" among people who have not traveled.
The statistics demonstrate that the vast majority (80 percent plus) of those who have severe outcomes to COVID-19 have chronic health issues like diabetes, congestive heart disease, or congestive lung disease.
In 2008, Jones and a team of researchers identified 335 diseases that emerged between 1960 and 2004, at least 60 percent of which came from animals [zoonotic diseases].
The coronavirus has turned the world as we know it upside down. Almost nothing in our daily lives is what we would consider normal. The stock market that millions have put their trust in has taken a nose dive, millions of people are facing being out of work, many businesses are closed, schools are out, in many states you can't go inside a restaurant to eat, and you can't buy toilet paper anywhere that I've seen. We are in a state of emergency. The President has activated the National Guard to help build medical facilities and fight the virus in at least three states. The days we’re living in are so uncertain. Our world is so easily shaken.
But there is solid ground -- you just have to know where to find it. The prophet Isaiah points out the truth that the Lord will be the stability of your times. God is our Solid Rock. He is not surprised by what is going on in the world or in our lives. He loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. Here's a prescription for peace in these unsettled times: Pray Often, Read God's Word, Put Your Trust and Faith In Him and Him Alone.Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10) -- Franklin Graham, March 24, 2020Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3)
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)
Casting all you care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)
Some possible positive impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on America and world society:
1. The humbling of some petty tyrants and skeptics as circumstances compel them to acknowledge both The Absolute Sovereignty of God, and Mankind's Utter, Total Depravity -- the masses turning to spiritual truths for answers -- understanding the centrality of Christ and the Gospel.
2. Family and relationship becoming a higher priority than materialism, power, wealth, and sex.
3. Families learning to homeschool and taking children out of public schools.
4. High cost "brick and mortar" education being replaced by less expensive online education in public schools, colleges and universities.
5. Food chain moving closer to home -- more farm to table local marketing.
6. Entrenched modalities of corporate healthcare and Big Pharma being reformed and decentralized -- telemedicine.
7. Manufacturing of medicine returning to America.
8. A decoupling of the world from the Chinese Communist regime.
9. And so forth, and so on, and,
10. And all the changes that perfectly serve God's purposes, but are incomprehensible to our finite minds.
Berger, Stephen, Plague: Global Status, an e-book, ISBN: 9781498820646 1498820646.
"PLAGUE: GLOBAL STATUS is one in a series of GIDEON e-books which explore all individual infectious diseases, drugs, vaccines, outbreaks, surveys and pathogens in every country of the world. Data are based on the GIDEON web application (www.gideononline.com) which relies on standard text books, peer-review journals, Health Ministry reports and ProMED, supplemented by an ongoing exhaustive search of the medical literature. Chapters are arranged alphabetically, by disease. Each chapter includes: 1. Descriptive epidemiology 2. Summary of clinical features 3. Potential use in Bioterrorism 4. Reference." -- Publisher
*Crosby, Alfred W., America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918, ISBN: 9780521541756 0521541751 9780521833943 0521833949.
"Between August 1918 and March 1919 the Spanish influenza [swine flu] spread worldwide, claiming over 25 million lives, more people than those perished in the fighting of the First World War. It proved fatal to at least a half-million Americans. Yet, the Spanish flu pandemic is largely forgotten today. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-stricken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event. In a new edition, with a new preface discussing the recent outbreaks of diseases, including the Asian flu and the SARS epidemic, AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PANDEMIC remains both prescient and relevant. Alfred W. Crosby is a Professor Emeritus in American Studies, History and Geography at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for over 20 years. His previous books include THROWING FIRE (Cambridge, 2002), THE MEASURE OF REALITY (Cambridge, 1997) and ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM (Cambridge, 1986). ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM was the winner of the 1986 Phi Beta Kappa book prize. THE MEASURE OF REALITY was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 100 most important books of 1997. -- Publisher
"What struck me, first, was the similarities to the COVID-19 issues in 2020, and second how apt the title is. The world has forgotten the Spanish Flu, and doesn't take the flu seriously enough under normal conditions, much less under such dire circumstances as we face this year." -- Reader's Comment
Defoe, Daniel, and Louis A Landa, A Journal of the Plague Year: Being Observations or Memorials of the Most Remarkable Occurrences, as well publick as private, which happened in London during the last great visitation in 1665: written by a citizen who continued all the while in London, ISBN: 9780199555727 0199555729.
"In 1665 the plague swept through London, claiming over 97,000 lives. Daniel Defoe was just five at the time of the plague, but he later called on his own memories, as well as his writing experience, to create this vivid chronicle of the epidemic and its victims. A JOURNAL (1722) follows Defoe's fictional narrator as he traces the devastating progress of the plague through the streets of London. Here we see a city transformed: some of its streets suspiciously empty, some -- with crosses on their doors -- overwhelmingly full of the sounds and smells of human suffering. And every living citizen he meets has a horrifying story that demands to be heard." -- Publisher
A Journal of the Plague Year
https://archive.org/details/ajournalplaguey00harvgoog/page/n7/mode/2up
Lutzer, Erwin W. Where was God? Answers to Tough Questions About God and Natural Disasters, ISBN: 9781414311449 1414311443.
"Natural disasters are a megaphone from God and they teach us various lessons. First of all, natural disasters show us the uncertainty of life. Thousands of people wake up in the morning not knowing what is going to happen that day, such as the terrible devastation in Haiti [or Typhoon Haiyan, November 8, 2013 -- compiler], and elsewhere. There was a couple that left California because they were afraid of earthquakes. Then when they came to Missouri, they were killed in a tornado. We can't get away from the reality that life is very, very short and it's possible for us to delude ourselves. . . .
"When we look at the news and see these disasters, its like a preview of the natural disasters that will someday come upon the earth. When you look at the second coming of Christ, you find many different natural disasters connected with it." -- Irwin Lutzer in an interview October 31, 2012
God and Natural Disasters, Jerry Bridges
https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/goacfg/god-of-all-comfort-the
Mercola, Joseph, The Great Bird flu Hoax: The Truth They Don't Want you to Know About the "Next big Pandemic," 240 pages, ISBN: 0785221875 9780785221876.
"The U.S. government is now practically screaming that a new avian super-flu will likely kill millions of Americans. The mainstream media is entirely onboard, as are drug companies and other corporations poised to benefit immensely off the paranoia. But there is NO coming bird flu pandemic. It's an elaborate scheme contrived by the government and big business for reasons that boil down to power and money.
"Presenting eye-opening evidence that casts serious doubt on the truthfulness of reports about the virus's ability to transmit, and its mortality rates around the world, renowned physician Dr. Joseph Mercola reveals the secrets about the great bird flu hoax. In compelling fashion he provides you the real facts you need to know to protect you from a far greater ill -- corporate and governmental greed." -- Publisher
Porter, Katherine Anne, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, didactic fiction, ISBN: 0151707553.
"One of the few major works of American literature written after 1918 that deals directly with the Spanish flu is Katherine Anne Porter's PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER. It is a collection of three short novels published in 1939, OLD MORTALITY, NOON WINE and the eponymous PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER. . . .
"The title story PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER is about the relationship between a newspaper woman, Miranda, and a soldier, Adam, during the influenza epidemic of 1918. In the course of the narrative, Miranda becomes sick and delirious, but recovers, only to find that Adam has died of the disease, which he likely caught while tending to her. The story is set in Denver, Colorado. Porter herself lived for a time in Denver, where she wrote reviews for the Rocky Mountain News and was stricken with the influenza. The historian Alfred Crosby considered PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER to be such an exceptional depiction of the suffering caused by the influenza that he dedicated his book about the 1918 epidemic [AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PANDEMIC] to Porter. The author Robert Penn Warren said PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER was 'at the top level, you know, in that collection of the world's short novels'." -- Publisher
*Preston, John (1587-1628), The Golden Sceptre Held Forth to the Humble, ISBN: 1877611174 9781877611179. A Christian classic.
This book is comprised of six sermons on 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, just one verse that succinctly gives the Biblical solution to terrorism. Sermons are on Affliction, Humiliation, Seeking god's face, Turning from evil, Forgiveness to those who forsake sin, and Sin as the cause of all calamities.
The Golden Sceptre Held Forth to the Humble
http://www.archive.org/details/TheGoldenSceptreHeldForthToTheHumble
The Golden Sceptre Held Forth to the Humble
http://www.lettermen2.com/goldensceptre.pdf
Spinney, Laura, Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it Changed the World, ISBN: 9781541736122 1541736125.
"The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth -- from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi, and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I. In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus traveled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted -- and often permanently altered -- global politics, race relations, and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid, and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true 'lost generation.' Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, PALE RIDER masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity." -- Publisher's description.
Torrey, E. Fuller, and Judy Miller, The Invisible Plague: The Rise of Mental Illness From 1750 to the Present, ISBN: 0813530032 9780813530031.
"Examines the records on insanity in England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States over a 250-year period, concluding, through quantitative and qualitative evidence, that insanity is an unrecognized, modern-day plague." -- Publisher
"In recent centuries, however, it [insanity] has appeared in previously unseen masks and in much greater numbers. The prevalence of insanity, which had once been considerably less than one case per 1,000 total population, has risen beyond five cases in 1,000. Why has insanity reached epidemic proportions? What are the causes of severe mental illness? [We would point out that the rise in insanity coincides with both the decline of western thought into irrationality, growing theological liberalism, and the banishment of Christianity from the public arena (see Singer, C. Gregg [1910-1999], FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT), and the growing famine of spiritual knowledge in Western Society in the last 250 years. (see Singer, C. Gregg, A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY) -- compiler]. Why do we continue to deny the rising numbers, and how does this denial affect our ability to help those who are afflicted?" -- Publisher
Various (ProQuest), Coronavirus Research Database. "eJournal/eMagazine: Updating database, continually updated resource. Language Note: Interface in English; article content in multiple languages."
"THE CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH DATABASE is a collection of journal articles, preprints, conference proceedings, dissertations and more related to COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. It includes comprehensive research background coverage of past pandemics and epidemics, like MERS and SARS, to give researchers and students context around the current global crisis." -- Publisher's Brochure
"THE CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH DATABASE saves time and improves outcomes for researchers by aggregating authoritative content from ProQuest with content made available at no cost by members of the International Association of STM Publishers -- including Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, and The BMJ . . . Full-text content in the database is available either directly from ProQuest or via links to publisher sites." -- Publisher
Vincent, Thomas (1634-1678), God's Terrible Voice in the City, 1667.
"Notes: Wherein you have I. The sound of the voice in the narration of the two late dreadfull judgments of plague and fire, inflicted by the Lord upon the city of London, the former in the year 1665, the latter in the year 1666, II. The interpretation of the voice, in a discovery, 1. Of the cause of these judgments, where you have a catalogue of London's sins, 2. Of the design of these judgments where you have an enumeration of the duties God calls for by this terrible voice."
Vincent, God's Terrible Voice in the City
http://archive.org/details/101165066.nlm.nih.gov
Waltner-Toews, David, The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases That Jump From Animals to Humans, ISBN: 9781553652700 1553652703.
"Emerging diseases like mad cow, SARS, and avian flu are -- for the moment, at least -- far more prevalent in animals than in humans. Still, the knowledge that measles, TB, and smallpox were at one time 'emerging' diseases that eventually made a permanent, and quite deadly, jump to humans gives epidemiologists pause. This book examines the various groups of animal diseases, explains what attracts them to the human population -- from food to sex to living conditions -- and offers suggestions for keeping them at bay. It also points out that diseases must be looked at from an ecological, cultural, and economic point of view as well as from a biological standpoint. Cooking meat till its well done and slathering on insect repellent for a hike in the woods are effective preventative measures, but as the author notes, it's more important to fundamentally rethink humankind's place in the world." -- Publisher
Webster, Noah, A Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases: With the Principal Phenomena of the Physical World, which precede and accompany them, and observations deduced from the facts stated: in two volumes.
"One of his books was A BRIEF HISTORY OF EPIDEMIC AND PESTILENTIAL DISEASES. Today, we would not consider this two volume work as brief. It does have much interesting material, especially in light of the current coronavirus ordeal. You can read his book here: https://books.google.com/books." -- Providence Foundation
*Willson, James Renwick (1780-1853), Discourse on the Tokens of the Divine Displeasure. Alternate title: TOKENS OF THE DIVINE DISPLEASURE, IN THE LATE CONFLAGRATIONS IN NEW-YORK, & OTHER JUDGMENTS, ILLUSTRATED.
The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. (Romans 1:18)
Our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)
He executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. (Psalm 103:6)
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/14/james-r-willsons-discourse-on-the-tokens-of-the-divine-displeasure
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Prayer, Praying for the sick, Ministering to the sick, Comfort, encouragement, Repentance the key to salvation and change, Sickness, Sexually transmitted diseases, Healing, Vaccination, Telemedicine Public health, The limits of modern medicine, Medicine as social control, Healthcare reform, Healthcare horror stories, Sexually transmitted diseases, Aids, Spiritual aspects of health, Ministering to the dying, Death, and so forth, and so on.
Attorney General Barr says time to roll back strict lockdowns: "Rights aren't suspended during crisis"
"Barr said the Bill of Rights 'requires that the government justify any restrictions as truly necessary and ensure that there are not other ways of addressing the government's interests that are less burdensome on our rights.'
"Barr continued to say that while initial restrictive measures may have been reasonable early on when little was known about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
" 'Now that the curve has been flattened, the rate of spread has been slowed, our system has not been overwhelmed and has had time to adjust to the situation, it's time to start rolling back some of these restrictions in an orderly and sensible way,' Barr said. 'And the President has provided his opening the United States again plan that provides a sensible approach for doing that, a framework for doing that'."
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/05/ag-barr-says-time-to-roll-back-strict-lockdowns-rights-arent-suspended-during-crisis/
Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead, Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD
"Randomized controlled trials are the most reliable way to determine the efficacy -- and safety -- of a given treatment. No randomized trials show that flu shots reduce mortality from influenza or flu-related pneumonia. Some do show that the flu vaccine is somewhat effective in preventing influenza. In one widely quoted study, 1838 volunteers age 60 and over were randomized to receive a flu shot or placebo (a shot of saline). The flu shot reduced the relative risk of contracting (serologically confirmed, clinical) influenza by a seemingly impressive 50%. The incidence of influenza in the unvaccinated people in this study was 3%. In the vaccinated group it was 2% (JAMA 1994;272:1661 -- 5). Flu shots reduced the absolute risk of contracting influenza by a meager 1% (not 50%, as the "relative risk" portrays it). In actuality, for every 100 people that have a flu shot only one will benefit from it -- this, in medical parlance, is the "number needed to treat" (NNT) in order to achieve any benefit from the treatment. A flu shot provides no benefit for the other 99 people -- 2 of them will get influenza anyway -- and all 100 risk being harmed by the vaccine."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html
Biblical Encouragement for Healthcare Professionals Treating COVID-19, April 24, 2020
https://billygraham.org/story/biblical-encouragement-for-healthcare-professionals-treating-covid-19/
A Biblical Response to Pandemics, Peter Hammond, 3/22/2020
"Sin is the worst pandemic. Sin has a 100% infection rate. Sin has a 100% mortality rate. There is only one cure. We have Good News of the only Saviour. This is the most important issue with eternal repercussions."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=323201243502891&fbclid=IwAR2eglCkTeLkbnpXuAAHdn-2Y4KdVEnX1MLBIzK91r0JemGYgcWt5K8V0OM
Black Death
"The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged. Usually thought to have started in Central Asia, it had reached the Crimea by 1346 and from there, probably from black rats on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30 percent to 60 percent of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400. This has been seen as creating a series of religious, social and economic upheavals which had profound effects on the course of European history. It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The plague returned at various times, resulting in a larger number of deaths, until it left Europe in the 19th century."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Plague
The Breathtaking Negligence of Chinese Communist Party Officials for over a month after the COVID-19 outbreak led directly to the pandemic now rampaging across the world.
"There can be no question that, when the dust clears, a day of reckoning will be at hand for China."
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-chinas-lies-brought-the-world-to-its-knees/
The Communist Chinese government knowingly covered up the severity of the new coronavirus, according to a group of intelligence agencies from five countries
The Daily Telegraph of Australia published a scathing 15-page dossier on Saturday from the 'Five Eyes' group, which includes intelligence officials from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"What's in the memo? The group accuses Red Chinese officials of destroying laboratory evidence, silencing doctors, and refusing to provide live virus samples to international scientists working on vaccines.
"The memo also says the Chinese Communist Party government endangered other countries by denying the new coronavirus could pass from person to person, hindering international investigators."
https://world.wng.org/content/intelligence_agencies_skewer_china
Coronavirus hype biggest political hoax in history
"The new coronavirus is real.
"The response to the coronavirus is hyped. And in time, this hype will be revealed as politically hoaxed.
"In fact, COVID-19 will go down as one of the political world's biggest, most shamefully overblown, overhyped, overly and irrationally inflated and outright deceptively flawed responses to a health matter in American history, one that was carried largely on the lips of medical professionals who have no business running a national economy or government.
"The facts are this: COVID-19 is a real disease that sickens some, proves fatal to others, mostly the elderly -- and does nothing to the vast majority.
"That's it."
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/apr/28/coronavirus-hype-biggest-political-hoax-in-history/
Coronavirus, Iceland, Small Nation With big Data
"Still, in terms of collecting actionable data about coronavirus, Hange, the Harvard epidemiologist, questioned whether Iceland would be better off focusing on serological tests that could determine whether a person had developed certain antibodies in the blood indicating that they were infected by the virus without knowing it, and recovered.
"Knowing whether these antibodies exist in someone's blood could, potentially, enable tens of millions of people around the world to reenter the workforce at a time economies are reeling because they are under orders to stay home to prevent the virus' spread."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/04/10/coronavirus-covid-19-small-nations-iceland-big-data/2959797001/
COVID-19 pandemic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic
Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, MIT PhD. Crushes Dr. Fauci, Exposes Birx, Clintons, Bill Gates, and The W.H.O.
"To me, this virus, that is weaker than the flu, was all a setup. I'm sick of it all. They planned this to destroy the economy, PERIOD! China and the Democrats want Trump gone, this is their last play unless they try an assassination attempt. People STOP BELIEVING THE B...S! DEMAND OUR RIGHTS RESTORED!"
https://www.brighteon.com/56b58b77-b030-4a40-a5e8-c9321fd8bb94?fbclid=IwAR2s3jqET4bhCYoBYdnqpur6qprSoyvtgWN0Ex7mGdBwpFucYKv52QAJGlc
EBSCO Publishing, Coronavirus (COVID-19): Cochrane resources and news, a website.
"This page highlights content relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the various related activities that Cochrane is undertaking in response. We have been amazed and humbled by the staggering response from our Community across the world who have contributed and engaged with our efforts to date." -- Publisher
https://www.cochrane.org/coronavirus-covid-19-cochrane-resources-and-news
Everything we know about coronavirus immunity and antibodies -- and plenty we still don't, Andrew Joseph, April 20, 2020
"One specific concern with antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2: they might pick up antibodies to other types of coronaviruses."
https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/20/everything-we-know-about-coronavirus-immunity-and-antibodies-and-plenty-we-still-dont/
Franklin Graham on the Plague of Immorality, February 2, 2015
"The sexual revolution that began in earnest five decades ago with promises of new and liberating sexual freedoms has instead left behind a shattered moral landscape that has undermined the fabric and foundation of our nation. Casting off what was perceived as the puritanical restraints of previous generations, the '60s and '70s launched a new era of sexual experimentation. The revolution, publicly inaugurated by 1967's Summer of Love in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, promised an enlightened age of sexual morality. . . .
"Fifty years later, we can see that the results have been catastrophic.
"In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction.
"In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.
"Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. . . .
"The freedoms promised by the sexual revolution have instead given way to ever-increasing slavery and captivity to sin. The attempt to cast off moral restraint has only opened wide the devil's destructive, deadly toolbox. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:19). . . .
"The Scripture is clear: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous . . . has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3,5). . . .
"Our culture, like ancient cultures that ultimately were destroyed in large part due to their own moral depravity, has been severely weakened. A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule. . . .
"The only answer I know for any society in any era is the strong word of the Lord to the church in Thyatira who, though faithful in some ways, apparently tolerated sexual permissiveness that spread through the church: I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality (Revelation 2:21).
"There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). . . ."
http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/february-2015/franklin-graham-on-the-plague-of-immorality/
Historic Reformed Quotes on Social Distancing and the Adaptation of the Church in a Time of Spreading Disease
https://reformedbooksonline.com/historic-reformed-quotes-on-social-distancing-the-adaptation-of-the-church/
Glorifying God in the Midst of a Pandemic, Glen A. Land, an article
Some answers from the Church Fathers.
https://www.covenantseminary.edu/theology/glorifying-god-in-the-midst-of-a-pandemic/
House Cleaning can Protect you From Coronavirus. Here's how the CDC says to do it right
"The CDC released some rather intense housecleaning guidelines that, if enacted, might consume all of your time. (Clean surfaces using soap and water . . . tables, door knobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, etc. Also, clean all rugs).
"Launder like you're in a contamination zone. You are! Wear disposable gloves and use the warmest settings and heat dry for those items. 'Dirty laundry from a sick person can be washed with other people's items,' says the CDC. This is because the virus likely dies at over 149 degrees. Key move: Clean or disinfect clothes hampers with soapy water, or 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, or the above bleach mixture.
"Though much is unknown about COVID-19 transmission, most cases seem to come from direct proximity to an ill person, not touching the same objects."
https://www.fastcompany.com/90483702/house-cleaning-can-protect-you-from-coronavirus-heres-how-the-cdc-says-to-do-it-right
The Inside Story of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19
"An old drug for malaria and rheumatoid arthritis could hold promise against the coronavirus. New data looks promising for hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19."
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/the-inside-story-of-chloroquine-and-hydroxychloroquine-for-covid-19
The Last Great Pandemic, Jarrett Stepman, March 17, 2020
"Historian Laura Spinney, in her book PALE RIDER: THE SPANISH FLU OF 1918 AND HOW IT CHANGED THE WORLD, explained the methods used to stop the spread of the disease. . . .
"There were often dramatic efforts to stop the spread of the disease, but the sheer number who were infected and died was staggering.
"It is estimated that one-third of the global population became infected with the Spanish flu.
"The flu ultimately killed around 50 million worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 675,000 died in the United States, far exceeding the number of Americans killed in action in World War I."
https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/03/17/the-last-great-pandemic/
List of epidemics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics
List of natural disasters by death toll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll
Natural disaster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disaster
Pandemics and Public Worship Throughout History, John D. Witvliet, Noel Snyder, María Cornou, Chan Gyu Jang
"As the pandemic Covid-19 brings isolation and unprecedented challenges to congregations around the world, it can be of great comfort to reflect and learn about how Christian churches have responded to epidemics and pandemics throughout history."
https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/pandemics-and-public-worship-throughout-history
Pandemic, Panic, Propaganda, and Priorities, a sermon by Peter Hammond, 3/19/2020
"How does this virus compare with other epidemics in history?
What does the unprecedented reaction tell us about the prevalence of secular humanism, statism and idolatry in our society?
How can we, as Christians, best respond in a balanced and Biblical way, to use this crisis for the advancement of God's Kingdom and for the fulfillment of the Great Commission?
Of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. (1 Chronicles 12:32)
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32020826222044&fbclid=IwAR1TQcIEua-MrU-91-y_XS6FCQmw_Tzbd2QjtCbL3VxDIQ6c_5z-Uvr_v4g
Plague
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague
The Plague of 1647 and the Refreshing of the Spirit That Came as a Result, Gavin Beers and Scott Brown, an audio file
"On this broadcast, we will tell the remarkable story of a plague-ridden Scottish town in 1647. At the leadership of a pastor, in response to the plague, there were waves of corporate confessions of sin.
"The plague sparked widespread repentance, which unleashed many blessings. Times of refreshing came upon for the hearts of the people, holiness increased in the churches and, commercial prosperity rose significantly in the town."
https://ncfic.org/webinars/217971
Plagues of Egypt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt
Prediction Tools can Save Lives in the COVID-19 Crisis, Scientific American
https://apple.news/AtTWjXtzGTByfwboxUPDB8w
The Promise and Uncertainties of Antibody Testing for Coronavirus, Nina Bai, April 23, 2020
"Experts generally believe that if you develop antibodies to the novel coronavirus, then you have at least temporary immunity from reinfection, although they stress that this is still unproven and that the parameters of that immunity are still unknown.
" 'Everybody wants to be believe that if I have antibodies, I'm immune,' said Wu. 'Well, we can't be certain of that. The antibody test for this virus hasn't been around long enough to show that nobody can get infected again if they have antibodies'."
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/04/417246/promise-and-uncertainties-antibody-testing-coronavirus
Seniors with Covid-19 show unusual symptoms, doctors say, Judith Graham, April 23, 2020
"Covid-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: a fever, an insistent cough and shortness of breath. But older adults -- the age group most at risk of severe complications or death from this condition may have none of these characteristics.
"Instead, seniors may seem 'off' -- not acting like themselves early on after being infected by the coronavirus. They may sleep more than usual or stop eating. They may seem unusually apathetic or confused, losing orientation to their surroundings. They may become dizzy and fall. Sometimes, seniors stop speaking or simply collapse."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/health/seniors-elderly-coronavirus-symptoms-wellness-partner/index.html
These Scientists saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They're Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before it Starts, Shannon Osaka
See also the related article, The Surprising History of the Wildlife Trade That May Have Sparked the Coronavirus, Brian Barth
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/05/these-scientists-saw-covid-19-coming-now-theyre-trying-to-stop-the-next-pandemic-before-it-starts/
Travel From New York City Seeded Wave of U.S. Outbreaks
"The coronavirus outbreak in New York City became the primary source of infections around the United States, researchers have found."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/new-york-city-coronavirus-outbreak.html
The Voice of the Cholera, a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon, August 12, 1866
Amos 3:3-6.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4920165122687&fbclid=IwAR2hcb-DOXAUzKhV_vCxBAaLbuVZEfssZbKbTM4XXZN2mC_-6Q4_1EYSq4c
What Immunity to Covid-19 Really Means, April 2020
"At this early stage of understanding the new coronavirus, it is unclear where COVID-19 falls on the immunity spectrum. Although most people with SARS-CoV-2 seem to produce antibodies, 'we simply don't know yet what it takes to be effectively protected from this infection,' says Dawn Bowdish, a professor of pathology and molecular medicine and Canada Research Chair in Aging and Immunity at McMaster University in Ontario. Researchers are scrambling to answer two questions: How long do SARS-CoV-2 antibodies stick around? And do they protect against reinfection?"
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-immunity-to-covid-19-really-means/
When God Shakes a Nation, Anne Graham Lotz, Sept. 1, 2020
Haggai 2:6-9; Psalm 18:7; Isaiah 2:17-19; Luke 21:25-28; Hebrews 12:25-29, and so forth, and so on.
https://decisionmagazine.com/anne-graham-lotz-when-god-shakes-a-nation/
Wildfire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire
Wildfires in the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfires_in_the_United_States
Will Vaccines Protect us Against New Variants? [March 2021]
"Here's what I would like to see [Joe's Dream]. First, we need rapid COVID tests that are as reliable as pregnancy tests. Every household in the country should have access to such tests. They should provide easy-to-interpret, accurate results within 10-15 minutes.
"As soon as COVID is detected, pills should be widely available in every pharmacy in the country. They should be able to snuff out COVID-19 before the virus does damage or becomes infectious. If people are treated early with medications that cure the virus and prevent spread, we would be on our way to true recovery.
We know of one drug under development that might be promising. It has been called EIDD-2801, MK-4482 or molnupiravir. You can listen to Dr. Ralph Baric (the Coronavirus Hunter) describe it on our podcast.
"Older drugs that are already available should be tested with the same resources and enthusiasm that was directed towards vaccine discovery."
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/will-vaccines-protect-us-against-new-variants
Worldcat.org
In Worldcat.org search "su:Epidemics History 20th century United States."
http://www.worldcat.org/
See the Theological Notes: "God Reigns: Divine Sovereignty," at Daniel 4:34 in The Reformation Study Bible.See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "The Fall" at Genesis 3:6 in The Reformation Study Bible.
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:3-7)
Matthew Henry commenting on Genesis 3:6-13
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/3.html
John Gill commenting on Genesis 3:7
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/genesis-3-7.htmlWe are a prodigal nation. See the entire commentary of John Calvin on Psalm 78, and see particularly his comments on Psalm 78:10,36,40,55,70,72.
But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. (Jeremiah 23:22)
Deuteronomy 5:33; Isaiah 40:13; Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16
See: https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom19/calcom19.vi.xxiv.htmlHe now subjoins the punishment of such as should creep in under the name of a prophet to draw away the people into rebellion. . . . those who are the authors of apostasy, and so who pluck up religion by the roots. . . . no pardon could be granted to such impious contempt, since God had abundantly proved the glory of His Godhead by the miracle of their redemption, and had manifested His will in the Law. . . .
Thus, whilst their severity is preposterous who defend superstitions with the sword, so also in a well constituted polity, profane men are by no means to be tolerated, by whom religion is subverted. . . .
What insolence is this! As to their denial that the truth of God stands in need of such support, it is very true; but what is the meaning of this madness, in imposing a law upon God, that He should not make use of the obedience of magistrates in this respect? And what avails it to question about the necessity of this, since so it pleases God? God might, indeed, do without the assistance of the sword in defending religion; but such is not His will. And what wonder if God should command magistrates to be the avengers of His glory, when He neither wills nor suffers that thefts, fornications, and drunkenness should be exempt from punishment. . . . Finally, the magistracy, if its own authority be assailed, shall take severe vengeance upon that contempt; and shall it suffer the profanation of God's holy name to be unavenged? What can be more monstrous! But it is superfluous to contend by argument, when God has once pronounced what is His will, for we must needs abide by His inviolable decree. . . .
Nor was it causelessly that Paul, when he enjoins prayers to be made for kings and other worldly rulers, added the reason that under them we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (1 Timothy 2:2.) Christ, indeed as He is meek, would also, I confess, have us to be imitators of His gentleness, but that does not prevent pious magistrates from providing for the tranquillity and safety of the Church by their defense of godliness; since to neglect this part of their duty, would be the greatest perfidy and cruelty. And assuredly nothing can be more base than, when we see wretched souls drawn away to eternal destruction by reason of the impunity conceded to impious, wicked, and perverse impostors, to count the salvation of those souls for nothing. . . ." -- John Calvin commenting on Deuteronomy 13:5 and contextWe must remember what I have elsewhere stated, that the priests were not armed with tyrannical authority, so that it was sinful to reject whatever they might have decreed according to their own fancy. For neither did God dethrone Himself when He appointed them, nor did He bind men's consciences to obey their ordinances without distinction, but only would put reins on the audacity of those who have no scruple in undervaluing the government of the Church. . . . God was the author of the priesthood: He, too, ordained judges. What could be more absurd than that they should be despised and laughed at with impunity, who presided in the name and by the command of God? But He has never exalted a mortal man so high as to abdicate His own rights. . . . In fine, the priests of old were to be obeyed, as far as it concerned the public peace that the pastors ordained by God should be reverently honored; yet so as that there should be no departure from God Himself, the one Head and Prince of all pastors. . . .
And, assuredly, when He commands that the whole people should be inspired with terror, it is a hint that, unless presumption should be corrected, and the bold and wicked should be restrained by severe discipline, the door would be opened to them to destroy the Church. . . . -- John Calvin commenting on Deuteronomy 17:12,13 and context1 Corinthians 2:11 [1]For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the [2]spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the [1]spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; [2]that we might [3]know the things that are freely given to us of God.[the highest ethical standard known to mankind -- compiler]
13 [1]Which things also we speak, not in the [1 Corinthians 1:17; 2 Peter 1:16]words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; [2]comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 [1]But the [2]natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are [3]spiritually discerned. 15 [1]But he that is spiritual [2]judgeth all things, ye [3]he himself is judged of [4]no man. (1 Corinthians 2:11-15, AKJV)
2:11 1 He setteth that forth by a similitude, which he spake of the inspiration of the Spirit. As the force of man's wit searcheth out things pertaining to man, so doth our mind by that power of the holy Ghost, understand heavenly things.
2 The mind of man, which is endued with ableness to understand and judge.
2:12 1 The Spirit which we have received, doth not teach us things of this world, but lifteth us up to God, and this place teacheth us against the Papists, what faith is, from whence it cometh, and what force it is of.
2 That which he spake generally, he restraineth now to those things which God hath opened unto us of our salvation in Christ: lest that any man should separate the Spirit from the preaching of the word and Christ: or should think that those fantastical men are governed by the Spirit of God, which wandering besides the word, thrust upon us their vain imaginations for the secrets of God.
3 This word (know) is taken here in his proper sense, for true knowledge, which the Spirit of God worketh in us.
2:13 1 Now he returneth to his purpose, and concludeth the argument which he began verse 6, and it is thus: the words must be applied to the matter, and the matter must be set forth with words which are meet and convenient for it: now this wisdom is spiritual and not of man, and therefore it must be delivered by a spiritual kind of teaching, and not by enticing words of man's eloquence, that the simple, and yet wonderful majesty of the holy Ghost may therein appear.
2 Applying the words unto the matter, to wit, that as we teach spiritual things, so [must] our kind of teaching be spiritual.
2:14 1 Again he preventeth an offence or stumbling block: how cometh it to pass that so few allow these things? This is not to be marveled at, sayeth the Apostle, seeing that men in their natural powers (as they termed them) are not endued with that faculty, whereby spiritual things are discerned (which faculty cometh another way) and therefore they accompt [account] spiritual wisdom as folly: and it is as if he should say, It is no marvel that blind men cannot judge of colors, seeing that they lack the light of their eyes, and therefore light is to them as darkness.
2 The man that hath no further light of understanding than that which he brought with him, even from his mother's womb, as Jude defineth it, Jude 19.
3 By the virtue of the holy Ghost.
2:15 1 He amplifieth the matter by contraries.
2 Understandeth and discerneth.
3 The wisdom of the flesh, saith Paul, determined nothing certainly, no not in its own affairs, much less can it discern strange, that is, spiritual things. But the Spirit of God, wherewith spiritual men are endued, can be deceived by no means, and therefore be reproved of no man.
4 Of no man: for when the Prophets are judged of the Prophets, it is the Spirit that judges, and not the man. -- Geneva Notes, 1599 Geneva Bible, Tolle Lege editionThe sexual revolution that began in earnest five decades ago with promises of new and liberating sexual freedoms has instead left behind a shattered moral landscape that has undermined the fabric and foundation of our nation. Casting off what was perceived as the puritanical restraints of previous generations, the '60s and '70s launched a new era of sexual experimentation. The revolution, publicly inaugurated by 1967's Summer of Love in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, promised an enlightened age of sexual morality. . . .
Fifty years later, we can see that the results have been catastrophic.
In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction.
In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.
Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. . . .
The freedoms promised by the sexual revolution have instead given way to ever-increasing slavery and captivity to sin. The attempt to cast off moral restraint has only opened wide the devil's destructive, deadly toolbox. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:19). . . .
The Scripture is clear: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous . . . has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3,5). . . .
Our culture, like ancient cultures that ultimately were destroyed in large part due to their own moral depravity, has been severely weakened. A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule. . . .
The only answer I know for any society in any era is the strong word of the Lord to the church in Thyatira who, though faithful in some ways, apparently tolerated sexual permissiveness that spread through the church: I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality (Revelation 2:21).
There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). . . . -- Franklin Graham in Franklin Graham on the Plague of ImmoralityNevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Revelation 2:4,5) -- Franklin Graham, in Franklin Graham on the Plague of Immorality, February 2, 2015
Calvin taught that the office of civil magistrate was the highest "calling" that a Christian man could receive. (Institutes, IV:20:4) -- W. Gary Crampton in What Calvin Says
The magistracy is ordained by God
The Lord has not only testified that the office of magistrate is approved by and acceptable to him, but he also sets out its dignity with the most honorable titles and marvelously commends it to us.(13) To mention a few: Since those who serve as magistrate are called "gods" [Ex. 22:8; Ps. 82:1,6], [Exodus 22:8; Psalm 82:1,6], let no one think that their being so-called is of slight importance. For it signifies that they have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God's representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents. This is no subtlety of mine, but Christ's explanation. "If Scripture," he says, "called them gods to whom the word of God came . . ." [John 13:35]. What is this, except that God has entrusted to them the business of serving him in their office, and (as Moses and Jehoshaphat said to the judges whom they appointed in every city of Judah) of exercising judgment not for Man but for God [Deut. 1:16-17; II Chron. 19:6]? [Deuteronomy 1:16-17; 2 Chronicles 19:6]. To the same purpose is what God's wisdom affirms through Solomon's mouth, that it is his doing "that kings reign, and counselors decree what is just, that princes exercise dominion, and all benevolent judges of the earth" [Prov. 8:14-16], [Proverbs 8:14-16]. This amounts to the same thing as to say: it has not come about by human perversity that the authority over all things on earth is in the hands of kings and other rulers, but by divine providence and holy ordinance. For God was pleased so to rule the affairs of men, inasmuch as he is present with them and also presides over the making of laws and the exercising of equity in courts of justice. Paul also plainly teaches this when he lists "ruling" among God's gifts [Rom. 12:8, KJV or RV], [Romans 12:8], which, variously distributed according to the diversity of grace, ought to be used by Christ's servants for the upbuilding of the church. For even though Paul is there speaking specifically of a council of sober men, who were appointed in the primitive church to preside over the ordering of public discipline (which office is called in the letter to the Corinthians, "government"(14) [I Cor. 12:28]), [1 Corinthians 12:28], yet because we see the civil power serving the same end, there is no doubt that he commends to us every kind of just rule.
But Paul speaks much more clearly when he undertakes a just discussion of this matter. For he states both that power is an ordinance of God [Rom. 13:2], [Romans 13:21], and that there are no powers except those ordained by God [Rom. 13:1]. [Romans 13:1] Further, that princes are ministers of God, for those doing good unto praise; for those doing evil, avengers unto wrath [Rom. 13:3-4], [Romans 13:3,4]. To this may be added the examples of holy men, of whom some possessed kingdoms, as David, Josiah, and Hezekiah; other, lordships, as Joseph and Daniel; other, civil rule among a free people, as Moses, Joshua, and the judges. The Lord has declared his approval of their offices. Accordingly, no one ought to doubt that civil authority is a calling, not only holy and lawful before God, but also the most sacred and by far the most honorable of all callings in the whole life of mortal men. -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Ford Lewis Battles translation), IV:20:4The whole of the prophecies of Isaiah are precious, and should be read by us constantly in private. -- C.H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Devotional Bible
Why do we, as a nation, continue to accept wicked leadership? Notice than an answer is given in the visions of Daniel, chapters 7 through 12 [Daniel 7:1].
John Calvin's commentary on Daniel is said to be one of his most remarkable writings. Readers who want to study Daniel in relation to this question might start with Calvin's remarks on Daniel 12:10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (Daniel 12:10)
Unless ye believe, ye shall not [come to] understand. (Isaiah 7:9, Greek Septuagint) became a motto for Augustine's intellectual quest.
Augustine quoted St. Ambrose's commentary on Isaiah in support of his own doctrine.
If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (Isaiah 7:9b)
They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. (Isaiah 44:18)Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. (Hosea 4:1,2)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. (Hosea 4:6-11)On the contrary, he charges them with gross and voluntary ignorance, as if he had said that, by their madness, they brought down destruction on themselves. The meaning therefore is, that the people perished because they despised instruction . . . .
Hence we draw a useful doctrine; namely, that the source of all our calamities is, that we do not allow ourselves to be taught by the word of God, and this is what the Prophet chiefly intended that we should observe. . . .
So then it is a true statement, that the reason why the people endure such a variety of afflictions is, that they are ignorant of God, and will not allow themselves to be taught by him. -- John Calvin commenting on Isaiah 5:13The transformation of the academic curriculum into an indoctrination program for the political left has been made possiby by the steady purge of Republicans from academic faculties over the last 50 years. The Klein study of 7,243 professors in economics, law, psychology, history, and journalism/communications at the 40 top-rated universities found that 66 of 170 departments surveyd had no Republican faculty members all. Zero.(8)" [8. Mitchell Langbert, et al., "Faculty Voter Registration in Economics, History, Journalism, Law, and Psychology," Character Issues 13, no. 3 (September 2016): 422-51] -- David Horowitz, BIG AGENDA
All history bears witness to the fact that when vital goodness is at a low ebb, the sacred institution of marriage is held in light esteem. It is both solemn and sad to behold an exemplification of the same in our own times; as the claims of God are less and less regarded by those of high and low estate alike; the holy obligations of wedlock are gradually whittled down and then increasingly disregarded. When a country, avowedly Christian, begins to tamper with the institution of marriage it is a certain proof of its ethical decadence. -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), The Sermon on the Mount
Without knowledge and holiness all the riches and honours of the world are worth nothing; and all your pleasures will but undo you. -- Richard Baxter (1615-1691)
Civilization Itself is at Stake
At its heart, the battle to re-define marriage, to incorporate what God in the Bible condemns as perversion and an abomination, is a war against the family. It is not only a battle for the family, but it is a battle for civilization itself.
Of the 26 civilizations that are recorded in history, none have survived the pubic tolerance of homosexual perversion. The great Roman and Greek civilizations collapsed when sexual morality was subverted. Homosexual perversion represented the terminal stage of the collapse of these civilizations. Similarly, one can see in the collapse of the Aztec, Mayan and Inca civilizations, the role of sexual perversion in fuelling the collapse of those societies. (Romans 1:24-32) -- Peter HammondIt is difficult to resist the conclusion that twentieth century man has decided to abolish himself. Tired of the struggle to be himself, he has created boredom out of his own affluence, impotence out of his own detromania, and vulnerability out of his own strength. He himself blows the trumpet that brings the walls of his own cities crashing down, until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, having drugged and polluted himself into stupefaction, he keels over, a weary, battered old brontosaurus, and becomes extinct. -- Malcom Muggeridge (1903-1990)
It is in many places a lost labor to seek for Christianity among Christians, and the degeneracy seems to be increasing every day. -- John Owen (1616-1683)
Some professing belief in the Scriptures seem to be much disturbed when the fearful casualties that befall men are declared to be the righteous judgments of God, thereby discovering their ignorance of the righteousness of the Judge of all the earth, their enmity to Him, and that they are more debased than the heathen of Greece and Rome, who attributed whatever befell them to their gods. A great and precious promise is given to those who observe God's providence. Ps. 107:43 [Psalm 107:43]: Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Fearful threatenings are denounced against those who pursue an opposite course. Ps. 28:5 [Psalm 28:5]: Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up. See also Isa. 5:11,12 [Isaiah 5:11,12], Ps. 107:7-13 [Psalm 107:7-13]. To deny God's providence is to deny his being. Those who do so are atheists, and their atheism is the fruit of the highest impiety. Ps. 36:1 [Psalm 36:1]: Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, thou wilt not require it. -- Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Meeting, Causes of Fasting (1898)
There is a dramatic decline in culture after major wars, i.e., The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, and the War in Viet Nam, etc.
See the Theological Notes: "Mankind's Guilty Knowledge of God," at Romans 1:29 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "Christians and Civil Government," at Romans 13:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God.
They are corrupt,
they have done abominable works,
there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 14:1)So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/romans-14-12.html
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/romans/14.htmlWe are an illiterate nation incapable of understanding great truth. -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999)
The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace. -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.3.14
Carrying this to a logical conclusion, the honest must seriously questions the validity of a secular government, which enforces the separation of Church and State, and which is utterly intolerant of the Christian Ethic. The secularist's promise to deliver true freedom becomes a colossal modern myth, obviously intended to enslave and exploit a nation's people and their wealth. But the matter cannot be summed up in briefer form than in the eighth chapter of the book ON REBUKE AND GRACE TO VALENTINUS [available in the Anti-Pelagian Writings.] There Augustine first teaches: the human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace; when the feeling of delight has been imparted through the same grace, the human will is formed to endure; it is strengthened with unconquerable fortitude; controlled by grace, it never will perish, but, if grace forsake it, it will straightway fall; by the Lord's free mercy it is converted to good, and once converted it perseveres in good; the direction of the human will toward good, and after direction its continuation in good, depend solely upon God's will, not upon any merit of man. Thus there is left to man such free will, if we please so to call it, as he elsewhere describes: that except through grace the will can neither be converted to God nor abide in God; and whatever it can do it is able to do only through grace.(38), (38. Passages from Augustine quoted or alluded to in sec. 14 are: On Grace and Free Will xx. 41 (MPL 44. 905; tr. NPNF V. 461); On the Spirit and the Letter xxx. 52 (MPL 44. 333; tr. NPNF V. 106); Letters ccxvii. 5. 16 (MPL 33. 984 f.; tr. FC 32. 86); Sermons clxxvi. 5, 6 (MPL 38. 952 f.; tr. LF Sermons II. 907 f.); On Rebuke and Grace viii. 17 (MPL 44. 926; tr. NPNF V. 478); Letters ccxiv. 7 (MPL 33. 970; tr. FC 32. 61 f.) -- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.3.14. "Augustine does not eliminate man's will, but makes it wholly dependent upon grace"Above all, we must at all times remember what intellectuals habitually forget: that people matter more than concepts and must come first. The worst of all despotisms is the heartless tyranny of ideas. -- Paul M. Johnson, his concluding statement in Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky
The Treasury of David, Psalm 85, C.H. Spurgeon
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps085.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 106, commentary by C.H. Spurgeon
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. (v. 7)
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. (v. 8)
And he saved them from the hand of them that hated them. (v. 10)
They soon forgat his works. (v. 13)
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. (v. 15)
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. (v. 19)
Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. (v. 20)
They forgat God their saviour. (v. 21)
Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. (v. 29)
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. (v. 30)
And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. (v. 31)
They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them. (v. 34)
But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. (v. 35)
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils. (v. 37)
Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. (v. 39)
Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, in so much that he abhorred his own inheritance. (v. 40)
And he gave them into the hands of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. (v. 41)
Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. (v. 42)
Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. (v. 43)
Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry. (v. 44)
And he remembered for them his covenant. (v. 45)
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. (v. 47)
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord. (v. 48)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps106.phpAnd the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. (Numbers 25:10,11)Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. (Psalm 106:30,31)
They were guilty of a great sin in the matter of Peor; and this was the sin of the new generation, when they were within a step of Canaan (v. 28 [Psalm 106:28]): They joined themselves to Baal-peor, and so were entangled both in idolatry and in adultery, in corporeal and in spiritual whoredom, Num. 25:1-3 [Numbers 25:1-3]. Those that did often partake of the altar of the living God now ate the sacrifices of the dead, of the idols of Moab (that were dead images, or dead men canonized or deified), or sacrifices to the infernal deities on the behalf of their dead friends. Thus they provoked God to anger with their inventions (v. 29 [Psalm 106:29]), in contempt of him and his institutions, his commands, and his threatenings. The iniquity of Peor was so great that, long after, it is said, They were not cleansed from it, Jos. 22:17 [Joshua 22:17]. God testified his displeasure at this (1) By sending a plague among them, which in a little time swept away 24,000 of those impudent sinners. (2) By stirring up Phinehas to use his power as a magistrate for the suppressing of the sin and checking the contagion of it. He stood up in his zeal for the Lord of hosts, and executed judgment upon Zimri and Cozbi, sinners of the first rank, genteel sinners; he put the law in execution upon them, and this was a service so pleasing to God that upon it the plague was stayed, v. 30 [Psalm 106:30]. By this, and some other similar acts of public justice on that occasion (Num. 25:4,5 [Numbers 25:4,5]), the guilt ceased to be national, and the general controversy was let fall. When the proper officers did their duty God left it to them, and did not any longer keep the work in his own hands by the plague. Note, National justice prevents national judgments. But, Phinehas herein signalizing himself, a special mark of honour was put upon him, for what he did was counted to him for righteousness to all generations (v. 31 [Psalm 106:31]), and, in recompence of it, the priesthood was entailed on his family. He shall make an atonement by offering up the sacrifices, who had so bravely made an atonement (so some read it, v. 30 [Psalm 106:30]), by offering up the sinners. Note, It is the honour of saints to be zealous against sin. -- Matthew Henry in Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (unabridged)There is such an accent and such an emphasis put by the Lord on this act (as the Jewish Rabbis observe), that here they begin the forty-first section or lecture of the Law, or (as Vatablus saith), the seventh section of the book, which they call Phinehas. Moreover, it teacheth us, that zeal of justice in the cause of God is an hopeful means to remove God's wrath from, and to procure his mercy to, man. -- Christopher Ness quoted in "Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings" for Psalm 106:30, Spurgeon's Treasury of David
Come now, and let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18a).
The hard-heartedness of the Secular Humanist (man's "liberal, progressive, radical" way, "tax and spend," economic depression, stimulus spending, socialism, tyranny, loss of liberty, gun control, abortion, feminism, globalism, and so forth, and so on), parallels the hard-heartedness ofPharoah (Exodus 7 through Exodus 16 and context) [punished by the river turning to blood . . . locust swarms, thick darkness, the death of Egypt's firstborn, the Red Sea divided for Israel, the Red Sea closed upon the Egyptian army, and so forth.]
Moreover, it deserves to be noticed, that the plague ceased at the very time when Phinehas executed justice. From this we may learn, that the most effectual way to quench the fire of God's anger [evident in the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst since the Swine Flu of 1918-19, a record breaking hurricane season causing massive destruction along the Gulf coast, the August Complex fire, "The single-largest wildfire and the largest fire complex in recorded California history," the largest wildfire in Colorado history, and political corruption and tyranny (October 2020)], is when the sinner willingly sits in judgment upon himself for the punishment of his own transgressions; as Paul says, "If we would judge ourselves, verily we would not be judged of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:31)
And surely God confers no small honor upon us, in placing the punishment of our sins within our reach. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 106:29 and context
Epidemic, Pandemic, Plague, Natural Disaster
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#epdmcpd
Socialism, Communism, Marxism
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#sclsm
The Decline of American Society, Irrationality, the Decline of Western Thought
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chd.html#decamerica
and so forth, and so on.
If it is true that God is absolutely sovereign, and that man is totally depraved, then vote for what is true and right. (October 26, 2020)It [the book of JUDGES -- compiler], provides a dramatic illustration of the effect of apostasy upon every aspect of life. The root cause of Israel's decline was that the covenant relationship with the Lord, with its requirement of absolute and loyal obedience to His commands, was broken. This led to disintegration in the political, religious, social, and family spheres and to a sharp increase in immorality. THE BOOK OF JUDGES serves as a reminder that a nation cannot live on its past glories. The author of JUDGES was, of course, a preacher to his own generation, but his message has a permanent and universal application, and may be summed up in the words of Proverbs 14:34:
Righteousness exalts a nation,Israel's chronic inability to profit by its own bitter history is a solemn exhortation to profit from the lessons of experience, whether observed or experienced. -- A.E. Cundall
but sin in a reproach to any people. [Proverbs 14:34 ]See the description of the sins of Jerusalem by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 22 [Ezekiel 22]. The description fits American society in 2008. Indeed scripture teaches that man is radically depraved.
In the final analysis, all modern ills, spiritual and temporal, are traceable to our continuing departure from the principles of the Second Reformation. . . . In particular, I am convinced that the Lord will not bless a church at peace with his enemies. Our departure from truth has led to our undernourished condition as a church; truth, as Thornwell argued, is the only food that the soul can digest.
It does no good to blame society or the church for our deficiencies before the Lord because Christ holds men, not churches and states, accountable. In the words of Hugh Miller, "Churches, however false and detestable, are never to be summoned to the bar of judgment. . . . To Christ, as his head and king, must every man render an account."
The great heresy of our times is that all men are children of God. Those within the church have lost their identity as a people of God, united in spirit and purpose. We have adopted the half-truths of our fathers for which Judah faced punishment: Because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked. (Amos 2:4b). Nevertheless, Christ loves his church, and he will see to it that his bride is prepared (Ephesians 5:27), for the great banquet. Base on the history of God's people, the needed corrections will result from either prayer or persecution, leading the people to renew their covenant promises. Let us pray that God's kingdom come, and let us covenant to fulfill our obligations to be his people. When persecution comes, let us pray that we would stand as firm as did the Scottish Covenanters. When covenanting comes, let us praise the Lord, for only in him will we stand firm. Let us ever strive to make it possible for our children to utter one of James Nisbet's praises, "O my soul! Bless and praise the Lord that I was born in a land where the glad tidings of the everlasting gospel are published and pressed with so much purity and plainness." This should be our prayer, Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." (Psalm 80:3) -- Edwin Nisbet Moore from the conclusion to Our Covenant Heritage: The Covenanters' Struggle for Unity in TruthI am showing you the interaction between philosophy . . . and theology, that when you hold to a weak theology, you inevitably produce a weak political thought, a weak social thought, a weak economic thought, a weak educational philosophy . . . and so on. -- C. Gregg Singer in Apologetics #07: Irrationalism and Theistic Rationalism
Declension within the Church inevitably leads to the decline and fall of society.Truth is very beautiful; more so, as I consider, than justice -- today's pursuit -- which easily puts on a false face. In the nearly seven decades I have lived through, the world has overflowed with bloodshed and explosions whose dust has never had time to settle before others have erupted; all in purportedly just causes. The quest for justice continues, and the weapons and hatred pile up; but truth was an early casualty. The lies on behalf of which our wars have been fought and our peace treaties concludes! The lies of revolution and of counter-revolution! The lies of advertising, of news, of salesmanship, of politics! The lies of the priest in his pulpit, the professor at his podium, the journalist at his typewriter! The lie stuck like a fish-bone in the throat of the microphone, the hand-held lies of the prowling cameraman! Ignazio Silone told me once how, when he was a member of the old Comintern, some strategem was under discussion, and the delegate, a newcomer who had never attended before, made the extraordinary observation that if such and such statement were to be put out, it wouldn't be true. There was a moment of dazed silence, and then everyone began to laugh. They laughed and laughed until tears ran down their cheeks and the Kremlin walls seemed to shake. The same laughter echoes in every council chamber and cabinet room, wherever two or more are gathered together to exercise authority. It is truth that has died, not God. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), Chronicles of Wasted Time, (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2006), 19-20.
Then, when he had expatiated somewhat more fully, and had more copiously illustrated the benefits of its presence [harmony -- compiler], and the ruinous effects of its absence upon a state, Pilus, one of the company present at the discussion, struck in and demanded that the question should be more thoroughly sifted, and that the subject of justice should be freely discussed for the sake of ascertaining what truth there was in the maxim which was then becoming daily more current, that "the republic cannot be governed without injustice." Scipio expressed his willingness to have this maxim discussed and sifted, and gave it as his opinion that it was baseless, and that no progress could be made in discussing the republic unless it was established, not only that this maxim, that "the republic cannot be governed without injustice," was false, but also that the truth is, that it cannot be governed without the most absolute justice. And the discussion of this question, being deferred till the next day, is carried on in the third book with great animation. For Pilus himself undertook to defend the position that the republic cannot be governed without injustice, at the same time being at special pains to clear himself of any real participation in that opinion. He advocated with great keenness the cause of injustice against justice, and endeavored by plausible reasons and examples to demonstrate that the former is beneficial, the latter useless, to the republic. Then, at the request of the company, Lælius attempted to defend justice, and strained every nerve to prove that nothing is so hurtful to a state as injustice; and that without justice a republic can neither be governed, nor even continue to exist.
When this question has been handled to the satisfaction of the company, Scipio reverts to the original thread of discourse, and repeats with commendation his own brief definition of a republic, that it is the weal of the people. "The people" he defines as being not every assemblage or mob, but an assemblage associated by a common acknowledgment of law, and by a community of interests. Then he shows the use of definition in debate; and from these definitions of his own he gathers that a republic, or "weal of the people," then exists only when it is well and justly governed, whether by a monarch, or an aristocracy, or by the whole people. But when the monarch is unjust, or, as the Greeks say, a tyrant; or the aristocrats are unjust, and form a faction; or the people themselves are unjust, and become, as Scipio for want of a better name calls them, themselves the tyrant, then the republic is not only blemished (as had been proved the day before), but by legitimate deduction from those definitions, it altogether ceases to be.
Tully [Cicero -- compiler], himself, too, speaking not in the person of Scipio or any one else, but uttering his own sentiments, uses the following language in the beginning of the fifth book, after quoting a line from the poet Ennius, in which he said, "Rome's severe morality and her citizens are her safeguard." "This verse," says Cicero, "seems to me to have all the sententious truthfulness of an oracle. For neither would the citizens have availed without the morality of the community, nor would the morality of the commons without outstanding men have availed either to establish or so long to maintain in vigor so grand a republic with so wide and just an empire. Accordingly, before our day, the hereditary usages formed our foremost men, and they on their part retained the usages and institutions of their fathers. But our age, receiving the republic as a chef-d'oeuvre of another age which has already begun to grow old, has not merely neglected to restore the colors of the original, but has not even been at the pains to preserve so much as the general outline and most outstanding features. For what survives of that primitive morality which the poet called Rome's safeguard? It is so obsolete and forgotten, that, far from practicing it, one does not even know it. And of the citizens what shall I say? Morality has perished through poverty of great men; a poverty for which we must not only assign a reason, but for the guilt of which we must answer as criminals charged with a capital crime. For it is through our vices, and not by any mishap, that we retain only the name of a republic, and have long since lost the reality. . . ."
For I mean in its own place to show that -- according to the definitions in which Cicero himself, using Scipio as his mouthpiece, briefly propounded what a republic is, and what a people is, and according to many testimonies, both of his own lips and of those who took part in that same debate -- Rome never was a republic, because true justice had never a place in it. But accepting the more feasible definitions of a republic, I grant there was a republic of a certain kind, and certainly much better administered by the more ancient Romans than by their modern representatives. But the fact is, true justice has no existence save in that republic whose founder and ruler is Christ, if at least any choose to call this a republic; and indeed we cannot deny that it is the people's weal.
But if perchance this name, which has become familiar in other connections, be considered alien to our common parlance, we may at all events say that in this city is true justice; the city of which Holy Scripture says, "Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God." -- Augustine in The City of God, Book 2, Chapter 21, Cicero's Opinion of the Roman RepublicNo corporation on earth comes close to the accounting fraud practiced year after year by the federal government [one of the largest, if not the largest, business enterprises in the world. -- compiler]. In fact, there is no real accountability at all for the trillions in tax dollars raised and spent annually by Congress and our entrenched federal agencies. The official "accounting" that does take place is a sham. Every year Congress creates a meaningless budget, the Fed prints phony money, the Budget office issues false revenue forecasts, and the administrative agencies waste billions in the most unproductive ways imaginable. Literally tens of billions of dollars go unaccounted for every year, simply disappearing down bureaucratic black holes [and the banking system is controlled by the Federal Reserve. -- compiler]. This hardly represents a standard against which corporations should be judged! [Nor does it hardly represent an example for corporations, small business owners, and tax payers. -- compiler] -- Texas Congressman, Ron Paul in What About Government Accountability?
Hazlitt came to the conclusion that "this [the Eisenhower Administration program -- compiler] seems to take over from the New Deal the essence of the Keynesian ideology -- the belief in compensation spending -- the belief that any decline from a peak of inflationary prosperity can and should be offset and rectified by an increase in deficit spending." (21. Newsweek, January 10, 1980, p. 33.)
Lying at the very heart of the Eisenhower program was the philosophy of John Maynard Keynes, the noted English economist, who had gained the ear of Franklin D. Roosevelt with the result that the New Deal legislation from then on reflected this approach to the problems of the nation. For a long time Keynes had been a member of the Fabian Society in England, a socialist group in that country. (22. Keynes had set forth his philosophy in his Treatise on Money and General Theory of Economics, the first in England in 1930 and the second in this country in that same year. In 1936 his General Theory of Employment, Money and Interest was published.) Like most of his Fabian colleagues, Keynes erected his philosophy on the basic assumption that Christianity was not and could not be true and that new principles of human action must be found in a form of socialism which was very close to communism. Roosevelt's first contact with Keynes seems to have been a letter which Keynes published in the New York Times on December 31, 1933, and which apparently influenced him to abandon the gold standard a few months later. In a personal interview with President Roosevelt in 1934, Keynes was able to persuade him that he should adopt deficit spending as the policy which would lift the nation out of the depression. That there was a radical intent behind the writings of Keynes and the tone of his later compared with his earlier works is not difficult to demonstrate. He wrote:Lenin is said to have remarked that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. . . . Lenin was right. There is no subtler, no surer means of over-turning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. (23. Essays in Persuasion. New York, Norton, 1963, p. 77.)That such an idea was not an incidental reference, but lay at the heart of his whole approach to economic issues is quite evident, and he had given it much thought. He wrote: "The debauching of the currency is a process that engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose." (24. Ibid.)
Thus, this Keynesian approach to combating depression became the standard monetary policy for the succeeding administrations. It is doubtful that all those who have espoused such an approach, or even those who continue to support it today, are aware of the Marxian origins, or of its almost inevitable results. It was with good reason that Henry Hazlitt called the Eisenhower program a "Mini New Deal."
The debauchery of the currency through the persistent policy of encouraging inflation was and remains the standard radical attack on the fiscal soundness and integrity of the United States Government. Very few Americans are aware that it has its origins in a radical philosophy which was, and is, necessarily anti-Christian in both content and outlook. But liberals from the days of Franklin Roosevelt to our own day have, to varying degrees, been aware of its radical background and have sought to conceal it from the people. They have defended their inflationary programs on the ground that we must provide foreign aid for our friends abroad and an ever-widening social welfare program at home. Not only does such a program give an appearance of prosperity, but it also is an ideal way of redistributing the wealth of the nation according to a Marxian formula.
The liberal leadership within the major denominations and the National Council of Churches eagerly embraced such a policy on the ground that it was a necessary application of the principles of the Social Gospel. The leadership of the National Council has at times been willing to go further and faster into the area of creating a total social welfare state than the politicians have seen fit to tread.
