Book Review: J. H. Merle D’Aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century

After a blogging sabbatical, I am back with the hope of weaving my way through one of my favorite books.  For those that want to read along, this book can be found online for free at White Horse Media(among other places).  Be aware, this book(actually books) is not for the faint of heart but is a weighty treatise on the political, social, ecclesiastical and other factors that led to the Protestant Reformation. 
The importance of this book goes beyond just the period of time that the author looks at here and the struggles between Roman Catholicism and the Protestants, for it helps to highlight what ideas and forces would become the foundation of Western Civilization from the Reformation forward to modern times.  At the end, this book will help explain why Western Culture was primed for the dominance that it has held over the world during these last centuries and consequently why the apathy or outright hostility towards those founding principles will, despite the protestations of modern secularists and pluralists, inevitably lead to the implosion of Western Society which is already well underway.

Churches under attack

In the United States, the battle lines have been drawn.  The government is insatiable in its desire to grab more power and any attempt to wield that poiwer against its citizens.  Individual citizens and their God given rights have been under attack probably since the founding of the nation, but taking down one person at a time is not very efficient; something that even a bureaucracy can figure out.  So, other institutions in life were targeted such as the family, schools and the workplace to name a few.  But that is not enough because there is always the church out there, not any religious organizations mind you, just the Christian church.  It is willing, in some cases, to stand alone for what is right against even the monstrous power of civil government.  And so it must be dealt with, assaults across the board, from every angle, a perfect military strategy to amass an overwhelming assault on your enemy.  And do not think that you, Church, as considered less than an enemy of the state, for you are; your ultimate allegiance lies elsewhere, for you ar ea pilgrim on this earth.  So the attacks come, forced payments for abortion, demand for sermons and soon to be many more infringements on religious liberty through civil government decree. 
As I said, the battle lines have been drawn...but do not fear, for now the demarcation between light and dark has a little less gray.  A little less wiggle room for those that want to straddle the fence.  And on our side, the winning side, not in a worldy way, and perhaps not even in a way that benefits our nation and ourselves short term, it gives us a chance to show that we sit on the side of the Lord.  And that is something that not many in our United States have had a chance to experience in a long time.  Prepare to join with our brothers and sisters around the world that have suffered against this tyranny for so long, the battle was predicted for us in the scriptures and we are being called to duty. 

Romans 13 and Resistance to Authorities

This article from Doug Wilson's Blog and Mablog is a continuation of other articles on this subject that he has been working through.  The bottom line as I see it is that the trajectory of the United States Civil Government is that, irrespective of any particular law, the government is, and has been, on a crash course with Christianity because it wants to take the place of God.  Now, I would say that this is the natural state of affairs in every nation except for the one where individual citizens refuse to recognize this gross inversion as to how things are supposed to be.  As the citizenry of the United States have neglected their spiritual duties, then familial duties, economic, political and so on and so forth, we now come to the point where such abuse and tyranny is possible.  We can complain at every point about what is and what is not happening to us, but none of it would be possible without the consent of the citizen, a citizen who has forget where their first duty should stand.  Our political forefathers understood this was possible for they rightly understood the heart of man and knew that such was not only possible, but probable.  For those that see the writing on the wall, the decision that must be taken can only be done by prayerful reflection and a solid theological understanding of our founding document, the Bible.  This is not to say that such a decision will be easily arrived at or consistent for those that worship the same God, but it is something worthy to think about.

The President and the IRS

There is nothing more beneath the office of President, illegal, unjust and damaging to the Republic than the idea of using government offices to TARGET your political opponents.  Whether that opponent be on the political left or right of your position, there is no room in our system of government for the wielding of civil government abusive power against others.  There are only two outcomes of such a policy continuing.  The first is that at sometime the roles of each viewpoint will be reversed and the same unjust policies will be directed at those recently removed from power.  Second, people everywhere lose trust in the government which leads to actual disenfranchisement and a permanent us vs. them mentality. 
The first of these outcomes is the result of shortsightedness.  While there is likely some of this going on in the current effort of the Administration tactics utilizing the IRS to target opponents, I believe the more dangerous precedent is being set on purpose which is to tear away another foundation of our country.  This article from Liberty Unyielding shows how the Obama Administration has used the power of the IRS to wield its power against citizens who are politically involved in issues that contradict official WH positions.  I've included this case to show that it doesn't matter if you are on the right or left of the spectrum, if the civil government uses its agencies to target you for being a political opponent, then the system set up as it is cannot stand for long once people realize that the government isn't working for them for actively against them. 

Sign of the End of the Times

In this article from Political Outpost you can see the direction our federal government is going on the whole border security crisis.  I say border security crisis because this is a SECURITY issue for our country first and foremost.  I'd say, if the administration wants to open luxury resorts, let's use them so that families of military members deployed overseas in harms way could use them for free for a week or so during the deployment of their family member.  I think we could also chip in for free airfare just like we are doing to send these illegal immigrants all around the United States.  I've got a solution:  How about close the border and stop spending OUR money on stupid projects like this. 

Just in case you thought I was kidding in my last post

Political Outcast has a great article on how the Gay Agenda Express is coming to a school(and eventually a church) near you.  My only comment is that any school or any organization that wants even a semblance of independence or a chance to stand on their principles must make sure they receive no public money.  I'm afraid this is not going