The momentum achieved by this policy of planned inflation by the time of Eisenhower had become a popular national disease because money was so abundant and many people interpreted this vast supply of money as an indication of an increasing and virtually endless time of national prosperity. From 1952 on, both Democratic and Republican presidents have felt the compulsion to continue the inflationary process even though during their campaigns they would make valiant, if unrealistic, pleas for a balanced budget even while pleading for more and more federal expenditures for various welfare project, some of which have had dubious value, while others have proved to be very harmful, not only to the nation at large but to the recipients of the federal grants. (25. Today many observers have come to the conclusion that this inflationary spiral is almost irreversible apart from stringent political and fiscal policies which no president or Congress could put into effect without very serious consequences.) -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), in A Theological Interpretation of American History (1994, 1981, 1964), pp. 289-292Inflation is theft. When a government prints money without any production supporting it, that is the same as counterfeiting money. The more counterfeit money that goes into the economy, the less the money is worth. Of course, this hurts the wage earners the most, because money is defined in terms of human labor. When a counterfeiter puts counterfeit money into circulation, he is stealing the time that laborers have put into the certificates of indebtedness.
The Confederacy financed their rebellion with more than 50 percent of their money being counterfeit (borrowed). The economic consequences were DEVASTATING. Some parts of the South are still trying to recover economically.
Presently, the US is borrowing huge sums of money to buy votes for the politicians. It works!!! They keep getting voted back to Washington.
But, if the American people see this as a crisis (which it is!!), that is destroying the U.S. economy, maybe we can primary out all of the politicians who vote for deficit spending. The Federal Government receives about $3.5 Trillion each year. That is WAY MORE than is necessary for the Federal Government to meet their Constitutional obligations.
First question for primary candidates: "Do you support deficit spending in peace time?"
Second question: "How can we reduce the National debt?" Debt -- not deficit!! -- Paul HalleyHastiness and superficiality are the psychic disease of the 20th century and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. Such as it is, however, the press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislative power, the executive, and the judiciary. And one would then like to ask: By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? In the communist East a journalist is frankly appointed as a state official. But who has granted Western journalists their power, for how long a time, and with what prerogatives? -- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), in A World Split Apart, his commencement address to Harvard University, delivered 8 June 1978
So many times people in the pew and the pulpit say, well how did all this get started? How did psychology descend to its present level? . . . How did political science produce our political thought, produce the dictatorships which are engulfing the modern world? Why are we in the economic mess in which we are today? Why is sociology such a jumble of immorality? Why is education as it is today? Why is art so meaningless? . . . Why is modern music an affront to the modern ears as well as to the mind and ear of God? . . . Why are all these things!? . . .
I would suggest to you that if you will follow this course with thought and care, you will finally come to see the answer to the questions which haunt us today in Western society." -- Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), in the Apologetics series of 24 lectures using FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT (1979) as the text, and delivered in Decatur, Georgia, beginning November, 1979.
Apologetics: #01: Classical and Medieval Thought #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 56 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453We are an illiterate nation incapable of understanding great truth. -- C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999)
As theological modernism swept through the Church over a century ago, in deference to the prevailing philosophical and scientific climate of the day, belief in the supernatural was regarded as an old, medieval relic. Modern churchmen were in the vanguard of those intellectuals who "laid" [apparently as in "laid-back" relaxed and easygoing -- compiler], the supernatural. Modern man, it was argued, could not be expected to believe in spirits in a world in which the wonders and triumphs of science increased almost daily. Philosophy, logic and psychiatry had all the answers. To ask twentieth-century man to accept Biblical dogmas was an insult to his intelligence. The bible must be "demythologized."
All seemed to be going well until modern man became difficult. In an age in which the tenets of humanism were more consistently applied that at any previous time, there occurred what is now termed the "occult explosion." The spiritual nature of man cannot be suppressed indefinitely, and frequently it will express itself in the most bizarre fashion accompanied with the strangest aberrations. Liberal churchmen suddenly found themselves out of fashion in a day when ouija boards, seances, witches' covens and exorcisms became quite common and stole the headlines in newspapers and periodicals. Embarrassed churchmen spoke unconvincingly in televised interviews. At the same time a number of their colleagues urged a return to exorcism in the old medieval style." -- Frederick S. Leahy in Satan Cast out, p. 136The four "Servant Songs" of Isaiah are Isaiah 42:1-9; Isaiah 49:1-7; Isaiah 50:4-11; and Isaiah 52:13 -- Isaiah 53:12. See the annotations in The Reformation Study Bible.
Our Triune God has ordained that the preeminent leader of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God Man, Our Righteousness. (John 1:1-18; Matthew 19:30; Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 49:7; Colossians 1:16-19; Colossians 2:9,10; Hebrews 12:1,2; Revelation 5:1-14; Revelation 19:11-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 22:12, and so forth, and so on). Human leadership is also divinely ordained and tends to devolve to those who are most perfectly at one with Christ, and to those who also know the most Truth (the Apostle Paul, Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Puritan leaders, The Scots Worthies, and so forth, and so on).
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:28). See: (Matthew 19:28, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then his master said unto him, It is well done good servant and faithful, Thou hast been faithful in little, I will make thee ruler over much: enter into thy master's joy. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:21) (Matthew 25:21 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:34). See: (Matthew 25:34, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he said unto him, Well, good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little thing, take thou authority over ten cities. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:17) (Luke 19:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:29) (Luke 22:29, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17). See: (Romans 8:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:3). See: (1 Corinthians 6:3, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6). See: (Ephesians 2:6, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and corrections among the people:
To bind their kings in chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,
That they may execute upon them the judgment that is written: this honor shall be to all his Saints. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 149:7-9) (Psalm 149:7-9, 1599 Geneva Bible)
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:12), (1 Timothy 2:12, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:26). See: (Revelation 2:26, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To serve God is to reign. -- Seneca (4 BC -- 65 AD)But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:8-11)
One of the besetting sins of mankind is to use the law to oppress his fellowman. Frederic Bastiat unfolds this sin in, The Law.For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)
There is much that is dark in the aspect of things in this world, yet the Psalmist hints that, amidst all the confusion which reigns, we may collect from what we see of God's judgments, that he does not disappoint the expectations of his believing people. He must be considered, however, as addressing those who have eyes to see, who are privileged with the true light of faith, who are fully awake to the consideration of the Divine judgments, and who wait patiently and quietly till the proper time arrive; for most men stagger and confuse their minds upon this subject, by starting to precipitate conclusions, and are prevented from discovering the providence of God by judging according to sense. It becomes us too to be satisfied with apprehending the judgments of God only in some imperfect measure while we remain upon earth, and leaving him to defer the fuller discovery of them to the day of complete revelation. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 91:7
How wondrous is god's patience with the world today. On every side people are sinning with a high hand. The Divine law is trampled under foot and God Himself openly despised. It is truly amazing that he does not instantly strike dead those who so brazenly defy Him. Why does He not suddenly cut off the haughty infidel and blatant blasphemer, as He did Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)? Why does He not cause the earth to open its mouth and devour the persecutors of His people, so that, like Dothan and Abiram (Deuteronomy 11:6), they shall go down alive into the Pit? And what of apostate Christendom, where every possible form of sin is now tolerated and practiced under cover of the holy name of Christ? Why does not the righteous wrath of Heaven make an end of such abominations? Only one answer is possible: because God bears with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. (Romans 9:22b) -- Arthur Pink (1886-1952), The Longsuffering of God
Helen Berger in the Columbia University Seminar on Contents and Methods, September 13, 1989 revealed that some prominent scientists are practicing witches. Berger also said the rise of neo-paganism in scientific circles, and the startling fact that 40-plus scientists and researchers at Harvard and MIT are witches, is indicative of a "crisis of rationality" in modern science.
So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over -- a weary, battered old brontosaurus -- and became extinct. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society
Marx and Freud are the two great destroyers of Christian civilization, the first replacing the gospel of love by the gospel of hate, the other undermining the essential concept of human responsibility. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) in My Life in Pictures
When the restraining influence of Christianity is removed from a country or culture, unmitigated disaster will naturally follow. This has been a repeated pattern of the 20th century. -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) and Jerry Newcombe, What if Jesus had Never Been Born? p. 233
When the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against prayer in public schools in 1963 the statistics for social indicators including teenage suicide began to climb dramatically. And the climb continues.
Since 1963 [1990 data]:1. Violent crime has increased 500 percent.Do you Know What Happened When Religious Principles Were Separated From Public Affairs?
2. Illegitimate births have increased 400 percent.
3. Divorces have increased 400 percent.
4. Children living in single parent homes has increased 300 percent.
5. Child abuse has increased 340 percent (since 1976).
6. Teenage suicide has increased 200 percent.
7. SAT scores have dropped almost 80 points. -- William Bennett, in The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators
http://www.whatyouknowmightnotbeso.com/graphs.htmlPercent of all births to unmarried women: 40.7 percent. Data are for the U.S., 2012. Source: Births: Final Data for 2012, Table C.
Estimates are that one of every three children conceived in the United States (2013) are aborted.
Abortion was the 20th century's biggest single killer of mankind worldwide, far surpassing any other cause: disease, war, governments, natural disasters, and so forth. See: "Biggest Killers of the 20th Century." Notice that abortion is not included in this diagram. The absence of information says something about the depravity of mankind (Jeremiah 17:9,10), and about the suppression and repression of truth. (Hosea 4:6,7)
The number of abortions performed worldwide in the last 50 years is estimated to be 1 to 2 billion. But try to document this fact elsewhere online.
The total abortions worldwide for the 20th century may be interpolation from available data. The calculation does not factor in incremental increases in world population since 1900. Worldwide there are an estimated 43.8 million abortions annually (2008 figures, Guttmacher Institute) X 100 years = 4.38 billion killings worldwide in the 20th century. This is compared to 1.97 billion estimated deaths worldwide for non-communicable diseases the reported biggest killer worldwide of the 20th century. Comparison may also be made with figures for genocide.
Number of Abortions -- Abortion Counters
"The most accurate set of abortion counters on the web. Number of abortions in U.S. and worldwide; Number of abortions since 1973; Number of abortions this year; U.S. abortion clock; Worldwide abortion clock; Number of abortions due to rape or incest; Planned Parenthood abortion count."
http://www.numberofabortions.com/It is shocking how often sexual immorality leads to death.
Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of freemen. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated [defective] state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. -- Patrick Henry
Now what? [July 2002, in face of the fraudulent accounting practices of Arthur Anderson, Enron, Adelphia, ImClone, WorldCom, Global Communications, Tyco, Xerox, and Merck, and others, costing shareholders and employees multiplied billions of dollars in losses. -- compiler]. Do we look to our churches for moral guidance or, heaven forbid, help in addressing the greatest financial and moral rip-off in American history? I don't think so. They are out "saving souls" these days, advocating home schooling, and encouraging "tithing" from nouveau riche middle managers that support and carry-out the corrupt corporate culture of today. Where have they been on this issue that is certainly the "family values" issue of all family values issue! Family savings are being destroyed! -- Reader's Comment
Creed, Steve Turner
This is the creed I have written on behalf of all us.We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy is OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.We believe that everything is getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.We believe there's something in
horoscopes, UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man
just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher
although we think His good morals were bad.We believe that all religions are basically the same --
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.We believe in the rejection of creeds,
and the flowering of individual thought."Chance" a post-script
If chance be the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky,
and when you hearState of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.
http://www.apuritansmind.com/Apologetics/SteveTurnerCreed.htmAnthropologists tell us that one-third of all human beings who have lived on this planet have died at the hands of their brothers -- that fully one-third of the human race have died through war, violence, crime, and sudden death at the hands of another human being. -- D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) and List of Wars and Anthropogenic Disasters by Death Toll, Wikipedia
The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality, but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact. (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21b; Ecclesiastes 9:3b; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3-5) -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990). See John Calvin's Commentary on Isaiah Chapter 33 [Isaiah 33:1-66].
How ironic that Cain, the very first man born of a woman, murdered his brother, while so many modern men believe that humans are "basically good." The biblical account of Cain slaying his brother Able, is a most telling example of the utter depravity of fallen man.
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts and hear us today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen. -- Paul Harvey shared this prayer in "The Rest of the Story"Without Bible magistracy -- law enforcement, judgment, justice, criminal prosecution, civil prosecution, punishment of wrongdoers, equal justice for the "insane" and "mentally ill" (who in most cases are demoniacs), regulation of finance, business, and just regulation in all spheres of human activity -- in the absence of law enforcement, and regulation there is no government in church or in state. Punishment of wrongdoers is the primary function of a nation's government. Likewise, without church discipline there is no church government and, of course, no church.
National security is dependent upon covenant relationship with the Triune God.
Persons who are not in covenant relationship to the Triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, persons who are not submitted to the control and influence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave us the highest ethical standard known to mankind, those person either utterly fail, or are unable to effectively resist the human lusts for power, wealth, and sex: the vainglory of man.
Our Colonial forefathers, who were of Puritan and Covenanter descent, were right, a leader must publicly take a Trinitarian Oath and confess that he knows that all people will be finally judged for their actions in this life. See: Justice, Judgment, God's Final Judgment, The Great White Throne Judgment, The Day of the Lord. Understood with this oath is their submission to Christ's Crown and Covenant, and their role, as covenant heads, to rule as "nursing fathers."
This role is constituted in the National and Solemn League and Covenants (see: The National Covenant and The Solemn League and Covenant) and is further defined and established by the Westminster Family of Documents (see: The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646, Westminster Standards), and Related Works)
We Covenanters believe that the roots of liberty and limited government are in The Protestant Reformation and that "the key to maintenance of liberty and limited government is to be found in the Scottish Covenanting struggle." -- James A. Dodson (see: An Introduction to the Covenanted Reformation)
The reader may ask, the cause of the decline in our culture has been presented, how is it to be corrected? The answer, of course, is reform of Church and State. But how is that reform to come about? It will come about by scholarship.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. (Hosea 4:6,7)
The Protestant Reformation and The Scottish Covenanted Reformation "were born on the wings of scholarship." Revivals that have impacted the culture of nations have been based upon the preaching of sound doctrine, the preaching of the whole counsel of God. (see Works of C. Gregg Singer)
The thing to be done? Begin by nurturing and producing real scholars: Apostle Pauls, Saint Augustines, John Calvins, James H. Thornwells, Gresham Machens, Gordon H. Clarks, C. Gregg Singers, and so on, and so forth.
Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved (Psalm 80:3).
See also: The Golden Sceptre Held Forth to the HumbleIt is possible to make a fortune, literally, off of public ignorance and, at the same time, bask in the vainglory of being a respected professional: a theologian, a TV evangelist, a mega-church pastor, a doctor, a surgeon, a dentist, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, a chemist, a chemical manufacturer, an investment banker, a university president, a professor, a scientist, a historian, a sociologist, a psychologist, a high elected official, an elected official in Congress, an automotive engineer, a CEO of a huge corporation, a CEO of a food processing corporation, CEOs of industrial agriculture corporations, and so forth, and so on.
Each year, some 30 million Americans are defrauded of more than $50 billion, according to a 2011 report by the Financial Fraud Research Center, a joint project of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation." -- Mitch Lipka in "Devious by Design: Spotting the Telltale Signs of Shady Deals, Scams, and Fraudulent Investment Offers," in USAA Magazine, Spring 2014, volume 50, number 1.
The "Devious by Design" article offers basic information and lists warning signs for uninformed investors.
According to the FBI, securities fraud includes false information on a company's financial statement and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings; lying to corporate auditors; insider trading; stock manipulation schemes, and embezzlement by stockbrokers.
Securities regulators and other prominent groups estimate civil securities fraud totals approximately $40 billion per year. . . .
Securities fraud is becoming more complex as the industry develops more complicated investment vehicles. In addition, white collar criminals are expanding the scope of their fraud and are looking outside the United States for new markets, new investors, and banking secrecy havens to hide unjust enrichment. . . .
Any investor can become a victim, but persons aged fifty years or older are most often victimized, whether as direct purchasers in securities or indirect purchasers through pension funds. Not only do investors lose but so can creditors, taxing authorities, and employees.
Potential perpetrators of securities fraud within a publicly-traded firm include any dishonest official within the company who has access to the payroll or financial reports that can be manipulated to: overstate assets, overstate revenues, understate costs, understate liabilities. -- Securities FraudNot knowing the expected rate of return for an particular investment is one of the greatest weaknesses of the investor. This leaves them vulnerable to fraud by unscrupulous advisers who promise unrealistic high rates of return. These promises are often a sign of a typical Ponzi scheme. Such schemes have been extensively reported in the television series American Greed: Scams, Schemes, and Broken Dreams.
Devious by Design: Spotting the Telltale Signs of Shady Deals, Scams, and Fraudulent Investment Offers
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usaa_2014spring/#/18According to the FBI, securities fraud includes false information on a company's financial statement and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings; lying to corporate auditors; insider trading; stock manipulation schemes, and embezzlement by stockbrokers.
Securities regulators and other prominent groups estimate civil securities fraud totals approximately $40 billion per year. . . .
Securities fraud is becoming more complex as the industry develops more complicated investment vehicles. In addition, white collar criminals are expanding the scope of their fraud and are looking outside the United States for new markets, new investors, and banking secrecy havens to hide unjust enrichment. . . .
Any investor can become a victim, but persons aged fifty years or older are most often victimized, whether as direct purchasers in securities or indirect purchasers through pension funds. Not only do investors lose but so can creditors, taxing authorities, and employees.
Potential perpetrators of securities fraud within a publicly-traded firm include any dishonest official within the company who has access to the payroll or financial reports that can be manipulated to: overstate assets, overstate revenues, understate costs, understate liabilities. -- Securities FraudThe Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is now the only Self-Regulatory Organization in the United States for the financial industry. FINRA operates BrokerCheck where investors may view online the disciplinary record of their stock broker or prospective stock broker. However, see also: FINRA Criticism.
He [Bill Clinton, and the succession of bad presidents -- compiler], is first of all God's judgment on our land. According to the Scriptural pattern, a sign that God is displeased with a nation is when he removes competent, righteous, valiant leaders and gives you over to weak, inept, wicked rulers. (Isaiah 3). He is also the Lord's rebuke to the Church of Jesus Christ. Conservative Christians can demonize Clinton all they like, but that doesn't remove God's warning through this corrupt administration that the Church is going the wrong way and was a major contributing factor to Clinton's rise to power. Allegorically, Bill Clinton is Balaam's donkey that God used to speak to a wayward prophet that was about to head into a collision course with the dread Sovereign of the Universe. Balaam thought by beating the donkey that would alleviate his problems. So it is today, many Christian and conservative groups who fill their coffers by beating the President think they can alleviate the problems with America by pursuing this same foolish course. Unfortunately, many of us are just as blind as Balaam when it comes to the understanding that the president is not the problem, we are. The bottom line is, Bill Clinton is God's x-ray into the heart of America that reveals the moral sickness that is plaguing our nation for abandoning God and for trashing His Laws. He is a prophetic warning that the bridge is out up ahead and we need to turn around before it is too late.
I believe it is imperative that the American people understand that Bill Clinton is not the only one being investigated and on trial here today. The truth is our entire nation is on trial. For us to even have a debate whether character counts is an admission of how far we have fallen. It is also an indictment against our inability for self-government (the very cornerstone of our Republic), the breakdown of family government, the failure of church government to be salt and light to the culture, and the abdication of civil government to uphold God's Laws. These sacred institutions that God established for our benefit and for His pleasure were to uphold what is noble and honorable amongst men and to restrain that which is base and destructive. -- Rusty Lee Thomas in Does Character Count?Overall, the current research [2009] revealed that only 9 percent of all American adults have a biblical worldview. Among the sixty subgroups of respondents that the survey explored was one defined by those who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today, and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. Labeled 'born again Christians,' the study discovered that they were twice as likely as the average adult to possess a biblical worldview. However, that meant that even among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19 percent), had such an outlook on life.
The same questions were asked of respondents in national surveys by Barna in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The results indicate that the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview, as defined above, has remained unchanged for more than a decade. The numbers show that 7 percent had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10 percent in 2000, 11 percent in 2005, and 9 percent now [2009]. Even among born again adults, the statistics have remained flat: 18 percent in 1995, 22 percent in 2000, 21 percent in 2005, and 19 percent today. -- "Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians Over the Past 13 Years," March 6, 2009.
That means, hypothetically, applying this statistic for purposes of general illustration, that if a born again individual with a Biblical worldview sits down in the middle of an Evangelical congregation, then the four persons seated around him, left, right, front, back, statistically do not have a Biblical worldview, which raises doubts that they really have a changed life, and are really true to Christ.
The truth hurts! But these facts need to be known, especially by the new believer, who can be so buffeted about initially by the Adversary, and who can be so susceptible to discouragement.
See also:"Barna Lists the 12 Most Significant Religious Findings"
"A Biblical Worldview has a Radical Effect on a Person's Life," December 1, 2003
"What People Experience in Church," and
Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affection.
The inability to see the effects of chronic, low level toxicities on human health is our greatest failing as intelligent beings. -- Dr. Boyd Haley
A Facebook member's comments directed to members of the political "Round Table Discussion" on ABC's "This Week" broadcast December 16, 2012.
"Of course, the media's coverage of the event [another in a string of mass shooting -- compiler], is disturbingly inadequate and highly suspicious [the media's standard comment 'the motive of the shooter is unknown' followed by calls for gun control -- compiler], a good reason to stop listening to media news coverage.
"Gun control seems to me to be among the least significant issues to focus on in saving human life in America today. A few additional thoughts, mostly written after the Aurora theater shooting, however incomplete and however inadequate. (Notice that probably 'ten thousand times' more lives could be saved by banning abortion and breaking up healthcare corporations and healthcare insurance corporations, the regulation of all of which are responsibilities of the Federal Government who, seemingly, would prefer to enact gun control legislation instead. -- compiler). -- A Facebook member
Some scholars would hold that a string of mass murders is only a sign that society is destabilizing, therefore, reformers must focus on broader causes to find the solution.
Scholarship has always been the foundation of reformation. We very respectfully submit that there is no political solution to the problem of a destabilizing society, or to the secondary problem of mass murder. The solution to the problems is outside any "political bubble" swallowed up by the irrationality of Western Thought.
Here are just a few suggested starting points for anyone with the will to attain to a lasting solution. Others have devoted volumes to the subject.1. Mortimer Adler, in GREAT BOOKS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, concluded that more problems are caused by the denial of God than by anything else -- it changes the whole tenure of life. This was also the message of Augustine (5th century), in CITY OF GOD, and Calvin (16th century), in THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. -- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins), Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
2. The Federal Government has banned God from both government and the public schools. Today schools are frequently the scene of violent crime.
3. The media floods the mind of the public with violence on TV, on cable, and in the theaters. Violent crime is rampant on the streets of America. "Warner Brothers stopped showing a trailer for the film 'Gangster Squad,' a trailer which was shown prior to the Aurora screening at which the shooting occurred, because of a scene involving a mass shooting in a movie theater.
4. A medical student was the murderer in the Aurora theater shooting. At the same time, at last estimate (2007), 50 million children have been aborted by mothers, doctors, and fathers in American since Roe vs. Wade in 1973 [56 million American babies from 1973 to 2014, annual rate continues at 1.2 million babies a year]. This is approximately the population of Canada.
5."Health care screwups are one of the leading causes of death in America, killing as many as 750,000 people annually. . . . That is the equivalent of more than three jumbo jets crashing every day of the year (or over 1,000 jets annually)." -- Joe and Terry Graedon in the introduction to TOP SCREWUPS DOCTORS MAKE AND HOW TO AVOID THEM.
6. Currently there is no end in sight for the increasing corruption and theft, at high levels of society, for consequent prolonged and deepening economic depression, and for a continued drop in the standard of living in America. The Federal Government is allowing theft, corruption, economic depression, and crime to continue. One of their few legitimate functions is to punish wrongdoers.
7. The principle causes of the French Revolution were fiscal crisis, "the state's effective bankruptcy due to the enormous cost of previous wars," and the resulting poverty and hunger among the "destitute segments of the population." During the Revolution mobs went berserk and beat victims to death, and the Revolutionaries guillotined the leaders in the establishment. The Revolution was overthrown with military force and the Consulate of Napoleon Bonaparte began.
8. John Owen (1616-1683), observes in his work, God's Presence With a People the Spring of Their Prosperity; With Their Special Interest in Abiding in Him, that it is the presence of God among a people that restrains evil, and, it might be added, terrorism.
9. Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections (1898).
10. Abortion was the 20th century's biggest killer of mankind worldwide, far surpassing disease, war, governments, natural disasters, genocide, and so forth, and so on. (Jeremiah 17:9,10) "Around 43.8 million abortions [2008 figures] occur each year in the world, with a little under half done unsafely."
11. And so forth, and so on, and on, and on . . . with many more examples of irrationalism in modern society caused by "the decline of the Western mind from the Renaissance to the present," the denial of God in the public arena, and the resultant failed epistemology and false presuppositions of leadership. See: FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT, and the supplemental lecture series, Apologetics.
*Achbar, Mark, and Jennifer Abbott (directors), The Corporation (2004), DVD encoded Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only), Zeitgeist Video DVD; April 5, 2005. Run Time: 145.
"This is an extraordinary film about the creation of the American corporation, its legal organizational model, its global economic dominance and its psychopathic tendencies, and its incredible ambition to influence every aspect of culture in its unrelenting pursuit of profit.
"The Corporation" was spawned from Joel Bakan's in depth book, THE CORPORATION: A PATHOLOGICAL PURSUIT OF PROFIT AND POWER (See annotation above). The film and book begins in the 18th century, in the establishment of the 14th Amendment. Initially the 14th Amendment was designed after the Civil War to give ex-slaves' legal rights, like any other citizen of the United States, but through a maze of legal precedents, the business corporation organization model was now deemed a 'legal person' with all the civil rights accorded to a citizen. This highly absurd precedent has paved the way for corporations to literally get away with murder, because a 'corporation' is not an individual that you can put in jail. In effect, a corporation has no moral or social obligations; their only obligation is the pursuit of profit. This film offers numerous examples of unethical practices resulting in death for many people, and because of their [corporations] status under the 14th Amendment, and endless legal loopholes, [they] have gotten away with terrible crimes against humanity and the environment with no more than a fine, a mere slap on the wrist.
"As the law treats corporations as 'persons,' Bakan thought it appropriate to put the various behaviors of these companies under psychological examination. What this psychological study illustrated is that corporations, as 'persons' behave and display the symptoms of the clinical psychopath. A psychopath typically does not have a social conscience, is guilt free after committing heinous acts, and will destroy anything or anybody that prevents them from attaining the object of their particular obsession -- in this case, the relentless pursuit of profit.
"This documentary took several years to produce with over 650 hours of footage directors, Jennifer Abbot and Mark Achbar, had to chisel down this amazing amount of material into a comprehensible film. What is most astounding is the range of people interviewed for this film, that argue from all sides of the 'corporation issue:' Ira Jackson, Ray Anderson -- CEO of Interface, the world's largest carpet manufacturer; Noam Chomsky, Richard Grossman, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, Milton Freidman, Noble Prize winning economist; Jeremy Rifkin, President, Foundation of Economic Trends; Dr. Robert Hare, Consultant to the FBI on psychopaths, and many more individuals from all sides of the debate.
"When Bakan wrote his book and then collaborated with Mark Achbar to produce this film, what they did not want was the film to appear as just some left-wing diatribe, attacking the corporations, but to illustrate to people how the corporation began, how they have evolved and what they could well turn into if the people do not become involved in the democratic process, ensuring our governments take back the reigns of power.
"After viewing this film, it becomes all too evident that these large corporations have too much power, whose mandate is not the common good of the people, and who will go to any lengths, legally and otherwise, in the pursuit of profit and the bottom line.
"I believe this is one of the best and most important documentary films to be made in many years. This work is an "exposé of legal tyranny." -- C. Middleton
"An epic in length and breadth, this documentary aims at nothing less than a full-scale portrait of the most dominant institution on the planet Earth in our lifetime -- a phenomenon all the more remarkable, if not downright frightening, when you consider that the corporation as we know it has been around for only about 150 years. It used to be that corporations were, by definition, short-lived and finite in agenda. If a town needed a bridge built, a corporation was set up to finance and complete the project; when the bridge was an accomplished fact, the corporation ceased to be. Then came the 19th-century robber barons, and the courts were prevailed upon to define corporations not as get-the-job-done mechanisms but as persons under the 14th Amendment with full civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (i.e., power and profit) -- ad infinitum.
"The Corporation defines this endlessly mutating life-form in exhaustive detail, measuring the many ways it has not only come to dominate but to deform our reality. The movie [Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott], performs a running psychoanalysis of this entity with the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath: a callous unconcern for the feelings and safety of others, an incapacity to experience guilt, an ingrained habit of lying for profit, etc. We are swept away on a demented odyssey through an altered cosmos, in which artificial chemicals are created for profit and incidentally contribute to a cancer epidemic; in which the folks who brought us Agent Orange devise a milk-increasing drug for a world in which there is already a glut of milk; in which an American computer company leased its systems to the Nazis -- and serviced them on a monthly basis -- so that the Holocaust could go forward as an orderly process. . . ." -- Richard T. Jameson
The Corporation
Website for the documentary movie and DVD, "The Corporation."
http://www.thecorporation.com/
Anderson, Sarah, Sara Grusky, Food and Water Watch (Organization), Institute for Policy Studies, Challenging Corporate Investor Rule: How the World Bank's Investment Court, Free Trade Agreements, and Bilateral Investment Treaties Have Unleashed a New Era of Corporate Power and What to do About it.
*Associate Synod of Scotland (1733-1820), A Solemn Warning . . . Wherein the Great Sin, Danger, and Duty of the Present Generation in These Lands, are Pointed out and Declared (1758). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"A stinging rebuke against personal, ecclesiastical and national sins; with the intent to turn the readers of this title from these sins and thus avoid God's wrath: for the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation." (Jer. 10:10 [Jeremiah 10:10]) -- Publisher
Augustine (of Hippo), Benjamin Breckridge Warfield, Peter Holmes, and Philip Schaff, Anti-Pelagian Writings, ISBN: 1565630998 9781565630994.
"The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace." -- John Calvin summarizing the teaching of Augustine
Auster, Lawrence, The Path to National Suicide: An Essay on Immigration and Multiculturalism, ISBN: 0936247126 9780936247120.
Reviewed in The New American, vol. 8, No. 13, June 29, 1992.
Baer, Robert, See no Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, ISBN: 0609609874 9780609609873 0609810278 9780609810279.
"This book is a memoir of one foot soldier's career in the other cold war, the one against terrorist networks. It's a story about places most Americans will never travel to, about people many Americans would prefer to think we don't need to do business with.
"This memoir, I hope, will show the reader how spying is supposed to work, where the CIA lost its way, and how we can bring it back again. But I hope this book will accomplish one more purpose as well: I hope it will show why I am angry about what happened to the CIA. And I want to show why every American and everyone who cares about the preservation of this country should be angry and alarmed, too.
"The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad. Defanged and dispirited, the CPA went along for the ride. And then on September 11, 2001, the reckoning for such vast carelessness was presented for all the world to see." -- Preface
"Robert Barr was a case officer in the Directorate of Operations for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1997. He served in places such as Iraq, Dushanbe, Rabat, Beirut, Khartoum, and New Delhi, and received the Career Intelligence Medal in 1997. He now divides his time between Washington, D.C., and France." -- Publisher
"SEE NO EVIL is not only a candid memoir of the education and disillusionment of an intelligence operative but also an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism. Baer reveals some of the disturbing details he uncovered in his work, including:
*Bakan, Joel, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, ISBN: 9780743247467 0743247469.
"Over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world's dominant economic institution. Eminent Canadian law professor and legal theorist Joel Bakan contends that today's corporation is a pathological institution, a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.
"In this revolutionary assessment of the history, character, and globalization of the modern business corporation, Bakan backs his premise with the following observations:
Balke, Willem, and William Heynen (translator), Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals, ISBN: 1579100732 9781579100735.
"Author Willem Balke wrote in the Introduction of this 1973 book (originally published in Dutch), 'It is evident . . . that a book on Calvin and the Radical Anabaptists fills a very definite need. There is a great deal of similarity between our own time and the sixteenth century. This gives our research a double significance: it serves not only to deepen our historical perspective concerning the relationship between the reformers and the Anabaptists but it also has great importance for understanding our own time.' (pgs. 8-9)
"He continues, 'Our research has been twofold, genetic and systematic. In the first section we will follow the biography of Calvin. We will inquire where Calvin came into contact with the Anabaptists, which Anabaptists he learned to know, and what he gleaned from their writings and other sources . . . In the second section we will review Calvin's view of the Anabaptists systematically. We will point out not only what separated Calvin from the Anabaptists, but also what united him to them. . . Our scope will be limited to that which separates Calvin from the Anabaptists and that which unites him to them . . . we will restrict ourselves to the image that Calvin had of these radicals of his day'." (pgs. 11-12) -- Willem Balke
"This is an excellent, scholarly, and very detailed study on a subject which is, not surprisingly, not well-represented in available books. While very far from being 'light summer reading,' this book will be of enormous interest and value to anyone seriously studying the early Reformation and the history of the Anabaptists." -- Reader's Comment
Barna, George, The Frog in the Kettle: What Christians Need to Know About Life in the Year 2000, ISBN: 0830714499 9780830714490.
Subtitle: What the future will be like, how the "new values" will affect the church, how Christians need to respond to the changing environment.
"There isn't enough time to digest all the important information that flies your way. George Barna has captured critical trends shaping your world and boiled them down in his new book, THE FROG IN THE KETTLE -- a book for every concerned Christian to read." -- Publisher
*Barofsky, Neil, Bailout: An Inside Account of how Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street, ISBN: 9781451684933 1451684932.
"In this bracing, page-turning account of his stranger-than-fiction baptism into the corrupted ways of Washington, Neil Barofsky offers an irrefutable indictment, from an insider of the Bush and Obama administrations, of the mishandling of the $700 billion TARP bailout fund. In vivid behind-the-scenes detail, he reveals proof of the extreme degree to which our government officials bent over backward to serve the interests of Wall Street firms at the expense of the broader public -- and at the expense of effective financial reform.
"During the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Barofsky gave up his job as a prosecutor in the esteemed U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City, where he had convicted drug kingpins, Wall Street executives, and perpetrators of mortgage fraud, to become the special inspector general in charge of oversight of the spending of the bailout money. From his first day on the job, his efforts to protect against fraud and to hold the big banks accountable for how they spent taxpayer money were met with outright hostility from the Treasury officials in charge of the bailouts.
"Barofsky discloses how, in serving the interests of the banks, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his team worked with Wall Street executives to design programs that would funnel vast amounts of taxpayer money to their firms and would have allowed them to game the markets and make huge profits with almost no risk and no accountability, while repeatedly fighting Barofsky's efforts to put the necessary fraud protections in place. His investigations also uncovered abject mismanagement of the bailout of insurance giant AIG and Geithner's decision to allow the payment of millions of dollars in bonuses -- including $7,700 to a kitchen worker and $7,000 to a mail room assistant -- and that the Obama administration's 'TARP czar' lobbied for the executives to retain their high pay.
"Providing stark details about how, meanwhile, the interests of homeowners and the broader public were betrayed, Barofsky recounts how Geithner and his team steadfastly failed to fix glaring flaws in the Obama administration's homeowner relief program pointed out by Barofsky and other bailout watchdogs, rejecting anti-fraud measures, which unleashed a wave of abuses by mortgage providers against homeowners, even causing some who would not have lost their homes otherwise to go into foreclosure. Ultimately only a small fraction (just $1.4 billion at the time he stepped down), of the $50 billion allocated to help homeowners was spent, while the funds expended to prop up the financial system -- as Barofsky discloses -- totaled $4.7 trillion. As Barofsky raised the alarm about the bailout failures, he met with obstruction of his investigations, and he recounts in blow-by-blow detail how an increasingly aggressive war was waged against his efforts, with even the White House launching a broadside against him. Bailout is a riveting account of his plunge into the political meat grinder of Washington, as well as a vital revelation of just how captured by Wall Street our political system is and why the too-big-to-fail banks have only become bigger and more dangerous in the wake of the crisis.
"Neil Barofsky is currently a Senior Fellow at New York University School of Law. From December 2008 until March 2011, he served as the Special Inspector General in charge of oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Before that he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. This is his first book." -- Publisher
"The further we dug into the way TARP was being administered, the more obvious it became that Treasury applied a consistent double standard. In the late fall of 2009, as I began receiving the results of two of our most important audits, the contradiction couldn't have been more glaring. When providing the largest financial institutions with bailout money, Treasury made almost no effort to hold them accountable, and the bounteous terms delivered by the government seemed to border on being corrupt. For those institutions, no effort was spared, with government officials often defending their generosity by kneeling at the altar of the 'sanctity of contracts.' Meanwhile, an entirely different set of rules applied for home-owners and businesses that were most assuredly small enough to fail.
"Nowhere was the favoritism toward Wall Street more evident than with the government's approach to AIG, where inviolable contract terms were cited to justify the absurd executive bonus payments as well as far richer payouts provided to the megabank counterparties to AIG's CDS deals, honoring even their most reckless bets. For homeowners and small business owners, though, contracts went from being sacrosanct to inconvenient irrelevancies. So when mortgage servicers blatantly disregarded HAMP contracts by trampling over homeowners' rights, Treasury turned to an endless series of excuses to justify its refusal to hold them accountable. Similarly, for more than two thousand auto dealerships, Treasury's auto bailout team sought to void the contractual rights granted them under state franchise laws to shut them down." -- An excerpt from Bailout
Barton, David, America: To Pray or not to Pray. A Statistical Look at What Happened When Religious Principles Were Separated From Public Affairs, ISBN: 0925279420 9780925279422.
"Correlates the decline of American society with the ban on prayer in public schools. The statistics point to the fact that as God has been banished from the public arena American society has spiralled downward." -- Publisher
Beachler, Donald W, and Thomas C. Shevory, When Good Companies go bad: 100 Corporate Miscalculations and Misdeeds, ISBN: 9781610694056 1610694058.
"Covering the entire world of business from heavy industry to the financial houses of Wall Street, this book shines a spotlight on 100 of the most infamous cases of misconduct and malfeasance in corporate history." -- Publisher
*Bennett, William, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, ISBN: 0671883267 9780671883263.
"Bennett's index strives to quantify the nation's cultural health.
"To illustrate what some people might consider a nebulous concept, Bennett turns to 19 tangible trends, grouped under crime, poverty, natality, family, education, drugs, and television. In most of the categories, Bennett traces changes from 1960 -- just before the dawn of the counterculture -- to 1990."
Caveat: William Bennett is a Roman Catholic. A 26-page book published jointly by Empower America, The Heritage Foundation, and The Free Congress Foundation.
Berger, Helen A., A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-paganism and Witchcraft in the United States, ISBN: 1570032467 9781570032462.
"One of the finest sociological studies of American Wicca ever published. It is unlikely to be superseded. Its author is to be commended for maintaining a high degree of theoretical sophistication while remaining accessible to the average reader." -- Stephen D. Glazier (University of Nebraska), in Review of Religious Research, volume 40, number 4 (June 1999), p. 380
"Helen Berger is probably one of the leading investigators in trying to get a sense of the numbers and ideological places Pagans and Witches in the U.S. are going. While her book VOICES FROM THE PAGAN CENSUS is designed to display mostly raw survey data with little interpretation, this work handles most of her interpretive analysis of this movement. A note of warning -- although the title includes 'Neo-Paganism,' there is very little here not of Witchen or Wiccan tradition. Those looking for cross-tradition discussion will be disappointed.
"Her book, thankfully, is centered around questions of family and tradition continuity through children, and how the influence of multigenerational change will affect the communities at hand. . . . As globalization lifts and floats institutions above their historically grounded practices and origins, so Wicca, as a religion of its time, asserts a similar possible universality . . . .
"Perhaps most fascinating and unique is Berger's attention to children and the routinization that accompanies multigenerational development. While some families affiliate themselves with institutions such as Unitarian Universalism for social cover, others question bringing in children at all. . . The controversial topic of how children learn and relate to sexuality in a Wiccan context is well covered. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"Helen Berger in the Columbia University Seminar on Contents and Methods, September 13, 1989 revealed that some prominent scientists are practicing witches. Berger also said the rise of neo-paganism in scientific circles, and the startling fact that 40-plus scientists and researchers at Harvard and MIT are witches, is indicative of a 'crisis of rationality' in modern science."
*Berle, Adolf, The Modern Corporation and Private Property, ISBN: 0887388876 9780887388873.
"Arguably the most influential book in U.S. business history." -- Peter Drucker
"This monumental work on the corporation is one of those enduring classics that many cite but few have read. Graced with a new introduction by Weidenbaum and Jensen, this new edition makes this classic available to a new generation. Written in the early 1930s, THE MODERN CORPORATION AND PRIVATE PROPERTY remains the fundamental introduction to the internal organization of the corporation in modern society. Combining the analytical skills of an attorney with those of an economist, Berle and Means raise the central questions, even when their answers have been superseded by changing circumstances.
"The book's most enduring theme is the separation of ownership from control of the modern corporation and its consequences. Berle and Means display keen awareness of the divergent interests of directors and managers, and of each from owners of the firm. Among their predictions are the characteristic increase in size of the modem corporation and concentration of the economy. The authors view stock exchanges and stock markets as essential by-products of the rise of the modem corporation, and explore how these function. They address the difficult questions of whether corporations operate for the benefit of owners or managers, and explore what motivates managers to make effective use of corporate assets. Finally, they examine the role of the corporation as the prevailing form of organizing the production and distribution of goods and services.
"In their new introduction, Weidenbaum and Jensen, co-directors of the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University, critically assess the impact of developments not fully anticipated by Berle and Means, such as the rise of the service sector, and the significant role played by institutional investors in the owner/manager equation. They note the authors' prescient observations, including the complex role of and motivating influences on professional managers, and the significance of inside information on stock markets. As they note, The Modern Corporation and Private Property remains of central value to all those concerned with the evolution of this major social institution of the twentieth century. Scholar and practitioner alike will find it of enduring significance." -- Publisher
Black, John (1768-1849), and Chauncey Webster, Divine and Human Rights, or, The Westminster Confession and the Constitution of the United States Tested by the Holy Scripture. In MISCELLANEOUS, VOL. 6, 1819-1849.
"The substance of a discourse delivered Nov. 14, 1844, at the First Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia."
*Blumenfeld, Samuel, Is Public Education Necessary? ISBN: 0815958269 9780815958260.
"This book tells, for the first time, the story of how and why Americans gave up educational freedom so early in their history for the imagined benefits of state-controlled education. The author delves into a wealth of original sources to reveal how a comparative handful of secularists, who were more concerned with destroying religion than with freeing man, spearheaded the drive toward public education. Centered at Harvard, this nineteenth-century liberal elite worked tirelessly -- and successfully -- to put America on the road to educational statism. By exploring the very roots of the system, this book provides the missing link in our educational history." -- Publisher
Blumenfeld, Samuel L., The Whole Language/OBE Fraud: The Shocking Story of how America is Being Dumbed Down by its own Education System, ISBN: 0941995097 9780941995092.
Bologna, G. Jack, and Robert J. Lindquist, Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting: New Tools and Techniques, 2nd edition (Wiley, January 15, 1995), 249 pages, ISBN: 0471106461 9780471106463.
"Fraud, in the words of the authors, is no simple vice. Recent years have seen it grow both in size and complexity, to the point where some estimates place losses due to fraud at well over $100 billion a year. And, with the increasing complexity of financial structures and the intensity of business competition, fraud has become harder to detect and more tempting to commit.
"Since much of the responsibility for detecting fraud has been assumed by the accounting profession, accountants need to learn how to recognize its signs and investigate it. FRAUD AUDITING AND FORENSIC ACCOUNTING, SECOND EDITION focuses on the investigation, detection, documentation, and prevention of accounting frauds, stock frauds, and employee theft and embezzlement. Written by recognized experts in the field of white-collar crime, this comprehensive book provides an incisive, in-depth analysis of how fraud occurs within an organization and explains the latest techniques for fighting it. The authors have brought together up-to-date material to show practicing professionals how to:
"G. Jack Bologna, BBA, JD, CFE, is President of Computer Protection Systems, Inc., and Associate Professor of Management at Siena Heights College. Among his numerous publications are THE ACCOUNTANT'S HANDBOOK OF FRAUD AND COMMERCIAL CRIME (Wiley), FORENSIC ACCOUNTING HANDBOOK, and HANDBOOK ON CORPORATE FRAUD. He is also editor of two newsletters, Forensic Accounting Review and Computer Security Digest. Mr. Bologna is a recipient of the Thomas J. Fitzgerald Award for significant contribution to the field of information security.Recognize the characteristics of organizations in which fraud is likely to occur
Detect and deter accounting fraud, using the most recently developed techniques
Conduct an efficient, systematic fraud investigation
Use the latest methods for documenting fraud and preparing evidence -- and much more
In addition, this timely, authoritative book presents new case studies, drawn from a wide variety of actual incidents, that demonstrate industry-tested methods for dealing with fraud.
Bork, Robert H., Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges, ISBN: 0844741620 9780844741628.
"With a ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California outlawing our Pledge of Allegiance because it contains the words, 'one nation under God,' and the case of Lawrence v. Texas in which a constitutionally protected 'right' to sodomy was discovered, there couldn't be a more informative and timely book or a better author on the subject of law, precedent, and the role of the judiciary in America. Robert Bork presents factual evidence of worldwide judicial tyranny.
"While the 11th Circuit puts the 10 Commandments in the closet in Alabama and the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finds that a 4-year-old had no right to give out pencils that said 'Jesus loves the little children' as Easter presents to classmates, we must ask ourselves: are we ruled by Law or by Men? To quote the author from one interview, 'The nations in the West are increasingly governed not by law or elected representatives, but by unelected, unrepresentative, unaccountable committees of lawyers applying the law in accordance with nothing other than their own will.'
"How will you decide this issue of judicial activism? Will you champion various court decisions because they align with your worldview, despite the consequences to our unique constitutional form of government in America and the delicate balance of power and culture between nations? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cited foreign court rulings as a basis (in part), for his decision in Lawrence v. Texas, and Ruth Bater Ginsberg was later quoted affirming and defending that practice. The New York Times has reported openly and approvingly that judges are engaging in a 'worldwide constitutional conversation.'
"Research through the pages of this book what in the world is going on with the judiciary. Become informed about why the unique foundations of American law and jurisprudence are vital to the freedoms we all hold dear and to civilization as we know it." -- Reader's Comment
*Bork, Robert H., Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline, ISBN: 0060391634 9780060391638.
"In Robert H. Bork's SLOUCHING TOWARDS GOMORRAH, one of our nation's most distinguished conservative scholars offers a prophetic and unprecedented view of a culture in decline, a nation in such serious moral trouble that its very foundation is crumbling. Of our own President, Bork writes: 'Thirty years ago, Clinton's behavior would have been absolutely disqualifying. Since the 1992 election, the public has learned far more about what is known, euphemistically, as the 'character issue.' Yet none of this appears to affect Clinton's popularity. It is difficult not to conclude that something about our moral perceptions and reactions has changed profoundly. If that change is permanent, the implication for our future is bleak.'
"The root of our decline, Bork argues, is the rise of modern liberalism, which stresses the dual forces of radical egalitarianism (the equality of outcomes rather than opportunities) and radical individualism (the drastic reduction of limits to personal gratification). The roots of modern liberalism are deeply embedded in the past two and a half centuries -- and perhaps -- arise from the very nature of Western civilization itself. From the collapse of popular culture to the general weakening of intellect, from the role of the Supreme Court as an agent of modern liberalism to the trouble in religion, from the assault of radical feminism on American institutions and freedoms to the 'killing for convenience' of abortion and euthanasia, Bork has brilliantly encapsulated a nation and a culture on the brink. He courageously sounds an alarm for all Americans.
"To understand our current plight and the direction in which we are moving, Bork believes we must look to the Sixties, a decade in which the moral integrity of our nation came under full-blown assault. We have never recovered from that attack because the radicals of the Sixties have taken over or heavily modified the cultural institutions they once sought to destroy. . . .
"Robert H. Bork received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Chicago. He has been a partner at a major law firm, taught constitutional law as the Alexander M. Bickell Professor of Public Law at the Yale law school, served as Solicitor General and as Acting Attorney General of the United States and served as a United States Court of Appeals judge. Author of the bestselling THE TEMPTING OF AMERICA: THE POLITICAL SEDUCTION OF THE LAW, he and his wife live in Washington DC, where he is the John M. Olin Scholar in Legal Studies at the American Enterprise Institute." -- Publisher
Bork, Robert H., The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law, ISBN: 0684843374 9780684843377.
"The primary function of this book is as a brilliant defense of Judge Bork's philosophy of original understanding and an excoriating polemic against judicial intervention. Surveying the entire history of American jurisprudence, Bork takes on interventionists of the Left and of the Right and makes an irrefutable case for the proposition that judicial intervention is a threat to the very functioning of the Republic. As you read his arguments and watch him marshal the facts, it's easy to understand why his nomination to the Supreme Court became such a political crucible. We lost the opportunity to have a really first class mind shape the Court for a generation when he was defeated." -- Reader's Comment
*Bovard, James, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, ISBN: 0312123337 9780312123338.
"A scathing examination of the current state of American society and a exposé of how the government is seizing property, suppressing free speech, and subjugating the citizenry. An entertaining and outrageous analysis of America's eroding rights from the author of THE FAIR TRADE FRAUD. -- Publisher
"Remarkable . . . Mr. Bovard's unrivaled research has resulted in a virtual encyclopedia of modern government abuse." -- The Wall Street Journal
"A gold mine . . . a virtually bottomless pit of government incompetence, dishonesty or outright repression at all levels." -- The Washington Times
*Bowers, Curtis, Agenda 2: Masters of Deceit, DVD documenatry.
"This is an important documentary with an important message for all. If you're looking for a film that will tell the truth about the state of our country unashamedly, then you need to see AGENDA 2: MASTERS OF DECEIT. This film will wake you up and expose the truth about communism in our government. If this is a subject simply to blow off or make fun of, we are only allowing those in power to win and continue pushing their agenda. This is a critical film to watch and discuss. And more importantly, we must take action, fighting for what we believe in. If we watch this film and vow to help Curtis Bowers on his quest to help America again, we can turn our country back. AGENDA 2: MASTERS OF DECEIT is a must-see film for all American Christians." -- Publisher
https://www.fishflix.com/products/agenda-2-masters-of-deceit-dvd-christian-movies?variant=34362795473
*Bowers, Curtis, Agenda: Grinding America Down, DVD documentary (2010).
"When Idaho Legislator Curtis Bowers wrote a 'letter to the editor' about the drastic changes in America's culture, it became the feature story on the evening news, people protested at the Capitol, and for weeks the local newspapers were filled with responses. He realized then . . . he'd hit on something. Ask almost anyone and you'll hear, 'Communism is dead! The Berlin Wall came down.' Thought the word communism isn't used anymore, this film will show the ideas behind it are alive and well. Join Bowers for a fascinating look at the people and groups that have successfully targeted America's morality and freedom in their effort to grind America down. It's a well documented AGENDA." -- Publisher
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2360880/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Brooks, Thomas (1608-1680), Sins Which Bring God's Fiery Judgment Upon Cities and Nations. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in WORKS OF THOMAS BROOKS.
*Brown, E. Richard, Rockefeller Medicine Men: Medicine and Capitalism in America, ISBN: 0520038177 9780520038172.
This book is as relevant today (2015) as it was in 1979. The players are still the same: foundations, corporations, and government. If anything the political-economic process of healthcare reform is even more complex today.
"This book explains how controlled the medicine industry is, how it became that way, and why America has the highest costs in the world for less than adequate medical care." -- Reader's Comment
"Historical epidemiological evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that medical science has played a relatively small role in reducing morbidity and mortality." (p. 219)
"Medical science rescued the medical profession, in particular the practitioners, from the widespread lack of confidence in their effectiveness." (p. 77)
Capitalists and corporate managers "embraced scientific medicine as an ideological weapon in their struggle to formulate a new culture appropriate to and supportive of industrial capitalism." (p. 10)
"For members of the corporate class, technological medicine has legitimized their economic and political dominance by diverting attention from the consequences of their control -- that is, from such 'social costs' as class inequalities, domination based on race or sex, occupational hazards, and environmental degradation. For the medical profession, the knowledge generated by medical science and the techniques of medical technology provided the basis for physicians' claims to a monopoly of authority over the practice of medicine." (p. 239)
"As medical science won public and professional credibility, it also solved the second and fundamentally more serious problem facing the profession in the nineteenth century: competition. . . . The overall impact of scientific medicine within the profession was to legitimize control by elite practitioners and medical school faculty." (p. 80)
"Health care could be more effective in improving health if its research and action were directed at environmental conditions in about the same proportion that those conditions contribute to sickness and death." (p. 240)
"If you have read and 'got' anything by Noam Chomsky, or Howard Zinn, you will 'get' this book.
"After being awarded an MBA from Stanford (hence, I can confidently say I very well understand the 'business' of medicine), and practicing medicine for 20 years in both the public and private sector, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Brown's thesis is on the money. -- Reader's Comment
Brown, Harold O.J., The Sensate Culture: Western Civilization Between Chaos and Transformation, ISBN: 0849913136 9780849913136.
"THE SENSATE CULTURE: WESTERN CIVILIZATION BETWEEN CHAOS AND TRANSFORMATION is a probing work grappling with the reasons so many moderns worship the sensuous, the material, the merely colossal -- but still feel empty and shallow. Building on the work of the late Pitirim Sorokin, Harold Brown finds the roots of cultural disintegration in the abandonment of the spiritual dimension. The author shows how most societies have descended from spiritual values to a period like our own, when materialism and sensuality rule. The result will be not just apostasy, but revolution, and the collapse of civilization. However, this need not be inevitable. The profound connections THE SENSATE CULTURE makes between Christianity and culture are accessible to every thoughtful person who takes seriously the crises faced by a world spinning out of control." -- Midwest Book Review
*Brown, John (of Haddington, 1722-1787), The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain. In two letters to a friend in which the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith [1646] relative to Toleration of a False Religion, and the power of the civil magistrate about sacred matters; and the nature, origin, ends and obligation of the National Covenant and Solemn League are candidly represented and defended, 1797. Alternate title: A COMPEND OF THE LETTERS OF THE REV. JOHN BROWN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN HADDINGTON: ON AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY IN BRITAIN, AND ON NATIONAL COVENANTING; IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH . . . AND OF THE NATIONAL COVENANT AND SOLEMN LEAGUE ARE CANDIDLY REPRESENTED AND DEFENDED, 1797, and "REFORMATION ATTAINMENTS VERSUS BACKSLIDING RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS," appears to be an excerpt. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #7, #25, #26.
The Absurdity and Perfidy of all Authoritative Toleration of Gross Heresy, Blasphemy, Idolatry, Popery, in Britain
http://archive.org/details/absurdityperfidy00brow
"Reformation Attainments Versus Backsliding Religious Professors (excerpt from THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION . . .
"Here Brown deals with three major Reformation attainments (anti-tolerationism, establishmentarianism and the obligations of lawful covenants as they biblically bind posterity), that Satan has always been especially concerned to overthrow -- in every major demonic move to open the floodgates of lawlessness, anarchy and misrule. Fletcher, in the preface to the 1797 edition, relates this truth as it comes to bear on various religious professors, stating, 'Papists were enemies to our covenants because they were a standard lifted up against their system of abominable idolatries. Episcopalians were enemies to them, because they were a standard lifted up against their anti-scriptural church-officers and inventions of men in the worship of God. Some Presbyterians are enemies to them in our day through ignorance of their nature and ends; and others through fear of being too strictly bound to their duty.' (cited in Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant, p. 486)
"A History of Heresy
"It is also interesting to note the long list of backsliders and heretics that often oppose one or more of these points. 'The ancient Donatists, a sect of Arian separatists, who appeared about the beginning of the 4th century, seem to have been among the first who held out these opinions to the Christian world. Feeling the weight of the arm of power for their schismatical practices, by way of reprisal, they stripped the magistrate of all power in religion; -- maintaining that he had no more power about religious matters than any private person, and refusing him the right of suppressing the propagators of doctrines different from those professed by the Church, or the observers of a different form of worship. From them the German Anabaptists adopted the same views. Then the Socinians (i.e. an early form of Scripture-denying liberals -- RB), and remonstrant Arminians, whenever the magistrate ceased to patronize their cause. The English Independents during the time of the Long Parliament were the zealous supporters of the same opinions. In their rage for liberty of conscience, they formed the strongest opposition in the Westminster Assembly which the Presbyterians had to encounter. Through their influence that venerable body was much embarrassed (hindered -- RB), in their proceeding; and by their means (in collusion with that "Judas of the Covenant," Cromwell -- RB), certain passages of the Confession of Faith never obtained the ratification of the English Parliament. The English Dissenters of the present age are generally in the same views, especially the Socinians, the Arians, and the Quakers, who have most to dread from the Laws of the Land against their blasphemies. And who knows not that the high reputation of Mr. Locke as a Philosopher . . . has given these opinions such an air of respectability, that many youth in the Universities have been thereby inclined to embrace them?' (Preface, pp. vi-vii).
"The Covenantal Hammer Smashing the Idols of our day
"In our day the tree of toleration (and the anti-Scriptural principles which logically grow out of it), has spread its branches in ways that could have never been envisioned by those that took the first steps away from biblical and covenanted uniformity. What Brown is fighting against here is an error so foundational that when left unchecked it permeates all of society, cutting out the foundational roots that are necessary for all national Reformations. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3 [Psalm 11:3]). Furthermore, as the preface notes 'liberty of conscience and of opinion' are 'the great idols of the day.' Here Brown takes out his covenantal hammer and smashes these idols with an inconoclastic zeal worthy of our earlier Reformed forefathers. This book is especially useful in answering the persistent fear and questions that always arise when these old Reformed views are discussed: that is, the questions dealing with religious persecution. Brown spends much time in clearing the Westminster Divines of such false charges, while also setting these controversial Reformed teachings on a thoroughly biblical foundation.
"Westminster's View of the 'Everlasting' Solemn League and Covenant
"Interestingly, in the section defending the continuing obligation of the National and Solemn League and Covenant, we also note that the Westminster Assembly considered the Solemn League and Covenant an 'everlasting covenant.' Brown cites the following as proof, 'That the body of the English nation also swore the Solemn League and Covenant, is manifest. The Westminster Assembly and English Parliament, affirm, 'The honourable house of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, the renowned city of London, and multitudes of other persons of all ranks and quality in this nation, and the whole body of Scotland, have all sworn it, rejoicing at the oath so graciously seconded from heaven. God will, doubtless, stand by all those, who with singleness of heart shall now enter into an everlasting covenant with the Lord.' (p. 161, emphasis added). The footnote tells us that the words Brown was quoting were taken from 'Exhortation to take the Covenant, February, 1644.'
"Our Modern Day Malignants
"Brown also includes a helpful section on a point some modern day malignants are once again attempting to use to overthrow the biblical attainments of the Covenanted Reformation. This section shows that 'the intrinsic obligation of promises, oaths, vows, and covenants which constitutes their very essence or essential form, is totally and manifestly distinct from the obligation of the law of God in many respects.' (p. 120)
"Brown's Dying Testimony to his Children
"Finally, we cite a portion of Brown's dying testimony to his children given in the introduction (p. xix). Such testimonies, from notable Christian leaders, often contain singularly pertinent charges to their hearers. (For another notable example of this see James Renwick's dying testimony, as he was about to be martyred for his adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant, when he recounts what was later to become most of the terms of communion in Covenanted Presbyterian churches. This testimony can be found in Thompson's A CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR THE ROYAL PREROGATIVES OF JESUS CHRIST BEING THE LAST SPEECHES AND TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE TRUTH IN SCOTLAND SINCE . . . 1680. Here are Brown's dying words to his children: 'Adhere constantly, cordially and honestly to the Covenanted Principles of the Church of Scotland, and to that Testimony which hath been lifted up for them. I fear a generation is rising up which will endeavour silently,' (O how prophetic!), 'to let slip these matters, as if they were ashamed to hold them fast, or even to speak of them' (as with many "reformed" publishers and preachers today, who dare not touch the topics Brown deals with in this book -- RB). 'May the Lord forbid that any of you should ever enter into this confederacy against Jesus Christ and his cause! This from a dying father and minister, and a witness for Christ' (Signed) 'John Brown'."
"Do you Have What it Takes?
"If you have the courage to compare the original Reformed faith with that which is often promoted under its name today (and in many ways the old Reformed faith bears little resemblance to the 'new light' Reformers and innovators of our day), then this is an ideal book to obtain and study." -- Reg Barrow
Following are three works related to THE ABSURDITY AND PERFIDY OF ALL AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION OF GROSS HERESY, BLASPHEMY, IDOLATRY, POPERY, IN BRITAIN by John Brown of Wamphray.
1. Barrow, Reg, Calvin, Covenanting, Close Communion and the Coming Reformation, 1996, a book review of ALEXANDER AND RUFUS . . . by John Anderson, 1862. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Shows how Calvin practiced covenanting and close communion and how the biblical view of these ordinances is intended to purify the individual, church and nation. Refutes the Popish, Independent and paedocommunion heresies -- as well as all views of open communion (so common in our day). Also argues that Arminians, anti-paedobaptists, anti-regulativists, and all those who openly violate the law of God (and are unrepentant), should be barred from the Lord's table -- as a corrective measure ordained of God for their recovery. Also demonstrates that those that would not swear to uphold the Geneva Confession (or 'human constitution,' as it was agreeable to the Word of God), of 1536 in Calvin's day were to be excommunicated and exiled from Geneva. This is Reformation History Notes number two." -- Reg Barrow
Calvin, Covenanting and Close Communion
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CalvinCC.htm
2. Price, Greg L., Terms of Communion: Covenants and Covenanting, a series of 7 audio cassettes [audio file]. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Explains and defends the fourth term of communion, which is 'That public, social covenanting is an ordinance of God, obligatory on churches and nations under the New Testament; that the National Covenant and the Solemn League are an exemplification of this divine institution; and that these Deeds are of continued obligation upon the moral person; and in consistency with this, that the Renovation of these Covenants at Auchensaugh, Scotland, 1712 was agreeable to the word of God.' Includes the studies offered separately on the National Covenant (2 tapes), the Solemn League and Covenant (1 tape), the Auchensaugh Renovation (2 tapes), as well as two introductory lectures (only available in this set), on the biblical principles related to the ordinance of covenanting, the descending obligation of lawful covenants, objections against covenanting, etc. Roberts, in his REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CATECHISM, catches the spirit of this tape set in the following question and answer:
"Q. May we not indulge the hope, that, in the goodness of our covenant God, and by the promised outpouring of his Holy Spirit, 'the kingdoms of the world' at large, and the British empire in particular, will dedicate themselves to God in a covenant not to be forgotten -- animated by the example of our covenant fathers exhibited in these memorable deeds?
"A. Yes. We have the most cheering grounds for this blessed hope; for it is written, that the nations at large in the spirit of devoted loyalty, shall cry -- 'Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten': and it cannot be well doubted, that the death-cry of the martyred Guthrie has been heard on high, and shall be verified -- 'The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's (and the world's -- RB), reviving.' (p. 151)
"A thoroughly amazing set of tapes -- among our best!" -- Publisher
3. Cunningham, John (1819-1893), The Ordinance of Covenanting, 1843. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #3, #27.
"This book is considered by many as the classic work on covenanting. 'The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presbyterian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons' (Presbyterian Review (1844), as cited by Johnston, Treasury of the Scottish Covenant).
"The author himself notes that 'prayer and the offering of praise are universally admitted to be duties of religion. The Scriptures announce a place among these for the exercise of solemn Covenanting . . . What the word of God unfolds concerning it, is addressed to the most resolute consideration of all, and is capable of engaging the most extensive and prolonged investigation. And yet, though none have found this subject, like all God's judgments, else than a great deep, still in meditating upon it, the ignorant have been brought to true knowledge, and the wise have increased in wisdom. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14). Mutual federal engagements, concerning things religious and civil, whether entered into merely by simple promise, or confirmed by the solemn oath, have been made from the highest antiquity to the present. The hostility to some such engagements, and also the proud disregard for their obligation, which have been evinced by some in all ages, demand a most careful examination into their nature and design . . . Furnished with the key of Scripture, approaching the subject, we are enabled to open the mysteries in which ignorance and prejudice had shut it up; and equipped with the armour of light shooting forth its heavenly radiance, in safety to ourselves we assail the darkness thrown around it, and behold the instant flight of the spirits of error which that darkness contains. Standing alone in beauteous attractions descended from heaven upon it, this service beckons us to approach it, and engages to connect extensive good with a proper attention to its claims. The observance, under various phases, is described in Scripture as an undisputed and indisputable reality.'
"In this book Cunningham exhaustively covers the subject of covenanting in over 400 pages. He deals with the manner, duty and nature of covenanting (including personal and social covenanting), the obligation covenanting confers, how covenanting is provided for in the everlasting covenant, how it is adapted to the moral constitution of man and how it is according to the purposes of God. Numerous Divine examples are cited from Scripture and covenanting is shown to be one of the great privileges of the Christian life.
"An interesting chapter covers 'Covenanting Enforced By the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals;' which touches on circumcision, baptism, the Sabbath, the Priesthood, the new heart and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this book demonstrates how God's approbation rested upon Covenanters in former ages, how covenanting is predicted in prophecy, how it is recommended by the practice of the New Testament Church and at what seasons it is appropriate. The appendices touch on the relationship of covenanting to immoral and unscriptural civil governments, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the British constitution and the apostasy of the Revolution settlement.
"Additionally, Cunningham acknowledges that the true church is 'bound by the obligations of the Church of God is past times' and is still obligated to pay what it has vowed to the Lord in those magnificent attainments of the Second Reformation (the epitome of these attainments being embodied in the Solemn League and Covenant and the Westminster Standards).
"If you are interested in the ordinance of covenanting this is the most extensive treatment you will find in one book. It is a gold mine of Scriptural references and should be read at least once by everyone who calls upon the name of Christ." -- Publisher
"David Steele dedicated this work [NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE -- compiler], to John Cunningham (1819-1893), author of THE ORDINANCE OF COVENANTING." -- Publisher
The Ordinance of Covenanting
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/6/29/ordinance-of-covenanting
*Brzezinski, Zbigniew, Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the eve of the Twenty-first Century, ISBN: 0684196301 9780684196305.
"Rarely has there been a book as explosive and challenging as this brilliant analysis of today's massive geopolitical disorder. The triumphant collapse of communism has brought neither economic stability nor social democracy to the former Soviet Union. Nor, for that matter, to the rest of the world. We are living in a time of fragmentation: increasing disunity in Europe, dangerous eruptions in the Islamic republics, growing disparity between the world's rich and poor, and the evils of the 'permissive cornucopia' in America which, through overstimulation of material desires and sensual self-gratification, is leading to the collapse of Western moral and spiritual values. In short, we are living in a philosophical climate that is 'out of control.' It is Zbigniew Brzezinski's firm belief that we must draw both moral and political lessons from the 'megadeaths' of the twentieth century, a century in which at least 167 million people were slaughtered in the name of the 'politics of organized insanity,' or the 'metamyths' of such dictators as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, among others. Unless we can practice self-restraint derived from a moral commitment in the quest for global democratic 'interdependence,' we stand destined to risk again our very own survival.
"Lives deliberately extinguished by politically motivated carnage: 167,000,000 to 175,000,000. Including: War Dead: 87,500,000, Military War Dead: 33,500,000, Civilian War Dead: 54,000,000, Not-war Dead: 80,000,000, Communist Oppression: 60,000,000." -- Publisher
Buchanan, Patrick J., State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America, ISBN: 9781429921015 1429921013.
"Pat Buchanan is sounding the alarm. Since 9/11, more than four million illegal immigrants have crossed our borders, and there are more coming every day. Our leaders in Washington lack the political will to uphold the rule of law. The Melting Pot is broken beyond repair, and the future of our nation is at stake.
In this important book, Pat Buchanan reveals that, slowly but surely, the great American Southwest is being reconquered by Mexico. These lands -- which many Mexicans believe are their birthright -- are being detached ethnically, linguistically, and culturally from the United States by a deliberate policy of the Mexican regime. This is the 'Aztlan Plot' for 'La Reconquista,' the recapture of the lands lost by Mexico in the Texas War of Independence and Mexican-American War.
"Comparing the immigrant invasion of America from across the Mexican border -- and of Europe from across the Mediterranean -- to the barbarian invasions that ended the Roman Empire, the author writes with passion and conviction that we have begun the final chapter of the DEATH OF THE WEST. Unless the invasion is halted now, Buchanan argues, by midcentury America will be a country unrecognizable to our parents, the Third World dystopia that Theodore Roosevelt warned against when he said we must never let America become a 'polyglot boardinghouse' for the world.
"President Bush's failure to halt the invasion and secure America's border, Buchanan writes, is a dereliction of constitutional duty that, in other times, would have called forth articles of impeachment. In the final chapter, "Last Chance," he lays out a sweeping immigration reform and border security plan, which, he contends, if not pursued, means George W. Bush's legacy will be to have lost for America a Southwest that was the legacy of Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson, and James K. Polk. With an estimated ten to fifteen million 'illegals' already here and tens of millions more poised to pour across our borders, few books could be as timely -- or important -- as STATE OF EMERGENCY. It is essential reading for all Americans." -- Publisher
*Burnham, James, Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism, ISBN: 0895268221 9780895268228.
"Through studious research into past civilizations, Burnham diagnoses the twentieth century and finds it afflicted with destructive, nay, 'suicidal' tendencies -- all of which emit from the 'Liberal syndrome' and its inherent applications. The book explores several important questions including: Why Liberalism clashes with Christianity and how Liberalism is a root cause of race riots and the rapid growth of crime.
"James Burnham has written a book about Liberalism for which the world has been aching. It is worth more to the West than the year's gross national product, more than all the planes and bombs . . ." -- William F. Buckley, Jr.
Calamy, Edmund (1600-1666), The Great Danger of Covenant-refusing, and Covenant-breaking. Alternate title: THE GREAT DANGER OF COVENANT-REFUSING, AND COVENANT-BREAKING: PRESENTED IN A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE RIGHT HONORABLE THOMAS ADAMS, LORD MAYOR, AND THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL THE SHERIFFES, AND THE ALDERMEN HIS BRETHREN, AND THE REST OF THE COMMON-COUNCELL OF THE FAMOUS CITY OF LONDON, JAN. 14, 1645. UPON WHICH DAY THE SOLEMNE LEAGUE AND COVENANT WAS RENUED BY THEM. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God. (Psalm 76:11a)
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it: for he hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed.
Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. (Ecclesiastes 5:4,5)
http://www.truecovenanter.com/covenants/calamy_sermon_danger_of_covenant_refusing_and_breaking.html
*Callahan, David, The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans are Doing Wrong to get Ahead, ISBN: 0156030055 9780156030052.
"While there have always been those who cut corners, the author shows that cheating on every level -- from the highly publicized corporate scandals to Little League fraud -- has risen dramatically in the last two decades. Why all the cheating? Why now? Callahan pins the blame on the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past two decades. An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values, he argues -- and ultimately threaten the level playing field so central to American democracy itself. Through revealing interviews and extensive data, he takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and offers a powerful argument for why it matters.
"David Callahan is cofounder and director of research at the public policy center Demos. The author of five books, he has published articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, and has been a frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He received a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and lives in New York City." -- Publisher
"I recommend that this book be read together with John Perkins, CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN and William Greider's, THE SOUL OF CAPITALISM: OPENING PATHS TO A MORAL ECONOMY. As a pre-amble, I would note that a Nobel Prize was given in the late 1990's to a man that demonstrates that trust lowers the cost of doing business. Morality matters -- immorality imposes a pervasive sustained, insidious, long-term, and ultimately fatal cost on any community, any Republic, and that is the core message of this book that most reviewers seem to be missing.
"Any student of national security can tell you that one of the most important sources of national power is the population, followed by the economy, natural resources, and then the more traditional sources of national power: diplomacy, military, law enforcement, and government policies generally.
"What this author makes clear is that our population has become a cheating population, one that cheats in school, cheats their employer, and cheats their clients (lawyers, accountants, doctors, all cheating). Such a population is literally undermining national security by creating false values, and undermining true values. Some simple examples: an estimated $250 Billion a year in individual tax avoidance; an estimated $600 Billion a year in theft from employers; an estimated $250 Billion a year in legalized corporate tax avoidance and investor fraud; and an additional $250 Billion a year in legalized theft form the individual taxpayers through Congressional support for unnecessary and ill-advised 'subsidies' for agriculture, fishing, and forestry, as well as waivers of environmental standards that ultimately result in long-term external diseconomies . . .
"At root, the author observes that pervasive cheating ensues from the perception by the majority that 'everyone does it' and that the rules are not being enforced -- that 'the system' lacks legitimacy. In other countries, illegitimacy might lead to revolution, a revolt of the masses. In the USA, still a very rich country, the poor are cheating on the margins while the rich are looting the country, and we are not yet at a 'tipping point' [This book was written before the Meltdown of 2008. -- compiler], such as a new Great Depression might inspire. . . .
"Cheating diminishes trust and reduces value. America has become corrupt across all the professions, within Congress, within the media, within the political level of government (the civil service remains a bastion of propriety).
"What price freedom? What price the Republic? You may or may not choose to agree with this author's diagnosis and prescription, but in my view, he gets to the heart of the matter. It's about integrity. We've lost it. [Callahan's solutions come from a liberal, humanistic position, nevertheless the bulk of the book is an extensive analysis of cheating in society that is well documented -- 32 pages of endnotes -- and should be enlightening to most readers. -- compiler]
"See also, with reviews: THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF CAPITALISM: HOW THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM UNDERMINED SOCIAL IDEALS, DAMAGED TRUST IN THE MARKETS, ROBBED INVESTORS OF TRILLIONS -- AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT; THE FIFTY-YEAR WOUND: HOW AMERICA'S COLD WAR VICTORY HAS SHAPED OUR WORLD; THE GLOBAL CLASS WAR: HOW AMERICA'S BIPARTISAN ELITE LOST OUR FUTURE -- AND WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO WIN IT BACK; WAR ON THE MIDDLE CLASS: HOW THE GOVERNMENT, BIG BUSINESS, AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS ARE WAGING WAR ON THE AMERICAN DREAM AND HOW TO FIGHT BACK; THE WORKING POOR: INVISIBLE IN AMERICA; and OFF THE BOOKS: THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY OF THE URBAN POOR." -- Reader's Comment
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), Calvin's Commentary on Isaiah, 4 books, published in 2 volumes in CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES (vols. 7, 8). Spine title: CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES, VOLUME VII: ISAIAH 1-32; CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES, VOLUME VIII: ISAIAH 33-66. A Christian classic.
Several factors combine to make CALVIN'S COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH particularly significant.
I have a study ready for public -- well, not ready for publication, but hopefully someday, on Calvin's use of Augustine. [apparently never published -- compiler]. There are at least 400 references to Augustine in John Calvin. Anybody who says that Calvin got his theology of the top of his head knows no Calvin. Calvin knew Augustine probably better than anybody else, including Luther. Calvin went back to all the Early Western Fathers. I would say that next to Augustine, his theology is based upon Bernard of Clairvaux and Anselm, and he had a higher respect for Saint Thomas Aquinas than many people are willing to admit. But he is in the Western theological tradition.Calvin's work is in four books, with a Scripture Index and a General Index. The Baker publication prints the four books in two volumes.
Charles Hodge, in his SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY of three volumes, very often refers to Calvinism as Augustinianism, and you can see why. . . . [Charles Hodge], declares that you might as well call Calvinism revived and revitalized Augustinianism.
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, 4 books, published in 2 volumes, ISBN: 0801024404. A Christian classic. Available in CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES, a 22-book series, online, and in various other formats.
"Of all commentators I believe Calvin to be the most candid. . . . He was no trimmer and pruner of texts. He gave their meaning as far as he knew it." -- C.H. Spurgeon
"I know of no man since the Apostles' days whom I value and honor more than Calvin, and whose judgment in all things, one with another, I more esteem and come nearer to." -- Richard Baxter (1615-1691)
There are at least 400 references to Augustine in John Calvin. Anybody who says that Calvin got his theology of the top of his head knows no Calvin. Calvin knew Augustine probably better than anybody else, including Luther. [see Warfield, CALVIN AND AUGUSTINE -- compiler]. Calvin went back to all the early western fathers. I would say that next to Augustine, his theology is based upon Bernard of Clairvaux and Anselm, and he had a higher respect for Saint Thomas Aquinas than many people are willing to admit. But he is in the western theological tradition. Charles Hodge, in his SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY of three volumes, very often refers to Calvinism as Augustinianism, and you can see why. . . . [Charles Hodge], declares that you might as well call Calvinism revived and revitalized Augustinianism. -- C. Gregg Singer in Speaking on Calvinism, a lectureThere seem to be very few commentaries on Chronicles from Reformed writers. Both Chronicles and Isaiah cover the reign of good King Hezekiah. Probably this is one reason Calvin did not comment on Chronicles. Isaiah covers the themes of Chronicles with the addition of the prophesy of the Messiah.
*Cameron, Nigel, The New Age Medicine: Life and Death After Hippocrates, ISBN: 089107645X 9780891076452.
"I hope this disturbing book will be widely read." -- J.I. Packer
"With the abandonment of the 2500 year old Hippocratic oath, replacing it with ethical relativism, the medical profession increasingly sees itself not only as healers but as killers also. MUST READING!
"While Kevorkian is now languishing long-term in jail, the Netherlands end-of-life protections have been rolled back in law, and public opposition to physicians killing patients is declining. Where did today's deadly medicine come from? Where is it leading? The answers are clearly contained in this fresh edition of the acclaimed book by leading bioethicist Nigel Cameron.
"Nigel Cameron is Dean of the Wilberforce Forum in Washington, DC, and former Provost at Trinity International University in Deerfield Illinois. A consultant in bioethics and public policy issues on both sides of the Atlantic, he founded the Journal Ethics and Medicine, and has testified before the U.S. Congress. . . .
"Recent events, such as the widespread acceptance of the book, FINAL EXIT, show that the very foundation upon which all humane medical practice is based is in danger of being replaced with ethical relativism. Cameron's book could very well be a rallying point for those in the profession who know something is wrong." -- Publisher
Carson, D.A., The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism, ISBN: 9780310242864 031024286X.
"In this book, D.A. Carson presents a persuasive example for Christ as the only way to God in spite of all different philosophies and theologies in the world today. Carson asks an important question: 'Is Jesus the only way to God?' Upon this question, Carson builds a strong assumption that the open, critically acclaimed, scholarly response to that question affirms the deep need for the Gospel's exclusive message in today's increasingly pluralistic global community. THE GAGGING OF GOD offers an in-depth look at the big picture, indicates how the various ramifications of pluralism are all parts of a whole, and then provides a systematic Christian response." -- Reader's Comment
"According to Carson philosophical pluralism is the most dangerous menace to the Gospel since the rise of the gnostic heresy in the second century." -- Reader's Comment
Chomsky, Noam, and Edward S. Herman, The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism (Political Economy of Human Rights, Vol. 1), ISBN: 0896080919 9780896080911.
"Chomsky and Herman present a brilliant, shattering, and convincing account of United States-backed suppression of political and human rights in the Third World. The 'best and brightest' pundits of the status quo emerge from this book thoroughly denuded of their credibility." -- Publisher
Codevilla, Angelo, The Character of Nations: How Politics Makes and Breaks Prosperity, Family, and Civility, ISBN: 9780465028009 0465028004.
"In this cross-cultural study, Angelo M. Codevilla illustrates that as people shape their governments, they shape themselves. Drawing broadly from the depths of history, from the Roman republic to de Tocqueville's America, as well as from personal and scholarly observations of the world in the twentieth century, THE CHARACTER OF NATIONS reveals remarkable truths about the effects of government on a society's economic arrangements, moral order, sense of family life, and ability to defend itself.
"Codevilla argues that in present-day America, government has had a profound negative effect on societal norms. It has taught people to seek prosperity through connections with political power; it has fostered the atrophy of civic responsibility; it has waged a Kulturkampf against family and religion; and it has dug a dangerous chasm between those who serve in the military and those who send it in harm's way. Informative and provocative, THE CHARACTER OF NATIONS shows how the political decisions we make have higher stakes than simply who wins elections." -- Publisher
"Angelo M. Codevilla has taught political theory and international relations at Stanford, Princeton, and Georgetown University and is presently a professor of international relations at Boston University. He is the author of nine books, including THE CHARACTER OF NATIONS, THE ARMS CONTROL DELUSION, and a new translation of Machiavelli's THE PRINCE. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts." --- Publisher
"Reading this book I feel like one of Mr. Codevilla's students: 'We have read the published version of this event. Please tell us the real story.' To me this book was a revelation, as much for the data inside as for the author, whom I would describe as another Thomas Sowell, for the clarity and immediacy of his speech. After reading this I am more than ever convinced that the love that elite America has always felt for Europe is one of the main causes of the political and social divides inside American society today: Like an extra-marital affair with a high class prostitute. A fatal attraction.
"I would recommend to the reader that he combine the reading of this book with Dick Morris's CATASTROPHE, for a more detailed analysis of how insiders to the regime play their lucrative parts in Obama's America. Thus you get to understand the big picture as well as the day to day money-dealings inside the U.S. regime.
"Here's all you want to know about the world, socially and politically. There is no better book to travel all over the world with and understand how the common folks in those places must feel.
"The nature of our western regimes:
The most economically profitable thing you can do, whether in Europe or in Argentina, or China or Chicago, is to worry less about producing than about building a profitable relationship with the regime. Because exchanging economic privilege for political support is the essence of modern government."Our military:
Regimes have added a new twist . . . that government must depend on science, which dictates that people must surrender to their betters plenary powers over where and how they live, how much and what kind of energy or even food they consume, in order to 'save the planet' from human habitation's effects."
The change began in the 1950's, as the social groups that make of the regime began to look down on their fellow citizens' revulsion to communism . . . our regime, scornful of the traditional military goal of victory, became accustomed to using the armed forces in ventures from the Balkans to Iraq that were neither war nor peace, that were more obviously related to regime goals than to American interests -- but that got a lot of people killed nevertheless."Russia
Mafia oligarchies such as post-Communist Russia, where the rulers regard others' property as a threat to their own and where friendship is restricted to families."Singapore
defenseless free ports, like Singapore, where the rulers thrive within systems of law and low taxes that encourage large numbers of people to think of nothing but making money."China
Business in China consists effectively of granting and using the privilege to hire labor for next to nothing. The system runs . . . on the expectation that various officials will be content with the bribes they have received."Europe
All Europeans accept their roles as subjects -- as entitled consumers of government services. The real citizens of Europe, from whom power and to whom privilege flow, are society's corporations, whether big business, unions, political parties, or the complex of bureaucrats and the interest groups they finance."And here's where the U.S. could have had the upper hand in its dealings with Europe, but dismissed it.
It is difficult to imagine Europeans nowadays offering their lives for their country. Contemporary Europe's way of life has been possible only because it was protected by the United States.
In Catholic Europe, the Christian Democratic movement, the principal reaction to militant liberalism, gave up advocacy of Christian causes, refused to take clear stands on the major issues of the day, immersed itself in day-to-day administration, and died. Throughout the European continent, then, politics has trained people to forget the soul."Sound like the story of Republicanism since . . . Lincoln? "Germany in a few slides:
In their most vigorous years, these people lived by Nazi standards. They spent their middle age trying to approach the ideals of the Adenauer republic -- bourgeois respectability . . . their old age has been passed in a country characterized by sex shops, welfare and environmentalism, where the ways of the Adenauer republic are ridiculed. Their last impressions must be of Muslim neighbors whom it is dangerous to displease."How the regime works
Scientific management, its success depending on maintaining a pretense of neutrality on the issues, but there is "massive evidence that those who hawk certain kinds of social or environmental policies in the name of science are partisans of those policies."Sounds like paganism and superstition are here again.
Today's tycoons have more power over ordinary people than the trusts of a century ago, because while the old robber barons had to do the robbing themselves, today's CEOs can count on the government to do it for them by manufacturing markets for them, by tailoring rules that stifle competition, and by bailing out their blunders.
The regimes rule more by fashion . . . than by statute. It defines itself by its icons and taboos.
The new path to riches is knowing what the government wants . . . though lawyers produce nothing, they are paid more than engineers because government makes their services really more valuable . . . such high salaries are passed on to the public through higher prices."Affirmative action:
is about neither race nor sex. It is about politics . . . it is about patrons and clients . . . about adding to the power of those who already have power and obliging those under them to build the personal political relationships that override objective criteria and immunize against New Age accusations."You get a lot of information here, from almost every corner of the world and every facet of society. If a businessman came from outer space, this would be the book he should need. And that seems also as far as we -- rather serfs than citizens -- are from the ruling bureaucrats in the West." -- Reader's Comment
Collins, Chuck, and Felice Yeskel, Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Security, ISBN: 1565845943 9781565845947.
"The authors, social activists rather than economists, explain the growing economic insecurity and inequality in the U.S. While they do not have a comprehensive blueprint for change, they offer an analysis of the problems that they believe threaten human values and our quality of life. The first three chapters explain the impact of the growing inequality on daily living; examine trends in income, wages, savings, and wealth; and consider the causes of inequality, such as the rise of corporate power and the decline of worker power. While chapter four discusses the building of a fair-economy movement, the final chapter offers an action plan for reducing inequality with ideas such as lifting the income and wealth floor for people at the bottom; progressive taxation on income and wealth; and policies that fundamentally redistribute power and wealth. While many will not agree with the ideas in this book, all voices should be heard in a democracy searching for solutions to economic problems." -- Mary Whaley in Booklist
Commager, Henry S., Civil Liberties Under Attack: Publications of the William J. Cooper Foundation, Swarthmore College, facsimile edition (Essay Index Reprint Series. Salem, NH: Ayer Company Publishers, Incorporated, 1951).
*Conn, Harry, Four Trojan Horses of Humanism, ISBN: 0880620099 9780880620093. Alternate title: FOUR TROJAN HORSES.
"This is one of the most important works to be published on this subject. The recollections brought before the reader of the fall of Troy are intentional. This time, however, it is the citadels of psychology, sociology, politics, and theology that have taken the deceptive 'trophy' in their midst. The result is the overthrow of the truth in these disciplines." -- Cyril J. Barber
"Includes the Humanist Manifesto I and II."
*Coral Ridge Ministries, Taking Liberties: The Betrayal of our Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
A one-hour television special available in the form of a transcript, audio cassette [audio file], video cassette, or CD.
"Perhaps there is no other concept more important than liberty in understanding America."
A brilliant presentation of the concepts of liberty by a wide range of authorities.
Corey, Lewis, The Decline of American Capitalism, 1934, ISBN: 0405041160 9780405041167.
Includes bibliography.
Cullen, Edgar M., The Decline of Personal Liberty in America.
D'Souza, Dinesh, Obama's America: Unmaking the American Dream, ISBN: 9781476773353 1476773351.
DeMaria, Robert, The Decline and Fall of America, ISBN: 0841502382 9780841502383.
Denton, Wallace, What's Happening to our Families?
"A constructive discussion on the structure and changing patterns of family life today. Evaluates the emasculated man and the unfulfilled woman, anxious parents, accelerated living, retirement, the demise of religious belief, and family isolation. A final section considers the new role of churches in rebuilding family life." -- Cyril J. Barber
Derber, Charles, Regime Change Begins at Home: Freeing America From Corporate Rule, ISBN: 1576752925 9781576752920.
Dicker, John, The United States of Wal-Mart, ISBN: 1585424226 9781585424221.
"Although it's getting too big to be a microcosm, Wal-Mart is a fair representation of many of the most troubling aspects of the American economy, according to this lively and insightful profile of the big box retail leviathan. Former Colorado Springs Independent staff writer Dicker admirably sums up the conventional complaints against Wal-Mart, detailing poverty-level wages, skimpy benefits, scorched-earth anti-union policies, shuttered small town Main Streets, suburban sprawl abetment and rampant outsourcing. Behind the façade of 'corn-pone populism' fostered by folksy but steely founder Sam Walton, Dicker asserts, Wal-Mart has become a 'global despot.' Dicker's analysis is unsparing but balanced. He sympathizes (and sometimes strategies), with Wal-Mart opponents, but also chides them for ignoring the appeal of the company's cheap, convenient offerings to cash-strapped customers and underserved communities. And Wal-Mart's sins, he argues, are America's; the company merely caters to the national religion of consumer entitlement that assumes shoppers have no interests in common with workers and puts low prices ahead of any social consequences. Aside from some pointless and tiresome lapses into prison-chic posturing ('we're all Wal-Mart's bitches'), Dicker conveys a wealth of information in a lucid and light-handed style. (June)" -- Publishers Weekly
"Though I'm not easily impressed by books, having been a reviewer for Choice, which is the premier university-libraries' reviewing service, I must say that Dicker's book is simply first class; it 'has it all.' Dicker describes Wal-Mart's history, blood-from-turnip buying practices, management practices, hiring-and-firing practices, insider personnel issues, supplier nightmares, promotion-and-demotion manipulations, regional and national sales and growth-rate figures, political maneuvering, foreign-intrigue issues, and more. And he does it with exceptionally intelligent and witty humor.
"What's especially fascinating is that he accomplishes the above while maintaining balance and sensibility. In other words, this isn't just a crass hatchet job; it is, instead, a highly competent analysis done in an engagingly entertaining way. To achieve that while laying out so many potentially dry facts and figures is a feat that only the most able writers can pull off.
"I honestly don't know how this book could have been better written, more credibly written, or more wittily written. To achieve all of that is quite an accomplishment.
"I had already written the above review, and then decided to edit it to add this comment: If you know anyone who is thinking of working for the Wal-Mart corporation, at any level from management to doorway greeter, be sure to have them read this eye-opening masterpiece (in addition to which, it's just one hell of a lot of fun to read. Unexpected laughs pop up everywhere.)" -- Reader's Comment
WakeUpWalMart.com
"WakeUpWalMart.com is about Americans joining together in common purpose to change Wal-Mart. There is only one force powerful enough to change the #1 Fortune 500 company in the world -- the American people. [Former Associates, their friends and families, other retail worker's who have lost job or have been asked to work for less to compete with Wal-Mart, disenfranchised small businessmen, neighbors whose property value has gone down when a store was built, textile workers and other individuals who have lost their jobs because of globalization -- this amounts to around 30 percent of the population of many rural counties in America. -- compiler]
"WakeUpWalMart.com is about giving Americans the tools to empower themselves to change the world's largest employer. We are Wal-Mart's customers and we have the power to make Wal-Mart live up to its responsibility to its employees, our families, our communities and the nation.
"We are 150,000 Americans and growing. We are grassroots leaders, community groups and activists who have woken up to the high costs of Wal-Mart and recognize Wal-Mart's negative impact on our jobs, our wages, our health care and our communities.
"We will be a vehicle through which millions of Americans can join together, from neighborhoods all across our nation, to harness the power of our consumer behavior and use it to reform a company. America's largest corporation must reflect America's values.
"WakeUpWalMart.com is your campaign. It is a grassroots movement which will represent the best America has to offer.
"For more information or to contact WakeUpWalMart.com please send us an e-mail at info@wakeupwalmart.com."
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com
The Real Facts About Wal-Mart
A good summation of Wal-Mart High Costs.
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/
Dornan, Bob, and Casaba Vedlick, Judicial Supremacy: The Supreme Court on Trial, ISBN: 0913124389 9780913124383.
"While it takes three fourths of the states of the union to change the Constitution legally, yet as few as five men who have never been elected to office can. . . foist upon this nation laws which even Congress could not constitutionally pass." -- Supreme Court of Utah, 1968 (Dyett v. Turner 20 Utah 2nd 403).
"Makes a clear, historic, and legal case against 'Judicial Activism' and argues for the 'original intent' of the framers of the Constitution. . . . ."
Dowd, Douglas, U.S. Capitalist Development Since 1776: Of, by, and for Which People? ISBN: 1563241668 9781563241666.
"In many respects an update of the author's THE TWISTED DREAM (1974, 1977), with (in the wake of the end of the Cold War and consequent celebration of the 'free market'), an increased emphasis on the ideology and the realities of the free market in our past. A critical inquiry into the nature of and the reasons for the developing social crisis in the U.S. -- 'at once economic, political, and moral, simultaneously domestic and international'." -- Book News
Duncan, Homer, Humanism in the Light of Holy Scripture.
Duncan, Homer, Secular Humanism: The Most Dangerous Religion in America.
Eidsmoe, John, Legalized Gambling: America's bad bet, ISBN: 1579105688 9781579105686.
"Gambling has been a hot issue in nearly every state today. Gambling interests tell your state legislature that legalized gambling will bring jobs, revenue, and prosperity for all. John Eidsmoe does an outstanding job destroying all the flimsy claims of gambling advocates by pointing out such factors as gambling addiction, bankruptcy, cruelty to animals in pari-mutuel betting, how gambling preys upon the lower class as a regressive form of taxation. The book also tells about how gambling at the least does nothing for a state economy, at the worst it hurts businesses. Most importantly is the fact that gambling is linked to organized crime and the mob's insidious tactics to subterfuge legal gambling operations. This book is well written and detailed, yet an easy read for anyone who wonders what as to how gambling would do to their community. It should be required reading for all state legislators who are struggling with the gambling issue in their state." -- Reader's Comment
Emerson, Steven, American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among us, ISBN: 0743233247 9780743233248.
"The United States government is actively monitoring terrorist cells affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in eleven cities, from Florida to Boston to Denver to Houston. But al Qaeda is hardly our only threat. Hamas, formed in 1987, was run by top Palestinian officials in America from its earliest days, and has tentacles in Texas, California, New Jersey, Virginia, and Illinois. The University of South Florida was infiltrated by the infamous organization known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- one of its faculty members even left the country to take that group's top leadership role after his predecessor was assassinated. Hizballah has been tied to cells in North Carolina and Michigan, from which it drew funds and attempted to procure military equipment.
"In short, September 11, 2001, was hardly an isolated or unpredictable event. The United States has become home to hundreds and probably thousands of terrorists, and it has become a central node in their international networks. Steven Emerson, hailed as 'the nation's leading expert on Islamist terrorism,' has been working full-time since 1993 to track the spread of terrorist networks to our shores, even at great personal risk. In 1995, not long after the release of his PBS documentary 'Jihad in America,' he was informed by federal officials that a South African Islamist death squad had been dispatched after him, and told that he should leave his home immediately. Since then he has not maintained a home address, though he has continued to write and testify under his own name. With the help of a staff of researchers he has followed the terrorists' monetary sources, monitored their attacks and plans, exposed their ties to charitable foundations, and assisted a variety of government agencies in the battle against them. He has obtained videotaped evidence of terrorist training camps and conferences, and tracked the international connections of American operatives to over a dozen organizations.
"In AMERICAN JIHAD Emerson reveals the full story that only he knows. This is a frightening and crucial book for anyone who needs to understand the threat within our borders." -- Publisher
Empower.org, and William J. Bennett (introduction), The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, 2001.
Contents: Crime -- Family -- Education -- Youth behavior -- Popular culture and religion -- Civic participation.
Estes, Ralph W., Tyranny of the Bottom Line: Why Corporations Make Good People do bad Things, ISBN: 1881052753 9781881052753.
"TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE tells how the corporate system, originally created to serve the public interest, has acquired immense power over the public. Largely unconstrained by a captive regulatory bureaucracy, corporations today exercise a silent dominance over much of our society. This dominion can produce substantial good, but can also bring injury and death to employees, financial and personal loss to customers, desolation to communities, poisonous pollution and hazardous waste to the nation.
"In TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE, Ralph Estes tells the story of corporate power gone awry: permanent layoffs affecting millions of people while CEO salaries go through the roof; toxic waste poisoning the land, water, and air; unhealthy and dangerous products on the market; injury and death on the job; white-collar hustles in the S&Ls and on Wall Street that ultimately cost us all.
"Emphasizing the notion that all of us are stakeholders in the large corporation-with an investment, an interest in its performance, and a right to accountability -- Ralph Estes offers proposals for creating more effective and humane companies, restoring the original public purpose of the corporate system, and allowing managers to make choices that effectively and ethically balance the interests of everyone. Estes lays out a practical, specific plan for the development of a new, fair score-keeping system that shows the effects of a corporation's actions on all its stakeholders, not merely its stockholders, and then tells managers that they will be responsible for these effects.
"Based on the author's many years of research and experience, TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE lays out this prescription in an effective and workable program that can make corporations safer and more rewarding for all of us, and more enjoyable, more honorable, for the people who run them." -- Midwest Book Review
*Ferguson, Charles H., Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America, ISBN: 9780307952554 030795255X.
"Charles H. Ferguson, who electrified the world with his Oscar-winning documentary "Inside Job," now explains how a predator elite took over the country, step by step, and he exposes the networks of academic, financial, and political influence, in all recent administrations, that prepared the predators' path to conquest.
"Over the last several decades, the United States has undergone one of the most radical social and economic transformations in its history.
Fowler, Richard A., and H. Wayne House, Civilization in Crisis: A Christian Response to Homosexuality, Feminism, Euthanasia, and Abortion, ISBN: 0801035481 9780801035487. Alternate title: THE CHRISTIAN CONFRONTS HIS CULTURE, rev. ed. of, c1983.
"The authors state that the ever-increasing level of immorality in this country has placed the United States in a state of crisis . . ."
*Galbraith, James, The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and why Liberals Should too, ISBN: 141656683X 9781416566830.
"Shows how to break the spell that conservatives have cast over the minds of liberals (and everyone else), for many years." -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2001)
"The cult of the free market has dominated economic policy-talk since the Reagan revolution of nearly thirty years ago. Tax cuts and small government, monetarism, balanced budgets, deregulation, and free trade are the core elements of this dogma, a dogma so successful that even many liberals accept it. But a funny thing happened on the bridge to the twenty-first century. While liberals continue to bow before the free-market altar, conservatives in the style of George W. Bush have abandoned it altogether. That is why principled conservatives -- the Reagan true believers -- long ago abandoned Bush.
"Enter James K. Galbraith, the iconoclastic economist. In this riveting book, Galbraith first dissects the stale remains of Reaganism and shows how Bush and company had no choice except to dump them into the trash. He then explores the true nature of the Bush regime: a 'corporate republic,' bringing the methods and mentality of big business to public life; a coalition of lobbies, doing the bidding of clients in the oil, mining, military, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, insurance, and media industries; and a predator state, intent not on reducing government but rather on diverting public cash into private hands. In plain English, the Republican Party has been hijacked by political leaders who long since stopped caring if reality conformed to their message.
"Galbraith follows with an impertinent question: if conservatives no longer take free markets seriously, why should liberals? Why keep liberal thought in the straitjacket of pay-as-you-go, of assigning inflation control to the Federal Reserve, of attempting to 'make markets work'? Why not build a new economic policy based on what is really happening in this country?
"The real economy is not a free-market economy. It is a complex combination of private and public institutions, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, higher education, the housing finance system, and a vast federal research establishment. The real problems and challenges -- inequality, climate change, the infrastructure deficit, the subprime crisis, and the future of the dollar -- are problems that cannot be solved by incantations about the market. They will be solved only with planning, with standards and other policies that transcend and even transform markets.
"A timely, provocative work whose message will endure beyond this election season, THE PREDATOR STATE will appeal to the broad audience of thoughtful Americans who wish to understand the forces at work in our economy and culture and who seek to live in a nation that is both prosperous and progressive." -- Publisher
"James Galbraith has written an extremely challenging book. Although its principal target is conservative economics, it is no less critical of conventional liberalism. Galbraith correctly recognizes that today both approaches are intellectually bankrupt and incapable of addressing the nation's pressing economic problems. I hope The Predator State stimulates needed debate among both liberals and conservatives on the mistakes both sides have made that have gotten us to where we are now." -- Bruce Bartlett, author of Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
Gallup, George, Jr., and Jim Castelli, The People's Religion: American Faith in the 90's, ISBN: 0025423819 9780025423817.
Includes bibliography.
*Geller, Pamela, Robert Spencer, and John Bolton (foreword), The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, ISBN: 9781439189306 1439189307 9781439189900 1439189900 9781439190364 1439190364.
"Popular conservative blogger Pamela Geller, and New York Times bestselling author Robert Spencer team up to expose the Obama administration's destructive agenda -- largely ignored by the mainstream media -- and rally Americans to protect the sovereignty of a country that is under siege by the highest levels of its own government.
"America is being tested in a way that she has never been tested before. Since taking the oath of office in January 2009, President Barack Obama has cheered our enemies and demoralized our allies. He is hard at work 'remaking' America by destroying the free-market system and nationalizing major segments of our economy, demonizing dissent and restricting freedom of speech, turning against our longtime friends, and above all, subjecting us to the determinations of foreign authorities.
"As Americans see their paychecks shrinking every day, Obama ignores our forefathers' founding principle: individual rights. Instead, he seeks to level the playing field -- to transform both the global and national landscape in favor of our enemies -- even if it means cutting America off at the knees. He envisions himself as more than just a president of the United States, but as a shaper of the new world order, an internationalist energetically laying the groundwork for global government: the president of the world.
"A vital guide to helping conservatives prepare for the tough battles ahead, THE POST-AMERICAN PRESIDENCY critically examines the Obama administration's ominous and revealing moves against our basic freedoms, particularly as he seizes control of the three engines of the American economy: health care, energy, and education. The Shining City on a Hill has gone dark. But America is not dead. The time is NOW to stand up and fight. -- Publisher
*Gibbon, Edward, Hugh Trevor-Roper (introduction), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Volumes 1, 2, and 3, an abridgement, ISBN: 0679423087.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Volumes 4, 5, and 6, an abridgement, ISBN: 067943593X 9780679435938.
"(In full THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE), Historical work by Edward Gibbon, published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. A continuous narrative from the 2nd century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it is distinguished by its rigorous scholarship, its historical perspective, and its incomparable literary style. The Decline and Fall is divided into two parts, equal in bulk but different in treatment. The first half covers about 300 years to the end of the empire in the West, about 480 AD; in the second half nearly 1,000 years are compressed. Gibbon viewed the Roman Empire as a single entity in undeviating decline from the ideals of political and intellectual freedom that had characterized the classical literature he had read. For him, the material decay of Rome was the effect and symbol of moral decadence. This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title." -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Gill, Anthony, The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, ISBN: 9780511367458 0511367457 0521848148 9780521848145 052161273X 9780521612739 0511366868 9780511366864 0511365594 9780511365591 9780511790805 0511790805.
"The issue of religious liberty has gained ever-increasing attention among policy makers and the public. Whereas politicians have long championed the idea of religious freedom and tolerance, the actual achievement of these goals has been an arduous battle for religious minorities. What motivates political leaders to create laws providing for greater religious liberty? In contrast to scholars who argue that religious liberty results from the spread of secularization and modern ideas, Anthony Gill argues that religious liberty results from interest-based calculations of secular rulers. Using insights from political economists, Gill develops a theory of the origins of religious liberty based upon the political and economic interests of governing officials. Political leaders are most likely to permit religious freedom when it enhances their own political survival, tax revenue, and the economic welfare of their country. He explores his theory using cases from British America, Latin America, Russia, and the Baltic states." -- Publisher
*Gillespie, Patrick (1617-1675), Rulers Sins: The Causes of National Judgments, or a Sermon Preached at the Fast, Upon the 26th Day of December, Prov. XIV. 34; 2 Kings XVII. 22,23; Ezek. XIX. 14, or a Sermon Preached at the Fast, Upon the 26th Day of December 1650. [Proverbs 14:34; 2 Kings 17:22,23; Ezekiel 19:14] Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. (2 Kings 23:26).
"For these in public places of trust and power, that should bear down sin, are they not rather ringleaders in sin?" -- Patrick Gillespie
Rulers Sins: The Causes of National Judgments
http://www.truecovenanter.com/gillespie/gillespie_patrick_rulers_sins_causes_of_judgment.html
Gillespie, George (1613-1648), Whether it be Lawful, Just, and Expedient, That the Taking of the Solemn League and Covenant be Enjoined by the Parliament Upon all Persons in the Kingdom Under a Considerable Penalty. Available (by title and in THE WORKS OF GEORGE GILLESPIE, volume 2) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #19. Available (Chapter XVI. of "A Treatise of Miscellany Questions," pp. 85-88), in THE WORKS OF GEORGE GILLESPIE, volume 2.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/SL&CGil.htm
*Guinness, Os, A Free People's Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future, ISBN: 9780830834655, 0830834656.
" 'If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.'-- Abraham Lincoln
"Nothing is more daring in the American experiment than the founders' belief that the American republic could remain free forever. But how was this to be done, and are Americans doing it today? It is not enough for freedom to be won. It must also be sustained. Cultural observer Os Guinness argues that the American experiment in freedom is at risk. Summoning historical evidence on how democracies evolve, Guinness shows that contemporary views of freedom -- most typically, a negative freedom from constraint -- are unsustainable because they undermine the conditions necessary for freedom to thrive. He calls us to reconsider the audacity of sustainable freedom and what it would take to restore it. 'In the end,' Guinness writes, 'the ultimate threat to the American republic will be Americans. The problem is not wolves at the door but termites in the floor.' The future of the republic depends on whether Americans will rise to the challenge of living up to America's unfulfilled potential for freedom, both for itself and for the world.
"Os Guinness (Ph.D., Oxford) is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including FOOL'S TALK, RENAISSANCE, THE GLOBAL PUBLIC SQUARE, A FREE PEOPLE'S SUICIDE, UNSPEAKABLE, THE CALL, TIME FOR TRUTH and THE CASE FOR CIVILITY. A frequent speaker and prominent social critic, he has addressed audiences worldwide from the British House of Commons to the U.S. Congress to the St. Petersburg Parliament. He founded the Trinity Forum and served as senior fellow there for fifteen years. Born in China to missionary parents, he is the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. After witnessing the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to England where he was educated and served as a freelance reporter with the BBC. Since coming to the U.S. in 1984, he has been a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was the lead drafter of the Williamsburg Charter, celebrating the First Amendment, and has also been senior fellow at the EastWest Institute in New York, where he drafted the Charter for Religious Freedom. He also co-authored the public school curriculum Living With Our Deepest Differences. Guinness has had a lifelong passion to make sense of our extraordinary modern world and to stand between the worlds of scholarship and ordinary life, helping each to understand the other -- particularly when advanced modern life touches on the profound issues of faith. He lives with his wife, Jenny, in McLean, Virginia, near Washington, D.C." -- Publisher
*Goodson, Stephen Mitford, A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind, ISBN: 1912759217 9781912759217.
"Economist, Stephen Mitford Goodson, once Director of the South African Reserve Bank, catalogues the 'hidden hand' of moneylenders throughout history in fomenting wars, revolutions, depressions, recessions and other social upheavals to retain and extend their power and profits." -- Publisher
"This is one book I highly recommend to anyone on planet Earth! The author explains throughout his work the evil of the practice of usury. He also reveals the dangers of trying or actually ending the practice in their country, be it Libya, Iraq, Tsarist Russia, National Socialist Germany, et al. One success story of doing this can be pointed directly at the State of North Dakota in the United States of America! And in that case of North Dakota the usurers haven't yet thrown in the towel, i.e., they ain't done yet! Time will tell if the Dakota experience will be allowed to succeed on a long-term basis.
"How do the usurers take total control over the people of a nation? One example is explained in note 14 at the bottom of page 112: 'The deliberate collapse of the American agricultural sector may be compared to the destruction of agricultural production in the 1930s in the Ukraine (Russian for borderland) by Stalin and the subsequent Holodomor (Russian for death by starvation) in which an estimated six million Kulaks (Russian for fist) were either executed or died of hunger. . . .'
"Chapter Five, "The Great Depression," includes some very interesting topics like that of the work of Congressman Louis T. McFadden (R-Pennsylvania) who exposed the Federal Reserve System as the diabolical monster that it is. And his speeches delivered on the floor of the U.S. Congress in 1932 lead to his elimination (murder) in 1936. I have a book of his speeches which this author, Goodson, references in note 24 on page 115 of this book. In 208 pages you will not be disappointed in the wealth of knowledge gained by reading this book. All the evil described in this book is taking place in many countries around the entire planet Earth today! Check it out! Then educate your friends and relatives and try to put together a plan to take back what is rightfully the planet bequeathed to us by God Almighty!" -- Reader's Comment
Without Central Banking, the massive Overreaching Federal Government Wouldn't be Possible, Michael Maharrey
"The Federal Reserve serves as the engine that makes all of the U.S. government's unconstitutional spending possible. Without The Fed, the entire system would collapse. . . .
"In March and April [2020], the U.S. Treasury Department issued $1.56 trillion in debt securities to fund Uncle Sam's massive coronavirus spending spree. Meanwhile, in March, The Fed bought $1.2 trillion in Treasury bonds. The central bank slowed its roll a bit in April, but till purchased $526 billion in U.S. bonds. That brought the two-month total to $1.56 trillion.
"In effect, the Federal Reserve bought all of the debt issued by the U.S. government in March and April with money created out of thin air."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2020/06/17/the-federal-reserve-the-engine-that-powers-the-most-powerful-government-in-history/
Gouge, William (1578-1653), God's Three Arrows: Plague, Famine, Sword, 1631. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
"Notes: 'Deaths death', 'The Churches conquest over the sword', 'The extent of Gods providence, set out in a sermon', and 'The dignitie of chivalry, set forth in a sermon' each have separate dated title page; pagination and register are continuous. 'The dignitie of chivalry' was first published separately in 1626."
Subject: Providence and government of God
Graham, Bob, and Jeff Nussbaum, Intelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia, and the Failure of America's war on Terror, ISBN: 1400063523 9781400063529.
"In this explosive, controversial, and profoundly alarming insider's report, Senator Bob Graham reveals faults in America's national security network severe enough to raise fundamental questions about the competence and honesty of public officials in the CIA, the FBI, and the White House.
"For ten years, Senator Graham served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he had access to some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Graham co-chaired a historic joint House-Senate inquiry into the intelligence community's failures. From that investigation and his own personal fact-finding, Graham discovered disturbing evidence of terrorist activity and a web of complicity:
Graham, Franklin, Franklin Graham on the Plague of Immorality, February 2, 2015
"The sexual revolution that began in earnest five decades ago with promises of new and liberating sexual freedoms has instead left behind a shattered moral landscape that has undermined the fabric and foundation of our nation. Casting off what was perceived as the puritanical restraints of previous generations, the '60s and '70s launched a new era of sexual experimentation. The revolution, publicly inaugurated by 1967's Summer of Love in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, promised an enlightened age of sexual morality. . . .
"Fifty years later, we can see that the results have been catastrophic.
"In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction.
"In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.
"Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. . . .
"The freedoms promised by the sexual revolution have instead given way to ever-increasing slavery and captivity to sin. The attempt to cast off moral restraint has only opened wide the devil's destructive, deadly toolbox. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:19). . . .
"The Scripture is clear: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous . . . has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3,5). . . .
"Our culture, like ancient cultures that ultimately were destroyed in large part due to their own moral depravity, has been severely weakened. A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule. . . .
"The only answer I know for any society in any era is the strong word of the Lord to the church in Thyatira who, though faithful in some ways, apparently tolerated sexual permissiveness that spread through the church: I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality (Revelation 2:21).
"There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). . . ."
http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/february-2015/franklin-graham-on-the-plague-of-immorality/
*Greenwald, Glenn, With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful, ISBN: 9780805092059 0805092056.
"From 'the most important voice to have entered the political discourse in years' (Bill Moyers), a scathing critique of the two-tiered system of justice that has emerged in America.
"From the nation's beginnings, the law was to be the great equalizer in American life, the guarantor of a common set of rules for all. But over the past four decades, the principle of equality before the law has been effectively abolished. Instead, a two-tiered system of justice ensures that the country's political and financial class is virtually immune from prosecution, licensed to act without restraint, while the politically powerless are imprisoned with greater ease and in greater numbers than in any other country in the world.
"Starting with Watergate, continuing on through the Iran-Contra scandal, and culminating with Obama's shielding of Bush-era officials from prosecution, Glenn Greenwald lays bare the mechanisms that have come to shield the elite from accountability. He shows how the media, both political parties, and the courts have abetted a process that has produced torture, war crimes, domestic spying, and financial fraud.
"Cogent, sharp, and urgent, this is a no-holds-barred indictment of a profoundly un-American system that sanctions immunity at the top and mercilessness for everyone else." -- Publisher
Greenwald, Robert (director), Wal-Mart -- The High Cost of Low Price, DVD, a documentary.
"Plot Synopsis: This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.
"Everyone has seen Wal-Mart's lavish television commercials, but have you ever wondered why Wal-Mart spends so much money trying to convince you it cares about your family, your community, and even its own employees? What is it hiding?
" 'WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price' takes you behind the glitz and into the real lives of workers and their families, business owners and their communities, in an extraordinary journey that will challenge the way you think, feel . . . and shop." -- Publisher
"A powerful documentary that contrasts the public persona of Walmart with the human toll of their behind-the-scenes business practices. Deeply personal vignettes from small business owners, Walmart managers, workers, attorneys and environmentalists review the tragic consequences of one of the world's largest, most venal corporations running amok on rural America -- subsidized by our own tax dollars. This is a movie was Walmart does NOT want you to see -- so tell all your friends!" -- Viewer's review
Grimstead, Jay (general editor), A Manifesto for the Christian Church: An act of Contrition and Humble Repentance, a Solemn Covenant, a Statement of Essential Truths, and a Call to Action, and The Essentials of a Christian Worldview (42 Articles of Affirmations and Denials) (Sunnyvale, CA [Coalition on Revival, 789 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale 94087]: Coalition on Revival, 1986).
An abridged version of the 17 sphere documents and other pertinent COR documents.
Grimstead, Jay, E., Calvin Beisner, and the Coalition on Revival (U.S.), The Foundation Documents, 59 pages. The Christian World View Series.
Coalition on Revival, A Manifesto for the Christian Church: Declaration and Covenant, July 4, 1986, 19 pages.
Grimstead, Jay, and Eugene Calvin Clingman, Rebuilding Civilization on the Bible: Proclaiming Truth on 24 Controversial Issues, ISBN: 9780988297685 098829768X.
"Contents: Biblical inerrancy | Biblical hermeneutics | The 42 articles on the Christian worldview | The 25 articles on the kingdom of God | The omniscience of God | The Pelagian controversy | The judicial and substitutionary nature of salvation | The trinity | The eternal fate of unbelievers | The lordship of Christ | Unity of the body of Christ | Church discipline | Culture, contextualization and missions | Christians' civic duties | Biblical economic systems | Marriage, divorce, and remarriage | Biblical distinctives between males and females | Homosexuality | A Biblical approach to counseling | Israel and the church | The education of Christian children | The sanctity of human life | God's law for all societies | The Biblical perspective on environmental stewardship | Closing words."
Gurudas, Treason: The new World Order, ISBN: 0945946147 9780945946144.
"This book examines the who, what, where when of the crimes of the U.S. government. I have read 200 non-Orwellian history and political science books. I have written two Masters Theses myself, and I can say the research in this book is impeccable. Details that Democrats and Republicans work together: we have a one party system: a Bicephalous beast with two heads that snarl and spit at one another to delude the masses into thinking there is a debate . . . This book traces the origins and the crimes of the ruling elite in near chronological order, PhD quality research and detail. Buy one for everyone you know." -- Reader's Comment
Guthrie, John T., Responding to "A Nation at Risk": Appraisal and Policy Guidelines.
"Intended to assist educational leaders by identifying recommendations from the report, 'A Nation at Risk,' that are relevant to reading and literacy and by suggesting instructional guidelines consistent with both the report and current reading research, this booklet presents policy guidelines in the following areas: (1) literacy processes, (2) curriculum content, (3) teacher effectiveness, (4) textbook quality, and (5) parent involvement. The first section discusses instructional objectives for reading, writing, and study skills while the second briefly touches on methods of implementing English instruction, reading across the curriculum, and the United States' literary heritage. The third section examines the impact of time use, organization, and teacher preparation on teacher effectiveness, and the fourth considers the selection and use of textbooks. The final section discusses the importance of parental involvement in children's education." -- Publisher
Guthrie, Thomas (1620-1665), The City, its Sins and Sorrows: Being a Series of Sermons From Luke XIX. 41 [Luke 19:41], 1857.
*Hammond, Peter, Slavery, Terrorism, and Islam, the Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat, ISBN: 9781612154985 1612154980.
"No Frontline Fellowship publication has engendered more controversy, and been in more demand worldwide, than SLAVERY, TERRORISM, AND ISLAM -- THE HISTORICAL ROOTS AND CONTEMPORARY THREAT. The first three editions and five printings sold out so fast that we were almost continually out-of-stock. The first edition earned Dr. Peter Hammond a Muslim death threat Fatwa, and Amazon.com began offering second hand copies of the hard-to-find book for hundreds and then thousands of dollars a copy! It was clear that we needed to reprint, but Peter was determined to thoroughly revise, expand, and produce a more reader friendly copy with larger type size and bigger pictures." -- Publisher
*Hayes, Christopher, Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, ISBN: 9780307720450 0307720454 9780307720474 0307720470.
"A powerful and original argument that traces the roots of our present crisis of authority to an unlikely source: the meritocracy.
"Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another -- from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball -- imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters.
"How did we get here? With TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES, Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite -- one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it.
"Mixing deft political analysis, timely social commentary, and deep historical understanding, TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES describes how the society we have come to inhabit -- utterly forgiving at the top and relentlessly punitive at the bottom -- produces leaders who are out of touch with the people they have been trusted to govern. Hayes argues that the public's failure to trust the federal government, corporate America, and the media has led to a crisis of authority that threatens to engulf not just our politics but our day-to-day lives.
"Upending well-worn ideological and partisan categories, Hayes entirely reorients our perspective on our times. TWILIGHT OF THE ELITES is the defining work of social criticism for the post-bailout age.
"Christopher Hayes is Editor at Large of The Nation and host of 'Up w/ Chris Hayes' on MSNBC. From 2010 to 2011, he was a fellow at Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, and The Guardian. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kate and daughter Ryan." -- Publisher
*Henderson, Alexander (1583-1646), Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice, an MP3 file [audio file], (1 Samuel 15:22; Matthew 15:9). Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Also available in SERMONS, PRAYERS, AND PULPIT ADDRESSES, 1638.
"Read by Elder Lyndon Dohms from the book SERMONS, PRAYERS AND PULPIT ADDRESSES. Henderson was one of the Scottish commissioners to the Westminster Assembly and the principal architect of the Solemn League and Covenant. Some consider him as only second to Knox in regard to his work as a Scottish Reformer. This sermon, on Psalm 40:6-8, was preached in Scotland just before Henderson left for the Westminster Assembly and exhorts Christians to zealousness -- especially in days of great declension." -- Publisher
Henry, Carl F.H., The Christian Mindset in a Secular Society: Promoting Evangelical Renewal and National Righteousness, ISBN: 0880700416 9780880700412.
*Henry, Carl F.H., Twilight of a Great Civilization: The Drift Toward Neo-Paganism, ISBN: 0891074910 9780891074915.
"A half-generation ago the pagans were still largely threatening at the gates of Western culture; now the barbarians are plunging into . . . the mainstream. As they seek to reverse the inherited intellectual and moral heritage of the Bible . . . [we are] engaged as never before in a rival conflict for the mind, the conscience, the will, the spirit, the very selfhood of contemporary man." -- Carl F.H. Henry
"Carl Henry is a noted professor and theologian, founder of Christianity Today, and author of a host of books.
"TWILIGHT OF A GREAT CIVILIZATION is a penetrating critique, by a distinguished Christian leader, of the moral and intellectual disintegration sweeping our culture. But more than this, it is a book of promise and possibilities -- a ringing affirmation of the power of the Gospel to transform hearts and minds, and to leave a lasting impact on our age. . . . ." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Herman, Arthur, How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of how Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created our World and Everything in it. ISBN: 0609606352 9780609606353.
"The reader should be warned, the book is not what it appears to be. In fact, a look at Herman's bio suggests that it is insidious.
"It is sobering to see it make the case that Scottish thinkers, descendants of the very men who gave the world the Scottish Covenanted Reformation in the 17th century, went on to contributed to the decline of Western thought by exporting the Scottish Enlightenment.
"It is striking in two respects. First, it traces the 'brain drain' from Scotland in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, which contributed to enlightenment and progress in the West. Yet, while we have been taught that the 'prosperity' and advances of modern Western society are a result of 'enlightenment thought,' the huge problems looming over modern society seem less than promising.
"Secondly, Protestant theologians regard the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland of the 17th century as the highest attainment of Christianity in history. It is striking that the book does not treat the fact that the relationship between Church and State abruptly changed in Scotland, and in the West, in 1661, and has been in decline since then. 'In early 1661 the Scottish Parliament passed the Act Rescissory, which established the king as supreme judge in all matters civil and ecclesiastical, and which made owning the covenants National and Solemn League unlawful. This act undid all the work of the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland from 1638 to 1650, and made it high treason to acknowledge Jesus Christ as head of the church.' So, while it is entertaining, the book is an account of the influence of Scottish secular humanistic thought on Western society after the Covenanted Reformation of Scotland. See: An Introduction to the Covenanted Reformation and Act, Declaration, and Testimony, 1876, Part II." -- compiler
"It is only natural, Herman suggests, that a country that once ranked among Europe's poorest, if most literate, would prize the ideal of progress, measured 'by how far we have come from where we once were.' Forged in the Scottish Enlightenment, that ideal would inform the political theories of Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, and David Hume, and other Scottish thinkers who viewed 'man as a product of history,' and whose collective enterprise involved 'nothing less than a massive reordering of human knowledge' (yielding, among other things, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, first published in Edinburgh in 1768, and the Declaration of Independence, published in Philadelphia just a few years later [The Scottish Covenanting Struggle, Alexander Craighead, and the Mecklenburg Declaration -- compiler]). On a more immediately practical front, but no less bound to that notion of progress, Scotland also fielded inventors, warriors, administrators, and diplomats such as Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Simon MacTavish, and Charles James Napier, who created empires and great fortunes, extending Scotland's reach into every corner of the world.
"Herman examines the lives and work of these and many more eminent Scots, capably defending his thesis and arguing, with both skill and good cheer, that the Scots 'have by and large made the world a better place rather than a worse place.' -- Reader's Comment
"Personally, I found this all a bit more intriguing then convincing. The leap from Knox (1505-1572) to Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) required a detour from church history into the foggy bottom of British politics before emerging with a secular history of the Enlightenment. While I enjoyed getting a Scottish view of the 'English' civil war and detailed account of parliamentary debate over the Treaty of Union (1707), the story is simply too brief. All this takes place in the first 60 pages, one third of it devoted entirely to the Treaty of Union. To make a case for Hutcheson and Lord Kames inventing the 'Enlightenment,' a bit more would be required regarding English and French developments. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
"Arthur Herman, author [clearly an establishment writer -- compiler] of THE IDEA OF DECLINE IN WESTERN HISTORY and JOSEPH McCARTHY: REEXAMINING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF AMERICA'S MOST HATED SENATOR, received his doctorate in history at Johns Hopkins University. He is the coordinator of the Western Heritage Program at the Smithsonian Institution, an associate professor of history at George Mason University, and a consulting historical editor for Time-Life Books. He lives in Washington, D.C." -- Publisher
See:
C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT The "Apologetics" Lecture Series Using FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY (1979) as the text, and delivered in Decatur, Georgia, beginning November, 1979. (17 MP3 files) The Decline of Modern Philosophy Decline in Theology, #1 Decline Through the 1840's: Philosophical Revolution in Political Thought and so forth, and so on.
*Hichborn, Franklin The System: As Uncovered by the San Francisco Graft Prosecution, ISBN: 0875850383 9780875850382.
" 'The system' is the organization of corruption and graft into a form of political order. Labor, business, and civil government unite to form a system of entrenched theft and covetousness which exploits the people. 'The system' however, rests on the fact of the already existing corruption of the people. Where 'the system' exists reform is much talked about, but never or rarely ever desired, because every man has a vested interest in loose law enforcement, in corruption, and in perpetuating evil. See Ovid Demaris, THE CAPTIVE CITY; Lincoln Steffens, THE SHAME OF THE CITIES (New York: Sagamore Press, 1904, 1957); Walter Bean, BOSS RUEF'S SAN FRANCISCO (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1952, 1967); Frank Gibney, THE OPERATORS (New York: Harper, 1960); the important study is Hitchborn's. . . .
"Thus, the covetous man has his 'system' too; he seeks a state of affairs where by lawless means the consequences of law are obtained. He wants a society to further his lawlessness and yet to protect him in it. Just as the political 'system' is the organization of corruption and graft into a form of political order, so the personal 'system' is the use of covetousness and lawlessness as the means to a new form of personal and social order. Instead of order the result is moral anarchism and social collapse." -- R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), in The Institutes of Biblical Law, 647-649
*Hightower, Jim, Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen our Country -- And its Time to Take it Back, ISBN: 0670031410 9780670031412.
"Hightower defines 'Kleptocrat Nation' as 'a body of people ruled by thieves . . . a government characterized by the practice of transferring money and power from the many to the few . . . [and] a ruling class of moneyed elites that usurps liberty, justice, sovereignty, and other, democratic rights from the people.' His catalogue of corporate greed and governmental complicity is breathtaking in scope, and though he admits that the fusion of business and government is not new, he persuasively states that 'never have so few done so much for so few.' Unfortunately, Hightower's serious message is delivered in such a 'down home' style, it may lose its impact on the more brainy among us. Also, one wishes there were more documentation for the copious examples and facts in the book. Still, Hightower's call to action is sincere, and his descriptions of the triumphs of average people over corporate power might give some fledgling activists some hope. THIEVES IN HIGH PLACES urges Americans to reclaim control of our government -- Hightower thinks we can with community organization and grass-roots movements. However, judging from his description of the current power structure, we are going to need all the help we can get." -- Silvana Trop
"While he covers much that is available in the public domain, he covers in a comprehensive way the whole set of misdeeds perpetrated by Walmart on its employees and those who make its products. You will come away wanting to do something about the behavior of the world's largest corporation after reading it. That alone is worth the price of the book." -- Reader's Comment
Himmelfarb, Gertrude, Past and Present: The Challenges of Modernity, From the Pre-Victorians to the Postmodernists, ISBN: 9781594039256 1594039259.
"PAST AND PRESENT brings together almost two dozen newly collected essays by the distinguished American historian and cultural critic, Gertrude Himmelfarb. Their common theme is the intriguing, often unexpected ways in which the past illuminates the present. The novelist William Faulkner wrote that 'The past is never dead. It's not even past.' In these essays, Himmelfarb shows the truth of this statement. She helps us find a new perspective on contemporary issues by bringing to bear a trenchant analysis of debates and thinkers of the past. She allows the past to inform the present without distorting either past or present. The essays, unified by the common theme of present and past, are varied. The topics range from the disorders of modern democracy to the challenges of postmodernism, from the Victorian ethos to the Jewish question. The thinkers range from Edmund Burke to Leo Strauss, from Cardinal Newman to Lionel Trilling. The political figures range from Benjamin Disraeli to Winston Churchill, from the American founders to Queen Elizabeth II. The underlying premise and principle of the essays is the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge and truth, however difficult or discomforting, eminently matters, in the 'practical life,' as Trilling put it, as in the 'moral life.' PAST AND PRESENT is a notable contribution to this endeavor -- to understanding where we have been, where we are now, and where we may be -- or should be going." -- Publisher
*Hodge, Charles (1797-1878), The Relation of Church and State, by Charles Hodge, in the Trinity Review, July/August, 1988.
"Hodge was one of the greatest exponents and defenders of historical Calvinism in America during the 19th century." He was the principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878.
Charles Hodge "has been called the 'prince of American theologians.' Hodge was perhaps the most influential Presbyterian theologian of the nineteenth century, an instructor at Princeton Seminary for decades, and the author of many books, including his three volume SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY." (John W. Robbins)
Read what Charles Hodge says in THE RELATION OF CHURCH AND STATE -- THE AMERICAN CHURCH, in support of the newly discovered "novel, yet sound, doctrine" of the relationship between Church and State in America. Then decide for yourself if he unscripturally conceded to delivering the Church into the hands of the State in the "American Version, 1789" of THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH.
The Biblical doctrine of Christian Magistracy (Bible Magistracy Turns Back the Wrath of God) functions correctly only when State leadership is Christian, and when the State can be depended upon to wield their sword to protect true religion. The history of the human depravity in State leadership (secular leaders who destroy true religion instead of protecting it), should not cause theologians to abandon sound doctrine as stated in the original WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH (1646). Treachery in State leadership would be far less of a problem if the writers of the U.S. Constitution had not removed the religious test clause of Colonial constitutions. This was done in America with the adoption of the "AMERICAN VERSION" OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH and THE U.S. CONSTITUTION in 1789.
Besides arguing in support of the "AMERICAN VERSION" OF THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION "he [Charles Hodge], repudiated the unhistorical position of those who denied the validity of Roman Catholic baptism . . . Hodge supported slavery in the 1830s, and while he condemned the mistreatment of slaves he did not condemn the institution of slavery itself. The background to this attitude, however, was not primarily his understanding of the Bible's teaching on the matter, but rather his churchmanship. . . .
"In 1846, however, he became convinced that slavery was wrong, reversing his earlier anti-abolitionist stance, and he then publicly denounced slavery and supported both the Abolitionist movement and President Lincoln (Adams, 2003)." -- New World Encyclopedia, February 15, 2014
We love Gordon Clark, and we hold him in highest esteem, one of the great minds of the 20th century. However, astonishingly, he seems to have adopted Hodge's position on the "American Version." This relieves the State of judicial responsibilities to preserve true religion, and delivers the Church into the hands of the State. Hence, today we have the "church effeminate" and, consequently, a destabilization of every sphere of society, including that of the Reformed Church. Could this be one reason for the failure of Church courts today?
American Covenanters decried the "American Version." See the Covenanter document:
Reformed Presbyterian Catechism, William L. Roberts D.D.
http://archive.org/details/ReformedPresbyterianCatechism
Horowitz, David, DARK AGENDA: The War to Destroy Christian America, ISBN: 9781974925988 1974925986.
"One of the most intellectually compelling and rational defenses of Christianity's role in America." -- Mike Huckabee
"New York Times bestselling author David Horowitz exposes not only the progressive war against Christianity but also a war against America and its founding principles -- which are Christian in their origin. DARK AGENDA is about an embattled religion, but, most of all, it is about our imperiled nation. Tackling a broad range of issues from prayer in the schools to the globalist mindset, Horowitz traces the anti-Christian movement to its roots in communism. When the communist empire fell, progressives did not want to give up their utopian anti-God illusions, so instead they merely changed the name of their dream. Instead of 'communism,' progressives have re-branded their movement as 'social justice.' DARK AGENDA shows how progressives are prepared to use any means necessary to stifle their opponents who support the concepts of religious liberty that America was founded on, and how the battle to destroy Christianity is really the battle to destroy America." -- Publisher
*Howie, John (1735-1793, collector and transcriber), Michael Shields, James Guthrie, John Kid, John King, et al., Faithful Contendings Displayed: Being an Historical Relation of the State and Actings of the Suffering Remnant in the Church of Scotland Subsisted in Select Societies, and Were United in General Correspondencies During the Hottest Time of the Late Persecution, viz. From the Year 1681 to 1691: Together with an account of the State of the land in general, and of the society people in particular, in the intervals betwixt each of their general meetings, with some pertinent remarks upon these historical occurrences, and many letters to and from the general correspondent meetings, 1780, ISBN: 1171237324 9781171237327 0548345945 9780548345948. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
The long title continues: "Collected and kept in record by Mr. Michael Shields, who was clerk unto these general societies, and personally present at most of their meetings. To which is added, ten considerations on the danger of apostacy and defection from a covenanted work of reformation. By Mr. James Guthrie, sometime minister of the Gospel at Stirling. As also, a collection of very valuable sermons, preached by these faithful and eminent servants of Jesus Christ, Messrs. John Kid, John King, John Welch, John Blackadder, John Dickson, and Gabriel Semple. Collected and transcribed by John Howie, and published at the desire of some of those who desire to own the same testimony that some of those authors owned and sealed with their blood." -- long title continued
"Howie is famous for his BIOGRAPHIA SCOTICANA: OR, A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE LIVES, CHARACTERS, AND MEMORABLE TRANSACTIONS OF THE MOST EMINENT SCOTS WORTHIES (often just called SCOTS WORTHIES), but this work is just as valuable. A massive, rare classic, in which Howie aims at 'the gaining of friends unto, or confirming them in the covenanted interest, in a subserviency to God's glory and the good of His church' (preface, p. xxiv). Contains much information on the Reformation and the sufferings of the Covenanters which is found nowhere else (to our knowledge)." -- Publisher
Huffington, Arianna, Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America, ISBN: 1400047714 9781400047710.
"Who filled the trough? Who set the table at the banquet of greed? How has it been possible for corporate pigs to gorge themselves on grossly inflated pay packages and heaping helpings of stock options while the average American struggles to make do with their leftovers?
"Provocative political commentator Arianna Huffington yanks back the curtain on the unholy alliance of CEOs, politicians, lobbyists, and Wall Street bankers who have shown a brutal disregard for those in the office cubicles and on the factory floors. As she puts it: 'The economic game is not supposed to be rigged like some shady ring toss on a carnival midway.' Yet it has been, allowing corporate crooks to bilk the public out of trillions of dollars, magically making our pensions and 401(k)s disappear and walking away with astronomical payouts and absurdly lavish perks-for-life.
"The media have put their fingers on pieces of the sordid puzzle, but Pigs at the Trough presents the whole ugly picture of what's really going on for the first time -- blistering, wickedly witty portrait of exactly how and why the worst and the greediest are running American business and government into the ground.
"Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski, Adelphia's John Rigas, and the Three Horsemen of the Enron Apocalypse -- Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andrew Fastow -- are not just a few bad apples. They are manifestations of a megatrend in corporate leadership -- the rise of a callous and avaricious mind-set that is wildly out of whack with the core values of the average American. WorldCom, Enron, Adelphia, Tyco, AOL, Xerox, Merrill Lynch, and the other scandals are only the tip of the tip of the corruption iceberg.
"Making the case that our public watchdogs have become little more than obedient lapdogs, unwilling to bite the corporate hand that feeds them, Arianna Huffington turns the spotlight on the tough reforms we must demand from Washington. We need, she argues, to go way beyond the lame Corporate Responsibility Act if we are to stop the voracious corporate predators from eating away at the very foundations of our democracy.
"Devastatingly funny and powerfully indicting, PIGS AT THE TROUGH is a rousing call to arms and a must-read for all those who are outraged by the scandalous state of corporate America." -- Publisher
"The gluttony continues! Every day brings another jaw-dropping new example of precisely the kind of political and corporate outrages that prompted me to write Pigs at the Trough. As I wrote in the book, our representatives in Washington have tried to fool us with a Madison Avenue version of reform, featuring glitzy bill signings and execs-in-chains photo-ops but pitifully little substance. The president's assertion in his State of the Union address that one of the greatest accomplishments of his presidency was reforming corporate America was outrageous. The ongoing march of corporate sleaze proves otherwise.
"In just the last few weeks alone, as we prepare our own taxes, we've learned that the Wall Street firms who've agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle conflict-of-interest charges will actually be able to claim the vast majority of those payments as tax deductions. Think of that: not only do these financial flimflam artists escape criminal indictment, they get a massive write-off to boot! Then there's the astounding story of how Sprint's top two executives paid no taxes on $288 million in stock-option profits thanks to highly imaginative tax shelters dreamed up by the accounting alchemists at Ernst and Young. And you were worried about whether you could deduct that $42 dollar business lunch you had with a friend?
"PIGS AT THE TROUGH shows how and why such appalling abuses continue to happen -- and why Washington continues to turn a blind eye.
"Normally, it's satisfying to be right. But in this case, it's just plain nauseating." -- Arianna Huffington
*Isaac, Rael Jean, and Virginia C. Armat, Madness in the Streets: How Psychiatry and the law Abandoned the Mentally ill, ISBN: 0029153808 9780029153802 0029153816 9780029153819.
"Examines the cultural and political issues surrounding the problem of America's homeless mentally ill." -- Publisher
"I read this book and could not put it down. It really explains how our mental health policy in America became so distorted. The abandonment of our mentally ill in the name of freedom and self-determination was ill thought out. This book is thorough and riveting." -- Reader's Comment
Johnson, Paul M., Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky, ISBN: 0061253170 9780061253171.
"A fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In an intriguing series of case studies, Rousseau, Shelley, Marx, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Brecht, Sartre, Edmund Wilson, Victor Gollancz, Lillian Hellman, Cyril Connolly, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Kenneth Tynan, and Noam Chomsky, among others, are revealed as intellectuals both brilliant and contradictory, magnetic and dangerous.
"Paul Johnson has written many books, including Creators, George Washington, Modern Times, and Art: A New History. He contributes a weekly essay to the Spectator and a monthly column to Forbes. He lives in London, England, and lectures all over the world." -- Publisher
"Johnson's thesis is quite simple: the revolutionary thinkers whose ideas have shaped intellectual history over the past 250 years were, for the most part, lousy human beings. . . .
"For example, Jean-Jacques Rousseau is adored by educational theorists and his ideas and entrenched in the curricula of teachers' colleges, despite the fact that he serially abandoned every one of his children. Karl Marx was bourgeois to the core and seems to have exploited the only working-class woman he ever knew: paying her starvation wages, impregnating her and forcing her to abandon their child. Johnson lacerates the behaviour of these prominent figures, but more importantly shows how their shabby personal values foreshadow the social harm their works engendered." -- Reader's Comment
Johnson's conclusion, "Above all, we must at all times remember what intellectuals habitually forget: that people matter more than concepts and must come first. The worst of all despotisms is the heartless tyranny of ideas."
Unabomber and Harvard, Bill Steigerwald, Atlantic Monthly, 285, Part 6 (2000): 41-65.
"After a thorough study of Ted Kaczynski's college career and his writings, Chase makes a plausible case that the Unabomber was born and bred at Harvard University."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=7368
Johnson, Paul, Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the Nineties, ISBN: 0060935502 9780060935504.
"The twentieth-century State has proved itself the great killer of all time."
Johnston, Olaf R., Christianity in a Collapsing Culture, ISBN: 0853642001 9780853642008.
"Faces squarely the disintegration of Western civilization, and advocates a cultural renewal based on a clear differentiation between good and evil, and a strong infusion of the Spirit's power into the life of every believer. Persuasive and Biblical." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Jones, E. Michael, Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation and Political Control, ISBN: 189031837X 9781890318376.
"Thus, a good man, though a slave, is free; but a wicked man, though a king, is a slave. For he serves, not one man alone, but, what is worse, as many masters as he has vices." -- St. Augustine, City of God
"Writing at the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, St. Augustine both revolutionized and brought to a close antiquity's idea of freedom. A man was not a slave by nature or by law, as Aristotle claimed. His freedom was a function of his moral state. A man had as many masters as he had vices. This insight would provide the basis for the most sophisticated form of social control known to man.
"Fourteen hundred years later, a decadent French aristocrat turned that tradition on its head when he wrote that 'the freest of people are they who are most friendly to murder.' Like St. Augustine, the Marquis de Sade would agree that freedom was a function of morals. Unlike St. Augustine, Sade proposed a revolution in sexual morals to accompany the political revolution then taking place in France. LIBIDO DOMINANDI -- the term is taken from Book I of Augustine's CITY OF GOD -- is the definitive history of that sexual revolution, from 1773 to the present.
"Unlike the standard version of the sexual revolution, LIBIDO DOMINANDI shows how sexual liberation was from its inception a form of control. Those who wished to liberate man from the moral order needed to impose social controls as soon as they succeeded because liberated libido led inevitably to anarchy. Aldous Huxley wrote in his preface to the 1946 edition of BRAVE NEW WORLD that 'as political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends compensatingly to increase.' This book is about the converse of that statement. It explains how the rhetoric of sexual freedom was used to engineer a system of covert political and social control. Over the course of the two-hundred-year span covered by this book, the development of technologies of communication, reproduction, and psychic control -- including psychotherapy, behaviorism, advertising, sensitivity training, pornography, and plain old blackmail -- allowed the Enlightenment and its heirs to turn Augustine's insight on its head and create masters out of men's vices. LIBIDO DOMINANDI is the story of how that happened." -- Publisher
"E. Michael Jones ['a Roman Catholic polemicist of the old-fashioned type, for whom no Roman prelate (at least before Vatican II) ever did wrong, and no Protestant ever did right. He writes with the vehemence of a pamphleteer in the time of the sixteenth-century French wars of religion.' -- Reader's Comment], is editor of Culture Wars Magazine, and author of many books, including THE SLAUGHTER OF CITIES: URBAN RENEWAL AS ETHNIC CLEANSING." -- Publisher
Jones, Gordon S. (editor), and John Marini (editor), The Imperial Congress: Crisis in the Separation of Powers, ISBN: 0886874084 9780886874087.
"This book outlines the stranglehold Congress has on the nation, and then proposes workable solutions. . . . House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich writes a foreword that may shock you." -- Publisher
Includes a 10-page summary of all the key solutions the book offers. Prepared by the Heritage Foundation and The Claremont Institute.
*Joseph, R. Gabriel (editor), America Betrayed: Bush, Bin Laden, 9/11 . . . AIDs, Anthrax, Iraq . . . , ISBN: 0971644578 9780971644571.
"Prescott Bush and Rockefeller's Standard Oil had been in business with the Hitler regime and the Nazis since 1933, and in 1942, three Bush businesses were seized by the U.S. government, for violation of the Trading With the Enemies Act.
"Three generations of the Bush clan became members of a German secret society: the Yale chapter of the 'Order of Skull and Bones.' In Germany, the 'Order of Skull of Bones' -- also known as 'The Brotherhood of Death' -- gave rise to Hitler and the dreaded SS. Prescott Bush, through his shipping company, became a special 'Friend' of Himmler's SS -- the same SS which, in conjunction with IG Farbin, ran the concentration and slave labor camps.
"The Bush clan and Rockefeller's Standard Oil, were in business with IG Farbin, as well as with the Saudis who had also partnered with Hitler.
"At the conclusion of WWII, and Germany's defeat, thousands of high ranking Nazis and SS agents were recruited, by Bush-Rockefeller lawyer, Allen Dulles, into what would later become the CIA. Allen Dulles, and later, George Bush, would become directors of the CIA . . .
"IG Farbin, a consortium of companies that included Bayer, conducted horrible experiments on concentration camp inmates to discover an 'ethnic biological weapon' -- a deadly disease that would target specific ethnic groups . . . Drs. funded by the Rockefeller Foundation directed this research.
"In 1957, a scientist who completed his medical training in Nazi-occupied Poland, and who was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, injected 300,000 Central African men, women, and children, with an experimental polio vaccine -- a vaccine that contained a deadly AIDS-like virus, monkey HSIV. Years later, Central Africa would become 'Ground Zero' for the AIDS/HIV epidemic . . .
"Three generations of the Bush clan have been in business with governments and people who kill Americans, and on the morning of 9-11-2001, Bush Sr. was in business with the bin Ladens and other Saudis who had helped fund Osama bin Laden and the attack of 9-11-2001 . . .
"The attack of 9-11, would transform an inept, seemingly incompetent president into a war time leader who would attack not Saudi Arabia but Iraq and then steal its oil . . . as well as attack American Civil Liberties and the U.S. constitution . . .
" 'Key FBI Headquarters personnel had to be spies or moles . . . who were actually working for Osama Bin Laden. . . . Key FBI HQ personnel . . . continued to, almost inexplicably, throw up roadblocks and undermine Minneapolis' desperate efforts . . . to stop terrorists. . . .' who planned 'to take control of a plane and fly it into the World Trade Center.' -- FBI supervisor, and Coleen M. Rowley, FBI Special Agent and Chief Division Counsel. . . . and it goes on and on . . . .
"In researching and writing this book, we relied on numerous sources, including those within the intelligence community. Prior to and after 9-11, hundreds of pages of secret documents were provided, including reports written by the FBI. However, rather than asking the reader to accept the word of 'confidential sources,' Dr. Joseph and his research team have sought out and he has cited corroborating evidence that is either part of the public record, or buried within government files that can only be accessed with the help of the Freedom of Information Act. Every chapter in this book is extensively referenced.
"Much of the information in this book was obtained prior to 9-11-2001. We at University Press, had been working on an academically oriented text, called: TERRORISM, FUTURE WARS AGAINST AMERICA. Based on the data collected, Dr. Joseph began predicting, in the weeks prior to 9-11, that we could expect a major terrorist attack on New York or Washington before the end of 2001.
"Because we at University Press had so much advanced information related to 9-11, we hired several New York journalists, and were able to publish, within 30 days of this tragedy, a rather extensive account of what led up to 9-11 as well as what transpired on that horrible day. Indeed, long before the mass media found out, we obtained and provided details on the Zacarias Moussaoui case and the inexplicable behavior of top FBI and CIA officials who failed to heed the warnings of lower level FBI agents. We also detailed how the CIA and FBI allowed Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi to enter and move about freely in the U.S., despite their connections to al-Qaeda. Indeed, this material appeared in our book, AMERICA ATTACKED, which was published on October 11, 2001 -- 30 days after 9-11. Six months later, the American mass media and the joint Congressional committee examining the so called intelligence failures leading up to 9-11, confirmed our reports.
"We beat the media again in March of 2002, when we published the book, JOHN WALKER LINDH, AMERICAN TALIBAN, and revealed that John Walker Lindh was 'gay' and that he may have been seduced and recruited by an older man, who we named. Six months later, our observations were confirmed by Time magazine.
"Yet another source of information that found its way into this current book, was the research conducted on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. This research was for a future book, and a future documentary film, titled: HITLER'S DIARIES. We learned, a long time ago, that the Bush family fortune traces its roots to Hitler's Germany. Doing business with murderers, terrorists, and the enemies of America, seems to be a Bush family tradition." -- Publisher
Kah, Gary, En Route to Global Occupation: A High Ranking Government Liaison Exposes the Secret Agenda for World Unification, ISBN: 0910311978 9780910311977.
"Concerned about the economic and political crises facing our nation? Get an 'insider's' viewpoint on the plans of the geo-political globalists and the New Age leaders. Gary Kah was a high-ranking government official who was invited to join the World Constitution and Parliament Association, which oversees the planning and implementation of the one-world government. Gary provides effective proof of the drive to create an international order and to destroy the independence of individual nations. He also shows disturbing links between the New Age groups, Freemasons, and the globalists -- and their common goals of the destruction of religious and political sovereignty worldwide. Already, in our country, Christian preachers and teachers are being threatened with prosecution for 'hate crimes.' And the promotion of so-called 'genocide' has begun. This is an important book which will help to arm you with knowledge." -- Publisher
Gary Kah served in the Reagan Administration as a high ranking official and became a infiltrator of the World Parliament and Constitution Association. Written from a Christian perspective with a slant on Bible Prophecy. Well documented. Read in conjunction with William Jaspers' GLOBAL TYRANNY STEP BY STEP to see the same story from a secular point of view. -- Reader's Comment
Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), The Mortgaging of America, 77 pages, ISBN: 9781929626038 1929626037.
"The stock market is down. Unemployment is up. And Congress is furiously spending taxpayer dollars to 'bail out' our ailing economy.
"We are in a time of economic trouble. One in which America desperately needs the timeless truths of God's Word.
"These messages from Dr. D. James Kennedy offer enduring biblical wisdom that transcends today's frightening headlines and give both understanding and hope.
"THE MORTGAGING OF AMERICA presents Dr. Kennedy's warning about the dangers of socialism, a failed economic system now gaining popularity on Capitol Hill. It also gives readers biblical perspective on economics, the nature and reason for work-the difference between justice and charity -- and the way in which the concept of 'social justice' has led to America's welfare state mentality.
"The perspective, wisdom, and guidance provided in this book reveal the causes of many of our fiscal woes and shed light on the pathway to true economic recovery." -- Publisher
*Kirk, Russell, and Forrest McDonald (foreword), The Roots of American Order, ISBN: 1882926994 9781882926992.
"In this now classic work, Russell Kirk describes the beliefs and institutions that have nurtured the American soul and commonwealth. Beginning with the Hebrew prophets, Kirk examines in dramatic fashion the sources of American order. His analytical narrative might be called 'a tale of five cities': Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and Philadelphia." -- Publisher
Kilpatrick, William, Why Johnny Can't Tell Right From Wrong, ISBN: 0671870734 9780671870737.
Kjos, Berit, Brave New Schools, ISBN: 1565073886 9781565073883.
"With concrete examples from public school material, Berit Kjos demonstrates how myths, feelings, and imagination have replaced facts, logic, and history in our classrooms. You can make a positive difference in your children's education by educating yourself first." -- Publisher
Klein, Joseph A., Lethal Engagement: Barack Hussein Obama, The United Nations, and Radical Islam, ISBN: 9781617392252 1617392251.
"Full constitutional rights for foreign Islamic terrorist detainees. Apologies to the Muslim world for American 'misdeeds,' and promises to make amends even if the security of the American people is placed in peril. Welcoming radical Muslim sympathizers into high positions of authority. Abridging freedom of expression. And much, much more. LETHAL ENGAGEMENT documents how in these and other ways President Barack Hussein Obama has forsaken the oath of office he took to 'preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.' LETHAL ENGAGEMENT exposes how radical Muslims are re-branding their barbaric ideology to fool their gullible audience in the West and how they play the racism victim card, all with President Obama's help. LETHAL ENGAGEMENT systematically lays out the dangerous entanglement of Obama with the United Nations, which radical Muslims are manipulating to promulgate international law to their liking, and how his nomination of more activist judges, willing to throw away the Constitution, allows radical Muslims to subvert American law. LETHAL ENGAGEMENT also reveals the radical Muslim plan to destroy the value of the dollar and use The United Nations to replace it with a new global reserve currency, all helped along by the Obama administration's disastrous economic policies. After connecting all these dots, Joseph Klein explains the steps 'we the people' must take to rescue our country." -- Publisher
Knight, Robert, Radical Rulers: The White House Elites who are Pushing America Toward Socialism, updated edition (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
"After reading Robert Knight's Radical Rulers, I just had to pause, take a deep breath and say -- WOW!" -- Tim Wildmon, President, American Family Association
"President Obama has brought more radicals into his administration than any president in history. This administration has more czars than the Romanovs. Fortunately, Robert Knight helps you sort them out." -- Kerby Anderson, Host, Point of View Radio Talk Show
"As I read it, I found myself thinking: How can one U.S. President surround himself with so many radicals?" -- Dr. Jerry Newcombe, author and host of The Coral Ridge Hour
"Robert Knight is Senior Writer and Washington, D.C. Correspondent for Coral Ridge Ministries. A widely quoted journalist and family policy expert, Mr. Knight formerly directed the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute, and is currently a Senior Fellow for the American Civil Rights Union. He is the author of THE SILENCERS: HOW LIBERALS ARE TRYING TO SHUT DOWN MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE U.S. and FIGHTING FOR AMERICA'S SOUL: HOW SWEEPING CHANGE THREATENS OUR NATION AND WHAT WE MUST DO." -- Publisher
Knodel, R.E., Jr., LifeStyle: A Biblical/Philosophical Study of Christianity and the Culture it Produces, ISBN: 9781477122006 9781477122013 147712201X 9781477122020 1477122028 1477122001.
"With the publication of LIFESTYLE, culturologist/philosopher R.E. Knodel, Jr. makes a major contribution to this debate involving politicians, philosophers, foreign policy experts, and theologians. Drawing on philosophical analysis and studies of Christendom, Knodel defends the notion that God himself established this concept in creation; and that refusal to recognize this genius cuts us off from the culture of freedom, productivity and prosperity that people desire.
"Dr. Knodel uses the stencil of the creation in the Book of Genesis and finds an embedded philosophical principle that keys the cultural enterprise. It reveals a divine mandate for seeing unity in the often hostile dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. This both challenges and motivates as one sees the turmoil of both church and culture at the onset of the 21st century. Knodel begins with his definition and then argues the sense of it. Succeeding chapters analyze Christendom's past cultural failures, show how Christ is a key to world development and survey competing definitions -- even that of Islam.
"A well-crafted, cerebral literary masterpiece, LIFESTYLE is packed with wisdom and inspiration -- a unique work that propels readers to bring their gifts to every future human endeavor, for the glory of the God. It is a must read for those who are serious about life and the cultural enterprise." -- Publisher
"I deal with this issue under my discussion of 'pluralism,' distinguishing between Capital 'P' macro-pluralism (bad) and lower case 'p' micro-pluralism (often good). Pluralism of the 'Capital variety' involves major ideas of theological or philosophical variety; lower case pluralism involves other issues as discussed above. Liberalism and Progressivism love to equivocate over (confuse) these two categories, so that Satan has equal ultimacy with the God of the Bible. Once confusion has been achieved, then they overtly favor the satanic -- which is our lot today!" -- The author, R.E. Knodel, Jr., in Lifestyle, pp. 152-153, footnote 201
Kohn, Linda T. (editor), Janet M. Corrigan (editor), Molla S. Donaldson (editor); Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC. Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, To err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, ISBN: 0309068371 9780309068376.
"Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS -- three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. . . .
"TO ERR IS HUMAN asserts that the problem is not bad people in health care -- it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocates -- as well as patients themselves." -- Publisher
"This is one of two seminal books on quality and it is a must read for folks in the industry. It is not easy reading but is packed with excellent information. Although this book was compiled in 1999, it's helpful to see where we started and how far we've come. I felt this book was necessary to read as it is mentioned in other books on Quality. The second installment or sequel is CROSSING THE QUALITY CHASM which I have just started. Then I will get back to finishing the Primer book on Quality." -- Reader's Comment
Lee, Francis Nigel, The Central Significance of Culture.
Levin, Mark R., Ameritopia: The Unmaking of, ISBN: 9781439173244, 9781439173282, 9781439173275, 1439173249, 1439173281, 1439173273.
"Levin explores the philosophical basis of America's foundations and the crisis that the government faces today." -- Publisher
Look Magazine, The Decline of the American Male.
*Lichtblau, Eric, Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice, ISBN: 9780375424922 037542492X.
"In the aftermath of 9/11, President Bush and his top advisers declared that the struggle against terrorism would be nothing less than a war -- a new kind of war that would require new tactics, new tools, and a new mind-set. BUSH'S LAW is the unprecedented account of how the Bush administration employed its war on terror to mask the most radical remaking of American justice in generations.
"On orders from the highest levels of the administration, counter terrorism officials at the FBI, the NASA, and the CPA were asked to play roles they had never played before. But with that unprecedented power, administration officials butted up against -- or disregarded altogether -- the legal restrictions meant to safeguard Americans' rights, as they gave legal sanction to covert programs and secret interrogation tactics, a swept up thousands of suspects in the drift net.
"Eric Lichtblau, who has covered the Justice Department and national security issues for the duration of the Bush administration, details not only the development of the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program -- initiated by the vice president's office in the weeks after 9/11 -- but also the intense pressure that the White House brought to bear on The New York Times to thwart his story on the program.
"BUSH'S LAW is an unparalleled and authoritative investigative report on the hidden internal struggles over secret programs and policies that tore at the constitutional fabric of the country and, ultimately, brought down an attorney general.
"Eric Lichtblau received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, for his stories on the NSA's wiretapping program. He has worked in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, covering the Justice Department, since 2002. From 1999 to 2002 he covered the Justice Department for the Los Angeles Times. He is a graduate of Cornell University and lives in the Washington, D.C., area." -- Publisher
Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn (1899-1981), A Nation Under Wrath: Studies in Isaiah 5, ISBN: 0801057906 9780801057908.
Machiavelli, Niccolò (1469-1527), Ellis Farneworth (d. 1763), Frederick II (King of Prussia, [1712-1786], Anti-Machiavel), and John Adams (1735-1826), The Works of Nicholas Machiavel: Translated From the Originals: Illustrated With Notes, Annotations, Dissertations, and Several new Plans on the art of war (1775)
Includes the Anti-Machiavel of Frederick II, King of Prussia.
http://archive.org/details/worksofnicholasm02mach
Frederick the Great's ANTI-MACHIAVEL
http://www.geocities.com/danielmacryan/antimac.html
Maddux, Bob, The Fantasy Explosion.
"This book will make you aware of how you and your family are being exploited by pornography and teenage sex films, music videos, occult films, toys, soap operas and romantic novels, role-playing games, and comic books. The book will challenge you to new and creative action by offering positive suggestions." -- GCB
Masse, Anthony M., The Decline and Fall of the United States, ISBN: 0960829407 9780960829408.
Includes bibliography.
*Matthews, Steven T., The Fed, Fiat Currency, and Feckless Keynesian Economics
The creation of the Fed [The Federal Reserve -- compiler], is "the most tragic blunder ever committed by Congress. The day it [the Federal Reserve Act of 1913] was passed, old America died and a new era began. A new institution was born that was to cause, or greatly contribute to, the unprecedented economic instability in the decades to come." -- Hans F. Sennholz in Money and Freedom, quoted in End the Fed, p. 23
The Fed, Fiat Currency, and Feckless Keynesian Economics, Steven T. Matthews
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=316
*McClellan, Scott, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, ISBN: 9781586485566 1586485563.
"Scott McClellan was one of a few Bush loyalists from Texas who became part of his inner circle of trusted advisers, and remained so during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent history. Drawn to Bush by his commitment to compassionate conservatism and strong bipartisan leadership, McClellan served the president for more than seven years, and witnessed day-to-day exactly how the presidency veered off course.
"In this refreshingly clear-eyed book, written with no agenda other than to record his experiences and insights for the benefit of history, McClellan provides unique perspective on what happened and why it happened the way it did, including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, Washington's bitter partisanship, and two hotly contested presidential campaigns. He gives readers a candid look into who George W. Bush is and what he believes, and into the personalities, strengths, and liabilities of his top aides. Finally, McClellan looks to the future, exploring the lessons this presidency offers the American people as we prepare to elect a new leader.
"Scott McClellan served as White House press secretary from 2003 to 2006. Before that he served as the principal deputy White House press secretary and as traveling press secretary for the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign. Earlier in his career, Mr. McClellan served as deputy communications director in the Texas governor's office and campaign manager for three successful statewide campaigns. He is now a senior adviser to a global technology firm and communications strategist. Born in Austin, Texas, he now lives near Washington, D.C." -- Publisher
"It was as certain as heat in a Texas summer that Bush's chokehold on those who know the ugly truth about his administration would not last forever. We are finally realizing as a nation how badly Bush's criminally incompetent, arrogant, dishonest presidency has come to destroying our prosperity and our very way of life. The fact that gas will surely hit $6-$8 in the near future is only the tip of the iceberg. The price crunch was inevitable, but predictable, and Bush wasted 7 1/2 years on policies based on the assumption that oil would forever be cheap and plentiful. We've only begun to experience the consequences of this single major blunder. The biggest Bush legacies will be a trillion-dollar pointless and endless "war," and the crippling effects that two terms without a realistic energy policy has only begun to bring.
"Those who continue to ignore reality and dismiss McClellan as an opportunist need to rethink the meaning of patriotism: Country and government are NOT the same. Opposing and exposing bad government is a DUTY of patriotism. If anything, McLellan should have written the book much sooner. Yes, he'll make millions, but so what? It's the American way.
"I can't wait to see what General Colin Powell has to say about the Bush administration's inner workings. At least he had the decency to quit after one term, which is a big clue that he smelled rats all around. I bring up Powell because to those who would dismiss my comments as partisan, I can honestly say I would have loved to see Powell run for President. At this point, I'd settle for HIS version of the disaster that was the Bush administration." -- Reader's Comment
"Here are a few of his observations:
"Simply put -- Bush looted the community chest and killed thousands in the process. Convicting him of multiple felonies, rather than being a national shame, would be a first step in restoring our global credibility. -- Reader's CommentBush believes his own spin (better known as bulls**t), and demonstrates a remarkable lack of inquisitiveness.
Bush favored propaganda over honesty in selling the war, leading us down the primrose path.
Cheney steered war policy behind the scenes, leaving no fingerprints.
Bush and his team repeatedly shaded the truth, manipulated public opinion, and sold the Iraq situation in such a way that the use of force appeared to be the only feasible option.
Contradictory evidence was ignored or discarded, caveats or qualifications to arguments were downplayed or dropped, and a dubious al-Qaida connection to Iraq was played up.
The Bush administration didn't check their political maneuverings in at the door after the win -- instead, they maintained a permanent campaign mode, run largely by Rove.
Presidential initiatives from health care programs to foreign invasions were regularly devised, named, timed and launched with one eye (or both eyes), on the electoral calendar.
Operating in the campaign mode means never explaining, never apologizing, never retreating. Unfortunately, that strategy also means never reflecting, never reconsidering, never compromising.
Bush is out of touch, operates in a political bubble, and stubbornly refuses to admit mistakes.
The press is partially responsible for giving Bush soft questions and enabling the president." -- Reader's Comment
*McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander (1774-1833), Messiah: Governor of the Nations of the Earth: A Discourse. Available (MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH) on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH) on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available
(MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH and THE WRITTEN LAW, OR THE LAW OF GOD REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES, BY CHRIST AS MEDIATOR; THE RULE OF DUTY TO CHRISTIAN NATIONS TO CIVIL INSTITUTIONS) at Covenanter.org. Available (the pamphlet, MESSIAH: GOVERNOR OF THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH, which includes THE WRITTEN LAW, OR THE LAW OF GOD REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES, BY CHRIST AS MEDIATOR) at Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets.
"The doctrine of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ has formed the subject of those principles accounted distinctive to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Christ's kingship over the nations and the implications of this doctrine will not be popular amongst a people deeply compromised with the spirit of the age. The prescription may seem tough, but the results of centuries of ignoring this doctrine have left the church effete and gutted when it comes to addressing matters concerning church and state relations. In the various modern debates one viewpoint has been left out, and it is the only one which presents a serious and rigorous biblical vision -- the Covenanter position on civil government.
"In the first discourse, Alexander McLeod explains the biblical basis and the importance of professing that Christ is the head over all nations. McLeod moves from an explanation of what is meant by confessing that Christ rules as Mediator, to a discussion of his administrations as ruler over the nations. Afterward he addresses numerous objections that are raised against the doctrine, in which he explains many finer points respecting Christ's Mediatorial administration.
"The second discourse, THE WRITTEN LAW, by Dr. James Renwick Willson (1780-1853), takes up a number of matters of great practical concern and application of the doctrine of this Mediatorship over the nations. Willson is particularly concerned with the place of the written law of God in the constitution of civil governments. Willson often courts controversy, and does not shy away from consistency. It is a blueprint for how things ought to be, if we would submit to Christ as a nation." -- Publisher
McLeod (M'Leod), Alexander, Messiah, Governor of the Nations of the Earth
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/alexander-mcleods-sermon-on-messiah-governor-of-the-nations-of-the-earth
Willson, James Renwick, The Written Law, or The Law of God Revealed in the Scriptures, by Christ as Mediator; The Rule of Duty to Christian Nations to Civil Institutions
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/8/18/james-r-willsons-sermon-on-the-written-law
Covenanter and Reformed Presbyterian Pamphlets
http://www.covenanter.org/pamphlets/
Milligan, James, The Prospects of a True Christian in a Sinful World, 1831.
*Milton, John (1570-1643), Paradise Lost, ISBN: 9781504062107 1504062108, didactic fiction.
"A dramatization of James 1:5-15. Said to be the greatest epic ever penned by man. Milton was a contemporary of Oliver Cromwell." -- Publisher
"The greatest epic poem in the English language . . . A work of unparalleled imaginative genius that shapes English literature even now." -- Benjamin Ramm
"Written in blank verse by the seventeenth-century English poet John Milton, this 'epic of over 10,000 lines' is a dramatic, imaginative version of Satan's rebellion against God and of Adam and Eve's eviction from Eden. Set at the beginnings of human history, it shifts us across an expansive universe: Heaven at the top 'Earth dangling from it' and Hell at the bottom, a dark gloomy Chaos in between. It tells the story of divine creation, human ambition and hopeless rebellion, but is 'perhaps most famous for its presentation of Satan, an intensely deep character' (New Statesman). 'Milton's cosmos is a visionary unfolding and enfolding of the biblical map with others from his vast mental bookstore. PARADISE LOST itself is a densely intertextual amalgam of fictional worlds, made newly brilliant by the imagination behind the poet's now sightless eyes, embodied in blank verse at its most vigorously muscled . . . That verse flows, twists, ripples and thunders like a team of miraculously tireless and synchronized horses. It's the perfect body-mind work-out." -- The Guardian
Paradise Lost, John Milton
http://ccel.wheaton.edu/milton/paradise_lost/paradise_lost.txt
*Mitchell, Arnold, The Nine American Lifestyles: Who we are and Where We're Going, ISBN: 0025853104 9780025853102.
"A penetrating and, in many respects, disturbing account of the values, beliefs, needs, and trends of our contemporary society. May prove to be as significant a work as Riesmann's THE LONELY CROWD, Toffler's FUTURE SHOCK, and Nasibitt's MEGATRENDS." -- Cyril J. Barber
Mitchell, Stacy, Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, ISBN: 0807035009 9780807035009.
"An expert's in-depth exploration of the enormous impact of mega-retailers -- and what communities and independent businesses can do.
"A Book Sense Pick and Annual Highlight.
"Large retail chains have become the most powerful corporations in America and are rapidly transforming our economy, communities, and landscape. In this deft and revealing book, Stacy Mitchell illustrates how mega-retailers are fueling many of our most pressing problems, from the shrinking middle class to rising water pollution and diminished civic engagement.
"Mitchell's investigation takes us from the suburbs of Cleveland to a fruit farm in California, the stockroom of an Oregon Wal-Mart, and a Pennsylvania town's Main Street. She uncovers the shocking role government policy has played in the expansion of mega-retailers and builds a compelling case that communities comprised of many small businesses are healthier and more prosperous than those dominated by large chains.
"More than a critique, THE BIG BOX SWINDLE draws on real life to show how some communities are successfully countering the spread of mega-retailers and rebuilding their local economies. Mitchell describes innovative approaches -- from cutting-edge land-use policies to small-business initiatives -- that together provide a detailed road map to a more prosperous and sustainable future." -- Publisher
"The author of this book has gone way past good authorship -- the business reporting in this book has achieved meme status and BIG BOX SWINDLE is now a term that leads to all sorts of interesting findings when one searches the web and the literature.
"I recommend the other book listed above [other reader comments in Amazon.com], as part of the literature on 'True Cost,' a meme that is resonating with the public much more than is 'inconvenient truth.' True cost covers water (4000 liters in a T-Shirt), fuel (hundreds of gallons to move Walmart toys from China), sweatshop and child labor (Wal-Mart again), and tax avoidance as well as convictions for breaking various laws.
"Although they do not appear in the list above, I recommend the varied books on Wal-Mart, especially the one focusing on the high cost of low price.
"This author and the literature surrounding this author will shortly be matched by a point of sale ability for buyers to photograph any bar code, send it to Amazon or other sources, and get back the 'True Cost' as well as comparable prices and alternative purchase suggestions.
"This book could represent a turning point in the public mind, and is therefore of considerable importance to how we choose to react to its findings so that our children and grandchildren are not swindled -- however, and the author would among the first to agree, it is not enough that we eradicate these unethical companies; we must also educate our future generations so that they do not lose sight of the 'True Cost' of the 'Big Box Swindle.' -- Reader's Comment
"If one or more of the big box stores have set up shop in your town, chances are that they are the beneficiary of one or quite possibly several government handouts. Since the mid 1950's federal, state and local governments have devised a plethora of ill-conceived programs designed to benefit retailers like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target and Lowe's, all to the detriment of locally owned and operated independent retailers. These giveaway programs take many forms. There are property tax breaks, sales tax rebates, low interest loans, infrastructure and site improvements, free or reduced price land, job training credits etc. etc. etc. In BIG BOX SWINDLE author Stacy Mitchell tries to alert a largely unsuspecting public to the tactics and schemes used by these major chains to try to extort money from the rest of us. This is an important subject with far-reaching implications that most folks are simply unaware of.
"To get a quick overview of the subject at hand it might be best to immediately turn to page 211 of BIG BOX SWINDLE. There you will find a graphic depicting the average sizes of various stores. It should then become quite clear to you just how serious the problem posed by these mega-retailers really is. As we can all see by simple observation, there is a gross overcapacity of retail space in this country. Fueled by dubious tax policies that benefit developers and new construction only, retailers like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Target have been gobbling up precious open spaces at an alarming rate for decades to accommodate their mammoth stores. And as Stacy Mitchell correctly points out there are all sorts of costs that a city or town must incur when a big box retailer comes to town. Local businesses lay off employees or fold while downtown areas become abandoned and blighted. And as the big chains proliferate there is also the loss of genuine community that exists when we meet and greet our neighbors in the local coffee shop or hardware store. Local charities suffer as well when locally based businesses are replaced by the big chains whose home office may be 2000 miles away. These stores have very little interest in anything but maximizing profits.
"BIG BOX SWINDLE does an outstanding job of educating the reader to most of these important issues. Stacy Mitchell also introduces us to a number of people and organizations around the country who have devised strategies to successfully fight off big box retailers from invading and destroying their towns. Surely, there is a lot of stake for all of us here. If you are not familiar with these issues then BIG BOX SWINDLE would be a great way to get up to speed. Recommended." -- Reader's Comment
"If you think the big boxes help the working man and woman, you really need to read this book. Mitchell details the drop in wages and living standards throughout the affected areas, loss of support for local development, increase in abandoned buildings and water pollution, and the blackmail of civic leaders. As for the prices, she illustrates that prices do not stay low once the competition has been dealt with. I really appreciate the variety of ways she measures community, e.g. Costco rates well for putting money into an area through good wages but poorly for its failure to offer local products." -- Reader's Comment
*Mokhiber, Russell, and Robert Weissman, Corporate Predators: The Hunt for Mega-profits and the Attack on Democracy, ISBN: 1567511589 9781567511581.
"For the past twenty years, after a decade and a half of populist resurgence against corporate abuses by consumer, environmental, women's rights and civil rights forces, big business has been on a rampage to control our society. Whether these business supremacies are called corporatization, commercialism, monopolies or the corporate state, the overall concentration of power and wealth in ever fewer multinational corporate centers is a matter of record.
"In arena after arena -- government, workplace, marketplace, media, environment, education, science, technology -- the dominant players are large corporations. What countervailing forces that our society used to depend upon for some balance are not in retreat against the aggressive expansion of corporate influence far beyond its traditional mercantile boundaries?
"The enlarged power that corporations deploy to further increase their revenues and socialize their costs comes from many sources -- old and new. Roughly eighty percent of the money contributed to federal candidates come from business interests. The mobility to export capital has given transnational companies major leverage against local, state and federal officials, not to mention against organized and unorganized labor. The swell of corporate welfare handouts has reached new depths. The contrived complexity of many financial and other services serves to confuse, deplete and daunt consumers who lose significant portions of their income in a manipulative marketplace. Alliances, joint ventures and other complex collaborations between should-be competitors have made a mockery of what is left of antitrust enforcement.
"The opportunities to control or defeat governmental attempts for corporate accountability that flow from transcending national jurisdictions into globalized strategies to escape taxation and pit countries and their workers against one another appear to be endless. The autocratic systems of governance called GATT and NAFTA reflect to the smallest detail ways that giant corporations wish to control the world. These firms are on a collision course against democratic processes, and the merging of states and businesses, to the latter's advantage, weakens relentlessly both the restraints of the law and the willingness of legislators to do anything about it.
"Taken together, the world is witnessing its subjugation to the large corporate model of economic development, the large corporate model of technology and the large corporate model of culture itself. These accelerating trend lines invite accelerating comprehension and response. History demonstrates that commercialism knows few boundaries that are not externally imposed. All the major religions have warned their adherents against the excesses of commercial value systems, albeit with different languages, images and metaphors.
"Specific descriptions of corporate misbehavior do nourish proper generalizations that in turn lead to more just movements and practices. Here, columnists Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman provide a distinct service in CORPORATE PREDATORS. It is not just the versatility of their writings -- covering bribery, pollution, corporate crime, fraud and abuse, failure of law enforcement, union-busting, the mayhem inflicted by product defects and toxics, the deep gap between the rich and the rest of America, corporate front groups, the media censorship and self-censorship, the profiteering, the pillaging overseas and more -- but it is also the impact on the reader that comes from aggregating evidence. Our country does not collect statistics on corporate crime the way it does on street crime. For it to do so would begin to highlight a little-attended agenda for law enforcement and other corporate reforms. Neither Congress nor the White House and its Justice Department have made any moves over the years to assemble from around the country the abuses of corporations in quantifiable format so as to drive policy.
"So, description -- accurate, representational description -- must now suffice. As the editor of the Corporate Crime Reporter (Mokhiber) and the editor of the Multinational Monitor (Weissman), the authors know well the difference between anecdotes that are illustrative and that are idiosyncratic. This volume of their weekly columns carries the evidence that illustrates patterns of continuing corporate derelictions, not lonely deviations from a more congenial norm.
"The authors' experience over the years with the impact of disclosures has led them to the conclusion that the facts must be linked to civic engagement and democratic activity for change. If disclosure produced its own dynamic imperatives for change, the recurrent exposure of corporate abuses in such mainstream publications as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and some national television programs like 'Sixty Minutes' would have caused these changes. Such, unfortunately has not been the case. The linkages between knowledge and action have not been sufficient. But readers of Common Courage Press published books tend towards citizen activism. They want to know because they want to do. Some may even agree with the ancient Chinese saying that 'To know and not to do is not to know.'
"So, go forward readers who wish to be leaders in the advancement of justice -- what Daniel Webster once called 'the great work of men on Earth' -- and savor the writings that will motivate more and more women and men to band together in organizations that build a more just democracy." [Constitutional Republic -- compiler] -- Ralph Nader, 1999
Monsma, Stephen V., The Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s, ISBN: 0060152249 9780060152246.
"This critical analysis of government traces the origins of the unraveling of the American dream, and after showing the weaknesses of the various political ideologies, proposes an alternative -- a progressive realism. Most helpful when read in conjunction with R.D. Culver's TOWARDS A BIBLICAL VIEW OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT and A.J. McClain's THE GREATNESS OF THE KINGDOM." -- Cyril J. Barber
Montgomery, John Warwick, Suicide of Christian Theology.
"A good post-mortem on modern theology, including the 'Death of God,' and 'theothanatologists (sic) . . . .' Any of his works are worthwhile, including IN DEFENSE OF MARTIN LUTHER dealing with those who love to twist and pervert Luther as badly as they do Scripture itself to serve their own ways and ends." -- Reader's Comment
Mooney, S.C., Usury: Destroyer of Nations.
"Nothing quite like this book to be found anywhere which thoroughly covers this important topic of usury (charging interest), from a foundation of God's Word. A definition and history of usury is given along with a survey of Biblical texts and popular excuses for usury. Mooney concludes with a call to repentance." -- GCB
Includes bibliographical references.
*Mullins, Eustace Clarence, Secrets of the Federal Reserve: The London Connection, ISBN: 9992967595.
"The greatest financial monopoly the world has ever known, is also responsible for worldwide moral decay, world wars, financial panics and revolutions." -- Eustace Mullins
"As an attorney I was impressed with the documentation by the author of the history of the development of the Federal Reserve. My undergraduate degree 25 years ago was in economics and I had to read much further to truly understand how our monetary system was unnecessarily based upon debt. Debt is bondage and central banks as the heart of fractional reserve banking hold the key to control of the world. If you do not believe this look at the policies of the IMF and realize that economic imperialism through central banking essentially controls the world today. A great companion book to read is THE CREATURE FROM JEKYELL ISLAND which explains our monetary system in more depth, and the video CAPITAL CRIMES is an excellent four hour treatise on the history of central banking beginning with the money changers in the temple whom Christ confronted and ending with a brilliant plan to gradually increase bank reserves while issuing Constitutional 'money' such that banks become mere vaults and the Federal Reserve is put to rest." -- Reader's Comment
Murray, Charles, Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980, ISBN: 0465042317 9780465042319.
Murray, Iain H., The Undercover Revolution: How Fiction Changed Britain, ISBN: 9781848710122 1848710127.
"Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain saw a mega-change in reading habits. For the first time fiction took the primary place in book publishing, and the medium was taken up by brilliant and entertaining authors with an agenda for 'a brave new world.' Such men as Thomas Hardy, H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw were the opinion-makers for coming generations." -- Publisher
This book . . . focused on a particular class and era of novelists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas Hardy. It devotes a chapter to each of those two men and seeks to show that their lives tell a very different story than their books. Their books paint the 'new morality' or rather immorality of 'free love' and other sins in glowing colors and soft lights. They make sin look happy. But when you look at their lives as they seek to live this way, the picture is very different. Their lives are not like the lives of their characters. Reality shows sin in all of its ugly colors and there is nothing happy about it. I think this is a danger in much of fiction. It is dangerous to be able to write the world anyway we want. Even Christian fiction writers can fall into describing the world the way they want it to be (i.e. Christians always prosper) and not the way God in his wisdom allows it to be." -- Reader's Comment
Murray, Iain H., Worldliness, excerpted from: EVANGELICALISM DIVIDED: A RECORD OF CRUCIAL CHANGE IN THE YEARS 1950-2000, ISBN: 0851517838 9780851517834.
*Nace, Ted, Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy, ISBN: 1576752607 9781576752609.
"Surpassing even the State and the Church, the corporation has become the core institution of the modern world, exercising might and muscle without regard to the often destructive effects on individuals, the environment, society, and the world. How did this happen? In this compelling expose, noted entrepreneur and activist Ted Nace scrutinizes the legal framework of the corporation and untangles questions about how and why the corporation evolved as it did. Nace traces the evolution of this institution through the behind-the-scenes figures who shaped it, including Thomas Scott, an obscure genius who invented the holding company; Stephen Field, the Supreme Court judge who developed corporate personhood rights; and many others. Including the latest research by historians, sociologists, political scientists, and legal scholars, this book is a dramatic narrative, an invaluable reference, and a blueprint for regaining control before it's too late." -- Publisher
"Corporations aren't like us. Since their powers are determined by the framework of laws, it is possible to engineer them with all sorts of qualities, including some attributes outside the realm of human possibility. In theory, that programming can go either way: Society can make corporations stronger by removing restraints and adding new legal powers, or weaker by doing the reverse. The key lesson is this: corporations are only as powerful as they are legally designed to be.
"As described in the previous chapters, the engineers of the American political system deliberately created a framework of laws to keep corporations politically weak. That framework was subsequently undermined by the ingenious maneuvers of Tom Scott and other businessmen, lawyers, and sympathetic legislators." -- Publishers Weekly
"Nace nurtured Peachpit Press from a home-based operation, writing and publishing computer guides, to a business worthy of acquisition by the Pearson conglomerate. The experience inspired him to study the nature of corporate power. He offers a breezy summary of the legal history surrounding the formation of corporations and the parameters of their power, putting an anti-corporate spin on the American Revolution and discussing how the early republic limited corporate power by enabling state governments to issue restrictive charters. But the tight controls didn't remain in place: after the Supreme Court's decision in an 1886 case involving the Santa Clara Railroad, corporations were assumed to be the legal equivalent of people entitled to equal protection under the law and, in subsequent cases, were guaranteed a growing range of constitutional rights. One of Nace's central arguments is that Santa Clara doesn't mean what everybody thinks it means: the original decision doesn't take any stand on whether corporations have constitutional rights; the question comes up in a subsequent version of the decision, but the Chief Justice acts as if it had been resolved in earlier decisions. Although Nace blames the Court's reporter for the shift in emphasis, he illustrates how another justice, Stephen Field, was already buttressing politicians' and financial titans' efforts to eliminate all restraints on corporate power, making their legal supremacy inevitable. Later chapters examine how corporations continue to wield their influence to prevent the government from regulating them too closely, but while the book offers plenty of details about the problem's existence and deftly introduces it, it offers little more than generalities about where to go from there." -- Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gangs of America
http://www.gangsofamerica.com/7.html
Napolitano, Andrew P., and Ron Paul (foreword), Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History, ISBN: 9781595552662 1595552669.
"Centuries of government deception have suspended our freedom and replaced it with a mythology rich in the ideals we are promised but do not actually experience.
"The government's lies have become our country's heritage, passed down generationally and accepted over time as status quo. We allow our leaders to regulate, under false pretenses, every area of our supposedly free lives: What we eat, how our money is spent, how we protect ourselves. The basic tenets of living in a free society -- the primacy of the individual and limited government -- are violated routinely and with little objection from those most affected.
"Judge Napolitano traces the deterioration of American freedom year by year, event by event, from the birth of the U.S. government to the economic and military crises of today. He illustrates how this distorted interpretation of government translates to loss for Americans -- loss of life, loss of property, loss of freedom. The cost is staggering.
"Amid the bleak revelation is a call to action. Judge Napolitano offers a blueprint to salvage our freedom and restore the government to its intended role as an instrument to protect the freedoms of the people." -- Publisher
North, Gary, Blasphemy and Civil Rights. Available in LEVITICUS: AN ECONOMIC COMMENTARY, Gary North.
http://entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/html/gnbd/Chapter23.htm
*O'Neil, Cathy, Weapons of Math Destruction: How big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, ISBN: 9780141985411 0141985410.
"In today's world, if you want to change your fate you've got to pray at the altar of the algorithm . . . As math guru Cathy O'Neil argues in her newest book, these models are just the latest way America's institutions perpetuate bias and prejudice to reward the rich and keep the poor, well, poor. It's a nuanced reminder that big data is only as good as the people wielding it." -- Wired
"Data is not going away. Nor are computers -- much less mathematics. Predictive models are, increasingly, the tools we will be relying on to run our institutions, deploy our resources, and manage our lives. But as I've tried to show throughout this book, these models are constructed not just from data, but from the choices we make about which data to pay attention to -- and which to leave out. Those choices are not just about logistics, profits, and efficiency. They are fundamentally moral." -- Cathy O'Neil
"Cathy O'Neil has seen Big Data from the inside, and the picture isn't pretty. WEAPONS OF MATH DESTRUCTION opens the curtain on algorithms that exploit people and distort the truth while posing as neutral mathematical tools. This book is wise, fierce, and desperately necessary." -- Jordan Ellenberg, author of How not to be Wrong
"Often we don't even know where to look for those important algorithms, because by definition the most dangerous ones are also the most secretive. That's why the catalogue of case studies in O'Neil's book are so important; she's telling us where to look." -- Guardian
"O'Neil has become a whistle-blower for the world of Big Data . . . Her work makes particularly disturbing points about how being on the wrong side of an algorithmic decision can snowball in incredibly destructive ways." -- Time
"O'Neil is an ideal person to write this book . . . She is one of the strongest voices speaking out for limiting the ways we allow algorithms to influence our lives and against the notion that an algorithm, because it is implemented by an unemotional machine, cannot perpetrate bias or injustice . . . While WEAPONS OF MATH DESTRUCTION is full of hard truths and grim statistics, it is also accessible and even entertaining." -- Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American
*Owen, John (1616-1683), God's Presence With a People the Spring of Their Prosperity; With Their Special Interest in Abiding in Him. Alternate title: "GOD'S PRESENCE WITH A PEOPLE, THE SPRING OF THEIR PROSPERITY; WITH THEIR SPECIALL INTEREST IN ABIDING WITH HIM. A SERMON, PREACHED TO THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND, AT WESTMINSTER, OCTOB. 30. 1656. A DAY OF SOLEMN HUMILIATION. BY JOHN OWEN, D.D. A SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST, IN THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL. PRINTED BY ORDER OF PARLIAMENT, 1656. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in various editions of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN. Available in THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN, VOL. 8, SERMONS TO THE NATION, sermon 11.
http://johnowenquotes.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/johnowenvol-8.pdf
Owen preaches at length, 21 pages, on God's presence with a people, both individually and corporately, in a sermon on the text And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you, 2 Chronicles 15:2, delivered to Parliament October 30, 1656.
"The great concernment of any people or nation is, to know that all their prosperity is from the presence of God amongst them, and to attend to that which will give continuance thereunto. . . .
"There is a presence of God in respect of providential dispensations. . . . -- attended with peculiar love, favor, good-will, special care towards them with whom he is so present. So Abimelech observed that he was with Abraham, Genesis 21:22, God is with thee in all that thou doest, -- with thee to guide thee, bless thee, preserve thee, as we shall see afterward. So he promised to be with Joshua, I will be with thee, Joshua 1:5; and so he was with Gideon, The Lord is with thee, Judges 6:12, -- to bless him in his great undertaking; and so with Jeremiah, I am with thee, Jeremiah 15:20. This is fully expressed, Isaiah 43:1,2, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. And this is the presence of God here intimated, -- his presence with the people as to special providential dispensations, as is manifest from the whole discourse of the prophet; and wherein this consists, shall be afterward at large declared. . . .
"There is an abiding with God in national administrations; -- this is a fruit of the other, in those who are called to them. And that this is principally here intended is evident from that use that Asa made of this information and exhortation of the prophet. He did not only look to his personal walking thereupon, but also immediately set upon the work of ordering the whole affairs of the kingdom so as God might be glorified thereby. How this may be effected, shall at large afterward be declared. What hath already been spoken may suffice for a foundation of that proposition which I shall this day insist upon; and it is this, --
"The presence of God with a people, in special providential dispensations for their good, depends on their obediential presence with him in national administrations to his glory: The Lord is with you, while ye be with him. . . .
"What is the rule and measure of God's continuance with his people in the covenant of grace? Plainly this, -- that he will never forsake them; and, on that account, will take care that they shall never forsake him, but abide with him forever. It is not whilst they do so and so, he will abide with them; and when they cease so to do, he will forsake them, as to his federal and covenant presence; -- there is not such a sandy foundation left us of our abiding with God in Christ. See the tenor of the covenant, Jeremiah 31:33; 32:38-40 [Jeremiah 32:38-40]. The sum is, that God will be with them, and take care that they always abide with him; and therefore hath he provided for all interveniences imaginable, that nothing shall violate this union. God lays his unchangeableness as the foundation of the covenant, Malachi 3:6, and he therein makes us unchangeable; -- not absolutely so, for we change every moment; but with respect to the terms and bounds of the covenant, he hath undertaken that we shall never leave him. The law of God's presence in respect of providential dispensations, and all special privileges attending it, is quite of another importance: it is purely conditional, as you may see in my text. The tenor of it is expressed to the height, 1 Samuel 2:30, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Here is no alteration of counsel or purpose in God; but merely an explanation of the rule, law, and tenor of providential dispensations; -- no interpretation of the covenant of grace (Eli held not the priesthood by that covenant); but an explication of the tenor of a privilege given in special providence, Psalm 89:32,33. Hence is that variety of God's dealings with men mentioned in the Scripture; which yet are always righteous, according to one or other of these rules and laws. . . .
"I suppose I need not go for proof beyond the observation of the constant tenor of God's proceedings with his people of old. When did he not deal thus with them? What instance can be given of transgressing this rule? Is the whole story of the nation of the Jews any thing but the illustration of this proposition? Some ruled well, and sought the Lord; and the Lord was with them, and prospered them in all their ways; -- some fell from him, and walked according to their own imaginations; and the Lord cut them short on that account; -- yea, sometimes the same man, as Solomon, Asa, Uzziah, experienced both these states and conditions. Hath not the state of all nations, since they came into the power of men professing the knowledge of him, been the same? Look on the Roman empire; did it not flourish under the hand of men who ruled with God, and were faithful with the saints? Is not the present distraction of it, under the fury and cruelty of Turk and Pope, the issue of the violence, unrighteousness, idolatry, luxury, and persecution of ill governors? Doth not the demonstration of all God's people in the world -- the consideration whereof, in particular, might be insisted on as the ground and reason of the truth insisted on -- require that it should be thus Leviticus 26:1, and almost the whole book of Deuteronomy, are sermons on this text; and every verse, almost, in them would afford a new confirmation of the truth in hand. . . .
"The second use of this pillar was, to give them protection and defense in their ways; so Exodus 14:19,20,24. This protected them from the Egyptians; -- and from thence God troubled their enemies out of the pillar; that is, from his especial presence. This use of it is insisted on, Isaiah 4:5,6. The cloud, that was as smoke by day, and as fire by night, was also a shadow, a place of refuge, and a covert; in one word, a protection or a defense. And this is a second thing which is in God's special presence, -- he will protect or defend them with whom he is so present. He is their dwelling place, Psalm 90:1, then, when in this world they have none; their refuge in the time of trouble: so Isaiah 25:4, 26:1 [Isaiah 26:1], 31:4 [Isaiah 31:4]. Promises and instances to make this good abound; -- they are known to all; the time would fail me to insist upon them. I might go over all the causes, means, and ways of the fears, dangers, ruin of such a people, and show you how a defense is provided against them all. Are their fears from themselves, because of their folly, weakness, and division? or from pretended friends, because of their envy and desertion? or from open enemies, because of their power, cruelty, malice, and revenge? A defense is provided on every account. Heat, rain, tempests, storms, adversity, prosperity, -- all are provided against, where God is present, Isaiah 32:1,2.
"And if any people in the world have experience of this truth, we have it this day. Had not the Lord been with us, who had not destroyed us? Enemies, friends, abroad, at home, our own follies, -- all, any of them, had done the work, had not the Lord himself been with us. . . .
"That we may abide with God, this is indispensably required, -- that we may have peace with him in Jesus Christ. If we are never with him, we cannot abide with him; no man can abide where he never come. The acceptance of our persons lies at the bottom of the acceptance of our duties. As the special presence of God with any, is in and by Christ, and no otherwise, so is our abiding with God in and through him. God with us is the name of Christ: our being with God is in him who is our peace. Two cannot walk together, unless they be agreed, Amos 3:3.
"Now, because this is not to be expected from all the individuals of a nation, yet this thing is to be endeavored, -- that the rulers of it be such as have this interest. I do not divest of a share in government, those who have no share in Christ, if lawfully called thereunto; but I say, when God gives governors whom he intends to make a blessing unto a people, they shall be such as are blessed of him in Christ. And if ever the government of this nation, in this present constitution, -- suppose it the most exactly framed and balanced, in the several parts of it, for the furtherance of public good, -- be devolved into the hands of men not interested in God by Christ, though the constitution may be absolutely good, yet the government will not be blessed, and the nation will be ruined; for God and his glory will depart, Micah 5:5,6. It is Christ that is our peace, even in outward troubles. . . .
"This, then, I say, is pre-required, as a qualification of any person to the performance of this duty of abiding with God. It is the psalmist's advice, Psalm 2:11,12. Let this principle be always owned amongst you; by it honor Christ in the world. Give him the pre-eminence; it is the Father's will he should have it in all things. Expect not the presence of God, but upon this account. Bear testimony herein against the world of profane men, who despise these things. Seeing, then, it cannot be expected to have this qualification diffused universally, as yet, through the body of the people, let the rulers take care that they be not the cause of God's departure from us. . . ." -- John Owen
Owen, John (1616-1683), An Humble Testimony Unto the Goodness and Severity of God in his Dealing With Sinful Churches and Nations. Or the Only way to Deliver a Sinful Nation From Utter Ruin by Impendent Judgments: In a Discourse on the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . by John Owen, D.D. The second edition Edinburgh, 1737. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25.
*Parker, Star, and Richard Manning, Necessary Noise: How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture war and why This is Good News for America, ISBN: 9781546076582 1546076581.
"Popular conservative commentator Star Parker explains why today's noisy political rhetoric is good for you and provides specifics on why Trump's presidency is vital for America's future." -- Publisher
"The ongoing noise of debate can seem overwhelming, but our country needs the authentic and candid dialogue of its people. And Trump's presidency provides us with an opportunity, like never before, to engage and work to preserve the values upon which America was built. NECESSARY NOISE honestly examines the crossroads where we find ourselves and suggests ways of moving toward resolution and restoration. Tackling a wide range of topics on which citizens should get noisy -- from immigration, to education, to abortion, to welfare -- NECESSARY NOISE provides the framework for how to take part in this important time in history using our voices." -- Star Parker
"Star Parker's insight, that we've been involved in a 50-year Culture War 'parallels' my own. It's been an anti-Constitutional, anti-Christian war. Republicans, on account of their secularism (dismissal of the 'theological' as relevant) gave in again and again in the name of 'bipartisanship.' I'm 71 years old and have lived through this. It's only with the more radical fruits of this slide (like the de-sexing of public bathrooms and the plague of abortion), and DONALD TRUMP's refusal to continue this surrender, that things have turned ugly. I believe Star's new book captures some of this process! Looks good." -- Dick Knodel
"Parker is a columnist and commentator and founded the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) whose mission is to: 'Fight poverty and restore dignity through the message of faith, freedom, and personal responsibility.'
"Star Parker left her life of drugs, abortions, and welfare abuse to become a leading advocate for the family." -- Today's Christian Woman
Other works by Star Parker:
*Palast, Greg, The Best Democracy Money can buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters, ISBN: 0745318460 9780745318462.
"Muckraking has a long, storied tradition, and Palast is evidently proud to be part of it. In this polemical indictment of globalization and political corruption, Palast (a reporter with the BBC and London's Observer), updates the muckraking tradition with some 21st-century targets: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, plus oil treaties, energy concerns and corporate evildoers of all creeds. Some of Palast's reports are downright shocking (if familiar). He shows, for example, how the WTO prevents cheap AIDS drugs from reaching victims in Africa and how World Bank loan policies have crippled the economies of Tanzania and other developing countries. On the home front, he details Exxon's horrific safety record before the Valdez disaster and reveals the price-gouging by Texas power companies during the California energy crisis. In Britain, Palast exposes the 'cash for access' policies of the Blair administration, and blasts the legal system for shielding Pfizer Pharmaceuticals from lawsuits by victims who had defective Pfizer valves installed in their hearts. These are all good, important stories. Most of them, however, have been published before. This book is essentially a collection of Palast's newspaper articles, hastily stitched together with some commentary and exposition. As such, it lacks cohesiveness and the depth his subjects deserve. In addition, Palast's bombastic style and one-sided perspective do much to undermine his own credibility. How seriously should readers take a journalist who labels former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers an 'alien' and dismisses Wal-Mart shareholders as 'Wal-Martians?' There is much of value here, but readers who want a full-bodied, serious analysis of how globalization is affecting developing countries or how corporate giants pay for political favors should look elsewhere." -- Publishers Weekly
Patterson, James, and Peter Kim, The day America Told the Truth: What People Really Believe About Everything That Really Matters, ISBN: 0452268087 9780452268081.
In effect, we're all making up our own moral codes.
"Contents: America's moral regions | Private lives, ethics, values, and dilemmas | The sex lives of Americans | Men and women in the 1990s | American violence | Work | Community lives | God and other heroes | America and the world.
"This book is a brutal look at the fallen nature of humanity. I actually didn't finish it because it was so depressing." -- Reader's Comment
Perloff, James, The Shadows of Power: The Council on Foreign Relations and the American Decline, ISBN: 0882791346 9780882791340.
"James Perloff exposes the subversive roots and global designs of the CFR. Passed off as a think tank, this group is a key 'power behind the throne,' with hundreds of top-appointed government officials drawn from its ranks. Traces activity from the Wilson to Reagan administrations.
"Does America have a hidden oligarchy? Is U.S. foreign policy run by a closed shop? What is the Council on Foreign Relations? It began in 1921 as a front organization for J.P. Morgan and Company. By World War II it had acquired unrivaled influence on American foreign policy. Hundreds of U.S. government administrators and diplomats have been drawn from its ranks -- regardless of which party has occupied the White House. But what does the Council on Foreign Relations stand for? Why do the major media avoid discussing it? What has been its impact on America's past -- and what is it planning for the future? These questions and more are answered by James Perloff in THE SHADOWS OF POWER." Publisher
*Phillips, Kevin, Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich, ISBN: 0767905334 9780767905336.
"For more than thirty years, Kevin Phillips' insight into American politics and economics has helped to make history as well as record it. His bestselling books, including THE EMERGING REPUBLICAN MAJORITY (1969) and THE POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR (1990), have influenced presidential campaigns and changed the way America sees itself. Widely acknowledging Phillips as one of the nation's most perceptive thinkers, reviewers have called him a latter-day Nostradamus and our 'modern Thomas Paine.' Now, in the first major book of its kind since the 1930s, he turns his attention to the United States' history of great wealth and power, a sweeping cavalcade from the American Revolution to what he calls 'the Second Gilded Age' at the turn of the twenty-first century.
"The Second Gilded Age has been staggering enough in its concentration of wealth to dwarf the original Gilded Age a hundred years earlier. However, the tech crash and then the horrible events of September 11, 2001, pointed out that great riches are as vulnerable as they have ever been. In WEALTH AND DEMOCRACY, Kevin Phillips charts the ongoing American saga of great wealth -- how it has been accumulated, its shifting sources, and its ups and downs over more than two centuries. He explores how the rich and politically powerful have frequently worked together to create or perpetuate privilege, often at the expense of the national interest and usually at the expense of the middle and lower classes.
"With intriguing chapters on history and bold analysis of present-day America, Phillips illuminates the dangerous politics that go with excessive concentration of wealth. Profiling wealthy Americans -- from Astor to Carnegie and Rockefeller to contemporary wealth holders -- Phillips provides fascinating details about the peculiarly American ways of becoming and staying a multimillionaire. He exposes the subtle corruption spawned by a money culture and financial power, evident in economic philosophy, tax favoritism, and selective bailouts in the name of free enterprise, economic stimulus, and national security.
"Finally, WEALTH AND DEMOCRACY turns to the history of Britain and other leading world economic powers to examine the symptoms that signaled their declines -- speculative finance, mounting international debt, record wealth, income polarization, and disgruntled politics -- signs that we recognize in America at the start of the twenty-first century. In a time of national crisis, Phillips worries that the growing parallels suggest the tide may already be turning for us all." -- Publisher
Pierce, Franklin, Federal Usurpation (Crown Rights Book Company) 2002, 1908).
"This book is a plea for the sacredness of the Constitution of the United States.
"The bloated and all-pervasive Federal bureaucracy which now rules the American people from Washington, D.C. did not arise overnight. Instead, as the author of this important volume documents, the usurpations of the Lincoln Administration during the War of 1861 and that of the Radical Republican Congress during Reconstruction were the fundamental causes of the existing political conditions of today. Pierce also discusses the inherent flaws in the Constitution which were the result of compromise between the quarreling factions at the Convention of 1787, and which would later lead to corruptions dangerous to the liberties of the people of the several States. The book concludes with a chapter entitled, 'How to Restore the Democratic Republic'." -- Publisher
*Pink, Arthur W. (1886-1952), The Law and the Saint, ISBN: 058503513X 9780585035130.
"This 37-page booklet takes the position that the Ten Commandments are an expression of the unchanging character and will of God and are binding upon every Christian." -- CBD
The Law and the Saint by Arthur Pink
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pink/law
Powell, Jim, Wilson's War: How Woodrow Wilson's Great Blunder led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II, ISBN: 1400082366 9781400082360.
Proffet, Nicholas, England's Impenitence Under Smiting; Causing Anger to Continue, and the Destroying Hand of God to be Stretched Forth Still: Set out in a Sermon Preached Before the Honourable House of Commons, at their public fast, September 25. 1644. By Nicholas Proffet. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Pyron, Bernard, The Great Rebellion, ISBN: 0961502401 9780961502409.
"This book takes a close look at the years 1962-1985. The author examines, in light of the Bible, the popular culture of that era. He explores the look of the new culture that grew from the counter-cultures of the sixties. He also notes the ways the church has been involved in compromise." -- GCB
Quinn, Bill, How Wal-Mart is Destroying America and the World and What you can do About it, ISBN: 1580082319 9781580082310.
"An updated and expanded continuation of detailed accounts of Wal-Mart's questionable business practices, their not-so-ethical tactics, and their expansion into the global market. Shows concerned citizens how to fight to keep Wal-Mart from invading their towns." -- Publisher
Reed, Kevin, The Decline of American Presbyterianism, a book review of Gary North's CROSSED FINGERS: HOW THE LIBERALS CAPTURED THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/decline.htm
Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church, by Gary North
http://entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/html/gncf/table_of_contents.htm
Reisman, Judith, Crafting gay Children, a study.
"Social researcher Dr. Judith Reisman says that the incidence of homosexuals molesting children is 40 times greater than the number of heterosexuals who molest children. In her study, CRAFTING GAY CHILDREN, Reisman notes that heterosexuals outnumber homosexuals by 44 to 1 in our culture. She also points out that 17-24 percent of boys are being abused by age 18 and 25 percent of girls.
"In a 1991 population study by the Department of Commerce, statistics showed that 8 million girls were abused by age 18 by heterosexual men -- a ratio of 1 victim to 11 adult men. However, 6-8 million boys were abused by age 18 by 1-2 million adult homosexuals -- a ratio of 3-5 victims for every homosexual adult male.
"Dr. Reisman concludes that the Boy Scouts organization is correct to ban homosexuals from membership because of the high rate of molestations committed by homosexual males. To read more on this, go to:
http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=11002
*Reisman, Judith A., Eunice V. Ray (editor), and Alfred Moreschi (illustrator), Kinsey: Crimes and Consequences the Red Queen and the Grand Scheme, ISBN: 0966662415 9780966662412.
"Dr. Judith Reisman's new book, KINSEY: CRIMES AND CONSEQUENCES THE RED QUEEN AND THE GRAND SCHEME, presents sinister material on the man who seduced America.
"The 1960s' sexual revolution was based on the most elaborate and carefully crafted scientific fraud of this century, writes author Judith Reisman. Early sexologist Alfred C. Kinsey, with his two famous reports just 50 years ago, seemingly legitimized both profligacy and deviancy, and thus established 'the sexual license he [personally] espoused.' SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE HUMAN MALE (1948) and its female equivalent (1953) kicked off no-fault divorce, the wife-swapping era, the gay rights movement, classroom sex education, sex 'therapy' as a growth industry, explicit imagery in the media and entertainment industry, and an avalanche of pornography and obscenity.
"Although Kinsey was a sexual revolutionary, Dr. Reisman contends, he was falsely portrayed by Indiana University where he worked, and the Rockefeller Foundation which funded him, 'as just a normal American guy/husband/family man who simply "discovered" the "really" that most American men commonly engaged in sexually aberrant and outlaw behaviour.' Kinsey's 'research' alleged that 10 percent of American males were homosexual, that all of us were bisexual, that children were sexual from birth, and could engage in sexual activity with adults without harm, plus a whole broad spectrum of things taught today in our schools and practiced today in courts of law as fact and as true . . . It was fraud then, it is fraud now, and it revolutionized this nation and turned us into Kinsey's [psychological] clones.
"His 'Grand Scheme' was to eliminate normal families in favour of selective breeding predicated upon racial and sexual eugenics, she charges, and his 'scientific conclusions' were concocted to advance it. The reference is to the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland who wanted the sentence (beheading) carried out first and the verdict pronounced afterwards.
"Disturbing information about Kinsey's work and private life has been accumulating since his death in 1956 at age 62. (The official cause was pneumonia due to overwork, but his extensive homosexual and sadomasochistic activities were likely contributors). Dr. Reisman revealed much of it in 1990, for example, in KINSEY, SEX AND FRAUD. Even last year's resolutely non-condemnatory biography by fellow Indiana University scholar James H. Jones, ALFRED C. KINSEY: A PUBLIC/PRIVATE LIFE (Norton), is replete with gruesomely shocking details.
"KINSEY: CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES cannot be described as non-condemnatory. Its central figure, Dr. Reisman asserts, 'fits the classic definition of a sexual psychopath.' Had the public known that he 'and his male population were sexually abnormal, the popular use of their data to change [our] law, education and public policy would have come to a screeching halt.' He was able, however, to blackmail into silence associates who knew about 'his extensive use of deviants, his large prison population or, worse, his active child molesters.'
"Still, she thinks his 'findings' should have roused suspicion. 'When I first read Kinsey's research, I thought this man is not reporting on America -- he's reporting on himself and then projecting that onto the nation. Kinsey prostituted his own wife Clara . . . into acts of sodomy with fellow "researchers," which Kinsey filmed. He seduced his own students at Indiana University -- male, not female students. He devised sexual activities with his "co-workers," who then became his co-authors. He [personally] engaged in violent sadistic activity, in which he harmed himself terribly . . . and appears to have died, frankly, as a result of the trauma to his body.'
"But his famed reports were carefully phrased to obscure the fact that words like 'contacts,' 'partners' and 'sex play' could signify grown men sodomizing children. He was also both racist and cautious about his colleagues, avoiding Jews, blacks and moral traditionalists. Dr. Reisman quotes Kinsey co-author Wardell Pomeroy (KINSEY AND THE INSTITUTE FOR SEX RESEARCH, Harper & Row, 1972), on his hiring technique: 'As usual . . . we took his sexual history first . . . [Then] Kinsey put down his pen and said, "I don't think you want to work for us." "But I do," the researcher insisted. "Well," Kinsey observed, "you have just said that premarital intercourse might lead to later difficulties in marriage, that extramarital relations would break up a marriage, that homosexuality is abnormal, and intercourse with animals is ludicrous. Apparently you have all the answers. . . . Why do you want to do research'?"
"Biographer Jones describes Kinsey as 'one of the scholarly eugenicists of pre-WWII' who favoured mass sterilization for the lower classes and selective breeding for the 'better classes.' Moreover, Judith Reisman emphasizes, the Rockefeller Foundation was early interested in population control and in using the media to popularize it. The Reece Committee, investigating U.S. tax-exempt foundations in 1953-54, concluded that this 'plutocratic control' was accomplished by 'funding the "right" university research by the "right" researchers, then by funding mass media dissemination of the "right" science data to the public.' Kinsey's numbers made him a perfect fit for anyone eager to alter what he would call human 'breeding patterns.'
"Dr. Reisman, a specialist in content analysis studies of written and visual media, lost many family members in the Holocaust. In that context she raises further sinister questions about Kinsey's data. For instance, who was the 'lone pedophile,' the 'elderly gentleman' cited by Kinsey for his sexual molestation of 800 children? Who were 'The Children of Table 34' and what became of them? How did Kinsey's 'technically trained' observers gain access to the claimed 1,800 American children for illegal genital experiments? 'To this day,' she observes, 'the Kinsey Institute and Indiana University have repeatedly . . . refused to reveal any names of the subjects or the experimenters.' Nor has any one of these children ever come forward, although the institute seems an excellent target for lawsuits.
"Even in the destitute 1930s, at the cited rate of a dollar a day, she doubts that children as young as three months were obtainable in such numbers around Bloomington, Indiana. She suggests an ominous but credible alternative: a collaborative link between Kinsey and Nazi Germany, then a police state where such 'experimentation' could easily be conducted 'as part of an ongoing collegial, cross-cultural, multinational, "fact-finding" research project.' She cites significant links, such as one George Sylvester Viereck, who worked for the German embassy in Washington, D.C., in those years, setting up Nazi front groups, and who is known to have been a Kinsey correspondent. Furthermore, the Rockefeller Foundation was simultaneously funding eugenics projects in Berlin.
"Kinsey consistently kept secret his hypotheses and the basic facts upon which his conclusions rested, Dr. Reisman charges. 'Neither Kinsey nor any of his team can rightly be termed "scientists." Their methodology was not scientific, for it was neither able to be replicated nor validated. Their data was anonymous, forced, secretly altered at will, and fraudulent. With the aid of the elite academic world and institutions and the support of public funds and the social planning foundations, Kinsey and his associates, who served as his own private male harem, conducted thousands of sexual interviews to present a false view of American sexual behaviours.'
"Amazingly, however, use of Kinsey data as authoritative has never been seriously challenged -- until now. It must not continue, Dr. Reisman declares: 'There [must] be a full and open public investigation into Kinsey's fraudulent data and its impact upon lawmakers, the military, the church, the press, the academic world, the family and all our institutions'." -- Kevin E. Abrams, co-author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality In The Nazi Party
Reisman, Judith A., Sexual Sabotage: How one mad Scientist Unleashed a Plague of Corruption and Contagion on America, ISBN: 9781935071853 1935071858.
"Alfred Kinsey's statistics on American sexual behavior was greatly skewed towards unusual sexual practices. Subsequent researchers at the Kinsey Institute have claimed that they have cleaned up the data, and found the same incidence rates. It is not possible to clean up data that was drawn from a sample that was not representative of the American people as a whole. The psychologist Abraham Maslow pointed out that Kinsey's data suffered from volunteer bias. And eminent statisticians pointed out that his statistics were invalid.
"Reisman points out that if sex outside of marriage had really been as common as Kinsey claimed, there would have been much more abortion, divorce, children born out of wedlock, and sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s than there actually was.
"Kinsey's books did much to weaken the laws against sex outside of marriage, because it did not seem reasonable to outlaw behavior that was commonplace. Reisman documents how the American Law Institute Model Penal Code was substantially changed by the Kinsey reports. The ALI MPC frequently quoted Kinsey as a reference when reducing or eliminating penalties for sex crimes. Kinsey's assertion that children desire sex has lead to efforts to lower the age of consent. Marriage was originally a contract designed to enforce sexual exclusivity, to provide for the care of children, and to prevent women from being abandoned. Kinsey's promotion of hedonism has weakened the institution of marriage, to the detriment of women and children.
"Judith Reisman is a voice in the wilderness, repeatedly drawing attention to one of the biggest crimes of the 20th century. Alfred Kinsey lied about the sex lives of the American people, in particular, about the Greatest Generation, the people who carried America through the Great Depression and World War II. Kinsey claimed that sex outside of marriage was common, when, in fact, it was unusual. Kinsey caused the children of the greatest generation to believe that their parents were hypocrites, who preached traditional sexual morality, but practiced sexual immorality." -- Reader's Comment
Renwick, James (1662-1688), Christ our Righteousness. A Choice Sermon, Preached by the Reverend Mr. James Renwick From Revel. iii. 4 [Revelation 3:4], Falkirk, 1775. Available in (A CHOICE COLLECTION OF VERY VALUABLE PREFACES, LECTURES, AND SERMONS, PREACHED UPON THE MOUNTAINS AND MUIRS OF SCOTLAND, IN THE HOTTEST TIME OF THE LATE PERSECUTION. BY MR. JAMES RENWICK), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available in (A CHOICE COLLECTION OF VERY VALUABLE PREFACES, LECTURES, AND SERMONS, PREACHED UPON THE MOUNTAINS AND MUIRS OF SCOTLAND, IN THE HOTTEST TIME OF THE LATE PERSECUTION. BY MR. JAMES RENWICK), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #29.
Richman, Sheldon, Separating School and State: How to Liberate America's Families, ISBN: 0964044714.
"Sheldon Richman presents us with a fascinating story here. Why were public schools first founded? Because people were illiterate? No. Records from colonial times show that literacy rates were higher than they are now in some places. There were all kinds of instructors, schools, schoolmasters, tutors, and self-taught leaders like Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton, at the time of the American Revolution. There was tremendous resistance, well into the 20th century against government-owned, operated, and controlled "free schools." And no wonder. We now have an established school system that manifests all the problems the Founders saw inherent in an established church. The arguments the promoters gave are presented here, and some of then are pretty scary. The goals of the public school founders had more to do with the state's interests, than children's or family's interests. The idea was to indoctrinate children with the morality preferred by "politically correct" officials of the time. Compulsory laws came in when labor unions wanted to keep kids from competing for jobs. The opponents give their side here, too. Like a lot of people, I did not know much about the history of public schools before I started reading books like this one. I have come to agree with this author. This is an excellent argument for freedom of education, and giving control back to families and parents." -- Reader's Comment
Rickards, James, The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System, ISBN: 9781591846703 1591846706 9781591847410 1591847419.
" 'The next financial collapse will resemble nothing in history. Deciding upon the best course to follow will require comprehending a minefield of risks, while poised at a crossroads, pondering the death of the dollar.' The international monetary system has collapsed three times in the past hundred years, in 1914, 1939, and 1971. Each collapse was followed by a period of tumult: war, civil unrest, or significant damage to the stability of the global economy. Now James Rickards, the acclaimed author of CURRENCY WARS, shows why another collapse is rapidly approaching -- and why this time, nothing less than the institution of money itself is at risk. The American dollar has been the global reserve currency since the end of the Second World War. If the dollar fails, the entire international monetary system will fail with it. No other currency has the deep, liquid pools of assets needed to do the job. Optimists have always said, in essence, that there's nothing to worry about -- that confidence in the dollar will never truly be shaken, no matter how high our national debt or how dysfunctional our government. But in the last few years, the risks have become too big to ignore. While Washington is gridlocked and unable to make progress on our long-term problems, our biggest economic competitors -- China, Russia, and the oil producing nations of the Middle East -- are doing everything possible to end U.S. monetary hegemony. The potential results: Financial warfare. Deflation. Hyperinflation. Market collapse. Chaos. Rickards offers a bracing analysis of these and other threats to the dollar. The fundamental problem is that money and wealth have become more and more detached. Money is transitory and ephemeral, and it may soon be worthless if central bankers and politicians continue on their current path. But true wealth is permanent and tangible, and it has real value worldwide. The author shows how everyday citizens who save and invest have become guinea pigs in the central bankers' laboratory. The world's major financial players -- national governments, big banks, multilateral institutions -- will always muddle through by patching together new rules of the game. The real victims of the next crisis will be small investors who assumed that what worked for decades will keep working. Fortunately, it's not too late to prepare for the coming death of money. Rickards explains the power of converting unreliable money into real wealth: gold, land, fine art, and other long-term stores of value. As he writes: 'The coming collapse of the dollar and the international monetary system is entirely foreseeable. Only nations and individuals who make provision today will survive the maelstrom to come'." -- Publisher
Roberts, William L., D.D. (1798-1864), Submission to "the Powers That be" Scripturally Illustrated: A Discourse in Three Parts, 1828. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26.
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008, editor), Christ and Civilization, ISBN: 1891777246 9781891777240.
"A new 48-page booklet. Includes a complete listing (in an additional 16 pages), of the books currently available from The Trinity Foundation."
Christ and Civilization
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/200a-ChristandCivilization.pdf
*Robbins, John W. (1949-2008), Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church, ISBN: 0940931753 9780940931756.
"This book is a detailed examination of the official statements of the Vatican on economic and political matters. It demonstrates the collectivism and totalitarianism of the Roman Catholic Church-State. It is the only such book written by a Christian in the twentieth century.
"This book explores the conflict between Roman Catholic social thought and human freedom, relying on official pronouncements from the Vatican to show that the political and economic theory of the Roman Church-State justifies feudalism, corporativism [corporatism -- compiler], liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress [Ron Paul of Texas], editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. -- John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), in a letter to Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, quoted by Gertrude Himmelfarb in Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, pp. 335-36 (1972)"As the world focuses it attention on the papacy, we ought to recall Lord Acton, the great Roman Catholic historian of the 19th century. Many have heard the aphorism, 'Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,' though it is usually misquoted as 'Power corrupts.' Few who have heard it, however, know who its author was: John Emerich Edward Dalberg, better known as Lord Acton. Fewer still realize that Acton used the aphorism in opposing the papacy, the absolute monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
The object of the Inquisition [was] not to combat sin -- for the sin was not judged by it unless accompanied by [theological] error. Nor even to put down error. For it punished untimely and unseemly remarks the same as blasphemy. Only unity. This became an outward, fictitious, hypocritical unity. The gravest sin was pardoned, but it was death to deny the donation of Constantine. [The Donation of Constantine was a document forged in the eighth century in which the Roman Emperor Constantine willed the Western Roman Empire to the Pope. The Roman Church taught that the Donation was genuine, and the legal basis for the pope's civil authority, for centuries. -- JR]. So men learnt that outward submission must be given. All this [was] to promote authority more than faith. When ideas were punished more severely than actions -- for all this time the Church was softening the criminal law, and saving men from the consequences of crime: -- and the Donation was put on a level with God's own law -- men understood that authority went before sincerity."Acton believed that the Inquisition was the institution by which the medieval papacy had to be condemned or acquitted. Just as a man charged with murder is judged for a single act, though be may be kind to his mother and a great philanthropist, so the papacy must be judged for the Inquisition. To Mandell Creighton, an Anglican priest, Acton wrote:
I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. . . . For many years my view of Catholic controversy has been governed by the following chain of reasoning: 1. A crime does not become a good deed by being committed for the good of a church. 2. The theorist who approves the act is no better than the culprit who commits it. 3. The divine or historian who defends the theorist incurs the same blame. . . . To commit murder is the mark of a moment, exceptional. To defend it is constant, and shows a more perverted conscience."Acton turned his attention to other crimes of the Roman Church as well. Beginning on Sunday, August 24, 1572, tens of thousands of French Huguenots were massacred by the Catholics. Overnight, thousands were murdered, and the murders continued for several months. The massacre began in Paris. The sign of the cross was everywhere, and the murders took on the air of a crusade, a holy war against the infidels. The banks of the Seine became a slaughterhouse. Men, women, children, and infants were stabbed or dragged by a rope around the neck to be thrown into the river. The murder, looting, and rape went on for days in Paris.
The story is much more abominable than we all believed. . . . S.B. [St. Bartholomew's], is the greatest crime of modern times. It was committed on principles professed by Rome. It was approved, sanctioned, and praised by the papacy. The Holy See went out of its way to signify to the world, by permanent and solemn acts, how entirely it admired a king who slaughtered his subjects treacherously, because they were Protestants. To proclaim forever that because a man is a Protestant it is a pious deed to cut his throat in the night. . . ."For three centuries the Roman church's canon law had affirmed that the killing of an excommunicated person was not murder, and that allegiance need not be kept with heretical rulers. Murder and treason were part of the Roman church's official teachings. Charles IX was acting as a good Catholic, and he was highly praised by the pope for his murders.
A man is not honest who accepts all the Papal decisions in questions of morality, for they have often been distinctly immoral; or who approves the conduct of the Popes in engrossing power, for it was stained with perfidy and falsehood; or who is ready to alter his convictions at their command, for his conscience is guided by no principle."After studying the history of the popes, Acton wrote:
The papacy contrived murder and massacre on the largest and also on the most cruel and inhuman scale. They were not only wholesale assassins but they made the principle of assassination a law of the Christian Church and a condition of salvation. . . . [The Papacy], is the fiend skulking behind the Crucifix.Pope's Visit Means 3 White House Firsts
Robinson, John, Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Free Masons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies, ISBN: 0882791214 9780882791210. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #18.
"Utilizing original documents from the Order of the Illuminati, John Robinson describes in detail this secret group, whose select members became part of conspiracy to enslave all people in Europe and America. Originally published in 1798, this book is a definitive work of its time on conspiracy." -- American Opinion Books
"Collected from good authorities, by John Robison, A.M. professor of natural philosophy, and secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh."
Roche, George Charles, A World Without Heroes: The Modern Tragedy, ISBN: 0916308898 9780916308896.
"Harshly rebukes secular humanism as the most dehumanizing force in our modern age. This ringing defense of Christianity, humorous, insightful, and uncompromising, takes careful and timeless aim at those ideas which have shriveled the will of the West and the faith of millions." -- Publisher
*Rogers, Richard (1550?-1618), Judges, ISBN: 0851513778.
Richard Rogers was a contemporary of William Perkins (1558-1602).
"This for the Puritan period is THE work upon Judges. It is thoroughly plain and eminently practical. . . ." -- C.H. Spurgeon
"It [the book of JUDGES -- compiler], provides a dramatic illustration of the effect of apostasy upon every aspect of life. The root cause of Israel's decline was that the covenant relationship with the Lord, with its requirement of absolute and loyal obedience to His commands, was broken. This led to disintegration in the political, religious, social, and family spheres and to a sharp increase in immorality. THE BOOK OF JUDGES serves as a reminder that a nation cannot live on its past glories. The author of JUDGES was, of course, a preacher to his own generation, but his message has a permanent and universal application, and may be summed up in the words of Proverbs 14:34:
Righteousness exalts a nation,"Israel's chronic inability to profit by its own bitter history is a solemn exhortation to profit from the lessons of experience, whether observed or experienced." -- A.E. Cundall
but sin in a reproach to any people. [Proverbs 14:34 ]
Rosenthal, Elisabeth, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became big Business and how you can Take it Back, ISBN: 9781594206757 1594206759.
"An award-winning New York Times reporter Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal reveals the dangerous, expensive, and dysfunctional American healthcare system, and tells us exactly what we can do to solve its myriad of problems. It is well documented that our healthcare system has grave problems, but how, in only a matter of decades, did things get this bad? Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal doesn't just explain the symptoms; she diagnoses and treats the disease itself. Rosenthal spells out in clear and practical terms exactly how to decode medical doublespeak, avoid the pitfalls of the pharmaceuticals racket, and get the care you and your family deserve. She takes you inside the doctor-patient relationship, explaining step by step the workings of a profession sorely lacking transparency. This is about what we can do, as individual patients, both to navigate a byzantine system and also to demand far-reaching reform. Breaking down the monolithic business into its individual industries -- the hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, drug manufacturers -- that together constitute our healthcare system, Rosenthal tells the story of the history of American medicine as never before. The situation is far worse than we think, and it has become like that much more recently than we realize. Hospitals, which are managed by business executives, behave like predatory lenders, hounding patients and seizing their homes. Research charities are in bed with big pharmaceutical companies, which surreptitiously profit from the donations made by working people. Americans are dying from routine medical conditions when affordable and straightforward solutions exist. Dr. Rosenthal explains for the first time how various social and financial incentives have encouraged a disastrous and immoral system to spring up organically in a shockingly short span of time. The system is in tatters, but we can fight back. AN AMERICAN SICKNESS is the frontline defense against a healthcare system that no longer has our well-being at heart." -- Publisher
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The Messianic Character of American Education.
"Charts the growth of public education in America and its function as a government tool of indoctrination into the secular humanist worldview."
*Rushdoony, Rousas John (1916-2001), Ern Baxter, Howard Carter, Robert Grant, and Bob Sutton, Secular Humanism: Man Striving to be God.
Sandoz, Ellis, The Politics of Truth and Other Untimely Essays: The Crisis of Civic Consciousness, ISBN: 0826212131 9780826212139.
"THE POLITICS OF TRUTH AND OTHER UNTIMELY ESSAYS explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of personal liberty and free government and provides a trenchant analysis of the crisis of civic consciousness endangering both of them today. The book addresses a range of issues in contemporary political philosophy and constitutional theory. These are seen to be all the more urgent in importance because of the surging aspirations for liberty in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire and the post-Cold War anomaly of crisis, malaise, and disarray in free government itself in America and in other bastions of modern democracy." -- Publisher
Schaeffer, Francis, (1912-1984) How Should we Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture, ISBN: 0800708199 9780800708191.
"Christianity is defended in the context of world history from the time of the Roman Empire to the present. A study guide is available. This bestselling title is "now available in paperback with the original pictures, and is a complete, unabridged edition." -- GCB
Includes bibliography.
Schwartz-Nobel, Loretta, Poisoned Nation: Pollution, Greed, and the Rise of Deadly Epidemics, 240 pages, ISBN: 9780312327972 0312327978.
"An award-winning investigative journalist links the soaring epidemics of cluster illnesses and many other diseases to the chemical contamination of our water, air, food, and everyday products for the profit and power of a reckless few.
"With irrefutable evidence and moving personal stories of the sick and dying, Loretta Schwartz-Nobel demonstrates that the human equivalent of global warming is already upon us. She shows how governments of both parties operate in tandem with America's most notorious polluters and how they have deceived the public, buried evidence of spreading disease, and suppressed critical scientific data. She traces relationships between organizations whose products cause diseases and those who profit from diagnosing and treating them, as well as their efforts to avoid research into environmental causes and possible cures.
"POISONED NATION is an urgent call for action that delineates the problem with such clarity that the truth shines through. The author issues a plea to religious leaders of all faiths to work together for change, to create a movement to defeat greed and guide us toward a safer, healthier future.
"POISONED NATION Reveals:
*Schwertley, Brian M., and Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. Publications Committee, National Covenanting and Christ's Victory Over the Nations. Available at Reformed Online.
"This is the first book-length, scholarly exposition and defense of national covenanting since 1843. This comprehensive treatment includes the binding nature of covenants, covenant renewals under the godly kings of Israel, objections to covenanting answered, the unbiblical nature of the U.S. Constitution, the unscriptural alteration of the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1789, the necessity of the Old Testament moral law for a Christian nation and the biblical requirements for civil office. In the book, Rev. Schwertley not only sets forth the biblical case for social or national covenanting in a simple and organized manner but also critiques the modern pluralistic alternatives to the original Presbyterian teaching on this topic." -- Publisher
It was preceded by 'Social Covenanting,' a series of 31 sermons in MP3 format, given by the author starting in the summer of 2012.
Social Covenanting series of 31 sermons [audio files] by Brian Schwertley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=ccc&keyword=National+Covenanting&keyworddesc=National+Covenanting
Sciacca, Fran, Generation at Risk: What Legacy are the Baby-boomers Leaving Their kids? ISBN: 089066174X 9780890661741.
"For those who want to understand what is happening to the younger generation and why and how we should respond." -- GCB
*Shapiro, Ben, The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great. Alternate title: AGE OF FALSE GODS: OUR LOSS OF A HIGHER PURPOSE AND THE DECLINE OF THE WEST. ISBN: 9780062857903 0062857908 1982649232 9781982649234.
"Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro argues that Western Civilization is in the midst of a crisis of purpose and ideas. Our freedoms are built upon the twin notions that every human being is made in God's image and that human beings were created with reason capable of exploring God's world. We can thank these values for the birth of science, the dream of progress, human rights, prosperity, peace, and artistic beauty. Jerusalem and Athens built America, ended slavery, defeated the Nazis and the Communists, lifted billions from poverty and gave billions spiritual purpose. Jerusalem and Athens were the foundations of the Magna Carta and the Treaty of Westphalia; they were the foundations of Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Civilizations that rejected Jerusalem and Athens have collapsed into dust. The USSR rejected Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, substituting a new utopian vision of 'social justice' -- and they starved and slaughtered tens of millions of human beings. The Nazis rejected Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, and they shoved children into gas chambers. Venezuela rejects Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, and citizens of their oil-rich nation have been reduced to eating dogs. We are in the process of abandoning Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, favoring instead moral subjectivism and the rule of passion. And we are watching our civilization collapse into age-old tribalism, individualistic hedonism, and moral subjectivism. We believe we can reject Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law and satisfy ourselves with intersectionality, or scientific materialism, or progressive politics, or authoritarian governance, or nationalistic solidarity. We can't. . . .
Now we are in the process of abandoning Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, favoring instead moral subjectivism and the rule of passion. And we are watching our civilization collapse. . . ." -- Publisher
*Shils, Edward B., The Shils Report. Measuring the Economic and Sociological Impact of the Mega-Retail Discount Chains on Small Enterprise in Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities, Study Director, Edward B. Shils, Ph.D., J.D., LL.M., George W. Taylor Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Director Emeritus, Wharton Entrepreneurial Center, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, February 7, 1997.
Includes bibliography.
http://www.lawmall.com/rpa/rpashils.htm
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), The Apologetics lecture series using FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT (1979) as the text, and delivered in Decatur, Georgia, beginning November, 1979, 17 MP3 files.
"So many times people in the pew and the pulpit say, well how did all this get started? How did psychology descend to its present level? . . . How did political science produce our political thought, produce the dictatorships which are engulfing the modern world? Why are we in the economic mess in which we are today? Why is sociology such a jumble of immorality? Why is education as it is today? Why is art so meaningless? . . . Why is modern music an affront to the modern ears as well as to the mind and ear of God? . . . Why are all these things!? . . .
"I would suggest to you that if you will follow this course with thought and care, you will finally come to see the answer to the questions which haunt us today in Western society." -- C. Gregg Singer, from this cited lecture series
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), From Rationalism to Irrationality: The Decline of the Western Mind From the Renaissance to the Present, ISBN: 0875524281 9780875524283, and a reprint of the P&R Publishing edition of 1979 (Wipf and Stock, 2006), 479 pp.
"Now, frankly students, this course is presented from obviously the Reformed Theology. I hold unabashedly, unashamedly to the whole of Reformed Theology as we find it specifically in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Longer and Shorter Catechisms.
"At the same time I hold to a position in regard to Apologetics generally known as Presuppositionalism, and particularly that view held by Cornelius Van Til.
"This book is an attempt to enlarge and to broaden the scope of Van Til's own Apologetical system, and also his Epistemology. By that I mean, and I worked this book with him, so anything that I say is not to be construed as a criticism of Cornelius Van Til. I might add he wrote me a letter. He is delighted with this book. But what I did was to take his principles, both of Apologetics and of Epistemology, and apply them to all realms of modern thought.
"Dr. Van Til, for good and sufficient reason, sought to limit to the main stream of what we might call pure Philosophy, that is from Saint Thomas, well even before them, back to the Greeks, but particularly in the more modern period, from Saint Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham (Occam), down through Descartes, the Rationalists, the Empiricists, down to Kant and Hegel, and of course Modern Philosophy and Modern Theology. Very seldom has he gone into what we might call the arena of Political Philosophy, or the arena of Social Thought, or the arena of Psychology and Psychiatry, the realm of Educational Philosophy, and into Art, Music, and so on, to the Fine Arts.
"This book is an attempt to apply his system, and show what happens when the Western mind has forsaken his principles, or the principles which he has espoused, and turned into its own way. And thus the book called FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY. The thesis being that the Rationalism inherent in Saint Thomas and the post-Thomists, and more particularly, and more openly, in the Philosophy of the Renaissance, and Descartes, and Spinosa, and Leibniz has, as it's gained momentum in the modern world, brought Western Culture to its knees. We are living, as I would think, in the death throws of the Western Cultures, the Western Civilization." -- Dr. C. Gregg Singer, in the introductory address to his course in Apologetics soon after FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY came off the press in 1979
Apologetics: #01: Classical and Medieval Thought #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 56 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2250511453
"Locke endeavored to set forth a political philosophy which would anchor his democratic political thought on what he felt were the firm foundations of his empiricism. However, his insistence that nature has bestowed upon mankind certain basic and inalienable rights was an assumption quite contrary to his empiricism. His denial of conscience as an innate possession or quality makes it impossible for men to know that they possess the rights of life, liberty, and property. The very concept of a human right is moral in nature and has its basis of authority in the human conscience. It is thus impossible for men to know through the senses that they have these cherished human rights. Granted that it was far from Locke's intention to undermine or destroy the traditional English concept of personal rights, his empiricism removed from his political thought the necessary foundations on which a government could be built for the protection of these rights. His empiricism supported neither the idea that men have such rights nor that they are inalienable. (p. 61)
"Underlying the secular and naturalistic assumptions of the thought of the Enlightenment was a related and equally serious problem. In their political and economic thought the leaders of this era were passionately devoted to the pursuit of freedom, and yet they seemed to be completely unaware of this incompatibility between their quest for freedom on the one hand and their reliance upon natural law on the other. How can an impersonal and deterministic concept of law produce and sustain a meaningful concept of freedom? Blindly convinced that there was no problem involved in the contradiction, the leaders of the Enlightenment pushed boldly ahead in the quest for political and economic liberty. However, their failure to recognize the issues involved in this quest led not only to the disaster of the French Revolution but to the growth of the totalitarian political and economic philosophies which first appeared in Hegel and Marx during the nineteenth century and reached their culmination in the totalitarianism of the twentieth century." (p. 73) -- quoted at the blog, Imago Veritatis: Post-modern Reformed Paleo-orthodoxy
Singer used this as textbook for his course in Apologetics. Epistemology is a recurring theme throughout the textbook and the course. The series of 24 addresses on Apologetics is available free online. See: "Apologetics" under:
Works of C. Gregg Singer
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr3ch.html#cgsinger
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1994, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1964), ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), The Unholy Alliance: The Definitive History of the National Council of Churches and its Leftist Policies -- From 1908 to the Present, 384 pages, ISBN: 0870003275 9780870003271.
"This book is not calculated to win friends among adherents to the National Council of Churches. It provides convincing evidence of the tremendous gap that has developed between the NCC and its critics and demonstrates the NCC's inability to achieve its objectives." -- Cyril J. Barber
Unholy Alliance: The Definitive History of the National Council of Churches and Its Leftist Policies -- From 1908 to the Present
Freebooks online e-text.
http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/39be_47e.htm
*Sirota, David, Hostile Takeover: How big Money and Corruption Conquered our Government -- And how we Take it Back, 384 pages, ISBN: 0307237346 9780307237347.
"Do you ever wonder if there's a connection between the corruption scandals in the news and the steady decline in the quality of life for millions of Americans?
"Do you ever wonder what corporations get for the millions of dollars they pour into the American political system?
"Do you ever think the government has been hijacked by forces hostile to average Americans?
"Do you ever want to fight back?
"Millions of Americans lack health care and millions more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, then pass legislation that just sends more cash to the HMOs. Wages have been stagnant for thirty years, even as corporate profits skyrocket. Politicians say they want to fix the problem and then pass bills written by lobbyists that drive wages even lower and punish those crushed by debt. Jobs are being shipped overseas, pensions are being cut, and energy is becoming unaffordable. And our government, more concerned about maintaining its corporate sponsorship than protecting its citizens, does nothing about it.
"In HOSTILE TAKEOVER, David Sirota, a major new voice in American politics, seeks to open the eyes of ordinary Americans to the fact that corporate interests have undermined democracy, aided and abetted by their lackeys in our allegedly representative government. At a time when more and more of America's major political leaders are being indicted or investigated for corruption, Sirota takes readers on a journey that shows how all of this nefarious behavior happened right under our noses -- and how the high-profile scandals are merely one product of a political system and debate wholly owned by Big Money interests. Sirota considers major public issues that feel intractable -- like spiraling health care costs, the outsourcing of jobs, the inequities of the tax code, and out-of-control energy prices -- and shows how in each case workable solutions are buried under the lies of lobbyists, the influence of campaign cash, and the ubiquitous spin machine financed by Big Business.
"With fiery passion, pinpoint wit, and lucid analysis, HOSTILE TAKEOVER reveals the true enemies of reform and their increasingly sophisticated -- and hostile -- tactics. It's an essential guidebook for those of us tired of the government selling us out -- and determined to take our country back.
"David Sirota is a campaign strategist, political operative, and writer. Sirota has served as the press secretary for Independent Representative Bernie Sanders of Vermont and was recently a senior strategist for Brian Schweitzer, Montana's first Democratic governor in sixteen years. He is a senior editor at In These Times, a regular contributor to The Nation, the blogger for Working Assets, and a twice-weekly guest on the Al Franken Show. Sirota is also the co-chairperson of the Progressive Legislative Action Network. He lives in Helena, Montana, with his wife." -- Publisher
"A summary of Sirota's book would point out that millions lack health care, and even more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, then pass legislation that provides more profits for drug companies and insurers. At the same time, inflation-adjusted wages have been largely stagnant, while corporate profits have skyrocketed. In this instance, politicians 'help out' by further depressing wages by continuing to allow millions of illegal and temporary legal immigrants into the U.S., and additional millions of jobs outsourced overseas. Despite an obvious need for energy conservation, our government takes its lead from V.P. Dick Cheney and does nothing. Welcome to today's world of lobbyists', lies, and legislation for sale.
"The 'really bad news' is that they're not satisfied. Possible future legislation includes a flat income tax (a huge tax cut for the wealthy, and a huge tax increase for everyone else -- per Reagan's '82 Treasury Dept.), permanent elimination of the estate tax (only 2 percent were paying, and half the receipts came from the top .1 percent with estates over $5 million), and reducing corporate taxes from their 35 percent level -- 'fourth highest' in the industrialized world (a '04 GAO report concluded that 94 percent paid less than 5 percent, and that 60,000 government contractors owed $6 billion in unpaid taxes), more personal tax cuts (to justify further cuts in veterans' healthcare, inadequate/non-funding of Army armor and New Orleans' levees -- the pre-Katrina official protesting the latter was immediately fired).
"Not upset yet -- read on. USA Today reported in late '05 that while the 60 worst performing companies in America lost 4769 billion in market value in the prior five years, their top five executives were paid an average of $8 million/year. Meanwhile, University of California researchers in '04 found that jobs in the bottom third of the pay scale were growing almost twice as fast as those in the middle.
"HOSTILE TAKEOVER also puts to rest the myth of 'free' trade. Provisions include insuring U.S. access to potentially hepatitis-carrying Mexican vegetables and Canadian beef with mad-cow disease, while banning importation of cheaper drugs and limiting other nations' ability to produce generic medicines. In '01, economists estimated that three-fourths of U.S. workers lost about 12 percent of current wages because of trade deals. At least we still have some -- the New York Times reported the loss of over 2 million manufacturing jobs between '01 -- '04, while Gartner Research estimated over 30 percent of high-tech jobs could be shipped overseas by '15 and University of California researchers estimated up to 14 million jobs are now at risk of outsourcing.
"There's more: Harvard researchers found that 90 percent of personal bankruptcies were due to illness, medical bills, job loss, death in the family, and/or divorce. Meanwhile, the Kauffman Foundation's '05 study concluded that 20 percent of recent bankrupts had been operating a small business. No matter -- the myth of deadbeat debtors ruining credit card companies persists, and Congress recently made personal bankruptcy laws much tougher.
"At least we can count on retirement -- not! In '02 AP reported that 8 million workers saw their retirement plans converted to 'cash balance' payouts only -- a loss of up to $200 million, according to government sources. As for Social Security, a top University of Chicago economist estimates Wall St. would make $400 billion -- $1 trillion in fees under the Bush privatization plan. No matter you say -- Chile and Galveston, Texas have proven the concept's superiority. Unfortunately, the World Bank found that up to one-third of Chileans' retirement money went to fees (the public version went bankrupt -- hence, no comparisons are available), and several government reports have concluded that many/most/all Galveston employees will receive LESS than they would have from Social Security.
"Well, at least some of us have our health. Hopefully the growing number without health insurance will not get sick; as for universal governmental coverage -- private insurance made over $10 billion in '03, with top executives raking in $85 million each. As for the innovative drugs many can't afford because of high prices 'required for research' -- the former New England Journal of Medicine's editor states that they 'come almost entirely from publicly funded research done in government and university labs." Further evidence: Princeton's Uwe Reinhardt says that 'R&D spending (as a percentage of drug industry revenues), is equal or higher in Europe (with price controls), as here' -- specifically, 20 percent in Britain, vs. 14 percent in the U.S.
"Finally, 'fuel efficiency kills people,' or so opponents say. On the other hand, University of Michigan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers and a government panel all have concluded that cars can be made as safe/safer than most SUVs, and especially better than most pickups.
"Truly an encyclopedic work documenting how business has stolen and perverted American democracy. While Sirota offers specific recommendations in each area, the biggest problem involves providing a means for voters to see through all the lies and misstatements. Publicly funded elections may be the answer." -- Reader's Comment
Sklar, Martin J., The Corporate Reconstruction of American Capitalism, 1890-1916: The Market, the Law, and Politics, 500 pages, ISBN: 0521313821 9780521313827.
"This is a major work, its insights and reconceptualizations comparable to those of such books as Morton J. Horwitz's THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF AMERICAN LAW, 1790-1860 (Cambridge, 1977), and Ellis W. Hawley's THE NEW DEAL AND THE PROBLEM OF MONOPOLY (Princeton, 1966). Like these works, Martin J. Sklar's book fuses legal history with economic and intellectual history. In addition, Sklar provides a powerful overlay of political theory. The result is the most arresting reinterpretation of the Progressive Era to appear in two decades. . . .
"Here Sklar exhibits rich and original insight grounded in political theory and also in an appreciation of the gravity of what was going on within the economy and the inordinate difficulty of coming to terms with it. . . . Here Sklar has engaged, with remarkable wisdom and originality, the most difficult questions in one of the most complex periods of American history; and he has written a masterpiece that places us all in his debt." -- Thomas K. McCraw, The American Journal of Legal History
"This book is a judicious, immensely learned, thorough, and, in many places, brilliant analysis of the regulatory response to the corporate transformation of American capitalism." -- Donald J. Pisani, Texas A&M University, in The Journal of American History
"Of all the theories of contemporary society we have, Sklar's, it seems to me, is the only one that even begins to give adequate attention to the continued play of private interests, not only in the economy but in politics and culture as well. If his interpretation is correct, he has certainly provided a key to understanding the twentieth century." -- Eli Zaretsky, Journal of Social History
"The opening portion of the book deals also, as background, with the impetus in America toward economic imperialism beginning not later than the post-Civil War era and in doing so presents another means of understanding it, in addition to that presented by the British economist John A. Hobson in his 1902 book, IMPERIALISM, and especially in its chapter "The Economic Taproot of Imperialism." Hobson's work was well known to the players in Sklar's work, and the topic was discussed frankly and openly by mainstream capitalists and theorists of the day." -- Reader's Comment
*Smith, Lee, The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President, 2020, ISBN: 1546059555 9781546059554.
"The impeachment of Donald Trump and the unsuccessful attempt to remove him from office is a continuation of the four-year-long plot against the president. Beginning in late 2015, political operatives, intelligence officials, and the press pushed a conspiracy theory about Trump -- he was a Russian asset and they spied on his campaign and his presidency in order to undo an election. Because the ultimate goal of the anti-Trump operation is not simply to topple the president but rather to change the character and constitution of the country, the Deep State's machinations didn't stop even after Trump was cleared of charges of 'colluding' with Moscow. Their efforts became even more fierce, more desperate, and more divisive, threatening to scar America permanently. In their zeal to bring down President Trump, Deep State conspirators had unwittingly revealed the origins of the anti-Trump operation and exposed corruption at the very highest levels of the Democratic party -- including former Vice President Biden and his boss, Barack Obama. Lee Smith brings to this story the same incisive reporting and commentary that distinguished his runaway bestseller, THE PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT. His investigation, identifying crimes and abuses committed by senior US officials, was later confirmed by a major Department of Justice report. For THE PERMANENT COUP, Smith again enjoys unrivaled and exclusive access to the main players defending America and uncovering Deep State crimes -- including Congressman Devin Nunes and the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani." -- Publisher
*Smith, Rebecca, and John R. Emshwiller, 24 Days: How two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies That Destroyed Faith in Corporate America, ISBN: 0060520736 9780060520731.
"This is the story of two Wall Street Journal beat reporters -- one covering the energy industry just after the chaotic California electricity crisis; the other chasing stock swindlers. Together these journalists were ideally placed to uncover one of the great cons of the century. Here is a story about the fall of a great company, and the practice of journalism, marked by skill, luck, and determination.
"24 DAYS is the gripping, untold chronicle of the investigative process -- often haphazard but imbued with insight and commitment -- that broke through Enron's stonewalling and exposed its inner workings, setting in motion a chain of events that shook the public's trust in big business, Wall Street, and the accounting profession.
"In August 2001, Jeffrey Skilling unexpectedly resigned from his job as CEO of Enron after only six months in the top job. While Smith -- who had been covering the California energy crisis -- was away, the Wall Street Journal Los Angeles bureau chief drafted Emshwiller to interview Skilling. During a rambling conversation, Emshwiller stumbles onto an unlikely admission from the corporate prodigy, which partly confirms the journalists' suspicions that Skilling didn't quit for "personal reasons." This odd revelation raised ominous questions about Enron's much-bragged-about success.
"The two reporters pick and pull at the mystery, and with the help of confidential sources, who understood Enron's inner workings, expose an audacious scheme: Andrew Fastow's off-balance-sheet partnerships that hid Enron's failings and inflated its value by billions of dollars. . . ." -- Publisher
Smith, Wesley J., Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America, ISBN: 1893554066 9781893554061 189355449X 9781893554498.
"When his teenaged son Christopher, brain-damaged in an auto accident, developed a 106-degree fever following weeks of unconsciousness, John Campbell asked the attending physician for help. The doctor refused. Why bother? The boy's life was effectively over. Campbell refused to accept this verdict. He demanded treatment and threatened legal action. The doctor finally relented. With treatment, Christopher's temperature subsided almost immediately. Soon afterwards he regained consciousness and today he is learning to walk again. This story is one of many Wesley J. Smith recounts in his groundbreaking new book, CULTURE OF DEATH. Smith believes that American medicine 'is changing from a system based on the sanctity of human life into a starkly utilitarian model in which the medically defenseless are seen as having not just a 'right but a duty to die.' Going behind the current scenes of our health care system, he shows how doctors withdraw desired care based on Futile Care Theory rather than providing it as required by the Hippocratic Oath. And how 'bioethicists' influence policy by considering questions such as whether organs may be harvested from the terminally ill and disabled. This is a passionate, yet coolly reasoned book about the current crisis in medical ethics by an author who has made 'the new thanatology' his consuming interest." -- Reader's Comment
*Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr (1918-2008), A World Split Apart, his Harvard University commencement address, delivered 8 June 1978.
"It is feasible and easy everywhere to undermine administrative power and in fact it has been drastically weakened in all Western countries. The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals. It's time, in the West -- It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations. . . .
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic disease of the 20th century and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. Such as it is, however, the press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislative power, the executive, and the judiciary. And one would then like to ask: By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? In the communist East a journalist is frankly appointed as a state official. But who has granted Western journalists their power, for how long a time, and with what prerogatives?"
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm
Sorokin, Pitirim Aleksandrovich, The American sex Revolution.
Sowell, Thomas, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, ISBN: 1594030863 9781594030864.
"This book challenges many assumptions about blacks, Jews, Germans, slavery, and education. Plainly written and backed with documented facts, it takes on not only the trendy intellectuals of our times but also such historic interpreters of American life as Alexis de Tocqueville and Frederick Law Olmsted. In a series of long essays, Sowell presents an in-depth look at key beliefs behind many mistaken and dangerous actions, policies, and trends, and presents insights into the historical development of the ghetto culture that is today wrongly seen as a unique black identity -- a culture cheered on toward self-destruction by white liberals who consider themselves 'friends' of blacks. One essay presents a jolting re-examination of the tragic institution of slavery and the narrow and distorted way it is too often seen today. Another explores the reasons for the venomous hatred of Jews, and of other groups like them in countries around the world. . . .
"BLACK REDNECKS AND WHITE LIBERALS is the capstone of decades of outstanding research and writing on racial and cultural issues by Thomas Sowell.
"Dr. Sowell is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the recipient of many awards and prizes. His previous books include ETHNIC AMERICA, BASIC ECONOMICS, A CONFLICT OF VISIONS and THE QUEST FOR COSMIC JUSTICE." -- Publisher
*Sowell, Thomas, Inside American Education: The Decline, the Deception, the Dogmas, ISBN: 0029303303 9780029303306.
"An indictment of the American educational system criticizes the fact that the system has discarded the traditional goals of transmitting knowledge and fostering cognitive skills in favor of building self-esteem and promoting social harmony. Our educational establishment -- a vast tax-supported empire existing quasi-independently within American society -- is morally and intellectually bankrupt, charges distinguished economist and social critic Thomas Sowell. And in this top-to-bottom tour of the mismanaged institutions, cynical leadership, and tendentious programs of American education, Sowell exposes the numerous 'deceptions and dogmas' that have concealed or sought to justify the steep and very dangerous decline in our educational standards and practices across the board. Among the more serious ills of American education are the technically sophisticated brainwashing techniques now being applied to children and teenagers in so-called 'affective education' programs; the special 'peace' and 'nuclear' education programs that actively promote 'politically correct' attitudes; the 'values clarification' and sex education curricula that portray parental and religious authority figures as agents of a repressive and unjust social and political orthodoxy; and the racial 'mini-establishments' created on college campuses by minority demagogues and complaisant administrators that enshrine a self-serving ideological double standard, thus betraying the real interests of minority students. Sowell's exhaustively researched investigation draws particular attention to the wide array of textbooks and other instructional materials, promoted with astonishing success by a multi-million dollar industry styling itself a 'secular humanist' movement, which fosters these ideas -- ideas that are not just anti-American, Sowell maintains, but essentially totalitarian in character. These sinister curricular developments, combined with often cowardly and irresponsible management more concerned about institutional image and ranking than with fiscal integrity or a commitment to educate our youth, will breed disaster unless immediate steps are taken to reform the entire educational system." -- Publisher
*Sparrow, Malcolm K., License to Steal: How Fraud Bleeds America's Health Care System, 304 pages, ISBN: 0813368103 9780813368108.
Table of Contents: Preface, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Fictitious companies, The state of the art, Control failures, Two distinct sciences: fraud detection, and utilization review, how goes the war? Counterattack, new frontiers for control, false claims, Managed care, The nature of the fraud-control challenge, The pathology of fraud control, The importance of measurement, Assessment of existing fraud-control systems, The antithesis of modern claims processing, Prescription for progress, A model fraud-control strategy, Detection systems, Conclusion, Acronyms and abbreviations, Notes, Index.
"In LICENSE TO STEAL, Malcolm K. Sparrow shows how the industry's defenses, which focus mostly on finding and correcting billing errors, are no match for such well orchestrated attacks. The maxim for thieves simply becomes 'bill your lies correctly.' Provided they do that, fraud perpetrators with any degree of sophistication can steal millions of dollars with impunity, testing payment systems carefully, and then spreading fraudulent billings widely enough across patient and provider accounts to escape detection. The kinds of highly automated, quality controlled claims processing systems that pervade the industry present fraud perpetrators with their favorite kind of target: rich, fast paying, transparent, utterly predictable check printing systems, with little threat of human intervention, and with the U.S. Treasury on the end of the electronic line. Sparrow picks apart the industry's response to the government's efforts to control this problem. The provider associations (well heeled and politically influential), have vociferously opposed almost every recent enforcement initiative, creating the unfortunate public impression that the entire health care industry is against effective fraud control. A significant segment of the industry, it seems, regards fraud and abuse not as a problem, but as a lucrative enterprise worth defending.
"Meanwhile, it remains a perfectly commonplace experience for patients or their relatives to examine a medical bill and discover that half of it never happened, or that; likewise, if patients then complain, they discover that no one seems to care, or that no one has the resources to do anything about it. Sparrow's research suggests that the growth of capitated managed care systems does not solve the problem, as many in the industry had assumed, but merely changes its form. The managed care environment produces scams involving underutilization, and the withholding of medical care schemes that are harder to uncover and investigate, and much more dangerous to human health. Having worked extensively with federal and state officials since the appearance of his first book on this subject, Sparrow is in a unique position to evaluate recent law enforcement initiatives. He admits the 'war on fraud' is at least now engaged, but it is far from won.
"Malcolm K. Sparrow teaches Regulatory and Enforcement Strategy, and Analytic Methods, at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Formerly a Detective Chief Inspector with the British police service, he now specializes in issues of enforcement strategy, regulatory compliance, and risk control -- he is the acknowledged national expert on the subject of Health Care Fraud. He is author of THE RISK BUSINESS: DEFINING THE REGULATORY CRAFT (2000), LICENSE TO STEAL: WHY FRAUD PLAGUES AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (1996), IMPOSING DUTIES: GOVERNMENT'S CHANGING APPROACH TO COMPLIANCE (1994); and co-author of BEYOND 911: A NEW ERA FOR POLICING (1990) and ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT: THE MORAL CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP (1990)." -- Publisher
"Although he has a wealth of expertise and a scholar's background, Sparrow speaks in a narrative style about the sad state of health care fraud in America today. While some progress is being made, there remains a little depth and sophistication in the responses to the complex and clever fraud schemes out there. Regrettably, the many political and institutional barriers to measuring and uncovering fraud continue to allow the system to be drained of precious dollars. While it takes a large investment to begin the fight on the level Sparrow advocates, the return is immeasurably greater. Not recommended for folks who don't need their blood pressure to rise." -- Reader's Comment
*Spencer, Robert, Rating America's Presidents: An America-first Look at who is Best, who is Overrated, and who was an Absolute Disaster, ISBN: 1642935352 9781642935356.
"This book rates the presidents not on the basis of criteria developed by socialist internationalist historians, but on their fidelity to the United States Constitution and to the powers, and limits to those powers, of the president as delineated by the Founding Fathers. America's presidents are rated on the extent to which they put America First -- not in the sense of a narrow isolationism, but whether they really advanced the interests of the American people.
"This upends the conventional wisdom about a great deal of American history and present-day reality, and is intended to do so. This book offers what should be the only criteria for rating the occupants of the White House: were they good for America?" -- Publisher
Spencer, Robert, Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America Without Guns or Bombs, ISBN: 9781596985568 1596985569.
"Existentialism, Deconstructionism, Humanism, [Rationalism, Non-duality, the Hegelian Dialectic, Values Clarification, Relativism, Diversification and Inclusion, and so forth, and so on -- compiler] and Exceptionalism have worked together to undermine the traditional identity of America and Americans as envisioned by our Founding Fathers and expressed in the Naturalization Act of 1790. Special snowflakes and open arms liberals step off the sidewalk time and time again for whatever rolls down the road, until they have nowhere left to understand, or stand. Too late, feminists, homosexuals, atheists, and Jews, all of whom have worked to undermine the traditional racial and religious underpinnings of America, will realize just how unwelcome they will be in a new Caliphate." -- Reader's Comment
"Most terrorism experts agree that it is not if America is attacked again, but when. Bestselling author Spencer exposes how a silent but lethal movement is advancing on the U.S. and calls upon Americans to resist it -- before it's too late." -- Publisher
Sperry, Paul, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington, ISBN: 9781595552488 1595552480. Also available as e-book.
"The most sinister terrorists won't be sneaking through our borders from the Middle East. They're already here. This is the untold story about the silent, yet extremely dangerous threat from the Muslim establishment in America'an alarming exposé of how Muslims have for years been secretly infiltrating American society, government, and culture, pretending to be peace-loving and patriotic, while supporting violent jihad and working to turn America into an Islamic state. In this powder keg of a book, you'll learn: -How radical Muslims have penetrated the U.S. military, the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, and even the White House'where subversive Muslims and Arabs have received top-secret clearance.-How they've infiltrated the chaplains program in the federal and state prison systems'a top recruiting ground for al-Qaida.-How they've successfully run influence operations against our political system with the help of both Democrats and Republicans, badgering corporate boards into Islamizing the workplace.-How we've been utterly duped about what the Quran does and doesn't teach. Sadly, much of anti-Western terrorism is simply Islam in practice, the text of the Quran in action. In a time when religious and political leaders are scrambling to smooth over differences in faith and beliefs, this book gives the terrifying truth abaout the very real, very deadly agenda of Islam and how it has already infiltrated key American institutions with agents, spies, and subversives." -- Publisher
"As Americans continue to worship at the altar of cultural diversity and endorse religious tolerance for tolerance sake, Muslims masquerading as 'moderates' have insinuated themselves into the very fabric of American society, taking advantage of our blind trust and gaining footholds in our education system, government, workplace, law enforcement, and military. In this startling book, investigative journalist Paul Sperry uses revealing new interviews and classified documents to courageously explain how, for the past thirty years, these Islamist extremists have been covertly working to destroy our constitutional government and the Judeo-Christian ethics on which our nation was built. Their goal, according to Sperry, is to replace the U.S. Constitution with the Quran and turn America into an Islamic state. And, as Sperry details point-by-point, they have been unwittingly aided in their sinister aims by the politically correct media, government, and citizens, who don't fully understand the dangers of the Muslim faith.
"INFILTRATION explodes the façade of moderation and patriotism that Muslim scholars, imams, clerics, businessmen, and other leaders in the burgeoning Muslim community in America have conveyed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In reality, the Muslim establishment that publicly decries the radical fringe-represented by al-Qaida's brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, the official religion of Saudi Arabia -- is actually a part of it. The only difference is that they use words and money instead of bombs to accomplish their goals.
"Now, thanks to Sperry's peerless research, piquant prose, and forthright presentation, their cover is blown. He will not only make readers forget nearly everything they've been told about these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, he will expose the true agenda of these 'moderate' and 'mainstream' leaders, and he will explain the full scope of the dangerous threat of Islam in America.
"With everyone still on edge after 9/11, this book will garner wide interest, appealing specifically to people interested in current events and/or religion. Additionally, the book will appeal strongly to women whose roles, values, and rights are greatly threatened by fundamentalist Islam." -- Publisher
"As someone who has closely monitored the machinations of militant Muslim activists as chronicled by Pipes and Emerson and other Islamist hawks, there is a helluva lot of new disturbing stuff in this book, which forgiving the pun, looks to be the new bible on Islamism and the Islamic threat inside America. And much of it is supported by fairly sensitive-looking internal Homeland Security documents and real estate/tax/lobbying and other records posted on a companion website -- sperryfiles.com. Most alarming is how the FBI is bending over for Muslim muscle groups and is blindly letting its Arabic translation desk in DC become a Muslim 'mole house' generating some dozen espionage cases, per CIA vets at FBI. And Sperry found that one of the groups the FBI is genuflecting before -- Council on American-Islamic Relations -- is bankrolled by an Arab government, UAE, which was the transit point for 9/11 cash and a formal backer of the Taliban. Dubai holds the deed to CAIR's headquarters, even as CAIR claims it gets no foreign support! And there are classified docs that are sure to embarrass DC big shots. Remember the hard-line cleric who counseled the 9/11 hijackers behind closed doors? the guy the FBI is now looking for after the 9/11 commission concluded was 'suspicious' and should be brought in for questioning? well he was released from U.S. custody a year after 9/11 and allowed to leave the country on a Saudi airplane. DC pulled back a warrant for him even though he was on the terror watch list and subject of terror finance probes by treasury/customs. There's even word in book of a Pakistani cleric who privately counseled the Pakistani terrorist who mowed down CIA employees at Langley, who according to records Sperry uncovered is starting a large Wahhabi mosque just down the way from Langley where he can no doubt inspire other jihadists. He also reveals new details about Norman 'No Profiling' Mineta and his diversity happy aides that I haven't read anywhere else. At bottom this is the tale of PC gone wild in DC, which is lulling Americans into a false sense of security about the Islamic threat inside the country. With Bin Laden still at large and his sleeper cells no doubt still in place here, it's a pretty frightening wake-up call. Their agents and sympathizers have done an alarmingly good job of penetrating U.S. institutions and culture, but DC hasn't penetrated theirs. The FBI says it can't find evidence of sleeper cells? Yeah, that's reassuring. Isn't that what they said before 9/11?" -- Reader's Comment
Sproul, R.C., Ken Ham, Douglas W. Phillips, Charles Laverdiere (editor), and Colin Gunn (film-maker), Indoctrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity, ISBN: 9780890516850 0890516855.
"The companion book to the award-winning documentary 'IndoctriNation,' this eye-opening book includes:
Stavely, William, An Appeal to Light, or, The Tenets of Deists Examined and Disapproved: And the Authority of the Holy Scriptures Asserted and Vindicated. Alternate title: APPEAL TO LIGHT: REPLY TO THOMAS PAINE'S AGE OF REASON.
*Stiglitz, Joseph E., The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers our Future, ISBN: 9780393088694 0393088693.
"A forceful argument against America's vicious circle of growing inequality by the Nobel Prize-winning economist.
"The top 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the nation's wealth. And, as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains, while those at the top enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits of wealth, they fail to realize that 'their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.'
"Stiglitz draws on his deep understanding of economics to show that growing inequality is not inevitable: moneyed interests compound their wealth by stifling true, dynamic capitalism. They have made America the most unequal advanced industrial country while crippling growth, trampling on the rule of law, and undermining democracy. The result: a divided society that cannot tackle its most pressing problems. With characteristic insight, Stiglitz examines our current state, then teases out its implications for democracy, for monetary and budgetary policy, and for globalization. He closes with a plan for a more just and prosperous future.
"Winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, Joseph E. Stiglitz is the bestselling author of MAKING GLOBALIZATION WORK; GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS; and, with Linda Bilmes, THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR WAR. He was chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and served as senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in New York City.
C-Span 2 BookTV address by the author
http://www.booktv.org/Program/13586/The+Price+of+Inequality+How+Todays+Divided+Society+Endangers+Our+Future.aspx
Stone, Oliver, and Peter J. Kuznick, The Untold History of the United States, ISBN: 9780091949310 0091949319 9781451613520 1451613520.
"In this companion to the ten-part documentary series the authors outline a 'people's history' of the American empire and its rise and decline, aided by the latest archival findings and recently declassified documents and scholarly research. They challenge the prevailing orthodoxies of traditional history books in this look at the dark side of American history. They introduce readers to a pantheon of heroes and villains as they show not only how far the U.S. has drifted from its democratic traditions but the powerful forces that have struggle to get us back on track. They argue that the U.S. must face its troubling history honestly and forthrightly in order to set a new course for the future, and pose the question: Is it too late for America to change?" -- Publisher
Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, a DVD series directed, co-written, and narrated by Oliver Stone.
"From Academy Award-winning writer/director, Oliver Stone, and co-written by historian Prof. Peter Kuznick, this ten-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under reported, but that crucially shaped America's unique and complex history over the 20th century. From the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War and the fall of Communism, this in-depth, surprising, and totally riveting series demands to be watched again and again." -- Publisher
Stormer, John A., None Dare Call it Treason: The Carefully Documented Story of America's Retreat From Victory.
"The thoroughly documented warnings concerning the inroads of communism in America should have been enough to stir millions of Americans to action. Many of us were so awakened and stirred that we recognized that we needed to be involved as never before. We will never forget this reading and how it answered so many questions that had plagued us. My main question was why we had allowed communism to take control of Cuba, a nation just 90 miles from our shores. Answer: The American press was already sufficiently leftist that this action was condoned and accepted by the media. Fidel Castro was promoted as an 'agrarian reformer,' not a communist. Our State Department covered his communist connections.
"Stormer is a dedicated man who spent four years researching his 236-page book. It was not to be discredited. He was unbiased, as a former editor and general manager of a leading electrical engineering magazine, enriching his conclusions through some 800 references from a multitude of sources including major newspapers, Congressional documents, speeches, hearings of Department of Justice, National Review, Time magazine, Senate reports, Newsweek, Human Events, House Committee on UnAmerican Activities, Sports Afield, The Worker, Reece Committee, and dozens more." -- Jack McLain
None Dare Call it Treason
https://archive.org/details/NoneDareCallItTreasonJohnStormer
Sullivan, Teresa A., Elizabeth Warren, and Jay Westbrook, The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt, ISBN: 0300091710 9780300091717.
Torrey, E. Fuller, and Judy Miller, The Invisible Plague: The Rise of Mental Illness From 1750 to the Present, ISBN: 0813530032 9780813530031.
"Examines the records on insanity in England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States over a 250-year period, concluding, through quantitative and qualitative evidence, that insanity is an unrecognized, modern-day plague." -- Publisher
"In recent centuries, however, it [insanity] has appeared in previously unseen masks and in much greater numbers. The prevalence of insanity, which had once been considerably less than one case per 1,000 total population, has risen beyond five cases in 1,000. Why has insanity reached epidemic proportions? What are the causes of severe mental illness? [We would point out that the rise in insanity coincides with both the decline of western thought into irrationality, growing theological liberalism, and the banishment of Christianity from the public arena (see Singer, C. Gregg [1910-1999], FROM RATIONALISM TO IRRATIONALITY: THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN MIND FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT), and the growing famine of spiritual knowledge in Western Society in the last 250 years. (see Singer, C. Gregg, A THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY) -- compiler]. Why do we continue to deny the rising numbers, and how does this denial affect our ability to help those who are afflicted?" -- Publisher
Trump, Donald J., Crippled America: How to Make America Great, ISBN: 1501137964 9781501137969.
"Look at the state of the world right now. It's a terrible mess, and that's putting it mildly. There has never been a more dangerous time. The politicians and special interests in Washington, DC, are directly responsible for the mess we are in. So why should we continue listening to them?
"It's time to bring America back to its rightful owners -- the American people.
"I'm not going to play the same game politicians have been playing for decades -- all talk, no action, while special interests and lobbyists dictate our laws. I am shaking up the establishment on both sides of the political aisle because I can't be bought. I want to bring America back, to make it great and prosperous again, and to be sure we are respected by our allies and feared by our adversaries.
"It's time for action. Americans are fed up with politics as usual. And they should be! In this book, I outline my vision to make America great again, including: how to fix our failing economy; how to reform health care so it is more efficient, cost-effective, and doesn't alienate both doctors and patients; how to rebuild our military and start winning wars -- instead of watching our enemies take over -- while keeping our promises to our great veterans; how to ensure that our education system offers the resources that allow our students to compete internationally, so tomorrow's job-seekers have the tools they need to succeed; and how to immediately bring jobs back to America by closing our doors to illegal immigrants, and pressuring businesses to produce their goods at home.
"This book is my blueprint for how to Make America Great Again. It's not hard. We just need someone with the courage to say what needs to be said. We won't find that in Washington, DC." -- Publisher
*Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the Union 2021.
*The National Debt is Worse Than Advertised
"When you include unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, that actual US debt stands at $123.11 trillion, according to the 'Financial State of the Union 2021' published by Truth in Accounting.
"In order to pay off all of Uncle Sam's liabilities, every taxpayer in the US would have to write a check for $796,000. . . .
"The federal government has $5.95 trillion in assets and $129.06 trillion in liabilities. If it were a private company, the US government would be bankrupt."
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2021/04/23/the-national-debt-is-worse-than-advertised/
About our National Debt
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/about/our_national_debt
*United States. National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform: A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983.
USA Research (editors/publishers), Meeting the Challenge of a Nation at Risk: The National Commission on Excellence in Education, ISBN: 0917191048 9780917191046 091719103X 9780917191039.
USA Research (editors/publishers), A Nation at Risk: The Full Account: The National Commission on Excellence in Education, ISBN: 0917191021 9780917191022.
Unwin, J.D., Sex and Culture.
"Both Unwin and Eberstadt provide substantial evidence that a sexual revolution has long-term, devastating consequences for culture and civilization. As Unwin states, 'The history of these societies consists of a series of monotonous repetitions,' and it appears that our civilization is following the same, well-travelled road to collapse." -- Publisher
Warfield, B.B. (1851-1921), and Ethelbert Dudley Warfield, Perfectionism, 2 volumes. Alternate title: STUDIES IN PERFECTIONISM.
"He confined himself to what happened when Arminianism turned, as it logically did, not only into Antinomianism, but also into Perfectionism. And the implications . . . are masterful, because, you see why Utopianism has developed in the modern world as the old premises of the Reformed faith have disappeared.
"Now when me begin to see Perfectionism as a goal . . . hope in man and man's development of himself rather than in what man does in God's service, then we are going to have a society that is Utopian. . . . that we are the generation that is going to usher in a perfect society and a perfect world. . . .
"And, as he points out in one telling sentence, we go from simple trust in Christ as our Savior to an imitation of Christ. . . this, as he saw, is killing the Reformation. Man sees himself capable of reproducing in his life what Christ was, instead of serving him. So we go from a trust in Christ's saving work, and service under him, to the imitation of Christ." -- Reader's Comment
*Whitehead, John W., Battlefield America: The war on the American People, ISBN: 9781590793091 1590793099.
"Author paints a portrait of an evolving American police state as police authority expands into extensions of the military, and government's intrusions undermine basic freedoms guaranteed to American citizens under the Constitution, turning Americans into enemy combatants who are spied upon, raided, manhandled, silenced, locked up, shot at, and denied due process of the law." -- Publisher
John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.
Whyte, Kenneth, The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst, ISBN: 1582434670 9781582434674 9780679313434 0679313435 9781582435541 1582435545.
"Reveals how an unheralded young newspaperman from San Francisco arrived in New York and created the most successful daily of his time, pushing the medium to an unprecedented level of influence and excitement, and leading observers to wonder if newspapers might be more powerful than kings and popes and presidents. Journalist Kenneth Whyte offers a window onto the media world at the turn of the 20th century as he chronicles Hearst's rivalry with Joseph Pulitzer, the undisputed king of New York journalism, in the most spectacular newspaper war of all time. They battled head-to-head through the thrilling presidential election campaign of 1896 and the Spanish-American War -- a conflict that Hearst was accused of fomenting and that he covered in person. By 1898, Hearst had supplanted Pulitzer as the dominant force in New York publishing, and was on his way to becoming one of the most powerful private citizens in 20th-century America. -- Publisher
*Williams, Daniel (1643?-1716), What Repentance of National Sins God Doth Require, as Ever we Expect National Mercies? [Sermon on Hosea x. 12. (Hosea 10:12)], 1690. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Wilson, Carl W., Our Dance has Turned to Death: But we can Renew the Family and Nation! ISBN: 0842347828 9780842347822.
"A substantive account of the major causes of America's national decline and what each family can do about it. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Wilson, Howard A., Invasion From the East, ISBN: 0806616717 9780806616711.
"Evaluates the impact of Eastern religions on Western society and culture. Voices justifiable concern over the spiritual barrenness that has made America vulnerable to such inroads. Sobering." -- Cyril J. Barber
Wright, Quincy, The Book of war, ISBN: 0226909980 9780226909981. Alternate title: THE STUDY OF WAR.
The author explains, among other things, that the periods following war have been times of social decline in nearly all spheres of society. Some will observe that the Christian consensus was lost in this country following World War II.
Wylie, Richard Cameron, Collapse of Christless Civilizations, 1918.
*Zacharias, Ravi (1946-2020), Why Jesus? Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality, ISBN: 1455508608 9781455508600.
"Ravi Zacharias is a very gifted communicator. Whether he is discussing literature, philosophy, religion, or everything in between -- he makes it interesting, engaging, and thought provoking. In this book he tackles the search for meaning in the West and in the East and how that ultimately all searches are empty if they do not lead to truth. He gives a very solid case for how all truth is God's truth and that the ultimate truth that we all long for leads us to the person and work of the historical Jesus revealed in the Bible and the accounts of His life, death, resurrection, ascension and future return.
"In chapter one after a scintillating discussing of movie making agendas in the East and the West he writes, 'Why are we always beguiled by something foreign? In the West, Eastern mysticism is 'in' -- chants, sounds, and practices with foreign words have made an appeal of culture -- shifting proportions -- while in the East, where these very same techniques have been tried for centuries, many are disillusioned and seeking solace somewhere else. Before me the entertainment elite of the East gave their full attention to a talk on 'Why Jesus Is the Ultimate,' while in the West, entertainers are looking toward the East for their answers.'
"In the first half to about seventy percent of the way into the book Ravi tackles what he calls 'Western' thought -- a hybrid of western and eastern thought blended into one. He takes the time to demonstrate how eastern thought has penetrated the west, and how western thought has penetrated the east. He cogently and brilliantly synthesizes how this has taken place through the medium of television, philosophy, religion, and irreligion and highlights old and modern voices alike. Zacharias weaves the themes of induction, seduction, deduction, and reduction among these differing mediums of communication resulting in a 'New Spirituality.'
"Ravi makes so many excellent observations with reference to the 'New Spirituality' that it would make for a very long review were I to recount the excellencies of his presentation. On the postmodern influences of the likes of Michael Foucault and Jacques Derrida on 'Westernism' he writes about the authority of the 'New Spirituality' in this fashion by way of a modern tale:
" 'In the beginning, God. God spoke. But that was a long time ago. We wanted certainty -- now. For this, only Reason and Rationalism would do. But that was not enough. We wanted to 'test.' So we went into the senses and found the empirical. But that's not what we meant by testing. We really meant 'feeling.' So we found a way to generate feeling into the picture. Truth was framed into a scene. But the scene was left open to interpretation. Scenes are not absolute. So the story was told as an art form. But the reader still didn't like it, because he was not the author. So he read the story while he sat in a reconstructed and deconstructed cubicle to make of the story whatever he wished. But what does one do with the long reach of the empirical? The best way was to find a blend between the empirical and the satirical and end up with God again. The only difference was that God could not be the storyteller. We still needed God. So we became God.'
"Ravi talks about Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, and various other 'isms' and demonstrates how people in the East like Deepak Chopra, and people in the West like Oprah Winfrey have developed syncretistic systems of thought that have blended eastern and western thinking and religion. One interesting example of this mixing is when he quotes Elizabeth Lesser when she writes of the difference between the 'Old Spirituality' and the 'New Spirituality'.":
'AUTHORITY: In the 'old' spirituality authority is held by the church; in the 'new' spirituality the individual worshiper has authority to determine what is best for him or her.
'SPIRITUALITY: In the old spirituality God and the way to worship have already been defined and the worshiper just follows the rules; in the new spirituality the worshiper defines spirituality for him -- or herself.
'THE PATH TO GOD: In the old spirituality there is only one way to God, all else is wrong; in the new spirituality there are unlimited paths or combinations of paths one can follow . . . you can string a necklace all your own making.
'SACRED: In the old spirituality parts of yourself are considered evil (the body, ego, emotions), and must be denied, transcended, or sublimated; in the new spirituality anything goes.
'TRUTH: In the old spirituality truth is knowable and constant. Leading to the same answers at every stage of life; in the new spirituality you never quite arrive at the truth as it is constantly changing to accommodate your growth.'
"Zacharias responds to Lesser in this manner, 'With the safety net she has provided for determining truth, who can ever fall?' "The evangelist from the Old Spirituality pleaded with his audiences to 'invite Jesus into your heart;' the New Spirituality tell you to invite yourself into your heart.
"Ravi spends the rest of the book answering the following questions: Why Jesus? What difference does it make what you believe? Is truth really even knowable? Could it be that postmodern spirituality is really the expression of a universal hunger rather than an answer to anything? What are the deep-seated questions that drive the quest for spirituality? Why is it that in the West we seem to have discarded the message of Christ, while in the East they have begun to realize that he is the one they are looking for?
"Ultimately all worldviews and religions need to examine their beliefs and views and answer these three unavoidable questions: 1) How do they handle the question of exclusivity as it relates to their own belief? 2) What is the ultimate source of their authority for belief and behavior? And 3) How relevant is what they believe to the common experience and what difference does it make?
"According to Zacharias correspondence to facts and systematic coherence are the test for any worldview. In constructing a good worldview they must consist of the following eight components:
'A good worldview must have a strong basis in fact. This point alone has a two-edged reality: First, can the assertion being made be tested against reality? And second, is the assertion clearly false? If one assertion in the system is clearly false or cannot be tested against reality, there is a failure to meet the test of truth.
'A good worldview must have a high degree of coherence or internal consistency.
'A good worldview must give a reasonable and logical explanation for the various undeniable realities that we sense all around us.
'A good worldview will avoid the two extremes of either being too complex or too simplistic.
'A good worldview is not explained by just one line of evidence.
'A good worldview must explain contrary worldviews without compromising its own essential beliefs.
'A good worldview cannot argue just on the basis of private experience, but must have some objective standard of measurements.
'A good worldview must justifiably explain the essential nature of good and evil, since those two alternatives are principal characteristics differentiating human beings from all other entities or quantities.'
"Two thousand years ago when Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in Luke 4 on the Sabbath day in the Synagogue, and stood up and read, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed be to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled back the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
"Ravi comments on this passage and concludes in this manner, 'This is the message of freedom for those in bondage, a message that will open the eyes of our darkened spirituality to the bright light of his grace, that will convince a Church to live the love of God by taking care of the poor and taking up the cause of the oppressed, that assures us there is an end of time where eternity awaits, and that all who long for his presence will live in the fulfillment of their faith to the grand consummation of seeing the Ultimate One, face-to-face. . . . It is in him [Jesus] that we find it all.'
"Zacharias meticulously and clearly shows in this book the miserable failure of the 'New Spirituality' to deliver on any of these eight components that make up for a coherent and compelling worldview. On the other hand, in a very captivating manner he demonstrates how all of the best thinking of the west and east when brought together converge in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth -- and the worldview known throughout the world as 'Christianity.'
"I highly recommend this book because it makes a compelling case for the cogency of Christianity, and helps you to understand where eastern and western thought have large 'holes' that can only be filled with the water of life by the same Jesus who said that in Him we will never thirst again -- spiritually." -- Reader's Comment
"For over thirty-five years, Ravi Zacharias has spoken all over the world in great halls and universities, notably Harvard, Princeton, and numerous universities internationally. He is listed as a Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford university. He has appeared on CNN and other international broadcasts. The author of several books for adults and children, he powerfully mixes biblical teaching and Christian apologetics. His most recent works include WALKING FROM EAST TO WEST, a memoir; THE GRAND WEAVER, an exploration of God's intention in both the ordinary and the startling elements of life; and THE END OF REASON, a rebuttal of the claims of the so-called New Atheists. His weekly radio program, 'Let My People Think,' is broadcast on 1,692 stations worldwide, and his weekday program, 'Just Thinking,' is on 412. He is founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices in Canada, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Zacharias and his wife, Margie, have three grown children and reside in Atlanta." -- Publisher
*Zacharias, Ravi K. (1946-2020), Dennis Prager, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, The Death of Truth and the Decline of Culture, DVD, ISBN: 9781612563619 1612563619.
"Jeff Foxworthy hosts a discussion between Ravi Zacharias and Dennis Prager concerning the loss of absolute Truth amid society's drift into distorted ideas of secularization and pluralization. A question and answer session follows the discussion." -- Publisher
See also: Caveats, The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, The inspiration and infallibility of scripture (the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of plenary inspiration, the doctrine of divine inspiration, the doctrine of verbal inspiration, theopneustia, sufficiency of scripture), Our forgetfulness of god, The media, Reform of the church, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Suffrage and reproductive rights, Politics, Church and state, Foreign affairs, foreign policy, international relationships, Tyranny, Socialism, communism, marxism, Islam (muslim/moslim), muhammadanism/mohammadanism, The counter-reformation, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Medical ethics, Male role and responsibility, gender equality, suffrage, reproductive rights, and the decline of american society, Feminism, Gratuitous sex, a cause of violence, Effeminacy, the effeminate, Liberalism and neo-liberalism, The religion of secular humanism: man as god, human autonomy, Political and economic freedom, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Suicide, Sermons preached before governing bodies, The occult, spiritism, witchcraft, Idolatry, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, Treason and impeachment, The destruction of american liberty, The media, Modern myths and fallacies, Mind control, intimidation, and coercion, Handbooks on the cults, Islam (muslim/moslim), muhammadanism/mohammadanism, Secret societies, ungodly alliances, voluntary associations, Pseudo-christian movements: a selection of works, Unfaithful reformed ministries, Politics, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, Meltdown 2008, the greatest depression in history, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism, and corporatism, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, The covenanted reformation, Covenanted reformation short title listing, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The covenant faithfulness of god, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Justifying faith, Christ's kingdom, Lordship of jesus christ, The all-sufficiency of christ, Trusting god, Healthcare reform, Healthcare horror stories, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Healthcare reform, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism and corporatism, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, The courts, the law base, and the judicial system, Suffrage, and so forth, and so on.
America's Transformation From Liberty to Democracy, Randall G. Holcombe
"If we were able to go back to the time of the Revolutionary War and ask the typical American to describe, in one word, the underlying principle of the new American government, that one word would have been liberty. If we were to ask the typical American citizen today to describe, in one word, the underlying principle of American government, that one word would be democracy. The Declaration of Independence is largely a list of grievances against the King of England, and the American Founders wanted to escape the oppression of the British government and establish a constitutionally limited government to protect the rights of its citizens -- to preserve their liberty. Today Americans view the role of their government as carrying out the will of the majority. My new book, FROM LIBERTY TO DEMOCRACY: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (University of Michigan Press), describes how the fundamental principle of American government has been transformed from liberty to democracy."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/holcombe1.html
An Analysis of how to Destroy a Family, Church, or Country, Rick Thomas
https://rickthomas.net/an-analysis-of-how-to-destroy-a-family-church-or-country/
The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England; May 19, 1643
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/art1613.htm
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, Pre 18th Century Documents
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/pre18.htm
John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 46 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92903104854Speaking on Calvinism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 53 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8110391415Theology of John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 40 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1060385424The History of Calvinism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian View of History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72902195726Calvinism and the Reformation
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, 76 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8180372910Church History #28: John Calvin
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 76 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4150417057Church History #29: John Calvin and the Church #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 43 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=415041727Church History #30: John Calvin and the Church #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Church History, 67 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4150417258
The Causes, Consequences, and Catastrophe of the First World War
"The consequences of 1914 continue to afflict all of us. The Versailles Treaty, which ended the First World War and guaranteed the Second World War, shaped our new world disorder."
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=491327212
https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/the-causesconsequences-and-catastrophe-of-world-war-1
Code of Virginia -- Legislative Information System
http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm
Conservatism: An Autopsy, John W. Robbins
"Conservatism is a political philosophy that professes to be practical and grounded in reality -- not in ideological or utopian dream worlds -- yet it cannot furnish a coherent answer to a very practical question: What is the proper punishment for a thief? Even ignoring the big questions -- What is the ideal government? Is there an ideal government? Is any government justified? What is the proper relationship between church and state? -- conservatism cannot answer a small question. If conservatism cannot offer a justified answer to a small question, it probably cannot answer larger questions."
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=115
Creed, Steve Turner
http://www.apuritansmind.com/Apologetics/SteveTurnerCreed.htm
Cultural Relativism and the Emasculation of Truth, Ravi Zacharias, February 7, 2015.
" 'What is truth? It can be difficult to know in today's world where truth can depend on who you ask. How did we get to that point, and is there anything we can do about it?' . . . Ravi Zacharias answers these jse / it's /questions as he explores the steps we've taken to reject truth and the impact it is having on our society.
"The 19th century writer George Macdonald once said, 'To give truth to him who loves it not is but to give him plentiful material for misinterpretation.' Indeed, Ravi argues that the ideas of rationalism and agnosticism and the institution of the media have altered our social landscape, such that belief in God's revelation seems wholly implausible for many individuals. Without such an understanding, proclamation is pointless."
https://www.christianbook.com/biblical-authority-and-our-cultural-crisis/ravi-zacharias/9781612560823/pd/1187BD?event=ESRCG
The Decline and Fall of the United States Empire, Jason Gonella
"Today, class, we will continue our discussion of the decline and fall of the United States in the first quarter of the 21st century. Yesterday we discussed military adventurism and how the Imperialist Wars severely weakened the United States. Tomorrow we will discuss the economics of the fall. Today we will discuss my favorite aspect, the fractures in the political landscape.
"Just as nobody expected the Soviet Union to collapse back in 1980, nobody in 2004 expected the disintegration of the United States after the reelection of George W. Bush. In fact, the country did hold together for four more years after that, although the divide between the so-called 'Red' and 'Blue' states had been deepening. Legal scholars were researching, for the first time in a century and a half, the subject of secession, but nobody took the work as serious or threatening. Some libertarians expected that the Free State Movement in New Hampshire might result in secession, but they were beaten to it elsewhere."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/gonella4.html
The Decline of American Culture 1800-1974, C. Gregg Singer (1910-1999), 10 audio tapes [audio file].
"In these ten taped lectures originally given for the Christian Studies Center in Memphis, TN, Dr. Singer gives incisive analysis of modern life, tracing a decline politically, culturally, economically, educationally, and theologically. He sees as man's only hope a Biblical world and life view which applies the whole counsel of God to every area of human endeavor. Dr. Singer is an interesting lecturer; even in dealing with such weighty topics, a keen sense of humor shows through. For some who have not carefully investigated the Scriptural cultural mandate, some of his ideas will be nothing short of startling, such as the concept that Christianity and democracy are totally incompatible." -- Rev. Michael Schneider, Pastor, St. Paul Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS
http://www.pocketcollege.com/index.htm
Introduction: A Span of History
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72902195856Decline in Theology, #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline in American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9902215956Decline in Theology, #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=91602194147The Departure From the Biblical View in Constitutional Government
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=82602124719Decline of Jurisprudence
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=82602124432Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=819021843Decline (Political, Economic, Cultural), part 2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8190218822Decline in the 1830's: Philosophical Revolution in Political Thought
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9202112722Decline Through the 1840's: Philosophical Revolution in Political Thought
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9202112914Decline in Education
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Decline of American Culture
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9902215826
Related addresses by C. Gregg SingerThe Christian and Politics #04: Enemies of our Christian Heritage #1
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705182945Great Moments in Presbyterian History #4: Colonial Presbyterianism and the Great Awakening
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Great Movements in Presbyterian History
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?ID=1216037179The Christian and Politics #06: The Effects of Deism and Democracy on our Christian Heritage
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, The Christian and Politics
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12705183120Apologetics #04: The Renaissance and the Reformation
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 47 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3105181649Apologetics #06: Irrationalism and Theistic Rationalism #2
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 58 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3105181856Apologetics #07: Irrationalism and Theistic Rationalism
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, Apologetics, 86 min
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3105182032Theological Tensions of the 19th Century: Old School -- New School
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 34 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1216037188Presbyterianism in the 20th Century
Dr. C. Gregg Singer, History of the American Presbyterian Church, 42 min.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12160371916
Deinstitutionalisation
"Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. . . .
"In many cases the deinstitutionalisation of the mentally ill in the Western world from the 1960s onward has translated into policies of "community release". Individuals who previously would have been in mental institutions are no longer continuously supervised by health care workers. Some experts, such as E. Fuller Torrey, have considered deinstitutionalisation to be a failure,[5] while some consider many aspects of institutionalization to have been worse."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalisation
Democracy in America
http://xroads.virginia.edu/HYPER/DETOC/home.html
Do you Know What Happened When Religious Principles Were Separated From Public Affairs?
http://www.whatyouknowmightnotbeso.com/graphs.html
*Election Fraud in the United States
http://www.lettermen2.com/vfraud.html
Elijah Ministries Tracts by Rusty Lee Thomas
http://www.mttu.com/elijahmin/Tracts/Tracts.htm
Engaging Cultures, (part 1), [audio file], Ravi Zacharias
"How did we end up in this postmodernism culture? The change did not happen overnight, but rather took several hundred years to unfold. He [Ravi] will look into the fascinating history of philosophical ideas of man, and contemplate how we ended up in a time that preaches there is not any meaning."
https://www.rzim.org/listen/let-my-people-think/engaging-cultures-part-1
Engaging Cultures, (part 2), [audio file], Ravi Zacharias
https://www.rzim.org/listen/let-my-people-think/engaging-cultures-part-2
Five-Year Arrest Trends, All Women, 1995-1999 (6,622 agencies)
One sign of the decline of a society is the increase in crime by women.
Percentage increases in arrests of all women, select crimes. (Women under 18 only indicated by "under 18")
*Four Stages of a Nation in Decline, a sermon, Ravi Zacharias
"How did God's chosen people end up as a nation in exile? What are the consequences for a nation that strays from God? Could the United States be headed down the same path? Ravi Zacharias explores the lessons what we can learn from the nation of Israel."
http://rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/four-stages-of-a-nation-in-decline/"
Franklin Graham on the Plague of Immorality, February 2, 2015
"The sexual revolution that began in earnest five decades ago with promises of new and liberating sexual freedoms has instead left behind a shattered moral landscape that has undermined the fabric and foundation of our nation. Casting off what was perceived as the puritanical restraints of previous generations, the '60s and '70s launched a new era of sexual experimentation. The revolution, publicly inaugurated by 1967's Summer of Love in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, promised an enlightened age of sexual morality. . . .
"Fifty years later, we can see that the results have been catastrophic.
"In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction.
"In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.
"Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. . . .
"The freedoms promised by the sexual revolution have instead given way to ever-increasing slavery and captivity to sin. The attempt to cast off moral restraint has only opened wide the devil's destructive, deadly toolbox. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:19). . . .
"The Scripture is clear: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous . . . has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3,5). . . .
"Our culture, like ancient cultures that ultimately were destroyed in large part due to their own moral depravity, has been severely weakened. A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule. . . .
"The only answer I know for any society in any era is the strong word of the Lord to the church in Thyatira who, though faithful in some ways, apparently tolerated sexual permissiveness that spread through the church: I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality (Revelation 2:21).
"There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). . . ."
http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/february-2015/franklin-graham-on-the-plague-of-immorality/
Functional Illiteracy
"Functional illiteracy is a term used to describe reading and writing skills that are inadequate 'to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.'[1] Functional illiteracy is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense, meaning the inability to read or write simple sentences in any language. . . .
"Links with poverty and crime
"In developed countries, the level of functional literacy of an individual is proportional to his/her income level and risk of committing crime. For example, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics in the United States:
"According to BeginToRead.com:Over 60 percent of adults in the U.S. Prison System read at or below the fourth grade level
85 percent of U.S. juvenile inmates are functionally illiterate.
Adult inmates who received educational services while in prison had a 16 percent chance of returning to prison, as opposed to 70 percent for those who received no instruction. [this statistic not in citation given -- compiler]
43 percent of adults at the lowest level of literacy lived below the poverty line, as opposed to 4 percent of those with the highest levels of literacy.
"The National Center for Education Statistics provides more detail. Literacy is broken down into three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. Each parameter has four levels: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a person can look at a short piece of text to get a small piece of uncomplicated information, while a person who is below basic in quantitative literacy would be able to do simple addition. In the US, 14 percent of the adult population is at the 'below basic' level for prose literacy; 12 percent are at the 'below basic' level for document literacy; and 22 percent are at that level for quantitative literacy. Only 13 percent of the population is proficient in these three areas -- able to compare viewpoints in two editorials; interpret a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity; or compute and compare the cost per ounce of food items."Two thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
Three out of four individuals who receive food stamps read on the two lowest levels of literacy.
16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts. . . .
Genevan Book of Order
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/GBO_ch00.htm
Health Insurance Profits Soar as Industry Mergers Create Near-Monopoly, Mike Hall, May 27, 2009
"Profits at 10 of the country's largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent from 2000 to 2007, while consumers paid more for less coverage. One of the major reasons, according to a new study, is the growing lack of competition in the private health insurance industry that has led to near monopoly conditions in many markets.
"The report says such conditions warrant a Justice Department investigation and, says Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), provide compelling evidence of the need for a public health insurance plan option as part of the health care reform initiative President Obama and Congress are developing.
"According to the recently released HCAN report, Premiums Soaring in Consolidated Health Insurance Market:
In the past 13 years, more than 400 corporate mergers have involved health insurers, and a small number of companies now dominate local markets but haven't delivered on promises of increased efficiency. According to the American Medical Association, 94 percent of insurance markets in the United States are now highly concentrated, and insurers are thriving in the anti-competitive marketplace, raking in enormous profits and paying out huge CEO salaries."In a letter to the Department of Justice's Anti-Trust Division, Richard Kirsch, HCAN national campaign manager, and David Balto, former policy director of the Federal Trade Commission and now senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, write:
Simply put, the private insurance companies have secured monopolies or tight oligopolies and exercised that power to put profits ahead of patients. There were no actions taken against anticompetitive conduct by health insurers in the last administration, in spite of the fact that cases by state attorneys general have secured massive fines against these insurers. A lack of antitrust enforcement has enabled insurers to acquire dominant positions in almost every metropolitan market."They ask for an investigation of the already consummated mergers that harm competition or create an anticompetitive market structure. They also urge the Justice Department to conduct investigations of anticompetitive conduct by dominant insurance companies and challenge that conduct where appropriate."
History of Psychiatric Institutions, United States
"The United States has experienced two waves of deinstitutionalization. Wave one began in the 1950s and targeted people with mental illness.[82] The second wave began roughly fifteen years after and focused on individuals who had been diagnosed with a developmental disability (e.g. mentally retarded).[82]
"A process of indirect cost-shifting may have led to a form of 're-institutionalization' through the increased use of jail detention for those with mental disorders deemed unmanageable and noncompliant.[83] In summer 2009, author and columnist Heather Mac Donald stated in City Journal, 'jails have become society's primary mental institutions, though few have the funding or expertise to carry out that role properly . . . at Rikers, 28 percent of the inmates require mental health services, a number that rises each year'."[84]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_psychiatric_institutions
How Civilizations Commit Suicide, [audio file] Reformation Society, July 30, 2020
"What builds up civilizations and what breaks them down.
"Western Christian civilization is not only under siege, it has been systematically sabotaged and undermined for most of the last century. We often need historic perspective to understand our times and to know what the Word of God requires us to do."
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:12)
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=11221912158656
*Idolatry is the Most Condemned sin in the Bible, [audio file], Peter Hammond, 8/21/2016
"When we start to worship anyone other than God, if we put anything as central in our lives, other than God, we are opening ourselves up to demonic influence, demonic deception and demonic possession, which explains why so many people today are so irrational, so immune to logic, so resistant to facts and logical explanations."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=97161019341
If the Foundations be Destroyed, What can the Righteous do?
"The sociologist Daniel Bell reminds us that a cultural revolution is underway when there is a decisive break from the shared meanings from the past. Such is our present reality. God in his wisdom and grace, set four foundations on which our lives are to be built. All four are being shaken with a titanic force. This message deals with those pillars and responds to the dangers." -- Dr. Ravi Zacharias
https://www.rzim.org/listen/let-my-people-think/if-the-foundations-be-destroyed-ii-part-1
Is America Abandoning God? Ravi Zacharias
"A recent study [2012] showed that more and more people consider themselves unaffiliated with Christianity or any religion. What does that mean for our culture? Ravi Zacharias shares his response to the growing anti-religion sentiment in North America."
https://www.rzim.org/watch/video/is-america-abandoning-god
*Living in Critical Times (part 1), Ravi Zacharias
"We live in a society that wants nothing to do with God however once you do away with the existence of God, where do you turn for your absolutes? . . . Where do we find our moral framework?"
https://www.rzim.org/listen/let-my-people-think/living-in-critical-times-part-1
Living in Critical Times (part 2), Ravi Zacharias
https://www.rzim.org/listen/let-my-people-think/living-in-critical-times-part-2
John Locke (1632-1704)
"John Locke (29 August 1632 -- 28 October 1704), widely known as the Father of Liberalism,[2][3][4] was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.[5]
"Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers such as Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He postulated that the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. Contrary to pre-existing Cartesian philosophy, he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception.[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Page
http://www.mlj.org.uk/
Magna Carta
"Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for 'the Great Charter of the Liberties'), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; "Great Charter"), is a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215."
Includes Magna Carta clauses in the 1215 and later charters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
Making of America
http://www.umdl.umich.edu/moa/
An example of a 5000-volume virtual library created with binary scans.
Male Role and Responsibility, Gender Equality, Suffrage, Reproductive Rights, and the Decline of American Society
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#suffrage
Managing the Ethics of Algorithms
https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/2019/03/27/managing-the-ethics-of-algorithms/
Margaret Thatcher and Charles Dickens on the French Revolution, Frontline Fellowship
"Dickens' famous opening sentence summarizes the drama of A TALE OF TWO CITIES:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." -- Peter Hammondhttps://vimeo.com/242042901
A Nation in Decay (Part 1 of 4), Ravi Zacharias
"I don't care how powerful your economy could end up being. All I know is that if the moral fiber has collapsed, there is not a nation in this world that can stand." -- Ravi Zacharias
"Have you neglected the inner core of Christianity? Do you feel like morality is disappearing in our nation? Ravi Zacharias explores the dangers of this gradual change and the similarities between ancient Israel and our society today."
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/a-nation-in-decay-part-
1-of-4
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/a-nation-in-decay-part-
2-of-4
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/a-nation-in-decay-part-
3-of-4
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/a-nation-in-decay-part-
4-of-4
Number of US Children Raped by Illegal Aliens is Mind Blowing, August 5, 2017
"In one year, just in North Carolina alone, 198 illegal aliens were charges for 677 counts of sexual assault."
http://dennismichaellynch.com/number-u-s-children-raped-illegal-aliens-mind-blowing/
Our National Debt is Trillions of Dollars More Than you Think, Merrill Matthews, February 9, 2016,
"Thus, when Federal Reserve Bank debt is included, total federal debt rises to $21 trillion -- and that doesn't include the additional long-term Social Security and Medicare obligations the country has incurred. . . .
"When Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff added those obligations to total federal debt, he came up with $222 trillion."
http://rare.us/story/our-national-debt-is-trillions-of-dollars-more-than-you-think/
Paine Relief! Rebuttals to Thomas Paine's Age of Reason
http://www.classicapologetics.com/special/painerelief.html
A Partial Timeline of U.S. History Showing how Liberalization in the Church and Liberalization in the State, has Been Paralleled by Advances in the Feminist Movement, and the Overall Decline of American Society
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#ptushlcs
Poisoned Waters, PBS Frontline
"More than three decades after the Clean Water Act, two iconic waterways -- the great coastal estuaries Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay -- are in perilous condition. With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture, and massive suburban development, scientists fear contamination to the food chain and drinking water for millions of people. A growing list of endangered species is also threatened in both estuaries. As a new president, Congress, and states set new agendas and spending priorities, Frontline correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the rising hazards to human health and the ecosystem, and why it's so hard to keep our waters clean."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
Rise of the Gay, Gay Bisexual, and the Pink Inquisition
"Civilization Itself is at Stake
"At its heart, the battle to re-define marriage, to incorporate what God in the Bible condemns as perversion and an abomination, is a war against the family. It is not only a battle for the family, but it is a battle for civilization itself.
"Of the 26 civilizations that are recorded in history, none have survived the pubic tolerance of homosexual perversion. The great Roman and Greek civilizations collapsed when sexual morality was subverted. Homosexual perversion represented the terminal stage of the collapse of these civilizations. Similarly, one can see in the collapse of the Aztec, Mayan and Inca civilizations, the role of sexual perversion in fuelling the collapse of those societies." (Romans 1:24-32)
Rise of the Gay, Gay Bisexual, and the Pink Inquisition, digital file, Peter Hammond
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=71715793810
Rise of the Gay, Gay Bisexual, and the Pink Inquisition, digital file
https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/rise-of-the-gay-gb-and-the-pink-inquisition
Study Finds Rising Narcissism, Self-centeredness Among College Students, Associated Press, March 1, 2007
"Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society . . .
" 'Unfortunately, narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others, he says . . .'
"The researchers describe their study as the largest ever of its type, and say students' NPI scores have risen steadily since the current test was introduced in 1982. By 2006, they say two-thirds of the students had above-average scores, 30 percent more than in 1982 . . .
"The study asserts that narcissists 'are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty and over-controlling and violent behaviors.'
"Twenge, the author of GENERATION ME: WHY TODAY'S YOUNG AMERICANS ARE MORE CONFIDENT, ASSERTIVE, ENTITLED AND MORE MISERABLE THAN EVER BEFORE, says narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.
"The researchers traced the phenomenon back to what they called the 'self-esteem movement' that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far . . .
"The new report follows a study released by the University of California, Los Angeles last month that found that nearly three-quarters of the freshmen it surveyed thought it was important to be 'very well-off financially.' That compared with 62.5 percent who said the same in 1980 and 42 percent in 1966."
http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_7068.shtml
A Theological Interpretation of American History
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#stiahis
U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library Reference Desk
http://law.house.gov/refdesk.htm
U.S. National Debt Clock: Real Time
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Unmarried Childbearing
"Percent of all births to unmarried women: 40.7 percent. . . .
"Data are for the U.S., 2012. Source: Births: Final Data for 2012, Table C."
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/unmarry.htm
Unplugging Truth in a Morally Suicidal Culture (parts 1-3), Ravi Zacharias
" 'We are living today not in the delicious intoxication of the early successors of science, rather in the grisly morning after,' wrote Aldous Huxley. The process of secularization, pluralization, and privatization have contributed to a morally falling society, yet Ravi counters this reality with the truth of the Scriptures: We are not orphaned in this world, for God has created us with dignity and invites us to worship and serve Him. Ravi's message was the opening presentation at a bioethics conference held at the Center for Bioethics in Human Dignity."
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/unplugging-truth-in-a-morally-suicidal-culture-part-1
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/unplugging-truth-in-a-morally-suicidal-culture-part-2
https://www.rzim.org/listen/just-thinking/unplugging-truth-in-a-morally-suicidal-culture-part-3
The war Against Fathers, a sermon by Peter Hammond
And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)
"The Book of Malachi begins with a blessing and ends with this warning of a curse. Repentance and Faith in Christ will be seen in the restoration of family relationships.
"Karl Marx declared that to make a country communist, one needs to turn the children against their fathers!
"The denigration of dads has wreaked havoc on families and society. The war against masculinity in the West, since the 1960's, has resulted in a catastrophic decline of marriages, plummeting birth rates and more singles than ever before.
"The war against men, masculinity and fathers is only part of a broader war against the family, against Christian civilization and ultimately it is a war against God."
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=618191045161293&fbclid=IwAR3hxpsPcFZuzm8CM0WkmIXYV8YgPAodiv_8PRUjFV9TxGv0gHjdRKkB9QA
William S. Plumer's Tract on a Sad but Instructive History
http://www.covenanter.org/reformed/2015/7/14/william-s-plumers-tract-on-a-sad-but-instructive-history
See the Theological Notes: "God Reigns: Divine Sovereignty," at Daniel 4:34 in The Reformation Study Bible.See the Theological Notes: "The Law of God," at Exodus 20:1 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (Exodus 20:17)
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. (Jeremiah 6:13)
Planned economies do not work, because they fail to take into account man's sinfulness [covetousness -- compiler]. -- Reader's comment on The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
The Great Depression as Moral Failure: Presbyterian Industrialists and a Religious Rationale for Opposing the New Deal, Tyler Flynn, Assistant Professor of History, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA.
"For these business-friendly Presbyterians, the economy was in a free-fall because of human failure, not the failure of capitalism. As one Presbyterian clergyman wrote, capitalism was the 'oldest social order in the world' that 'came down to us through thousands of years;' it was the 'outgrowth of trial and experience.' The problem of the Great Depression was not capitalism, they claimed, but the foolishness and greed of the individuals at the helm of this economic system, captains of industry who pursued personal wealth at the expense of workers and the public." -- Tyler FlynnReformed scholars attribute recurring, national, economic depression to broad scale immorality, in other words, unethical business practices, or, in still other words, fleecing one's fellowman. In one sense all ten commandments of The Decalogue address covetousness in human nature. And the tenth is a summary of the previous nine.
No corporation on earth comes close to the accounting fraud practiced year after year by the federal government. In fact, there is no real accountability at all for the trillions in tax dollars raised and spent annually by Congress and our entrenched federal agencies. The official 'accounting' that does take place is a sham. Every year Congress creates a meaningless budget, the Fed prints phony money, the Budget office issues false revenue forecasts, and the administrative agencies waste billions in the most unproductive ways imaginable. Literally tens of billions of dollars go unaccounted for every year, simply disappearing down bureaucratic black holes [the banking system is controlled by the Federal Reserve -- could it be said that CEOs of financial institutions and banks know they are unregulated and are simply imitating the economic policy of the Federal Government? -- compiler]. This hardly represents a standard against which corporations should be judged! -- Texas Congressman, Ron Paul in What About Government Accountability?
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler] and the laissez faire school of economic thought. -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in JOHN CALVIN: HIS ROOT AND FRUITS, p. 46.
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. (Exodus 22:25)
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 8:17-20)My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. (Proverbs 6:1,2)He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretyship is sure. (Proverbs 11:15)
A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend. (Proverbs 17:18)
Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. (Proverbs 22:26)
Thy silver is become dross, they wine mixed with water. (Isaiah 1:22)
Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. (Isaiah 19:12)
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? (Isaiah 14:26, 27)See Isaiah 41:21-24 and annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. (Isaiah 48:17-19). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.
Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. (Isaiah 50:10)
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. (Isaiah 56:10-12). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:11-13)Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. (Proverbs 16:8)
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death. (Proverbs 21:6)
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. (Proverbs 22:16)
It is quite evident that in all of this Calvin was setting forth a view of free enterprise which is strictly Biblical. Free enterprise is that means adapted for man by which he fulfills the conditions of his stewardship. Enterprise that is truly free is constantly governed by the law of God. . . . (p. 46)
The Biblical doctrine of sin forbids the optimistic conclusion of Adam Smith [THE WEALTH OF NATIONS -- compiler], and the laissez faire school of economic thought. . . . (p. 46)
The wealthy stand as magistrates in the economic arena and have the same duty of stewardship as do those who hold political office. . . . (p. 46)
What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society. -- C. Gregg Singer, "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice" in John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits, pp. 46-48More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
Since then I have spent well-nigh fifty years working on the history of our Revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some sixty million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
What is more, the events of the Russian Revolution can only be understood now, at the end of the century, against the background of what has since occurred in the rest of the world. What emerges here is a process of universal significance. And if I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too, I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: Men have forgotten God. -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), from Men Have Forgotten God, his speech upon receiving the Templeton Award, May 10, 1983Western society has given itself the organization best suited to its purposes, based, I would say, on the letter of the law. The limits of human rights and righteousness are determined by a system of laws; such limits are very broad. People in the West have acquired considerable skill in using, interpreting and manipulating law, even though laws tend to be too complicated for an average person to understand without the help of an expert. Any conflict is solved according to the letter of the law and this is considered to be the supreme solution. If one is right from a legal point of view, nothing more is required, nobody may mention that one could still not be entirely right, and urge self-restraint, a willingness to renounce such legal rights, sacrifice and selfless risk: it would sound simply absurd. One almost never sees voluntary self-restraint. Everybody operates at the extreme limit of those legal frames. An oil company is legally blameless when it purchases an invention of a new type of energy in order to prevent its use. A food product manufacturer is legally blameless when he poisons his produce to make it last longer: after all, people are free not to buy it.
I have spent all my life under a communist regime and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed. But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either. A society which is based on the letter of the law and never reaches any higher is taking very scarce advantage of the high level of human possibilities. The letter of the law is too cold and formal to have a beneficial influence on society. Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relations, there is an atmosphere of moral mediocrity, paralyzing man's noblest impulses.
And it will be simply impossible to stand through the trials of this threatening century with only the support of a legalistic structure. -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), from A World Split Apart, a commencement speech given at Harvard University, June 8, 1978Conservatism is a political philosophy that professes to be practical and grounded in reality -- not in ideological or utopian dream worlds -- yet it cannot furnish a coherent answer to a very practical question: What is the proper punishment for a thief? Even ignoring the big questions -- What is the ideal government? Is there an ideal government? Is any government justified? What is the proper relationship between church and state? -- conservatism cannot answer a small question. If conservatism cannot offer a justified answer to a small question, it probably cannot answer larger questions. -- John W. Robbins in Conservatism: An Autopsy
Unless ye believe, ye shall not [come to] understand. (Isaiah 7:9b, Greek Septuagint)
This "became a motto for Augustine's intellectual quest."If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (Isaiah 7:9b)
Therefore, behold, I add to do. He threatens that he will punish by blinding not only the ignorant or the ordinary ranks, but those wise men who were held in admiration by the people. From this vengeance we may easily learn how hateful a vice hypocrisy is, and how greatly it is abhorred by God, as the Prophet spoke a little before about human inventions; for what kind of punishment is more dreadful than blindness of mind and stupidity? This indeed is not commonly perceived by men, nor are they aware of the greatness of this evil; but it is the greatest and most wretched of all. -- Calvin commenting on Isaiah 29:1-24
None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (Daniel 12:10)
World history and the Gallop Polls are replete with evidence that, generally speaking (time and space do not allow the whole argument here), the populace follows the example of their leaders and the example of their government. There is no doubt in this writer's mind that, after the federal government legalized state lotteries about 1976, that investment bankers and big business followed the example of the government, and began using strategies that amount to gambling, to maximize profits by risking capital assets. The financial 'house of cards' eventually lead to the meltdown of 2008, one of the greatest global economic depression in history.
Yes, AIG (American International Group), should be left to fail.
In the eyes of the educated citizen, the Federal Government's bailout of AIG is outrageous, as is the incredible lack of prior regulation. Outrageous! Trillions of dollars are changing hands, and we see nothing but incompetence and corruption on all sides -- the greatest theft in human history.
The use of "financial innovation," namely "derivatives" and "hedge funds" by AIG, an international corporation, amounts to "Casino Economics" and "Gaming the System." The practice has brought the world to a global financial crisis.
We see the Federal Government as culpable for both the AIG debauchle and the broader Global Depression, in which AIG is a kingpin.
Arguing that there is no connection between the "Casino Economics" of AIG, the syndicate's control of the gambling industry, organized crime "following the money," the legalization of gambling in the United States to augment tax revenues, and the foolishness of "the powers that be" in dealing with this global economic crisis by "pouring good money after bad," -- arguing that there is no connection between all this -- would be very difficult.
Considering the power of leadership by example, we respectfully recommend that the Federal Government immediately repeal all laws that legalized gambling of any type in the past, especially government sponsored gambling. This would go a long way toward ending our "culture of gambling." We hold that repealing these laws is prerequisite to Federal Government attempts to remedy the banking crisis by rewriting regulations for investment institutions and banks of the future.
The startling irony is that America's OUTRAGE at the incompetence and corruption, on all sides, is probably akin to the outrage of terrorist extremist who targeted the Twin Towers.Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? (Jeremiah 5:25-31). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.
*Baxter, Richard (1615-1691), A Christian Directory: Baxter's Practical Works, Vol. 1. Full title: A Christian Directory: or A Sum of Practical Theology, and Cases of Conscience. Directing Christians how to use Their Knowledge and Faith; How to Improve all Helps and Means, and to Perform all Duties; How to Overcome Temptations, and to Escape or Mortify Every Sin. In Four Parts.
I. Christian Ethics (or Private Duties)
II. Christian Economics (or Family Duties)
III. Christian Ecclesiastics (or Church Duties)
IV. Christian Politics (or Duties to Our Rulers and Neighbours) (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997, 1990, 1838, 1707, 1678, 1673), ISBN: 1877611131 9781877611131. Foreword by J.I. Packer (Soli Deo Gloria edition only). The Soli Deo Gloria publication is a facsimile reprint of the 19th century reprint by George Virtue, London, 1846. The original 1673 edition and the 1678 edition, both printed by Robert White for Nevill Simmons. Bibliographic and scriptural footnotes. A Christian classic. Considered to be among the ten greatest books in the English language. Available (less the J.I. Packer's Foreword, but searchable with an OCR-based index), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
This work is available in many editions, and in many formats.
Reformation Heritage Books has new copies of the Soli Deo Gloria edition (including the J.I. Packer Introduction), as of March 2008, even though it is generally thought to be out of print. They acquired Soli Deo Gloria from Ligonier Ministries in late 2007.
The best digital format of the reprint by George Virtue is included on the Puritan Hard Drive. It has an OCR scan in the background, meaning one can search the entire volume and copy text into another document. It also has a computer generated indexed from the OCR scan which is, of course, in Baxter's vocabulary.
A PDF image scan only of the same edition is available on the Reformation Bookshelf CD #21.
The reprint by George Virtue is available online and may be downloaded in PDF format at Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
The reprint by George Virtue appears in full preview in Google Books but may not be downloaded. So it is useful if the reader wants to become acquainted with the book. Text can be searched, but can not be copied into another document. This particular Google Books scan includes the contents in detail on pages iii-xix which is not included in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library PDF files. About five other editions from libraries are available in Google Books, and may be downloaded (August 2008).
Notice that the e-text in Google Books has the advantage of being searchable. Searching an image-based PDF file (without an OCR scan in the background), is not possible, unless the user owns software such as Abode Acrobat Pro or Kirtas BookScan Editor. They both have an OCR (optical character recognition), feature that will search an image-based PDFs (bit-map scans). Searches appear to be perfect in this work, although one must know Baxter's vocabulary. Text can be cut and pasted from image-based PDF format to OCR (character) format. This particular Google Books scan can not be cut and pasted or downloaded.
One of the older, multi-volume editions of THE WORKS OF RICHARD BAXTER is available at Monergism.com in the "Puritan Library," "Richard Baxter." A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, volume 23. It can be downloaded.
http://www.puritanlibrary.com/
Another older edition is available on microfilm (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1970), 1 microfilm reel, 35 mm (Early English books, 1641-1700; 343:11).
"The complete practical works of Richard Baxter are in print in four volumes entitled BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS. This volume (about 1 1/4 million words, 1028 pages), is volume one of the set. The editor's preface (1707), p. xiii, stated that the works of Richard Baxter are 'perhaps the best body of practical divinity that is extent in our own or any other tongue.' Richard Baxter lived from 1615-1691. The DIRECTORY was completed in 1665. Its scope was intended to cover all of practical theology, a summa of casuistry . . ." -- Don Kistler
"Baxter's series, which grew in range and scope as it proceeded . . . is a peak point in Puritan devotional writing, and remains a precious resource for all, in this or any age, who want to know what is involved in Biblical godliness. . . . A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY may justly be described as a landmark. It is the fullest, most thorough, and in this writer's judgment, most profound treatment of Christian spirituality and standards that has ever been attempted by an English-speaking Evangelical author. The fact that it embraces both spirituality and standards (the principles of communion with God plus the specifics of obedience to God), merits approving comment in itself; nowadays spirituality and ethics have become two distinct disciplines in the schools, and books written on either say virtually nothing about the other . . ." -- J.I. Packer
Timothy Keller calls it the greatest manual on Biblical counseling ever produced.
"There are many Puritan classics on this subject. Thomas Brooks' PRECIOUS REMEDIES FOR SATAN'S DEVICES, Thomas Goodwin's A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DARKNESS, William Bridge's A LIFTING UP FOR THE DOWNCAST, and many other similar works give evidence that the Puritans were. . . . masters at applying Biblical answers and principles to problems that can only be solved by spiritual means. No Puritan work, however, has ever approached the popularity, the scope, or the depth of Baxter's classic treatise. With the widespread interest in counseling in today's church, this reprint of Baxter's work should be a welcome addition to every pastor's library, or to anyone else who wishes to give solid Biblical answers to man's questions." -- Don Kistler
"We have long waited for a purely Biblical treatment of the spiritual ills and cures of men which is untainted by the views of psychology. Since Baxter lived about 200 years before psychology arrived, his deep work is completely void of its encroachment -- thankfully!" -- John MacArthur
"The kings men sought to arrest Richard Baxter, but he traveled ceaselessly from place to place, writing his sermons and his books even on horseback (he had an inkwell in his saddle), and preached over a wide area." -- Brian H. Edwards
"Baxter was a wonder of his age. His writings total 72 large volumes, much of it written on horseback as he traveled in his widespread preaching efforts. He seldom, if ever, edited anything he wrote. Knowing this any reader will be amazed at how well he communicated his deep love for his Savior. For 26 years he was public enemy No. 1 to the king, yet he lived to see the flight of the king in 1688." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
POOR MAN'S FAMILY BOOK (1674) and THE CATECHIZING OF FAMILIES (1683), are less detailed works and are found in THE REFORMED PASTOR: BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 4. They are more suitable for family instruction than are the detailed presentation in A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY.
"Ptacek in FAMILY WORSHIP: BIBLICAL BASIS, HISTORICAL REALITY, CURRENT NEED (pp. 51-52), supplies the following information in regard to Baxter and this book. He notes that after the Episcopalians ejected numerous 'nonconformists,' in what is know as the 'great ejection,' in 1662, 'Baxter pastored from house to house, visiting families of his parish in their homes. These visits contributed to Baxter's A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, a large and still very relevant manual of pastoral care.' Focusing on just one area of great importance, Ptacek demonstrates how this book's relevance is not limited by time or culture, though sometimes the use of specific words are. 'Published in 1673, but written 1664-65, a large book-length part of Baxter's CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY is devoted to the family. It is entitled 'Christian Economics' based on the archaic usage of the word, which reflects the proper sense of the Greek root oikonomos as the manager of a household, in the Christian case, the spiritual leader of the family. The family head is essential to Baxter's view of family worship and instruction. Baxter asserts that it is God's will that this instruction be carried out by the rulers of the families.' For a male head of the household to fail to do so, or to have another instruct in the family, is contrary to his position of authority.' This is the kind of book that can be passed on from generation to generation and still find much use in the service of the kingdom of God.
"Though relatively weak on corporate sanctification, corporate faithfulness and some important areas of doctrine (such as justification), Baxter's work on subjects related to personal piety can be of good practical use to the Christian -- if one is careful to separate out his aberrant doctrinal views and any practical errors they may lead to." -- Publisher
The following three excerpts are included as bonus free books on Reformation Bookshelf CD #28.
1. "The Duties of Parents for Their Children" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. X., pp. 449-454.
2. "The Special Duties of Children Towards Their Parents" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. XI., pp. 454-457.
3. "The Special Duties of Children and Youth Towards God" from BAXTER'S PRACTICAL WORKS, VOL. 1, A CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY, on Christian Economics, Chap. XII., pp. 457-458).
A summary of currently (2012) available publications.
http://www.lettermen2.com/pwrbcd.html
Richard Baxter, from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baxter
Bologna, G. Jack, and Robert J. Lindquist, Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting: New Tools and Techniques, 2nd edition (Wiley, January 15, 1995), 249 pages, ISBN: 0471106461 9780471106463.
"Fraud, in the words of the authors, is no simple vice. Recent years have seen it grow both in size and complexity, to the point where some estimates place losses due to fraud at well over $100 billion a year. And, with the increasing complexity of financial structures and the intensity of business competition, fraud has become harder to detect and more tempting to commit.
"Since much of the responsibility for detecting fraud has been assumed by the accounting profession, accountants need to learn how to recognize its signs and investigate it. FRAUD AUDITING AND FORENSIC ACCOUNTING, SECOND EDITION focuses on the investigation, detection, documentation, and prevention of accounting frauds, stock frauds, and employee theft and embezzlement. Written by recognized experts in the field of white-collar crime, this comprehensive book provides an incisive, in-depth analysis of how fraud occurs within an organization and explains the latest techniques for fighting it. The authors have brought together up-to-date material to show practicing professionals how to:
"G. Jack Bologna, BBA, JD, CFE, is President of Computer Protection Systems, Inc., and Associate Professor of Management at Siena Heights College. Among his numerous publications are THE ACCOUNTANT'S HANDBOOK OF FRAUD AND COMMERCIAL CRIME (Wiley), FORENSIC ACCOUNTING HANDBOOK, and HANDBOOK ON CORPORATE FRAUD. He is also editor of two newsletters, Forensic Accounting Review and Computer Security Digest. Mr. Bologna is a recipient of the Thomas J. Fitzgerald Award for significant contribution to the field of information security.Recognize the characteristics of organizations in which fraud is likely to occur
Detect and deter accounting fraud, using the most recently developed techniques
Conduct an efficient, systematic fraud investigation
Use the latest methods for documenting fraud and preparing evidence -- and much more
In addition, this timely, authoritative book presents new case studies, drawn from a wide variety of actual incidents, that demonstrate industry-tested methods for dealing with fraud.
*Bookstaber, Richard, A Demon of our own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation, ISBN: 9780470393758 0470393750.
"Why do markets keep crashing and why are financial crises greater than ever before? As the risk manager to some of the leading firms on Wall Street -- from Morgan Stanley to Salomon and Citigroup -- and a member of some of the world's largest hedge funds, from Moore Capital to Ziff Brothers and FrontPoint Partners, Rick Bookstaber has seen the ghost inside the machine and vividly shows us a world that is even riskier than we think. The very things done to make markets safer, have, in fact, created a world that is far more dangerous. From the 1987 crash to Citigroup closing the Salomon Arb unit, from staggering losses at UBS to the demise of Long-Term Capital Management, Bookstaber gives readers a front row seat to the management decisions made by some of the most powerful financial figures in the world that led to catastrophe, and describes the impact of his own activities on markets and market crashes. Much of the innovation of the last 30 years has wreaked havoc on the markets and cost trillions of dollars. A Demon of Our Own Design tells the story of man's attempt to manage market risk and what it has wrought. In the process of showing what we have done, Bookstaber shines a light on what the future holds for a world where capital and power have moved from Wall Street institutions to elite and highly leveraged hedge funds.
"Richard Bookstaber runs an equity hedge fund in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the director of risk management at Ziff Brothers Investments and at Moore Capital Management, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. He served as the managing director in charge of firm-wide risk management at Salomon Brothers and was a member of Salomon's powerful Risk Management Committee. Mr. Bookstaber also spent ten years at Morgan Stanley in quantitative research and as a proprietary trader, concluding his tenure there as Morgan Stanley's first market risk manager. He is the author of three books and scores of articles on finance topics ranging from options theory to risk management. Bookstaber received a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.
"In recounting his time as risk manager at a number of prominent houses (Morgan Stanley, Salomon Brothers, Citigroup etc.), Bookstaber completes the i-banking trifecta. First there was the Michael Lewis classic, Liar's Poker, detailing the juvenile bravado and macho antics of the trading floor. Then Jonathan Knee gave an intimate portrait of the i-banker deal making culture with The Accidental Investment Banker." -- Publisher
"Bright sparks like Mr. Bookstaber ushered in a revolution that fuelled the boom in financial derivatives and Byzantine 'structured products.' The problem, he argues, is that this wizardry has made markets more crisis-prone, not less so. It has done this in two ways: by increasing complexity, and by forging tighter links between various markets and securities, making them dangerously interdependent." -- The Economist
"Like many pessimistic observers, Richard Bookstaber thinks financial derivatives, Wall Street innovation and hedge funds will lead to a financial meltdown. What sets Mr. Bookstaber apart is that he has spent his career designing derivatives, working on Wall Street and running a hedge fund." -- The Wall Street Journal
"Exactly WHY do markets misbehave? Rick Bookstaber draws on his extensive knowledge of today's complex financial markets to set forth many of the reasons endogenous risk is so large AND so ominous. He understands one of the most sobering aspects of this risk: its sources are far too complex to be meaningfully assessed. This gives lie to current regulatory bromides that 'everything will be OK provided that we better assess and manage risk,' for the risks that matter most are non-assessable!" -- "Woody" Brock, President, Strategic Economic Decisions, Inc.
Braby, Don, The Greatest Depression of All Time: Will America Survive This Time and What can you do About it, ISBN: 1438201931 9781438201931.
"THE GREATEST DEPRESSION is a book that is written to alert Americans of the coming economic crisis that many believed would occur during the lives of our children's or our grandchildren's lives. However, that time is now. The United States is about to see an economic crisis for the ages. Buy this book now and discover how to prepare for the financial crisis of 2009 and beyond." -- Publisher
"Revisiting his earlier predictions of precarious times in American economics [THE APPROACHING WINTER: THE NEXT GREAT DEPRESSION, 2005], Braby has created a second, more telling book, rife with explanations of our current financial crisis and its symptoms (layoffs, mortgage defaults, chronic unemployment, failure of government and financial institutions to recognize/prevent catastrophe). While I'm no economist, I understood and appreciated Braby's explanation of cyclical economics, and how -- whether it's inflated stocks or a subprime mortgage crisis -- history has a way of repeating itself, especially when it comes to our economy. Detailing an 80-year economic 'cycle,' and weaving in the current effects of a Bear Market on our 'American psyche,' Braby leaves no room for doubt: we're in a mess and should have seen it coming.
"While THE GREATEST DEPRESSION OF ALL TIME isn't a how-to for anyone looking to weather the current financial crisis, it is a solid, well-researched read for those interested in a crash course in American economic history or the state of American economic affairs (through late summer 2008). For that reason, and for Braby's concise, easy approach to economics, I heartily recommend this read." -- Reader's Comment
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, 4 books, published in 2 volumes, ISBN: 0801024404. A Christian classic. Available in CALVIN'S COMMENTARIES, a 22-book series, online, and in various other formats.
"Of all commentators I believe Calvin to be the most candid. . . . He was no trimmer and pruner of texts. He gave their meaning as far as he knew it." -- C.H. Spurgeon
"I know of no man since the Apostles' days whom I value and honor more than Calvin, and whose judgment in all things, one with another, I more esteem and come nearer to." -- Richard Baxter (1615-1691)
There are at least 400 references to Augustine in John Calvin. Anybody who says that Calvin got his theology of the top of his head knows no Calvin. Calvin knew Augustine probably better than anybody else, including Luther [See Warfield, CALVIN AND AUGUSTINE. -- compiler]. Calvin went back to all the early western fathers. I would say that next to Augustine, his theology is based upon Bernard of Clairvaux and Anselm, and he had a higher respect for Saint Thomas Aquinas than many people are willing to admit. But he is in the western theological tradition. Charles Hodge, in his SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY of three volumes, very often refers to Calvinism as Augustinianism, and you can see why. . . . [Charles Hodge], declares that you might as well call Calvinism revived and revitalized Augustinianism. -- C. Gregg Singer in Speaking on Calvinism, a lectureThere seem to be very few commentaries on Chronicles from Reformed writers. Both Chronicles and Isaiah cover the reign of good King Hezekiah. Probably this is one reason Calvin did not comment on Chronicles. Isaiah covers the themes of Chronicles with the addition of the prophesy of the Messiah.
*Durbin, Michael, All About Derivatives, ISBN: 0071451471 9780071451475.
"The answer to trading profit growth lies in derivatives. ALL ABOUT DERIVATIVES explains the major derivatives and their key features of each; vital mechanical issues such as storage, settlement, valuation, and payoff; and common types of risk and how to effectively hedge against them. Michael Durbin is known as a derivatives trader and manager for one of the world's largest, most high-profile hedge funds.
"Everything you need to know about derivatives -- what they are, how they work, and how they can enhance profits and control market risk. Financial derivatives, from standard put and call options to more complex strategies and combinations, are among the most versatile, powerful, and valuable tools available to investors. ALL ABOUT DERIVATIVES introduces you to the many different types of derivatives, providing simple explanations and easy-to-follow methods for using each. . . .
"Whatever your level of investing expertise, from beginner to veteran, ALL ABOUT DERIVATIVES will give you the information you need to know:
Contracts -- forwards, futures, swaps, options, and credit derivatives
Terms -- volatility, arbitrage, the greeks, and many more
Key mechanics -- storage, settlement, valuation, and payoff
Pricing methods and mathematics for determining fair value
Hedging strategies for managing different types of risk
Leverage -- why it can be your best friend or worst enemy
And more
"Michael Durbin is a veteran business systems analyst and project manager specializing in financial derivative trading systems. His projects include high-performance systems for Bank of America, Bank One, and a leading global hedge fund." -- Publisher
Eidsmoe, John, Legalized Gambling: America's bad bet, ISBN: 1579105688 9781579105686.
"Gambling has been a hot issue in nearly every state today. Gambling interests tell your state legislature that legalized gambling will bring jobs, revenue, and prosperity for all. John Eidsmoe does an outstanding job destroying all the flimsy claims of gambling advocates by pointing out such factors as gambling addiction, bankruptcy, cruelty to animals in pari-mutuel betting, how gambling preys upon the lower class as a regressive form of taxation. The book also tells about how gambling at the least does nothing for a state economy, at the worst it hurts businesses. Most importantly is the fact that gambling is linked to organized crime and the mob's insidious tactics to subterfuge legal gambling operations. This book is well written and detailed, yet an easy read for anyone who wonders what as to how gambling would do to their community. It should be required reading for all state legislators who are struggling with the gambling issue in their state." -- Reader's Comment
Ellul, Jacques (1912-1994), Money and Power, ISBN: 0551013923 9780551013926.
"Discusses the ethics of wealth and incidentally elucidates the Biblical teaching on money and its use. . . ." -- Cyril J. Barber
"In this one of many brilliant books by Ellul, he exposes the folly of a purely collective, societal approach, such as that offered by communism, or capitalism. Instead, through a study of various Biblical references in the Old and New Testament, puts the responsibility on the individual. The new covenant of Jesus is compared to the Old Testament pattern of wealth as a sign of blessing. He examines the teaching of Jesus on God and Mammon. Contemporary models of stewardship are exposed as inadequate. Further, he clearly shows the underlying power money has over a person, despite any feelings of control we may think we have. The teachings of Jesus about giving and trusting provide the path to freedom -- every hair is numbered. Only by God's grace and transforming love are we able to overcome this subtle and insidious power. Highly recommended, especially at a time in our history when many have lost faith in the market." -- Reader's Comment
Ferguson, Niall, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, ISBN: 1594201927 9781594201929.
"Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. But historian Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What's more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history. Through Ferguson's expert lens, for example, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the world's first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. Yet the central lesson of financial history is that, sooner or later, every bubble bursts." -- Publisher
Ferguson, Niall, The Ascent of Money Boom and Bust (PBS Home Video), ISBN: 0793670519 9780793670512.
"Bestselling author, economist and historian Niall Ferguson takes a look at how money evolved, from the concept of credit and debt in the Renaissance to the emergence of a global economy and the subprime crisis we face today." -- Publisher
*Galbraith, James, The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and why Liberals Should too, ISBN: 141656683X 9781416566830.
"Shows how to break the spell that conservatives have cast over the minds of liberals (and everyone else), for many years." -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2001)
"The cult of the free market has dominated economic policy-talk since the Reagan revolution of nearly thirty years ago. Tax cuts and small government, monetarism, balanced budgets, deregulation, and free trade are the core elements of this dogma, a dogma so successful that even many liberals accept it. But a funny thing happened on the bridge to the twenty-first century. While liberals continue to bow before the free-market altar, conservatives in the style of George W. Bush have abandoned it altogether. That is why principled conservatives -- the Reagan true believers -- long ago abandoned Bush.
"Enter James K. Galbraith, the iconoclastic economist. In this riveting book, Galbraith first dissects the stale remains of Reaganism and shows how Bush and company had no choice except to dump them into the trash. He then explores the true nature of the Bush regime: a 'corporate republic,' bringing the methods and mentality of big business to public life; a coalition of lobbies, doing the bidding of clients in the oil, mining, military, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, insurance, and media industries; and a predator state, intent not on reducing government but rather on diverting public cash into private hands. In plain English, the Republican Party has been hijacked by political leaders who long since stopped caring if reality conformed to their message.
"Galbraith follows with an impertinent question: if conservatives no longer take free markets seriously, why should liberals? Why keep liberal thought in the straitjacket of pay-as-you-go, of assigning inflation control to the Federal Reserve, of attempting to 'make markets work'? Why not build a new economic policy based on what is really happening in this country?
"The real economy is not a free-market economy. It is a complex combination of private and public institutions, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, higher education, the housing finance system, and a vast federal research establishment. The real problems and challenges -- inequality, climate change, the infrastructure deficit, the subprime crisis, and the future of the dollar -- are problems that cannot be solved by incantations about the market. They will be solved only with planning, with standards and other policies that transcend and even transform markets.
"A timely, provocative work whose message will endure beyond this election season, THE PREDATOR STATE will appeal to the broad audience of thoughtful Americans who wish to understand the forces at work in our economy and culture and who seek to live in a nation that is both prosperous and progressive." -- Publisher
"James Galbraith has written an extremely challenging book. Although its principal target is conservative economics, it is no less critical of conventional liberalism. Galbraith correctly recognizes that today both approaches are intellectually bankrupt and incapable of addressing the nation's pressing economic problems. I hope The Predator State stimulates needed debate among both liberals and conservatives on the mistakes both sides have made that have gotten us to where we are now." -- Bruce Bartlett, author of Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
Goodman, Robert, The Luck Business: The Devastating Consequences and Broken Promises of America's Gambling Explosion, ISBN: 0684831821 9780684831824.
*Griffin, G. Edward, The Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, ISBN: 0912986212 9780912986210.
"This is a story about limitless money and hidden global power. The good news is that it is as fascinating as any work of fiction could be, and this, I trust, will add both pleasure and excitement to the learning process. The bad news is that every detail of what follows is true." -- G. Edward Griffin
The CREATURE makes the fundamental political issues surrounding the Federal Reserve understandable to the American people -- hard-working citizens like you and me -- who are its victims." -- The New American
"This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It's all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. . . ." -- Publisher
*Hartmann, Thom, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, ISBN: 1579546277 9781579546274.
"This extraordinary book combines meticulous historical and legal research with a clear and compelling writing style to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt the incompatibility of corporate personhood with democracy, the market economy, and the well-being of society. Complete with a practical program for essential reform to restore the rights of real persons -- including model legislation -- it is essential reading and an invaluable reference work for every citizen who cares about democracy, justice, and the human future." -- David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies." -- Paul Hawken, author of Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce
"Unequal taxes, unequal accountability for crime, unequal influence, unequal privacy, and unequal access to natural resources and our commons -- these inequalities and more are the effects of corporations winning the rights of persons while simultaneously being given the legal protections to avoid the responsibilities that come with these rights. Hartmann tells the intriguing story of how it got this way -- from the colonists' rebellion against the commercial interests of the British elite to the distorted application of the Fourteenth Amendment -- and how to get back to a government of, by, and for the people.
"Over the past two centuries, those playing the corporate game at the very highest levels seem to have won a victory for themselves -- a victory that is turning bitter in the mouths of many of the six billion humans on planet Earth. It's even turning bitter in unexpected ways for those who won it, as they find their own lives and families touched by an increasingly toxic environment, fragile and top-heavy economy, and hollow culture -- all traceable back to the frenetic systems of big business that resulted from the doctrine that corporations are persons."
"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical research with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel. I intended to take a first quick glance and then couldn't put it down." -- David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"UNEQUAL PROTECTION should be in the hands of every thinking American. If we do not awaken soon, democracy will be replaced by a new 'Third Reich' of corporate tyranny. To be aware of the danger is the responsibility of each of us. No one has told us the truth better than Thom Hartmann. Read it!" -- Gerry Spence, author of Give Me Liberty
"Essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of democracy, both here and abroad. With devastating precision and well-reasoned passion, Thom Hartmann shows the reader precisely how the corporate entity gained such a perilously dominant role in the life of a nation whose founders meant for its politics to respond to the concerns of people and communities, not return-seeking corporations." -- Jeff Gates, president, Shared Capitalism Institute, author, Democracy at Risk
Thom Hartmann's, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights. A Review by Richard W. Behan
"UNEQUAL PROTECTION may prove to be the most significant book in the history of corporate personhood, a doctrine which dates to 1886. For 116 years, corporate personhood has been scrutinized and criticized, but never seriously threatened. Now Thom Hartmann has discovered a fatal legal flaw in its origin: corporate personhood is doomed."
http://www.main.nc.us/pace/18_corporate/
Haugen, David M., Legalized Gambling, ISBN: 0816060541 9780816060542.
"LEGALIZED GAMBLING by David M. Haugen is an excellent reference to the diverse issues surrounding the legal aspects of gambling. Providing a complete chronology of important events, a glossary of terms, bibliographical listings [fully annotated bibliography], and a comprehensive index. LEGALIZED GAMBLING offers readers a compendium of the essential information relevant to the complex workings of gaming casinos, the legal premises of gambling, ethical questions and analysis of gambling, and a great deal more useful, critically important information. With the increasing popularity and availability of gambling in America today, LEGALIZED GAMBLING is very strongly recommended for all readers as a thorough guide to the manifold issues of gambling and its history in America." -- Midwest Book Review
*Joseph, R. Gabriel (editor), America Betrayed: Bush, Bin Laden, 9/11 . . . AIDs, Anthrax, Iraq . . . , ISBN: 0971644578 9780971644571.
"Prescott Bush and Rockefeller's Standard Oil had been in business with the Hitler regime and the Nazis since 1933, and in 1942, three Bush businesses were seized by the U.S. government, for violation of the Trading With the Enemies Act.
"Three generations of the Bush clan became members of a German secret society: the Yale chapter of the 'Order of Skull and Bones.' In Germany, the 'Order of Skull of Bones' -- also known as 'The Brotherhood of Death' -- gave rise to Hitler and the dreaded SS. Prescott Bush, through his shipping company, became a special 'Friend' of Himmler's SS -- the same SS which, in conjunction with IG Farbin, ran the concentration and slave labor camps.
"The Bush clan and Rockefeller's Standard Oil, were in business with IG Farbin, as well as with the Saudis who had also partnered with Hitler.
"At the conclusion of WWII, and Germany's defeat, thousands of high ranking Nazis and SS agents were recruited, by Bush-Rockefeller lawyer, Allen Dulles, into what would later become the CIA. Allen Dulles, and later, George Bush, would become directors of the CIA . . .
"IG Farbin, a consortium of companies that included Bayer, conducted horrible experiments on concentration camp inmates to discover an 'ethnic biological weapon' -- a deadly disease that would target specific ethnic groups . . . Drs. funded by the Rockefeller Foundation directed this research.
"In 1957, a scientist who completed his medical training in Nazi-occupied Poland, and who was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, injected 300,000 Central African men, women, and children, with an experimental polio vaccine -- a vaccine that contained a deadly AIDS-like virus, monkey HSIV. Years later, Central Africa would become 'Ground Zero' for the AIDS/HIV epidemic . . .
"Three generations of the Bush clan have been in business with governments and people who kill Americans, and on the morning of 9-11-2001, Bush Sr. was in business with the bin Ladens and other Saudis who had helped fund Osama bin Laden and the attack of 9-11-2001 . . .
"The attack of 9-11, would transform an inept, seemingly incompetent president into a war time leader who would attack not Saudi Arabia but Iraq and then steal its oil . . . as well as attack American Civil Liberties and the U.S. constitution . . .
" 'Key FBI Headquarters personnel had to be spies or moles . . . who were actually working for Osama Bin Laden. . . . Key FBI HQ personnel . . . continued to, almost inexplicably, throw up roadblocks and undermine Minneapolis' desperate efforts . . . to stop terrorists. . . .' who planned 'to take control of a plane and fly it into the World Trade Center.' -- FBI supervisor, and Coleen M. Rowley, FBI Special Agent and Chief Division Counsel. . . . and it goes on and on . . . .
"In researching and writing this book, we relied on numerous sources, including those within the intelligence community. Prior to and after 9-11, hundreds of pages of secret documents were provided, including reports written by the FBI. However, rather than asking the reader to accept the word of 'confidential sources,' Dr. Joseph and his research team have sought out and he has cited corroborating evidence that is either part of the public record, or buried within government files that can only be accessed with the help of the Freedom of Information Act. Every chapter in this book is extensively referenced.
"Much of the information in this book was obtained prior to 9-11-2001. We at University Press, had been working on an academically oriented text, called: TERRORISM, FUTURE WARS AGAINST AMERICA. Based on the data collected, Dr. Joseph began predicting, in the weeks prior to 9-11, that we could expect a major terrorist attack on New York or Washington before the end of 2001.
"Because we at University Press had so much advanced information related to 9-11, we hired several New York journalists, and were able to publish, within 30 days of this tragedy, a rather extensive account of what led up to 9-11 as well as what transpired on that horrible day. Indeed, long before the mass media found out, we obtained and provided details on the Zacarias Moussaoui case and the inexplicable behavior of top FBI and CIA officials who failed to heed the warnings of lower level FBI agents. We also detailed how the CIA and FBI allowed Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi to enter and move about freely in the U.S., despite their connections to al-Qaeda. Indeed, this material appeared in our book, AMERICA ATTACKED, which was published on October 11, 2001 -- 30 days after 9-11. Six months later, the American mass media and the joint Congressional committee examining the so called intelligence failures leading up to 9-11, confirmed our reports.
"We beat the media again in March of 2002, when we published the book, JOHN WALKER LINDH, AMERICAN TALIBAN, and revealed that John Walker Lindh was 'gay' and that he may have been seduced and recruited by an older man, who we named. Six months later, our observations were confirmed by Time magazine.
"Yet another source of information that found its way into this current book, was the research conducted on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. This research was for a future book, and a future documentary film, titled: HITLER'S DIARIES. We learned, a long time ago, that the Bush family fortune traces its roots to Hitler's Germany. Doing business with murderers, terrorists, and the enemies of America, seems to be a Bush family tradition." -- Publisher
*Kelly, Marjorie, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, ISBN: 1576752372 9781576752371.
First published just prior to the Enron debacle, the new paperback edition, includes new material on Enron.
"Wealth inequality, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are symptoms -- the fevers and chills of the economy. The underlying illness, says Business Ethics magazine founder Marjorie Kelly, is shareholder primacy: the corporate drive to make profits for shareholders, no matter who pays the cost. In THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly argues that focusing on the interests of stockholders to the exclusion of everyone else's interests is a form of discrimination based on property or wealth. She shows how this bias is held by our institutional structures, much as they once held biases against blacks and women. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL exposes six aristocratic principles that corporations are built on, principles that we would never accept in our modern democratic society but which we accept unquestioningly in our economy. Wealth bias is a holdover from our pre-democratic past. It has enabled shareholders to become a kind of economic aristocracy. Kelly shows how to design more equitable alternatives -- new property rights, new forms of corporate governance, new ways of looking at corporate performance -- that build on both free-market and democratic principles. We think of shareholder primacy as the natural law of the free market, much as our forebears thought of monarchy as the most natural form of government. But in THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL, Kelly brilliantly demonstrates that it is no more 'natural' than any other human creation. People designed this system and people can change it. We need a change of mind as profound as that of the American Revolution. We must question the legitimacy of a system that gives the wealthy few -- the ten percent of Americans who own ninety percent of all stock -- a disproportionate power over the many. In so doing, we can fulfill the democratic principles of our nation not only in the political sphere, but in the economic sphere as well." -- Publisher
"Brilliant. So simple. So direct. And so beautifully written. I think we have found our Thomas Paine for the new millennium." -- David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
"Marjorie Kelly is the cofounder and editor of Business Ethics, a national publication on corporate social responsibility. Kelly's writing has appeared in publications such as The Utne Reader, The Progressive Populist, Tikkun, Earth Island Journal, Hope Magazine, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Her work has been anthologized in a half-dozen books, including THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS and THE NEW PARADIGM IN BUSINESS. Kelly is a regular speaker and commentator on business ethics and corporate social responsibility featured in The Wall Street Journal, quoted in the New York Times, and interviewed frequently on NPR and other radio networks." -- Publisher
Divine Right of Capital
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/
Business Ethics Magazine
http://www.business-ethics.com/
An Opening for Change: Understanding the Enron Crisis
Excerpted from THE DIVINE RIGHT OF CAPITAL: DETHRONING THE CORPORATE ARISTOCRACY, by Marjorie Kelly, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, paperback edition 2003
http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/new_agenda.htm
Corporate Accountability Project
http://www.corporations.org/
Corporate Governance
http://corpgov.net/
Code for Corporate Responsibility
http://www.c4cr.org/
Krugman, Paul, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, ISBN: 9780393071016 0393071014.
"In 1999, in THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS, Paul Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and pointed out that those crises were a warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback. In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and financial wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the international crises of the 1990s faded from memory. But now depression economics has come to America: when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries caught up in earlier crises and a replay of the 1930s seems all too possible.
"In this new, greatly updated edition of THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession. Brilliantly crafted in Krugman's trademark style -- lucid, lively, and supremely informed -- this new edition of THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis.
"Paul Krugman is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. He writes a twice-weekly op-ed column for the New York Times and a blog named for his 2007 book, THE CONSCIENCE OF LIBERAL. He teaches economics at Princeton University." -- Publisher
Livingstone, Charles Henry, An Imaginary Economy: Gambling, Commodity, Meaning (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Melbourne, Ashworth Program in Social Theory, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, 2006).
MacDougall, Ernest David, Speculation and Gambling, 1936.
McChesney, Fred S., Money for Nothing: Politicians, Rent Extraction, and Political Extortion, ISBN: 0674583302 9780674583306, 240 pages.
"Surveys reveal that a majority of Americans believe government is run for special interests, not public interest. The increased presence and power of lobbyists in Washington and the excesses of PAC and campaign contributions, in-kind benefits, and other favors would seem to indicate a government of weak public servants corrupted by big private-interest groups.
"But as Fred McChesney shows, this perspective affords only a partial understanding of why private interests are paying, and what they are paying for. Consider, for example, Citicorp, the nation's largest banking company, whose registered lobbyists spend most of their time blocking legislation that could hurt any one of the company's credit-card, loan, or financial-service operations. What this scenario suggests, the author argues, is that payments to politicians are often made not for political favors, but to avoid political disfavor, that is, as part of a system of political extortion or 'rent extraction.'
"The basic notion of rent extraction is simple: because the state can legally take wealth from its citizens, politicians can extort from private parties payments not to expropriate private wealth. In that sense, rent (that is, wealth), extraction is 'money for nothing' -- money paid in exchange for politicians' inaction. After constructing this model of wealth extraction, McChesney tests it with many examples, including several involving routine proposals of tax legislation, followed by withdrawal for a price. He also shows how the model applies more generally to regulation. Finally, he examines how binding contracts are written between private interests and politicians not to extract wealth.
"This book, standing squarely at the intersection of law, political science, and economics, vividly illustrates the patterns of legal extortion underlying the current fabric of interest-group politics.
"Fred S. McChesney is Professor of Law at the Cornell Law School." -- Publisher
"To support his view that rent extraction imposes enormous costs on the economy, McChesney provides a wealth of evidence from recent policy debates. For example, he cites the United States Federal Trade Commission's efforts -- at the request of Congress -- to impose warranty and defect disclosure requirements on used car dealers as an attempt by individual members of Congress to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for voiding the rules. In this instance, he provides statistics on contributions made by the National Auto Dealers' Association to members of Congress who voted to repeal the regulations. In discussing the Supreme Court's response to the wheeling and dealing, he points out that the dealers were essentially tricked into paying to repeal legislation that Congress never intended to enact anyway.
"On the Clinton health care plan, he states that stock prices of pharmaceutical firms began to fall before the policy was formally proposed. He emphasizes that investors knew that once price controls became an issue, the firms involved would have to spend money fighting the legislation by making campaign contributions. Thus, the firms were expected to lose enormous sums of money whether or not the bill was actually passed. Most importantly, he points out that the firms were never able to recover any of the money they lost in the process.
"In addition to legislative threats to impose price caps, he cites situations in which politicians threaten to repeal existing price caps to obtain contributions. For example, he states that proposals to raise admission fees at Yellowstone National Park have met with resistance from local merchants and users who benefit from lower prices. In other words, politicians can even threaten regulatory systems that they inherited from previous regimes in order to extract contributions from the firms that benefit from those systems. . . ." -- Reader's Comment
*Mokhiber, Russell, and Robert Weissman, Corporate Predators: The Hunt for Mega-profits and the Attack on Democracy, ISBN: 1567511589 9781567511581.
"For the past twenty years, after a decade and a half of populist resurgence against corporate abuses by consumer, environmental, women's rights and civil rights forces, big business has been on a rampage to control our society. Whether these business supremacies are called corporatization, commercialism, monopolies or the corporate state, the overall concentration of power and wealth in ever fewer multinational corporate centers is a matter of record.
"In arena after arena -- government, workplace, marketplace, media, environment, education, science, technology -- the dominant players are large corporations. What countervailing forces that our society used to depend upon for some balance are not in retreat against the aggressive expansion of corporate influence far beyond its traditional mercantile boundaries?
"The enlarged power that corporations deploy to further increase their revenues and socialize their costs comes from many sources -- old and new. Roughly eighty percent of the money contributed to federal candidates come from business interests. The mobility to export capital has given transnational companies major leverage against local, state and federal officials, not to mention against organized and unorganized labor. The swell of corporate welfare handouts has reached new depths. The contrived complexity of many financial and other services serves to confuse, deplete and daunt consumers who lose significant portions of their income in a manipulative marketplace. Alliances, joint ventures and other complex collaborations between should-be competitors have made a mockery of what is left of antitrust enforcement.
"The opportunities to control or defeat governmental attempts for corporate accountability that flow from transcending national jurisdictions into globalized strategies to escape taxation and pit countries and their workers against one another appear to be endless. The autocratic systems of governance called GATT and NAFTA reflect to the smallest detail ways that giant corporations wish to control the world. These firms are on a collision course against democratic processes, and the merging of states and businesses, to the latter's advantage, weakens relentlessly both the restraints of the law and the willingness of legislators to do anything about it.
"Taken together, the world is witnessing its subjugation to the large corporate model of economic development, the large corporate model of technology and the large corporate model of culture itself. These accelerating trend lines invite accelerating comprehension and response. History demonstrates that commercialism knows few boundaries that are not externally imposed. All the major religions have warned their adherents against the excesses of commercial value systems, albeit with different languages, images and metaphors.
"Specific descriptions of corporate misbehavior do nourish proper generalizations that in turn lead to more just movements and practices. Here, columnists Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman provide a distinct service in CORPORATE PREDATORS. It is not just the versatility of their writings -- covering bribery, pollution, corporate crime, fraud and abuse, failure of law enforcement, union-busting, the mayhem inflicted by product defects and toxics, the deep gap between the rich and the rest of America, corporate front groups, the media censorship and self-censorship, the profiteering, the pillaging overseas and more -- but it is also the impact on the reader that comes from aggregating evidence. Our country does not collect statistics on corporate crime the way it does on street crime. For it to do so would begin to highlight a little-attended agenda for law enforcement and other corporate reforms. Neither Congress nor the White House and its Justice Department have made any moves over the years to assemble from around the country the abuses of corporations in quantifiable format so as to drive policy.
"So, description -- accurate, representational description -- must now suffice. As the editor of the Corporate Crime Reporter (Mokhiber) and the editor of the Multinational Monitor (Weissman), the authors know well the difference between anecdotes that are illustrative and that are idiosyncratic. This volume of their weekly columns carries the evidence that illustrates patterns of continuing corporate derelictions, not lonely deviations from a more congenial norm.
"The authors' experience over the years with the impact of disclosures has led them to the conclusion that the facts must be linked to civic engagement and democratic activity for change. If disclosure produced its own dynamic imperatives for change, the recurrent exposure of corporate abuses in such mainstream publications as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and some national television programs like 'Sixty Minutes' would have caused these changes. Such, unfortunately has not been the case. The linkages between knowledge and action have not been sufficient. But readers of Common Courage Press published books tend towards citizen activism. They want to know because they want to do. Some may even agree with the ancient Chinese saying that 'To know and not to do is not to know.'
"So, go forward readers who wish to be leaders in the advancement of justice -- what Daniel Webster once called 'the great work of men on Earth' -- and savor the writings that will motivate more and more women and men to band together in organizations that build a more just democracy." [Constitutional Republic -- compiler] -- Ralph Nader, 1999
Morris, Charles R., The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash, revised and updated edition, 240 pages, ISBN: 9781586486914 1586486918.
"I am learning a lot reading this, even though I've followed the economy for years. The preface summarizes the situation and outlines the book, but is maybe slightly dense and technical for the average person. But the first chapter is great for giving perspective on how the U.S. economy has evolved, especially the troubles of the stagflation period and what caused that. The book goes up to November 2007, with a clear understanding that the credit bubble was going to have to unwind, and it was either going to cost $1 trillion, or, if the government tried to paper it over, a lot more." -- Reader's Comment
Mulford, Charles W., and Eugene E. Comiskey, The Financial Numbers Game: Detecting Creative Accounting Practices, ISBN: 0471770736 9780471770732.
"To hide falling profits, some managers ply the flexibility found in accounting principles to alter their financial reports. Others go further and use fraud in their deception. It is vitally important that investors, analysts, and other users of financial statements detect these creative accounting practices as early as possible in order to avoid negative earnings surprises and potential share-price declines. THE FINANCIAL NUMBERS GAME identifies the steps businesses may take to misstate financial performance and helps its readers to identify those situations where reported results may not be what they seem.
"Authors Mulford and Comiskey also describe the flexibility built into the GAAP principles and discuss ways companies can take advantage of that flexibility while remaining within the rules of proper reporting. The role of the SEC in enforcing securities laws is explored, as are the specific statutes the SEC uses to prosecute those it deems to have gone too far. The authors present the results of a survey of important financial professionals on their views of the propriety of many financial reporting practices and on the steps they use to detect creative accounting practices. This survey shows a wide range of opinions on what is allowable and the best methods for detecting what is not allowable.
"THE FINANCIAL NUMBERS GAME presents an expert analysis of creative accounting procedures, as well as:
*Mullins, Eustace Clarence, Secrets of the Federal Reserve: The London Connection, ISBN: 9992967595.
"The greatest financial monopoly the world has ever known, is also responsible for worldwide moral decay, world wars, financial panics and revolutions." -- Eustace Mullins
"As an attorney I was impressed with the documentation by the author of the history of the development of the Federal Reserve. My undergraduate degree 25 years ago was in economics and I had to read much further to truly understand how our monetary system was unnecessarily based upon debt. Debt is bondage and central banks as the heart of fractional reserve banking hold the key to control of the world. If you do not believe this look at the policies of the IMF and realize that economic imperialism through central banking essentially controls the world today. A great companion book to read is THE CREATURE FROM JEKYELL ISLAND which explains our monetary system in more depth, and the video "Capital Crimes" is an excellent four hour treatise on the history of central banking beginning with the money changers in the temple whom Christ confronted and ending with a brilliant plan to gradually increase bank reserves while issuing Constitutional 'money' such that banks become mere vaults and the Federal Reserve is put to rest." -- Reader's Comment
North, Gary, If Deflation is Coming, Sell Your Gold, and article.
"I follow the Austrian School of economics on monetary theory. The most important study of the theory of money within the Austrian School camp was published in 1912, THE THEORY OF MONEY AND CREDIT, written by Ludwig von Mises. You can download it for free here. . .
"More popular and more readable books have been written on this by his disciple, Murray Rothbard. His book, WHAT HAS GOVERNMENT DONE TO OUR MONEY? is the clearest exposition ever written. You can download it here. . .
"I have also written a short book on the topic, MISES ON MONEY. Download it here. . .
"Finally, there is my more detailed book, HONEST MONEY. . ." -- Gary North
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north680.html
*Palast, Greg, The Best Democracy Money can buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters, ISBN: 0745318460 9780745318462.
"Muckraking has a long, storied tradition, and Palast is evidently proud to be part of it. In this polemical indictment of globalization and political corruption, Palast (a reporter with the BBC and London's Observer), updates the muckraking tradition with some 21st-century targets: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, plus oil treaties, energy concerns and corporate evildoers of all creeds. Some of Palast's reports are downright shocking (if familiar). He shows, for example, how the WTO prevents cheap AIDS drugs from reaching victims in Africa and how World Bank loan policies have crippled the economies of Tanzania and other developing countries. On the home front, he details Exxon's horrific safety record before the Valdez disaster and reveals the price-gouging by Texas power companies during the California energy crisis. In Britain, Palast exposes the 'cash for access' policies of the Blair administration, and blasts the legal system for shielding Pfizer Pharmaceuticals from lawsuits by victims who had defective Pfizer valves installed in their hearts. These are all good, important stories. Most of them, however, have been published before. This book is essentially a collection of Palast's newspaper articles, hastily stitched together with some commentary and exposition. As such, it lacks cohesiveness and the depth his subjects deserve. In addition, Palast's bombastic style and one-sided perspective do much to undermine his own credibility. How seriously should readers take a journalist who labels former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers an 'alien' and dismisses Wal-Mart shareholders as 'Wal-Martians?' There is much of value here, but readers who want a full-bodied, serious analysis of how globalization is affecting developing countries or how corporate giants pay for political favors should look elsewhere." -- Publishers Weekly
*Partnoy, Frank, FIASCO: Blood in the Water on Wall Street, ISBN: 9780393336818 0393336816.
" 'Applies an intelligent, clinical eye to [an] excruciatingly complex corner of the financial world.' -- New York Times
"A classic of its kind, Frank Partnoy's bestselling FIASCO takes readers inside the rollicking world of derivatives on Wall Street during the mid-1990s. The book tracks Partnoy's success as a young Morgan Stanley employee who quickly becomes steeped in a culture that treats client as targets to be 'blown up' or have their faces 'ripped off.' A decade later FIASCO remains one of the most damning and prescient pictures of the speculative frenzies that grip Wall Street and the victims they can leave in their wake. In Partnoy's case they include well-publicized losses at Orange County, Barings, and Procter and Gamble, among others. A new epilogue written for this edition brings Partnoy's story -- as well as the story of derivatives -- up to the present.
"Frank Partnoy is the author of INFECTIOUS GREED and THE MATCH KING. He has written for the Financial Times, the New York Times, and Portfolio. He teaches law at the University of San Diego, where he lives." -- Publisher
"There are several very interesting parts of this book, the most notable being the chapters (4,7-10), in which Mr. Partnoy gives a high level description of some of the transactions that he was involved in. Some of his anecdotes, particularly those in which he discusses the atmosphere in an investment bank around bonus time (pg. 40-42, 202-205), are pretty amusing and dead on accurate. The author's descriptions of some of his deals are clearly told from a junior banker's perspective, but they do a good job of putting forth what was being done, how it was being done, what everyone's perceived incentives for the transaction were, the work required to get the deal done, what kind of money, and importantly what kind of fees were involved. In this regard, the book offers more than both LIAR'S POKER by Lewis and WHEN GENIUS FAILED by Lowenstein.
"Like all books written by former investment bankers the book contains liberally sprinkled anecdotes regarding job interviews from hell, the ridiculous daily escapades that can occur on a trading floor, strip clubs, the lack of personal lives, gambling trips and other stories which could easily have been pulled from the pages of Mr. Lewis's book or MONKEY BUSINESS by Rolfe and Troob. All of these shenanigans culminate around the bank's (in this case Morgan Stanley), or more specifically, his group's annual sporting clay outing, FIASCO. The book also suffers from a somewhat poorly defined timeline and the lack of a defining event which drives the story. Due to these faults, it is at times little more than a book about the evils of investment bankers, the ignorance of their customers, all put forward to enforce Mr. Partnoy's somewhat guarded thesis; Derivatives are used by organizations that are legally prevented from investing in certain areas in order to skirt those laws." -- Reader's Comment
Paul, Ron, The Revolution: A Manifesto, ISBN: 9780446537513 0446537519.
"This Much Is True: You Have Been Lied To.
"In THE REVOLUTION, Texas Congressman and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul has exposed the core truths behind everything threatening America, from the real reasons behind the collapse of the dollar and the looming financial crisis, to terrorism and the loss of our precious civil liberties. In this book, Ron Paul provides answers to questions that few even dare to ask. . .The government is expanding. Taxes are increasing. More senseless wars are being planned. Inflation is ballooning. "Our basic freedoms are disappearing. . . .
*Powell, Jim, FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression, ISBN: 140005477X 9781400054770.
"The Great Depression and the New Deal. For generations, the collective American consciousness has believed that the former ruined the country and the latter saved it. Endless praise has been heaped upon President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for masterfully reining in the Depression's destructive effects and propping up the country on his New Deal platform. In fact, FDR has achieved mythical status in American history and is considered to be, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of all time. But would the Great Depression have been so catastrophic had the New Deal never been implemented?
"In FDR'S FOLLY, historian Jim Powell argues that it was in fact the New Deal itself, with its shortsighted programs, that deepened the Great Depression, swelled the federal government, and prevented the country from turning around quickly. You'll discover in alarming detail how FDR's federal programs hurt America more than helped it, with effects we still feel today, including:
"This groundbreaking book pulls back the shroud of awe and the cloak of time enveloping FDR to prove convincingly how flawed his economic policies actually were, despite his good intentions and the astounding intellect of his circle of advisers. In today's turbulent domestic and global environment, eerily similar to that of the 1930s, it's more important than ever before to uncover and understand the truth of our history, lest we be doomed to repeat it. -- PublisherHow Social Security actually increased unemployment
How higher taxes undermined good businesses
How new labor laws threw people out of work
And much more
"The economic results of FDR's programs were devastating. For example, consider the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). The price and production controls of the AAA led to perverse practices such as millions of tons of domestic oat and corn being burned while the U.S. simultaneously imported oat and corn, millions of peaches being left to rot and millions of 'excess' pigs being needlessly slaughtered while lard was being imported from overseas. The extent of economic regulation under the FDR Administration reached such absurd levels, there was even a government board organized solely to control the production and pricing of milk![We think the Cato Institute is naive here, or playing into the hands of the Aristocracy of Wealth. One major factor in economic depression is the Governments failure to enforce regulations on business, regulations that may be seen as "token regulations" that deceive the public. In fact, they are never enforced. The Securities and Exchange Commission is a prime example. -- compiler]. Programs that inundated private businesses with unprecedented waves of regulations, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the National Recovery Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Programs that redistributed wealth from producers to consumers, such as the Federal Emergency Relief Act and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Programs that nationalized industries, centrally planned infrastructure or created make-work projects to increase employment such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Powell argues that these programs typically led to poorly planned infrastructure that was more expensive than what could have been acquired in a free market.
"From reading this book, you will also learn that many of FDR's earliest programs, such as the AAA and the National Recovery Act, were originally ruled as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Unfortunately FDR stayed in office long enough to appoint 7 of the 9 sitting supreme court justices, which eventually opened the floodgates for New Deal reforms. Thus, is the unforeseen danger of having a President serve more than two terms.That government spending is always good for the economy, even if it is engaging in pointless ventures such as building pyramids.
War is good for the economy.
Gold (as a standard of currency), is a "barbarous relic" that prevents economic growth.
A capitalist economy will inevitably slow to a halt without periodic bolsters from centralized planning.
Consumption (i.e., the destruction of wealth), not production, drives the economy. Thus, government should redistribute wealth from those who would invest it to those who would spend it.
*Robbins, John (1949-2008), Freedom and Capitalism: Essays on Christian Politics and Economics, ISBN: 1891777157 9781891777158.
"The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable. Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism.
"Dr. John W. Robbins attended Grove City College (A.B. 1969), and The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. 1970, Ph.D. 1973). He has served as chief of staff for a Member of Congress, editor of The Freeman magazine, Economist for The Heritage Foundation, and Professor of Political Philosophy in The Freedom School." -- Publisher
Table of Contents: Foreword | Politics | The Founder of Western Civilization | The Sine Qua Non of Enduring Freedom | Some Problems with Natural Law | The Political Philosophy of the Founding Fathers | The Bible and the Draft | The Messianic Character of American Foreign Policy | Truth and Foreign Policy | Compassionate Fascism | Conservatism: An Autopsy | Rightwing Radical Chic | The Reconstructionist Assault on Freedom | Roman Catholic Totalitarianism | The Relation of Church and State (Charles Hodge) | Abortion, the Christian, and the State | The Ethics and Economics of Health Care | The Chickens' Homecoming (John Whitehead) | The Coming Caesars (John Whitehead) | Rebuilding American Freedom in the Twenty-first Century | The Religious Wars of the Twenty-first Century | Economics: The Failure of Secular Economics | The Promise of Christian Economics | Teaching Economics from the Bible | The Neo-Evangelical Assault on Capitalism | The Reformed Assault on Capitalism | The Roman Catholic Assault on Capitalism | How Romanism Ruined America | Not Yours to Give (Edward Ellis) | Money, Freedom, and the Bible | The Case Against Indexation | Is Christianity Tied to Any Political or Economic System? | Ecology: The Abolition of Man | Scripture Index | Index | The Crisis of Our Time | Intellectual Ammunition
*Rushdoony, Rousas J. (1916-2001), The One and the Many: Studies in the Philosophy of Order and Ultimacy. Available through Exodus Books.
"The author deals with an age-old problem: the question of the one and the many and their relationship. As you might guess, the way one answers (or avoids), this question will affect views of justice, government, taxes, welfare, war, property, and freedom in general." -- GCB
See also: The Question of the One and the Many
http://www.lettermen2.com/bcrr9chc.html#onemany
Rothbard, Murray N., What has Government Done to our Money, ISBN: 0945466102 9780945466109.
"Rothbard's most famous monetary essay. It has appeared in multiple editions and influenced two generations of economists, investors, and businessmen. After presenting the basics of money and banking theory, he traces the decline of the dollar from the 18th century to the present, and provides lucid critiques of central banking, New Deal monetary policy, Nixonian fiat money, and fixed exchange rates. He also provides a blueprint for a return to a 100 percent reserve gold standard." -- Publisher
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), John Calvin: His Roots and Fruits (A Press, 1989), 78 pages.
"What then is the role of the state in economic matters? Is it to stand idly by and take no steps or initiate no policies to defend the poor? The state, in the economic realm, is under a mandate to enforce the moral law and to punish those who break it for the sake of economic gain. It may prevent monopolistic and other business practices which are contrary to the Biblical ethic, as well as stealing and other forms of dishonesty and may pass laws for this purpose. It is certain that Calvin would support more statutes of this kind than some advocates of free enterprise would tolerate today. In general, however, Calvin agreed that the state had no right to undertake schemes of redistributing wealth in order to achieve economic equality. The legislative taking of wealth under the guise of legality is no less stealing than if it is done by robbers and thieves. Such schemes, rather than being an application of Christian principles, are actually a form of human rebellion against the will of God for the right ordering of society." -- C. Gregg Singer in "Calvinism and Economic Thought and Practice"
Notes: "Appeared in volume II of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIANITY . . . and was later printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company . . . 1967, for their Philosophical and historical studies series."
Contents: The author; Preface; I. The patristic foundations of calvinism; II. Calvinism: the summit of reformation theology; III. The later history of calvinism; IV. Influence of calvinism on western history and culture; V. Calvinism and economic thought and practice; VI. Calvinism and Philosophy; VII. Calvinism and education; VIII. Calvinism and social thought and practice; Bibliography.
Smith, Russell G., Peter Grabosky, Gregor Urbas, Cyber Criminals on Trial, ISBN: 0521840473 9780521840477.
"This book comprises an international study of the manner in which cyber criminals are currently handled by the judicial system. As computer-related crime becomes more important globally, both scholarly and journalistic accounts tend to focus on the ways in which the crime has been committed and how it could have been prevented. Very little has been written about the capture, possible extradition, prosecution, sentencing and incarceration of the cyber criminal -- until now.
"Russell G. Smith, BA (honors), LLM, DipCrim (Melborne), Ph.D. (London), Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Courts of Australia, is Deputy Director of Research at the Australian Institute of Criminology. He is co-author of the books ELECTRONIC THEFT: UNLAWFUL ACQUISITION IN CYBERSPACE and CRIME IN THE DIGITAL AGE.
"Peter Grabosky, BA (Colby), MA, Ph.D. (Northwestern), FASSA, is a Professor in the Regulatory Institutions Network at the Australian National University, a former Deputy Director at the Australian Institute of Criminology, and current Deputy Secretary General of the International Society of Criminology. He is a co-author of ELECTRONIC THEFT: UNLAWFUL ACQUISITION IN CYBERSPACE and CRIME IN THE DIGITAL AGE, and co-editor of THE CAMBRIDGE HANDBOOK OF AUSTRALIAN CRIMINOLOGY.
"Gregor Urbas, BA (Honors), LLB (Honors), Ph.D. (ANU), Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and the Federal Courts of Australia, is a Lecturer in Law at the Australian National University and a former Research Analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology. With Russell Smith, he is a co-author of CONTROLLING FRAUD ON THE INTERNET." -- Publisher
"I am convinced that every prosecutor should read it, whether he or she is directly concerned by the issue or not, since even in cases where cybercrime is not directly involved, some techniques related to it may have been used or may have triggered off the commission of other offenses." -- International Association of Prosecutors Newsletter
"Definitely a reference book giving us a thorough analysis of cybercrime. I am convinced that every prosecutor should read it, whether he or she is directly concerned by the issue or not, since even in cases where cybercrime is not directly involved, some techniques related to it may have been used or may have triggered off the commission of other offenses." -- International Association of Prosecutors
*Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich (1918-2008), One Word of Truth: The Nobel Speech on Literature 1970, ISBN: 0060139439 9780060139438. A Christian classic.
The author saw the Christian faith as "the only force capable of undertaking the spiritual healing of Russia."
Translated from the Russian by the members of the BBC Russian Service.
One Word of Truth . . .
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html
*Stockman, David Alan, The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America, ISBN: 9781586489120 1586489127.
"THE GREAT DEFORMATION is a searing look at Washington's craven response to the recent myriad of financial crises and fiscal cliffs. It counters conventional wisdom with an eighty-year revisionist history of how the American state -- especially the Federal Reserve -- has fallen prey to the politics of crony capitalism and the ideologies of fiscal stimulus, monetary central planning, and financial bailouts. These forces have left the public sector teetering on the edge of political dysfunction and fiscal collapse and have caused America's private enterprise foundation to morph into a speculative casino that swindles the masses and enriches the few. . . .
"Defying right- and left-wing boxes, David Stockman provides a catalogue of corrupters and defenders of sound money, fiscal rectitude, and free markets. The former includes Franklin Roosevelt, who fathered crony capitalism; Richard Nixon, who destroyed national financial discipline and the Bretton Woods gold-backed dollar; Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke, who fostered our present scourge of bubble finance and addiction to debt and speculation; George W. Bush, who repudiated fiscal rectitude and ballooned the warfare state via senseless wars; and Barack Obama, who revived failed Keynesian "borrow and spend" policies that have driven the national debt to perilous heights. By contrast, the book also traces a parade of statesmen who championed balanced budgets and financial market discipline including Carter Glass, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Simon, Paul Volcker, Bill Clinton, and Sheila Bair.
"Stockman's analysis skewers Keynesian spenders and GOP tax-cutters alike, showing how they converged to bloat the welfare state, perpetuate the military-industrial complex, and deplete the revenue base -- even as the Fed's massive money printing allowed politicians to enjoy "deficits without tears." But these policies have also fueled new financial bubbles and favored Wall Street with cheap money and rigged stock and bond markets, while crushing Main Street savers and punishing family budgets with soaring food and energy costs. THE GREAT DEFORMATION explains how we got here and why these warped, crony capitalist policies are an epochal threat to free market prosperity and American political democracy.
"David A. Stockman was elected as a Michigan congressman in 1976 and joined the Reagan White House in 1981. Serving as budget director, he was one of the key architects of the Reagan Revolution plan to reduce taxes, cut spending, and shrink the role of government. He joined Salomon Brothers in 1985 and later became one of the early partners of the Blackstone Group. During nearly two decades at Blackstone and at a firm he founded, Stockman was a private equity investor. Stockman attended Michigan State University and Harvard Divinity School and then went to Washington as a congressional aide in 1970. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller THE TRIUMPH OF POLITICS: WHY THE REAGAN REVOLUTION FAILED." -- Publisher
Sutton, Antony C., How the Order Controls Education.
Sutton, Antony C., How the Order Creates war and Revolution, ISBN: 094966782X 9780949667823.
Sutton, Antony C., Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution, ISBN: 0914981013 9780914981015.
Part of a trilogy: WALL STREET AND THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION, WALL STREET AND FDR, and WALL STREET AND THE RISE OF HITLER.
Sutton, Antony C., Wall Street and FDR, ISBN: 0870003283 9780870003288.
Part of a trilogy: WALL STREET AND THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION, WALL STREET AND FDR, and WALL STREET AND THE RISE OF HITLER.
Sutton, Antony C., Wall Street and the Rise of Hilter, ISBN: 0892450045 9780892450046.
"Sutton makes that case that several Wall Street firms were deeply involved in financing the rise to power of the National Socialist German Workers Party (i.e., the Nazis), in pre-World War II Germany. Sutton shows that first, Wall Street financed the German cartels in the 1920's, second, that Wall Street indirectly financed Hitler and the Nazi Party, prior to their rise in power in Germany, third, that Wall Street firms profited from the build-up to war and the war itself, even after the U.S. got involved, and finally, that U.S. firms worked to cover up their complicity after the war.
"This book is the third in a trilogy. The two other books chronicle Wall Street's involvement in the rise of FDR and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathies of businessmen like Henry Ford is no secret, so it's surprising that this subject gets so little play. Given modern leftist thought on big business, one would think that they would leap at the chance to link Wall Street to the Nazis. The reason they don't is no doubt due to Sutton's larger effort at showing that Wall Street supported 'corporate socialism' not only in Germany, but in Russia and the U.S. as well. Since leftists still idealize FDR and the brutal regime that arose to become the U.S.S.R., they probably prefer to forget about the businessmen who connect them all. Sutton himself is no anti-business left-winger, instead he is a conservative concerned with the actions of an 'unelected power elite,' controlling events/governments/societies behind the scenes, to the detriment of freedom everywhere.
"It makes for rather dry reading, but Sutton goes into extensive details about the persons, funds and timelines that show the deep connection between certain American Big Businesses and the Nazis. Why would Big Business embrace such a horrid political movement? Although Sutton does not go into details about motivation, there is a good case to be made that many businesses were not fond of the untrammeled free market and instead yearned for the security of government guaranteed profits, regardless of the expense to others in terms of loss of freedom. These businesses saw themselves as the contractors running the government machinery of what was thought to be the inevitable march to socialism. Sutton doesn't mention it, but many in the early twentieth century thought that some form of socialism was unavoidable, and that it was a choice between that and corporate domination through monopoly. Thus these businesses saw themselves as merely working towards what was almost predestined to happen, and ensuring that they would be the ones running the show and reaping the benefit.
"The book turns a bit conspiratorial in the end. Sutton invokes the Kennedy Assassination, the Korean War and Vietnam War and the Council on Foreign Relations all in an attempt to suggest that we are being ruled by an unelected power elite, bent on societal domination at all costs, in the name of profit. There's no need to invoke conspiracy, though. The selfish acts of business men, tempted by access to the levers of power, is as good an explanation as any.
"The case that Sutton makes is compelling. If his evidence is able to withstand scrutiny, it's hard to come to any other conclusion than that Big Business was willing to deal with the worst of the worst in order to profit via the coercive powers of government." -- Publisher
Part of a trilogy: WALL STREET AND THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION, WALL STREET AND FDR, and WALL STREET AND THE RISE OF HITLER.
Time Magazine, Gambling Goes Legit, December 6, 1976, an article.
Woodiwiss, Michael, Gangster Capitalism: The United States and the Globalization of Organized Crime, first edition (Carroll & Graf, September 23, 2005), 256 pages, ISBN: 0786716711 9780786716715.
"Everyone knows what organized crime is. Each year dozens of feature films, hundreds of books, and thousands of news stories explain to an eager public that organized crime is what gangsters do. Closely knit, ethnically distinct, and ruthlessly efficient, these mafias control the drugs trade, people trafficking and other serious crimes. If only states would take the threat seriously and recognize the global nature of modern organized crime, the FBI's success against the Italian mafia could be replicated throughout the world. The wicked trade in addictive drugs could be brought to a halt.
"The trouble is, as Woodiwiss demonstrates in shocking and surprising detail, what everyone knows about organized crime is pretty much completely wrong. In reality the most important figures in organized crime are employees of multinational companies, politicians and bureaucrats. Gangsters are certainly a problem, but much of their strength comes from attempts to prohibit the market for certain drugs. Even here they are minor players when compared with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies that selectively enforce prohibition and profit from it. Woodiwiss shows how respectable businessmen and revered statesmen have seized these opportunities in an orgy of fraud and illegal violence." -- Reader's Comment
Woodiwiss, Michael, The Return of Gangster Capitalism: The Global Rise of Organised Crime, ISBN: 9780745332024 0745332021.
Woods, Thomas E., Jr., Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, ISBN: 9781596985872 1596985879.
"If you are fed up with Washington boondoggles, and you like the small-government, politically-incorrect thinking of Ron Paul, then you'll love Tom Woods's MELTDOWN. In clear, no-nonsense terms, Woods explains what led up to this economic crisis, who's really to blame, and why government bailouts won't work. Woods will reveal:
"With a foreword from Ron Paul, MELTDOWN is the free-market answer to the Fed-created economic crisis. As the new Obama administration inevitably calls for more regulations, Woods argues that the only way to rebuild our economy is by returning to the fundamentals of capitalism and letting the free market work.Which brave few economists predicted the economic fallout -- and why nobody listened
What really caused the collapse
Why the Fed -- not taxpayers -- should have to answer for the current economic crisis
Why bailouts are band-aids that will only provide temporary relief and ultimately make things worse
What we should do instead, to put our economy on a healthy path to recovery
Wrage, Alexandra Addison, Bribery and Extortion: Undermining Business, Governments, and Security, ISBN: 9780275996499 0275996492.
Bribery plays a significant role in international criminal activity. Terrorists pay bribes. Money-launderers pay bribes. Those who traffic in people, narcotics, and illegal arms pay bribes. People pay immigration officers not to ask, customs officials not to inspect, and police officers not to investigate. At corporate headquarters in the United States, it can be easy to dismiss modest bribes in distant countries as an unfortunate cost of doing business. Bribes follow patterns that are not at all mysterious to the officials, salesmen, and citizens who seek them and pay them. Using a series of international cases, Wrage examines bribery, peeling back the mystique and ambiguity and exposing the very simple transactions that lie beneath. She shows how these seemingly everyday transactions can affect security, democratization, and human aid around the globe. Bribery and Extortion presents a clear picture of the world of bribery and the havoc it can wreak on whole populations. Wrage covers commercial bribery, administrative and service-based bribery, and extortion. She considers bribery and extortion at both high levels of government and lower levels on "the street." Examples from around the world help to illustrate the nature of the problem and efforts at combating it. The book concludes with practical suggestions and an assessment of current efforts to stem the tide of bribery and restore transparency to everyday transactions in all realms.
"Alexandra Addison Wrage is an international attorney and President of TRACE International, a nonprofit, anti-bribery business association with over 1,000 corporate members in more than 100 countries. She has worked as in-house counsel for both Northrop Grumman Corporation and MCI Communications. She has written numerous articles on practical anti-bribery strategies and speaks frequently on topics of international law and the hidden costs of corruption." -- Publisher
Yards, A., Mafia/Syndicate -- Organized Crime: The Government Within the Government: A Timeless "Vendetta" in our Century, 1976.
Organized crime "follows the money."
*Yeadon, Glen, and John Hawkins, The Nazi Hydra in America: Suppressed History of a Century, Wall Street and the Rise of the Fourth Reich, ISBN: 9780930852443 0930852443.
The Nazi Hydra in America
"Nearly 700 pages detailing the subversion of democracy leading to the creation of a fascist state is now available in HTML format on CD. Included is a proposed amendment that will stop corporate fascism dead in its tracks."
http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/noon.html
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), Judges, Isaiah, Jeremiah, The ten commandments: the moral law, the moral law, Covetousness, greed, and selfishness, Idolatry, Carnality and flesh pleasing: lust, desires, ambition, Slavery, our systems of enslavement, economic enslavement, Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, Power, Authority, Politics, Conspiracy, corruption, organized crime, The banking system, The federal reserve, Statism (hellenic thought), institutionalism, and corporatism, State sovereignty and corporate immunity: reform of corporations, Friendly fascism, Gambling, Extortion, Biblical economics, The destruction of american liberty, Meltdown 2008, the greatest depression in history, The question of the one and the many, Individual responsibility for corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, The covenanted reformation, Servant leadership, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, Bible magistracy turns back the wrath of god, The doctrine of the lesser magistrates, The government role of punishing wrongdoers, God's deliverance of nations, Political and economic freedom, Ethics, computer ethics, cyberethics, Medical ethics, Conscience, casuistry, cases of conscience, Computer crime, Biblical economics, Justice, judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Treason and impeachment, Monopoly and anti-trust law enforcement, Taxation, property, liberty, and war, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 580, 1334, 1335, 1940, 2129-2133, 2215, 2397, 3198-3204, 3222, 3223, 3405, 3408, 3536, 3537, 3574
America's Great Depression
http://www.amatecon.com/greatdepression.html
The Baseline Scenario
"What happened to the global economy and what we can do about it."
"The forthcoming (due [02/14/09]), attempt to deal with banking system problems in the U.S. will be insufficiently forceful. The structure of executive compensation caps introduced last week suggests the Obama Administration currently is unwilling to take on the large banks politically. [see below "Bill Moyers Journal Tonight: American Banking Oligarchs" -- compiler]. The degree of recapitalization will be too small and the measures will help existing management stay in place. Large banks will remain too big to fail and shareholders will still be unable to constrain executive compensation. Lending will remain anemic." -- Item 4 from the Baseline Summary (02/14/09)
"The most likely outcome is not a V-shaped recovery (which is the current official consensus), or a U-shaped recovery (which is closer to the private sector consensus), but rather an L, in which there is a steep fall and then a struggle to recover. A lost decade for the world economy is quite possible. There will be some episodes of incipient recovery, as there were in Japan during the 1990s, but this will prove very hard to sustain." -- Item 11 from the Baseline Summary (02/14/09)
"A dramatic shift in the stance of monetary policy is required in almost all industrialized countries and emerging markets. Unfortunately, the need for this shift is not currently recognized by official orthodoxy and it is not yet clear when this will change." -- Item 8 from Understanding the Crisis (02/14/09)
http://baselinescenario.com/
*Bill Myers Journal Tonight: American Banking Oligarchs
"There comes a time in every economic crisis, or more specifically, in every struggle to recover from a crisis, when someone steps up to the podium to promise the policies that -- they say -- will deliver you back to growth. The person has political support, a strong track record, and every incentive to enter the history books. But one nagging question remains. Can this person, your new economic strategist, really break with the vested elites that got you into this much trouble?" -- Simon Johnson
"We have no problem in this country shutting down small banks. In fact, the FDIC is world class at shutting down and managing the handover of deposits, for example, from small banks. They managed IndyMac, the closure of IndyMac, beautifully. People didn't lose touch with their money for even a moment. But they can't do it to big banks, because they don't have the political power. Nobody has the political will to do it.
"So you need to take an FDIC-type process. You scale it up. You say, "You haven't raised the capital privately. The government is taking over your bank. You guys are out of business. Your bonuses are wiped out. Your golden parachutes are gone." Okay? Because the bank has failed.
"This is a government-supervised bankruptcy process. It's called, in the terminology of the business, it's called an intervention. The bank is intervened. You don't go into Chapter 11 because in that's too messy. Too complicated. There's an intervention, you lose the right to operate as a bank. ["Any bank that is too big to fail is too big to exist." -- Senator Sanders]. The FDIC takes you over. I think we agree, everyone agrees, we don't want the government to run banks in this country. . . ." -- Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson is former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), MIT Sloan School of Management professor, and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. His website is Baseline Scenario.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02132009/transcript1.html
CNBC: "House of Cards"
"CNBC presents the definitive report on the defining story of our time. CNBC correspondent David Faber investigates the origins of the global economic crisis, with first person accounts from home buyers, mortgage brokers, investment bankers and investors -- most of whom let greed blind them, leading to the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28892719
*Conservatism: An Autopsy
"Conservatism is a political philosophy that professes to be practical and grounded in reality -- not in ideological or utopian dream worlds -- yet it cannot furnish a coherent answer to a very practical question: What is the proper punishment for a thief? Even ignoring the big questions -- What is the ideal government? Is there an ideal government? Is any government justified? What is the proper relationship between church and state? -- conservatism cannot answer a small question. If conservatism cannot offer a justified answer to a small question, it probably cannot answer larger questions." -- John W. Robbins
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.(Dallas?id=115
*Frontline: "Inside the Meltdown"
"And then, on Tuesday, comes one of the finest hours of nonfiction TV that I have ever seen in 30 years of writing about the medium -- "Inside the Meltdown," a Frontline documentary from producer Michael Kirk that chronicles a week in September when the economic gurus lost their way and Americans started losing their jobs, much of their life savings, and their trust in Wall Street and Washington. It is the first of five documentaries that Kirk will be producing for Frontline on the economy and how we got to where we are today. . . .
" 'Watching the events of that week, it felt like 9/11 all over again,' Kirk said in a telephone interview last week. 'But because we don't have an image of something like a plane crashing into a building, I don't think anyone understands'." -- David Zurawik
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/
*The Great Depression as Moral Failure: Presbyterian Industrialists and a Religious Rationale for Opposing the New Deal, Tyler Flynn, Assistant Professor of History, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA.
"For these business-friendly Presbyterians, the economy was in a free-fall because of human failure [moral failure -- compiler], not the failure of capitalism. As one Presbyterian clergyman wrote, capitalism was the 'oldest social order in the world' that 'came down to us through thousands of years;' it was the 'outgrowth of trial and experience.' The problem of the Great Depression was not capitalism, they claimed, but the foolishness and greed of the individuals at the helm of this economic system, captains of industry who pursued personal wealth at the expense of workers and the public." -- Tyler Flynn
Kennedy, D. James (1930-2007), Government: A Fearful Master, a sermon (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries).
" 'Government,' one has said, 'is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. . . .' Inevitably, once we lose sight of God, we will lose the divine and inalienable rights we received from Him. It has happened throughout history, and tragically, you can see it happening in America today!"
http://www.coralridge.org/CRMMinResDetail.asp?ID=ttt&pc=GACH&ec=I1296
Looking Back on the Greatest Depression, Gerald Celente
"Billionaire investor Warren Buffett added a military dimension, dubbing the meltdown an 'economic Pearl Harbor.' Buffett called on Congress to unite behind President Barack Obama, comparing the economic crisis to a military conflict that needed a commander-in-chief. 'Patriotic Americans will realize this is a war,' he said.
"If it was an economic Pearl Harbor, the enemies were Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, A.I.G., Countrywide, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and all the other banks, brokerages, speculators, insurance companies, hedge funds and leverage buyout specialists that had launched the sneak attack on the American economy.
"It had nothing to do with patriotism, unless being a 'Patriotic American' meant appeasing and rewarding the enemy with trillions of dollars of taxpayer money and not being allowed to know where the money went."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/celente4.html
Meet Bill Still, Fiat-money Advocate
"An analysis of the documentaries Money Masters and Capital Crimes by G. Edward Griffin.
http://www.freedomforceinternational.org/freedomcontent.cfm?fuseaction=meetstill
*Money, Freedom, and the Bible, John W. Robbins
"A lecture given at the Gold Standard Corporation conference, August 1989.
"The Bible praises the man who makes a promise and keeps it, even though he might be injured by keeping it. It condemns the man who welshes on a deal, or seeks to substitute something of lesser value for that which he promised to deliver. Legal tender laws are an institutionalized form of welshing on debts. . . .
"In conclusion, what can we say about money, freedom, and the Bible? I'd simply like to suggest that the men who lived two centuries ago had a better understanding of money and freedom because they understood the Bible better than we do today. We are singularly blessed to live under a document that is largely based on the principles of government found in the Bible, and if we wish to restore monetary freedom, we will once again have to understand and believe the Bible."
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=82
Pigs Fighting to be First in Line at the Trough, Bill Butler
"Developments just prior to and immediately after the bailout illuminate interesting political and potentially ominous market realities. The political reality is that George W. Bush, unlike his father, is most likely a Morgan man. Press reports indicate that 'W' himself was involved in these transactions. Comparing the transactions shows that Morgan received the federal 800-pound gorilla's unbridled support whereas federal coercion in the Citi-Wachovia transaction was, by comparison, restrained. In 'facilitating' the JP Morgan -- WaMu deal, the FDIC first wrestled WaMu to ground, executing a midnight foreclosure and repossession of all its assets. The FDIC then sold WaMu's $302 billion in assets to Morgan for $1.9 billion and wiped out the WaMu equity holders, including a group that had invested $7 billion six months ago. Monday JP Morgan further announced that had no intention of hiring or retaining WaMu management. Wachovia was just the latest bone thrown to JP Morgan.
"In another federally 'facilitated' transaction, on March 17, 2008 JP Morgan acquired global securities giant Bear Stearns for $236 million, or $2 a share. After shareholders complained, JP Morgan increased its 'offer' fivefold, to $10 per share. In February of 2008, Bear Stearns stock had a market value $93 per share. Citi, by comparison, has not received the same level of government support. In the Citi-Wachovia transaction, the FDIC did not actually seize Wachovia's assets. It only threatened to seize Wachovia's assets, allowed Wachovia to survive as a legal entity and gave Wachovia until December 31 to close the deal with Citi. If 'W' is not a Morgan man, then he is not a good negotiator, because the delay has opened the door for Wachovia to negotiate a better deal."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/butler-b3.html
Prosecuting Wall Street
"Two whistle-blowers offer a rare window into the root causes of the subprime mortgage meltdown. Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, and Richard Bowen, a former vice president at Citigroup, tell Steve Kroft the companies ignored their repeated warnings about defective, even fraudulent mortgages. The result, experts say, was a cascading wave of mortgage defaults for which virtually no high-ranking Wall Street executives have been prosecuted."
"Includes a script of Prosecuting Wall Street which aired on Dec. 4, 2011. Steve Kroft is correspondent, James Jacoby, producer."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57336042/prosecuting-wall-street/
*The Quiet Coup, Simon Johnson, May 2009, Atlantic
"The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government -- a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF's staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we're running out of time.
"From 1973 to 1985, the financial sector never earned more than 16 percent of domestic corporate profits. In 1986, that figure reached 19 percent. In the 1990s, it oscillated between 21 percent and 30 percent, higher than it had ever been in the postwar period. This decade, it reached 41 percent. Pay rose just as dramatically. From 1948 to 1982, average compensation in the financial sector ranged between 99 percent and 108 percent of the average for all domestic private industries. From 1983, it shot upward, reaching 181 percent in 2007."
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice
A Resolution to Combat Mind Control With Truth
http://www.lettermen2.com/mindc.html
Why Should the Federal Reserve own AIG?
"In return for an $80 billion loan, the Federal Reserve has received a nearly 80 percent share of the insurance giant . . . I am astonished . . . that the Federal Reserve has been forced to de facto become the banker and regulator of last [resort] so quickly . . .
"It is time to recognize that our regulatory system is broken and must be fixed quickly. It is equally important to realize that it is broken because so many of the regulated institutions purchased members of Congress to create exemptions, exceptions, and loopholes so that risks need not be measured or disclosed, and that prudent amounts of capital could simply be ignored.
"The crisis on Wall Street reflects the collapse in housing prices as badly reflected into the securities held and leveraged by greedy people who thought they had eliminated risk. And we will all suffer from their hubris.
"Congress should pass legislation declaring that the Federal Reserve is the primary regulator for all financial institution and the Federal Reserve should then mandate that all derivatives, such as credit default swaps, be disclosed, and all institutions should be subject to capital adequacy rules.
"This is getting serious. The Bush Administration is helpless, at best hoisted on its own petard." -- Michael Kieschnick
http://action.credomobile.com/2008/09/why_should_the_federal_reserve.html
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:7; Exodus 15:1-21)Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (Deuteronomy 4:34)
John Calvin commenting on Deuteronomy 4:34 and the context of Deuteronomy 4:32-40
https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom03/calcom03.v.viii.html?scrBook=Deut&scrCh=4&scrV=32#v.viii-p20.1See the Theological Notes: "The Greatness of God," at 1 Chronicles 29:11 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chronicles 29:11)
He is the fountain and centre of every thing that is bright and blessed. All that we can, in our most exalted praises, attribute to him he has an unquestionable title to. His is the greatness; his greatness is immense and incomprehensible; and all others are little, are nothing, in comparison of him. His is the power, and it is almighty and irresistible; power belongs to him, and all the power of all the creatures is derived from him and depends upon him. His is the glory; for his glory is his own end and the end of the whole creation. All the glory we can give him with our hearts, lips, and lives, comes infinitely short of what is his due. His is the victory; he transcends and surpasses all, and is able to conquer and subdue all things to himself; and his victories are incontestable and uncontrollable. And his is the majesty, real and personal; with him is terrible majesty, inexpressible and inconceivable. . . . His sovereign dominion, as rightful owner and possessor of all: "All that is in the heaven, and in the earth, is thine, and at thy disposal, by the indisputable right of creation, and as supreme ruler and commander of all: thine is the kingdom, and all kings are thy subjects; for thou art head, and art to be exalted and worshipped as head above all." -- Matthew Henry (1662-1714), An Exposition of the Old and New TestamentsWhen thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2)
The new covenant with Israel, Ezekiel 36:1-38
The resuscitation of the Nation, Ezekiel 37:1-28
The victory of the Nation over Gog and Magog, Ezekiel 38:1-23For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty;
just and true are thy ways,
thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
for though only art holy:
for all the nations shall come and worship before thee;
for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:3b,4)Calvin writing about 1557 (462 years ago [2020]) about David rejoicing in the sovereignty of God (about 1050 B.C., or 3,069 years ago, "that notwithstanding his enemies rage [Saul], yet God will continue his kingdom forever, and advance it even to the end of the word." [commentary on Psalm 2, 1599 Geneva Bible])
Let us break, etc. This is a prosopopoeia, in which the prophet introduces his enemies as speaking; and he employs this figure the better to express their ungodly and traitorous design. Not that they openly avowed themselves rebels against God, (for they rather covered their rebellion under every possible pretext, and presumptuously boasted of having God on their side;) but since they were fully determined, by all means, fair or foul, to drive David from the throne, whatever they professed with the mouth, the whole of their consultation amounted to this, how they might overthrow the kingdom which God himself had set up. When he describes his government under the metaphorical expressions of bonds, and a yoke, on the persons of his adversaries, he indirectly condemns their pride. For he represents them speaking scornfully of his government, as if to submit to it were a slavish and shameful subjection, just as we see it is with all the enemies of Christ who, when compelled to be subject to his authority reckon it not less degrading than if the utmost disgrace were put upon them. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 2:3Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, [so] drive [them] away: as wax melteth before the fire, [so] let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
In this psalm it was David's design to celebrate the victories which, through the blessing of God, he had gained over his enemies;(1) but, in the opening verses, he commends the power and goodness of God generally, as seen in the government of the world at large. From this he passes to the consideration of what God had done in redeeming his chosen people, and of the continued proofs of fatherly care which he had manifested to the posterity of Abraham. He then proceeds to the subject which he had more particularly in view, prosecuting it at length, and in terms of the most exalted description; praising the signal display of Divine power which he, and the whole nation with him, had experienced. Now that he had been made king, he infers that the Church was brought to a settled condition, and that God, who seemed to have departed, would now at length erect his throne, as it were, in the midst of it, and reign. In this it would evidently appear, that he designed, typically, to represent the glory of God afterwards to be manifested in Christ." -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 68The Treasury of David, Psalm 68, C.H. Spurgeon
He led captivity captive. (Psalm 68:18)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps68.htmFor the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us. (Isaiah 33:22)
Isaiah's Prophesy after the Angel of the Lord smote Sennacherib's army for good King Hezekiah.The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (2 Samuel 22:3)
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. (2 Samuel 23:3)
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 24,25)
The Treasury of David, Psalm 78, C.H. Spurgeon
He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. (Psalm 78:5)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps078.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 18, C.H. Spurgeon
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. (Psalm 18:3)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps018.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 24, C.H. Spurgeon
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts: he is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:7-10)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps024.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 61, C.H. Spurgeon
So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. (Psalm 61:8)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps061.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 62, C.H. Spurgeon
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. (Psalm 62:11)
"Another Psalm highly characteristic of David is Psalm 62 which we are in the habit of calling the ONLY Psalm, from its containing such frequent repetitions of the word 'only.' David rejoiced to place his confidence in God only."
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps062.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 71, C.H. Spurgeon
Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. (Psalm 71:20)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps071.phpThe language of the Psalmist amounts to a declaration that God would not save the world by means of an ordinary kind, but would come forth himself and show that he was the author of a salvation in every respect so singular. He reasonably infers that mercy of such a wonderful, and, to us, incomprehensible kind, should be celebrated by no ordinary measures of praise. This is brought out still more clearly in the verse which follows, where it is said that his salvation and righteousness are shown to the nations. What could have been less looked for than that light should have arisen upon these dark and benighted places, and that righteousness should have appeared in the habitations of desperate wickedness? -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 98:1,2 and context
The Treasury of David, Psalm 98, C.H. Spurgeon
For he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. (Psalm 98:9b)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps098.phpSome also justly and judiciously consider that, in the whole of this description [Psalm 17:7-11], David has an allusion to the common deliverance of God's chosen people from Egypt. As God then designed and established that event to be a perpetual memorial, from which the faithful might learn that he was the guardian and protector of their welfare, so all the benefits which, from that period, he bestowed upon his people, either as a public body or as private individuals, were, so to speak, appendages of that first deliverance. Accordingly David, in other places as well as here, with the view of exalting the succor which God had granted to his people, sets forth that most memorable instance of the goodness of God towards the children of Israel, as if it were the archtype or original copy of the grace of God. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 17:7-11
This psalm [Psalm 114] contains a short account of that deliverance by which God, in bringing his people out of Egypt: and conducting them to the promised inheritance, gave a proof of his power and grace which ought to be held in everlasting remembrance. The design of that wonderful deliverance was, that the seed of Abraham might yield themselves wholly to God, who, receiving them by a gracious act of adoption, purposed that they should be to him a holy and peculiar people. -- Introduction to Psalm 114 in Calvin's Commentary
The Treasury of David, Psalm 116, C.H. Spurgeon
The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. (Psalm 116:6)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps116.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 118, C.H. Spurgeon
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8,9)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps118.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 120, C.H. Spurgeon
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. (Psalm 120:2)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps120.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 136, C.H. Spurgeon
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136:1)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps136.phpThe Treasury of David, Psalm 140, C.H. Spurgeon
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. (Psalm 140:8)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps140.phpHe declares that everything will have an adverse and unfortunate issue to those who wickedly despise God. We have said upon the first Psalm, that by the way is meant the course of life in general. God will destroy the way of the wicked, inasmuch as he will curse all their counsels, acts, attempts, and enterprises, so that none of them shall have good success. However excellent they may be in planning, although they may be crafty and sharp-sighted, and abound in strength of resources of every kind, God will overturn all their expectations. While he extends his hand to those who are his people, and brings them through all obstacles, and even impassable ways, he on the contrary destroys the path of the wicked, when apparently most open and plain before them. -- John Calvin commenting on Psalm 146:9
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. (Psalm 34:19)
The whole of the prophecies of Isaiah are precious, and should be read by us constantly in private. -- C.H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Devotional Bible
And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only. (Isaiah 37:15-20)
See Isaiah 40:1 -- Isaiah 55:13 and annotations in The Reformation Study Bible.
But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. (Isaiah 45:17-25)See Isaiah 51:1-6 and annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.
And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (Here was a most encouraging message, and a noble opportunity for Ahaz; he had but to trust in the Lord, and have his kingdom established about him, but he was at that moment meditating an appeal to the great Assyrian monarch, and preferred to lean upon an arm of flesh rather than upon the Lord of Hosts).
Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. (This was a mere evasion. He knew that if he accepted a sign it would be fulfilled, and then he would have no excuse for distrusting the Lord, but he did not wish to commit himself to the course of action which faith would involve; he preferred to continue his negotiations with Tiglath-pileser. How universally do men prefer the crooked road of policy to the straight path of faith; such conduct never prospers).
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that (or until) he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. (As Ahaz had refused a sign, God appointed one far above anything he could have imagined. A son would be born of a virgin, a divine child, whose name should be God with us. Such a child would naturally reach years of discretion very early, but in even less space than it would take for this heaven-born son to arrive at a responsible age, the two enemies of Judah would both be dethroned. Blessed be the Lord for granting to his people so glorious a sign of grace; nothing can afford such comfort to the troubled as the fact that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Ahaz rejected the way of faith, and therefore the prophet added the following threatening sentence --)
The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. (Isaiah 7:4-17) -- C.H. Spurgeon in Spurgeon's Devotional BibleThe four "Servant Songs" of Isaiah are Isaiah 42:1-9; Isaiah 49:1-7; Isaiah 50:4-11; and Isaiah 52:13 -- Isaiah 53:12. See the annotations in The Reformation Study Bible.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 55:12,13). See the annotation in The Reformation Study Bible.And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
As for me, this [is] my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that [is] upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:20,21) -- John Calvin commenting on Isaiah 59:20,21 and contextCalvin's Commentary on Daniel, the Calvin Translation Society edition of 1852-1853, "is one of the greatest writings to come from Calvin's pen."
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:28-30)See the Theological Notes: "Prayer," at Luke 11:2 in The Reformation Study Bible.
See the Theological Notes: "Repentance," at Acts 26:20 in The Reformation Study Bible.
Our Triune God has ordained that the preeminent leader of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God Man, Our Righteousness. (John 1:1-18; Matthew 19:30; Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 49:7; Colossians 1:16-19; Colossians 2:9,10; Hebrews 12:1,2; Revelation 5:1-14; Revelation 19:11-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 22:12, and so forth, and so on). Human leadership is also divinely ordained and tends to devolve to those who are most perfectly at one with Christ, and to those who also know the most Truth (the Apostle Paul, Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Puritan leaders, The Scots Worthies, and so forth, and so on).
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:28). See: (Matthew 19:28, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then his master said unto him, It is well done good servant and faithful, Thou hast been faithful in little, I will make thee ruler over much: enter into thy master's joy. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:21) (Matthew 25:21 1599 Geneva Bible)
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:34). See: (Matthew 25:34, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he said unto him, Well, good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little thing, take thou authority over ten cities. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:17) (Luke 19:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:29) (Luke 22:29, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17). See: (Romans 8:17, 1599 Geneva Bible)
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:3). See: (1 Corinthians 6:3, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6). See: (Ephesians 2:6, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and corrections among the people:
To bind their kings in chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,
That they may execute upon them the judgment that is written: this honor shall be to all his Saints. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 149:7-9) (Psalm 149:7-9, 1599 Geneva Bible)
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:12), (1 Timothy 2:12, 1599 Geneva Bible)
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. -- The Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:26). See: (Revelation 2:26, 1599 Geneva Bible)
To serve God is to reign. -- Seneca (4 BC -- 65 AD)O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
Before the days of Saul, Israel had been brought very low; during his government it had suffered from internal strife, and his reign was closed by an overwhelming disaster at Gibeon. David found himself the possessor of a tottering throne, troubled with the double evil of factions at home, and invasion from abroad. He traced at once the evil to its true source, and began at the fountainhead. His were the politics of piety, which after all are the wisest and most profound. He knew that the displeasure of the Lord had brought calamity upon the nation, and to the removal of that displeasure he set himself by earnest prayer. O God, thou hast cast us off. Thou hast treated us as foul and offensive things, to be put away; as mean and beggarly persons, to be shunned with contempt; as useless dead boughs, to be torn away from the tree, which they disfigure. To be cast off by God is the worst calamity that can befall a man or a people; but the worst form of it is when the person is not aware of it and is indifferent to it. When the divine desertion causes mourning and repentance, it will be but partial and temporary. When a cast off soul sighs for its God it is indeed not cast off at all. Thou has scattered us. David clearly sees the fruits of the divine anger, he traces the flight of Israel's warriors, the breaking of her power, the division in her body politic, to the hand of God. Whoever might be the secondary agent of these disasters, he beholds the Lord's hand as the prime moving cause, and pleads with the Lord concerning the matter. Israel was like a city with a breach made in its wall, because her God was wroth with her. These first two verses, with their depressing confession, must be regarded as greatly enhancing the power of the faith which in the after verses rejoices in better days, through the Lord's gracious return unto his people.
Thou hast been displeased. This is the secret of our miseries. Had we pleased thee, thou wouldst have pleased us; but as we have walked contrary to thee, thou hast walked contrary to us. O turn thyself to us again. Forgive the sin and smile once more. Turn us to thee, turn thou to us. Aforetime thy face was towards thy people, be pleased to look on us again with thy favour and grace. Some read it, "Thou wilt turn to us again, "and it makes but slight difference which way we take it, for a true hearted prayer brings a blessing so soon that it is no presumption to consider it already obtained. There was more need for God to turn to his people than for Judah's troops to be brave, or Joab and the commanders wise. God with us is better than strong battalions; God displeased is more terrible than all the Edomites that ever marched into the valley of salt, or all the devils that ever opposed the church. If the Lord turn to us, what care we for Aramnaharaim or Aramzobah, or death, or hell? but if he withdraw his presence we tremble at the fall of a leaf.
Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Things were as unsettled as though the solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable; the priests had been murdered by Saul, the worst men had been put in office, the military power had been broken by the Philistines, and the civil authority had grown despicable through insurrections and intestine contests. Thou hast broken it. As the earth cracks, and opens itself in rifts during violent earthquakes, so was the kingdom rent with strife and calamity. Heal the breaches thereof. As a house in time of earthquake is shaken, and the walls begin to crack, and gape with threatening fissures, so was it with the kingdom. For it shaketh. It tottered to a fall; if not soon propped up and repaired it would come down in complete ruin. So far gone was Israel, that only God's interposition could preserve it from utter destruction. How often have we seen churches in this condition, and how suitable is the prayer before us, in which the extremity of the need is used as an argument for help. The like may be said of our personal religion, it is sometimes so tried, that like a house shaken by earthquake it is ready to come down with a crash, and none but the Lord himself can repair its breaches, and save us from utter destruction.
Thou hast showed thy people hard things. Hardships had been heaped upon them, and the psalmist traces these rigorous providences to their fountainhead. Nothing had happened by chance, but all had come by divine design and with a purpose, yet for all that things had gone hard with Israel. The psalmist claims that they were still the Lord's own people, though in the first verse he had said, "thou hast cast us off." The language of complaint is usually confused, and faith in time of trouble ere long contradicts the desponding statements of the flesh. Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. Our afflictions have made us like men drunken with some potent and bitter wine; we are in amazement, confusion, delirium; our steps reel, and we stagger as those about to fall. The great physician gives his patients potent potions to purge out their abounding and deep seated diseases. Astonishing evils bring with them astonishing results. The grapes of the vineyard of sin produce a wine which fills the most hardened with anguish when justice compels them to quaff the cup. There is a fire water of anguish of soul which even to the righteous makes a cup of trembling, which causes them to be exceeding sorrowful almost unto death. When grief becomes so habitual as to be our drink, and to take the place of our joys, becoming our only wine, then are we in an evil case indeed. -- C.H. Spurgeon commenting on Psalm 60:1-3 in A Treasury of DavidThe Treasury of David, Psalm 107, C.H. Spurgeon
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps107.phpI am the Lord, I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
It has been said that "the proper study of mankind is man." I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God's elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.
There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, "Behold I am wise." But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumb line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with solemn exclamation, "I am but of yesterday, and know nothing." No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. . . .
But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. . . .
The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.
And, while humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatory. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore.
Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning." -- excerpted (by J.I. Packer in Knowing God) from "The Immutability of God," a sermon by the young Charles H. Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, January 7, 1855Grant, Almighty God, since thou declarest to us by so many proofs the formidable nature of thine anger, especially against the obstinate and rebellious, who reject thy word familiarly spoken to them: Grant, I say, that we may embrace what is proposed to us in thy name with the humility and reverence becoming to thy children, so that we may repent of our sins, and obtain their pardon, until at length we are freed from all corruptions of the flesh, and become partakers of that eternal and celestial glory which thy only-begotten Son has purchased for us by his blood. Amen. -- John Calvin, prayer at the end of 32nd Lecture on Ezekiel
If terrorism within the borders of the United States of America is seen as the wrath of God punishing a wayward people, then zealous execution of Christian Magistracy, by leaders in the Church, and by leaders in the State, is the biblical solution to the problem of domestic terrorism. It is also the solution to the myriad of other serious problems besetting our declining society.
Scripture is clear. The zealous execution of Christian Magistracy by Covenant Heads in the Church, and in the State, turns back the wrath of God. In fact, this is an underlying theme throughout the entire Bible. See particularly the books of Judges, and Micah.
Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. (Joshua 7:12)
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (Jonah 1:12-15)
Ashe, Simeon (d. 1662), The Best Refuge for the Most Oppressed, in a Sermon Preached From the Text, Ps. 9:9 [Psalm 9:9], to the Honorable House of Commons at Their Solemn Fast, March 30, 1642. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Ashe, Simeon (d. 1662), The Church Sinking, Saved by Christ: Set out in a Sermon Preached [Isaiah 63:5], Before the Right Honourable the House of Lords, in the Abby-Church at Westminster, on Wednesday, Febr. 26. 1644, Being the day of the Monthly Publike Fast [Isaiah 63:5]. Isaiah 63:5 at BibleGateway. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Ashe, Simeon (d. 1662), God's Incomparable Goodness Unto Israel Unfolded and Applied in a Sermon Preached From the Text Psalm 73:1, at Margaret's Westminster Before the Honorable House of Commons Assembled in Parliament, at the Last Solemn Fast, April 28, 1647. . . Deuteronomy 33:27; Deuteronomy 4:7; Isaiah 27:3. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
Black, John (1768-1849), A Sermon on National Righteousness and Sin: Delivered in the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, April 3, 1827, Before a Large Assembly Convened for the Purpose of Adopting Resolutions Against Duelling.
*Calvin, John (1509-1564), Daniel, ISBN: 0851510922 9780851510927.
"This edition, from the Calvin Translation Society edition of 1852-1853, is one of the greatest writings to come from Calvin's pen." -- GCB
Commentary on Daniel, Volume 1
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom24.html
Cameron, Richard (1648-1680), Good News to Scotland. Alternate title: GOOD NEWS TO SCOTLAND. A SERMON PREACHED IN THE PARISH OF CARLUKE, IN CLYDSDALE; UPON THE 8TH. DAY OF JULY 1680. BY . . . RICHARD CAMERON. TO WHICH IS ADDED, AN ACROSTICK UPON HIS NAME, 1741.
"This sermon was among his last labours, being preached fourteen days before he suffered martyrdom at Airs-moss.
"The scope of the sermon is, a scriptural prediction of the terrible judgments that are coming upon Zion's enemies, and the great and glorious deliverance that is coming to the church and people of God, in Britain and Ireland. A sermon, preached in the parish of Carluke, in Clydesdale, upon the 8th day of July, 1680, by that faithful minister and martyr of Jesus Christ, Mr. Richard Cameron. To which is added, an acrostic upon his name, by a true lover of his memory, and owner of the cause which he sealed with his blood." -- Publisher
*De Graaf, Simon Gerrit, Promise and Deliverance, 4 volumes (Scarsdale, NY [Westminster Discount Book Service, P.O. Box 125H, Scarsdale 10583]: Westminster Discount Book Service, 1977). Translated from the Dutch by H. Evan Runner and Elisabeth Wichers Runner. A Christian classic.
"A landmark in interpreting the simple stories of the Bible . . . an invaluable resource for teachers, ministers, and parents." -- Christianity Today
"In Scripture, religion means covenant. By His Word, God called into being an order of creation culminating in man. By that Word He also gave man His favor and brought him into a life of conscious covenantal fellowship with Himself. As De Graaf himself puts it: 'Without covenant, there is no religion, no conscious fellowship between man and God, no exchange of love and faithfulness. Without the covenant, man would be just an instrument in God's hand. When God created man, He had more than an instrument in mind: He made a creature that could respond to Him. . . .'
"This renewed insight into Biblical revelation is the perspective undergirding De Graaf's treatment of all Bible stories. It makes his book a unique presentation of God's revelation of Himself in the covenant and keeps his interpretations of the stories from degenerating into mere moralizing. Religion is not morality." -- H. Evan Runner
"I highly recommend this book. One of the best books available." -- R.C. Sproul
Erskine, Ebenezer (1680-1754), The Annals of Redeeming Love, With the Redeemer's Vengeance Upon the Grand Enemy of the Redeem'd. Being Several Sermons . . . by . . . Ebenezer Erskine, Edinburgh, 1738. In The Works of Ebenezer Erskine. Available (THE WORKS OF EBENEZER ERSKINE), on the Puritan Hard Drive.
*Gouge, William (1578-1653), The Saints Sacrifice: or, A Commentarie on the CXVI Psalme. Which is, a Gratulatory Psalme, for Deliverance From Deadly Distresse, 1632, 144 pages [Psalm 116]. Available (THE WORKS OF WILLIAM GOUGE) on the Puritan Hard Drive.
" 'Sir, the last year, when the heavy hand of the righteous Lord lay upon this land and other parts of the Christian world, manifested by the three arrows of his anger, plague, famine, and sword, just cause was given to inquire after such means as might cure the wounds that were made by them, and move the Lord to withhold his hand from shooting abroad any more of them. Upon inquiry there was found in God's word (the treasury wherein all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid), fit remedies for all those maladies,' writes Gouge in his preface to the Earl of Warwick. In this book Gouge opens the Lord's treasure house (of Psalm 116), for deliverance from deadly distress and spiritual dilapidation." -- Publisher
Houston, Thomas (1803-1882), The Judgment of the Papacy: And the Reign of Righteousness.
Johnston, Olaf R., Christianity in a Collapsing Culture, ISBN: 0853642001 9780853642008.
"Faces squarely the disintegration of Western civilization, and advocates a cultural renewal based on a clear differentiation between good and evil, and a strong infusion of the Spirit's power into the life of every believer. Persuasive and Biblical." -- Cyril J. Barber
*Knox, John (1505-1572), Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland. Alternate title: THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX FROM THE CRUELL . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM BY THE FALSE BISHOPPES AND CLERGEY OF SCOTLAND, WITH HIS SUPPLICATION AND EXHORTATION TO THE NOBILITIE, ESTATES, AND COMMUNALTIE OF THE SAME REALME, and THE APPELLATION . . . TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: AN APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY, and THE APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, and THE APPELLATION. Cover title: REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM: APPEAL TO THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY (1558). Available (singly as REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM, in which key text have been underlined by a previous reader), on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available (REFORMATION, REVOLUTION AND ROMANISM), on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1 (MP3), #26. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library. Available (APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND), in THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4. [John Knox; David Laing ((collector and editor)), THE WORKS OF JOHN KNOX, Vol. 4, reprint of the 1855 edition printed for Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (New York: AMS Press, 1966)].
"David Chilton notes, 'Of all the sixteenth-century Reformers, John Knox remains the most ardently loved and fiercely hated. No other leader of his day saw so clearly the political issues in the light of Scripture. Nor has any of his contemporaries had so much direct influence upon the subsequent history of the world. He transformed a land of barbarians into one of the most hard-headly Calvinistic cultures ever to exist, and his doctrines lie at the core of all Protestant revolutionary activity. While he is often considered merely one of Calvin's lieutenants, he was actually a Reformer in his own right. In some respects he was the greatest of them all.' ("John Knox," in The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law [Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon], Vol. V, No. 2, Winter, 1978-79, p. 194).
"Furthermore, R.L. Greaves has noted that 'it has even been suggested -- and not altogether without merit -- that Knox was a key link in the development of political ideology that culminated in the American Revolution.' (Theology and Revolution in the Scottish Reformation: Studies in the Thought of John Knox [Grand Rapids, MI: Christian University Press, 1980], p. 156).
"Moreover, Mason [Roger A. Mason -- compiler], states that this APPEAL [APPELLATION FROM THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED BY THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY: ADDRESSED TO THE NOBILITY AND ESTATES OF SCOTLAND -- compiler], 'is the most important . . . of Knox's political writings.' (in the Introduction to his compilation of Knox's political writings entitled KNOX: ON REBELLION). [see annotation for KNOX: ON REBELLION elsewhere in this bibliography -- compiler]. It shows in a conclusive manner that Knox wanted a Theonomic Establishment which was careful to 'disapprove, detest, oppose and remove all false worship and all monuments of idolatry' (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, #108). It also clearly demonstrates that Knox believed in and promoted the continuing binding validity of the Old Testament case laws and the penal sanctions attached to them, including the death penalty.
"Kevin Reed, in a editor's note, introducing this piece in his newly published SELECTED WRITING OF JOHN KNOX [available on the Puritan Hard Drive. -- compiler], also points out that 'the Westminster Confession provides a distinct echo of Knox, when it states that the magistrate ""hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed"" (Ch. 23:3, original wording). One secular historian once described Knox as 'Calvin with a sword,' making one wonder if he had not just been reading this very book. For 'where Calvin merely permitted disobedience to an ungodly ruler or immoral law, Knox championed armed rebellion -- a type of Calvinism that made religious revolution in Scotland possible.' (Christian History, Issue 46, p. 35). This is the best of the best; don't miss it!" -- Publisher
Knox, John, Appellation From the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland
This is a character scan (OCR) of the modernized text published by Protestant Heritage Press. While text may be cut and pasted it is subject to copyright.
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/appellat.htm
The Works of John Knox (1846), Vol. 4.
http://archive.org/stream/worksjohnknox07laingoog#page/n4/mode/2up
Reformation, Revolution and Romanism (1558), John Knox, MP3 file.
"This has been called John Knox's most important political writing. It also deals with Romanism, God's law, and much more.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1030075041
See also:
Goodman, Christopher (1520-1603), How Superior Powers ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects: And Wherein They may Lawfully by God's Word be Disobeyed and Resisted, 1558. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #26. Available (HOW SUPERIOR POWERS OUGHT TO BE OBEYED), on the Library of Presbyterian Heritage Publications and Protestant Heritage Press CD-ROM Library.
"From 1555 to 1558, Christopher Goodman served as co-pastor, with John Knox, of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva. During the course of his ministry, Goodman preached upon Acts 4:19 and 5:29: 'Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather than God, judge ye. We ought rather to obey God than men'. . . . In this book, Goodman contends against both ecclesiastical and political tyranny." -- Publisher
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed of Their Subjects
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/goodman/obeyed.htm
See also annotation for:
Knox, John (1505-1572), The History of the Reformation of Religion Within the Realm of Scotland. . . . Together With the Life of the Author, and Several Curious Pieces Wrote by him, . . . By the Reverend Mr. John Knox, . . . To Which is Added, I. An Admonition to England and Scotland . . . BY Antoni Gilby. II. The First and Second Books of Discipline, Glasgow, 1761. Alternate title: THE HISTORIE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONTAINING FIVE BOOKS: TOGETHER WITH SOME TREATISES CONDUCING TO THE HISTORY. EDITED, WITH A LIFE OF KNOX AND A PREFACE, BY DAVID BUCHANAN. INCLUDES: "THE APPELLATION OF JOHN KNOX, FROM THE . . . SENTENCE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM (pp. 1-33); "THE ADMONITION OF JOHN KNOX TO HIS BELOVED BRETHREN THE COMMONALTY OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 34-42); "A FAITHFULL ADMONITION MADE BY JOHN KNOX TO THE TRUE PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, 1554" (pp. 43-79); "THE COPIE OF A LETTER DELIVERED TO QUEEN MARY, REGENT OF SCOTLAND" (pp. 80-97); AND "A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN KNOX [AUGUST 19, 1565]," ISBN: 0851513581 9780851513584. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #1.
*Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn (1899-1981), The Plight of man and the Power of God (Romans 1). Alternate title: THE POWER OF GOD AND THE PLIGHT OF MAN.
"A powerful application of the second half of the 1st chapter of Romans, originally delivered as addresses to students at the Free Church College, Edinburgh." -- William J. Grier
Lockyer, Herbert, The man who Changed the World: or Conquests of Christ Through the Centuries.
Manton, Thomas (1620-1677), Joseph Caryl, and R.P. (anonymous), The Sole and Soveraign (sic) way of England's Being Saved, 1671.
Miller, Darrow L., and Stan Guthrie, Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures, ISBN: 1576580156 9781576580158.
"In DISCIPLING NATIONS, Darrow Miller walks us through the ever-unfolding nature of the relationship between God and man-the Scriptures-revealing a very clear, evidential and logical Development Ethic that can only be understood, and therefore, realized, in the context of the Biblical worldview. Unveiling the other prevailing worldviews, Miller exposes the inevitable implications and consequences they have on human development and boldly builds a case for intolerance of these lies -- lies that impoverish individual souls and entire nations.
"Having implications not only upon Relief and Development, DISCIPLING NATIONS is a must-read for every Christian! Pastors, Counselors, Educators, Scientists, Mathematicians, Physicists, Astronomers and Technologists, as well as Christian Fundamentalists and Apologist, can all derive benefit from the continuity and comprehensiveness of this book. I think they will find many ground-breaking, certainly thought-provoking, and, hopefully, transformational, Truths and ideas, that, to this point, and for many reasons, have not yet had the impact that God intended on their lives and/or their vocations. Such has been the case for me. For others, especially those already engaged in Relief and Development work, it will be controversial -- challenging their worldviews and calling for the transformation of their own minds before even considering developing others." -- Reader's Comment
*Owen, John (1616-1683), God's Presence With a People the Spring of Their Prosperity; With Their Special Interest in Abiding in Him. A Christian classic. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25. Available in THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN, VOL. 8, SERMONS TO THE NATION, sermon 11.
http://johnowenquotes.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/johnowenvol-8.pdf
Owen preaches at length, 21 pages, on God's presence with a people both individually and corporately in a sermon on the text And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you, 2 Chronicles 15:2, delivered to Parliament October 30, 1656.
"The great concernment of any people or nation is, to know that all their prosperity is from the presence of God amongst them, and to attend to that which will give continuance thereunto. . . .
"There is a presence of God in respect of providential dispensations. . . . -- attended with peculiar love, favor, good-will, special care towards them with whom he is so present. So Abimelech observed that he was with Abraham, Genesis 21:22, God is with thee in all that thou doest, -- with thee to guide thee, bless thee, preserve thee, as we shall see afterward. So he promised to be with Joshua, I will be with thee, Joshua 1:5; and so he was with Gideon, The Lord is with thee, Judges 6:12, -- to bless him in his great undertaking; and so with Jeremiah, I am with thee, Jeremiah 15:20. This is fully expressed, Isaiah 43:1,2, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. And this is the presence of God here intimated, -- his presence with the people as to special providential dispensations, as is manifest from the whole discourse of the prophet; and wherein this consists, shall be afterward at large declared. . . .
"There is an abiding with God in national administrations; -- this is a fruit of the other, in those who are called to them. And that this is principally here intended is evident from that use that Asa made of this information and exhortation of the prophet. He did not only look to his personal walking thereupon, but also immediately set upon the work of ordering the whole affairs of the kingdom so as God might be glorified thereby. How this may be effected, shall at large afterward be declared. What hath already been spoken may suffice for a foundation of that proposition which I shall this day insist upon; and it is this, --
"The presence of God with a people, in special providential dispensations for their good, depends on their obediential presence with him in national administrations to his glory: The Lord is with you, while ye be with him. . . .
"What is the rule and measure of God's continuance with his people in the covenant of grace? Plainly this, -- that he will never forsake them; and, on that account, will take care that they shall never forsake him, but abide with him forever. It is not whilst they do so and so, he will abide with them; and when they cease so to do, he will forsake them, as to his federal and covenant presence; -- there is not such a sandy foundation left us of our abiding with God in Christ. See the tenor of the covenant, Jeremiah 31:33; 32:38-40 [Jeremiah 32:38-40]. The sum is, that God will be with them, and take care that they always abide with him; and therefore hath he provided for all interveniences imaginable, that nothing shall violate this union. God lays his unchangeableness as the foundation of the covenant, Malachi 3:6, and he therein makes us unchangeable; -- not absolutely so, for we change every moment; but with respect to the terms and bounds of the covenant, he hath undertaken that we shall never leave him. The law of God's presence in respect of providential dispensations, and all special privileges attending it, is quite of another importance: it is purely conditional, as you may see in my text. The tenor of it is expressed to the height, 1 Samuel 2:30, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Here is no alteration of counsel or purpose in God; but merely an explanation of the rule, law, and tenor of providential dispensations; -- no interpretation of the covenant of grace (Eli held not the priesthood by that covenant); but an explication of the tenor of a privilege given in special providence, Psalm 89:32,33. Hence is that variety of God's dealings with men mentioned in the Scripture; which yet are always righteous, according to one or other of these rules and laws. . . .
"I suppose I need not go for proof beyond the observation of the constant tenor of God's proceedings with his people of old. When did he not deal thus with them? What instance can be given of transgressing this rule? Is the whole story of the nation of the Jews any thing but the illustration of this proposition? Some ruled well, and sought the Lord; and the Lord was with them, and prospered them in all their ways; -- some fell from him, and walked according to their own imaginations; and the Lord cut them short on that account; -- yea, sometimes the same man, as Solomon, Asa, Uzziah, experienced both these states and conditions. Hath not the state of all nations, since they came into the power of men professing the knowledge of him, been the same? Look on the Roman empire; did it not flourish under the hand of men who ruled with God, and were faithful with the saints? Is not the present distraction of it, under the fury and cruelty of Turk and Pope, the issue of the violence, unrighteousness, idolatry, luxury, and persecution of ill governors? Doth not the demonstration of all God's people in the world -- the consideration whereof, in particular, might be insisted on as the ground and reason of the truth insisted on -- require that it should be thus Leviticus 26:1, and almost the whole book of Deuteronomy, are sermons on this text; and every verse, almost, in them would afford a new confirmation of the truth in hand. . . .
"The second use of this pillar was, to give them protection and defense in their ways; so Exodus 14:19, 20, 24. This protected them from the Egyptians; -- and from thence God troubled their enemies out of the pillar; that is, from his especial presence. This use of it is insisted on, Isaiah 4:5, 6. The cloud, that was as smoke by day, and as fire by night, was also a shadow, a place of refuge, and a covert; in one word, a protection or a defense. And this is a second thing which is in God's special presence, -- he will protect or defend them with whom he is so present. He is their dwelling place, Psalm 90:1, then, when in this world they have none; their refuge in the time of trouble: so Isaiah 25:4, 26:1 [Isaiah 26:1], 31:4 [Isaiah 31:4]. Promises and instances to make this good abound; -- they are known to all; the time would fail me to insist upon them. I might go over all the causes, means, and ways of the fears, dangers, ruin of such a people, and show you how a defense is provided against them all. Are their fears from themselves, because of their folly, weakness, and division? or from pretended friends, because of their envy and desertion? or from open enemies, because of their power, cruelty, malice, and revenge? A defense is provided on every account. Heat, rain, tempests, storms, adversity, prosperity, -- all are provided against, where God is present, Isaiah 32:1, 2.
"And if any people in the world have experience of this truth, we have it this day. Had not the Lord been with us, who had not destroyed us? Enemies, friends, abroad, at home, our own follies, -- all, any of them, had done the work, had not the Lord himself been with us. . . .
"That we may abide with God, this is indispensably required, -- that we may have peace with him in Jesus Christ. If we are never with him, we cannot abide with him; no man can abide where he never come. The acceptance of our persons lies at the bottom of the acceptance of our duties. As the special presence of God with any, is in and by Christ, and no otherwise, so is our abiding with God in and through him. God with us is the name of Christ: our being with God is in him who is our peace. Two cannot walk together, unless they be agreed, Amos 3:3.
"Now, because this is not to be expected from all the individuals of a nation, yet this thing is to be endeavored, -- that the rulers of it be such as have this interest. I do not divest of a share in government, those who have no share in Christ, if lawfully called thereunto; but I say, when God gives governors whom he intends to make a blessing unto a people, they shall be such as are blessed of him in Christ. And if ever the government of this nation, in this present constitution, -- suppose it the most exactly framed and balanced, in the several parts of it, for the furtherance of public good, -- be devolved into the hands of men not interested in God by Christ, though the constitution may be absolutely good, yet the government will not be blessed, and the nation will be ruined; for God and his glory will depart, Micah 5:5, 6. It is Christ that is our peace, even in outward troubles. . . .
"This, then, I say, is pre-required, as a qualification of any person to the performance of this duty of abiding with God. It is the psalmist's advice, Psalm 2:11,12. Let this principle be always owned amongst you; by it honor Christ in the world. Give him the pre-eminence; it is the Father's will he should have it in all things. Expect not the presence of God, but upon this account. Bear testimony herein against the world of profane men, who despise these things. Seeing, then, it cannot be expected to have this qualification diffused universally, as yet, through the body of the people, let the rulers take care that they be not the cause of God's departure from us. . . ." -- John Owen
Owen, John (1616-1683), God's presence with a people, the spring of their prosperity; with their speciall interest in abiding with Him. A sermon, preached to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, at Westminster, Octob. 30. 1656. A day of solemn humiliation. By John Owen, D.D. a servant of Jesus Christ, in the work of the Gospel. Printed by Order of Parliament, 1656.
The sermons is also found in the various editions of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN.
*Owen, John (1616-1683), The Complete Works of John Owen, 16 volumes, ISBN: 0851513921 9780851513928. Alternate title: THE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN. See Chapter 1 for annotation on all 16 volumes. Many separate works by Owen may be found on the Puritan Hard Drive. Many separate works by Owen may be found in the Reformation Bookshelf 30 CD Set.
John Owen (1616-1683), "is by common consent not the most versatile, but the greatest among Puritan theologians. For solidity, profundity, massiveness and majesty in exhibiting from Scripture God's ways with sinful mankind there is no one to touch him. . . ." -- J.I. Packer in A Quest for Godliness, p. 81
"To master his works is to be a profound theologian." -- C.H. Spurgeon
"The Banner of Truth Trust completed in May, 1968, the re-issue of the complete English works of Owen, his seven volumes on the Epistle of Hebrews excepted. All of these volumes 'are of the greatest value' (Dr. Lloyd-Jones), but for newcomers to Owen we especially recommend the four volumes in the Practical Division (vols. 6-9) . . ." -- William J. Grier
"His works on communion, Christian life, and the person and glory of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. are of the utmost value to any serious-minded Christian." -- Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918-2008)
Owen, John (1616-1683), An Humble Testimony Unto the Goodness and Severity of God in his Dealing With Sinful Churches and Nations. Or the Only way to Deliver a Sinful Nation From Utter Ruin by Impendent Judgments: In a Discourse on the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . by John Owen, D.D. The second edition Edinburgh, 1737. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #25.
Paisley, Ian R.K., Divine Intervention in Days of Declension: An Exposition of the Book of Judges.
Palmer, B.M., and B.B. Warfield, The Family in its Offices of Instruction and Worship, 1876. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive. Available on Reformation Bookshelf CD #22.
Pike, Samuel (1717-1773), and Samuel Hayward (1718-1757), Living With the Promises and Threats of God's Word.
In RELIGIOUS CASES OF CONSCIENCE ANSWERED IN AN EVANGELICAL MANNER . . . TO WHICH IS ADDED THE SPIRITUAL COMPANION; OR, THE PROFESSING CHRISTIAN TRIED AT THE BAR OF GOD'S WORD; AND CHARACTER OF THE HAPPY MAN, 1866.
Living With the Promises and Threats of God's Word
http://www.westminsterconfession.org/godly-living/living-with-the-promises-and-threats-of-gods-word.php
R.P. (anonymous), Joseph Caryl (1602-1673), and Thomas Manton (1620-1677), The Sole and Soveraign (sic) way of England's Being Saved Humbly Proposed by R.P., 1671.
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), A Sermon on Exod. 3:2 [Exodus 3:2], 1643. Alternate title: A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE HONORABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS, AT THEIR LAST SOLEMNE FAST, WEDNESDAY, JANUAR. 31. 1643.
*Singer, C. Gregg (1910-1999), A Theological Interpretation of American History, 1994 edition, 354 pages (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1994, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1964), ISBN: 0875524265 9780875524269. A Christian classic.
This book portrays "the influence of theology and the changing doctrines in the life of the church on the pattern of American political, constitutional, social and economic development.
"The author shows that the decline of constitutional government in this country is the result of the departure from historical Christian faith and the resulting rise of alien political philosophies. Particularly does he emphasize the intimate relationship between theological liberalism on the one hand and political, social, and economic liberalism on the other. This theological liberalism has been a major agent in the decline of the Constitution in the political life of the people and in the appearance of a highly centralized government." -- Publisher
"There is between the democratic philosophy and theological liberalism a basic affinity which has placed them in the same camp in many major political struggles.
"This condition exists because theological liberalism shares the basic postulates of the democratic philosophy. . . .
"Theological liberalism at heart has been a continuing protest against Calvinism, particularly against its insistence on the Sovereignty of God and the Total Depravity of the race. These two Biblical doctrines have often proved to be a stumbling block to theologians within the church as well as to the unbelieving world.
"The result of theological liberalism has been the movement away from constitutionalism and away from liberty, and a movement toward collectivistic society and totalitarian regime." -- C. Gregg Singer, A Theological Interpretation of American History, p. 290
See also: John Knox, the Scottish Covenanters, and the Westminster Assembly (tape 3 of 5), in a series of addresses, History Notes on Presbyterianism, Reformation, and Theology by Dr. C. Gregg Singer on SermonAudio.com
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607114250
Dr. C. Gregg Singer at SermonAudio.com (161 messages)
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Dr.^C.^Gregg^Singer
*Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich (1918-2008), One Word of Truth: The Nobel Speech on Literature 1970, ISBN: 0060139439 9780060139438. A Christian classic.
The author saw the Christian faith as "the only force capable of undertaking the spiritual healing of Russia."
Translated from the Russian by the members of the BBC Russian Service.
One Word of Truth . . .
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html
Strickland, John, Matthew Simons, and Henry Overton, Mercy Rejoycing Against Judgement, or, God Waiting to be Gracious to a Sinfull Nation: A Sermon preached before the honorable House of Commons in Margarets Westminster, upon the solemne day of their publique humiliation and monethly fast, Octob. 29. 1645.
"John Strickland, B.D. pastor of the church at Edmonds in the citie of New Sarum, now preacher at Peters Poor, London, and a member of the Assembly of Divines."
*Williams, Daniel (1643?-1716), What Repentance of National Sins God Doth Require, as Ever we Expect National Mercies? [Sermon on Hosea x. 12. (Hosea 10:12)], 1690. Available on the Puritan Hard Drive.
See also: The sovereignty of god, The doctrine of man (human nature, total depravity), The sovereign grace of god: his everlasting mercy and lovingkindness, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Justice, the theology of judgment, god's final judgment, the great white throne judgment, the day of the lord, Repentance the key to salvation and change, God's deliverance of nations, Covenant theology and the ordinance of covenanting, The covenant of redemption, The covenant faithfulness of god, Sexual relationship, Spiritual adultery (spiritual whoredom/harlotry), Oaths, ensnaring vows, promises, and covenants, bonds with the ungodly, The covenanted reformation of scotland background and history, The national covenant, The solemn league and covenant, The covenanted reformation of scotland, The covenanted reformation of scotland The covenanted reformation of scotland author/title listing, title listing, Biography of covenanters, Acts of faithful assemblies, Covenanting in america, The scottish covenanting struggle, alexander craighead, and the mecklenburg declaration, Confession of national sin and covenant renewal, Corporate faithfulness and sanctification, Selection of covenant heads for positions of leadership, The Westminster Standards and family of documents, The biblical solution to terrorism, Toleration and liberty of conscience, The application of scripture to the corporate bodies of church and state, The Christian foundation of America, Colonial history, Freedom: a gift of the grace of god, and so forth, and so on.
TCRB5: 356-374
Arminianism/Pelagianism Refutations
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The Treasury of David, Psalm 106
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. (v. 7)
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. (v. 8)
And he saved them from the hand of them that hated them. (v. 10)
They soon forgat his works. (v. 13)
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. (v. 15)
http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps106.php
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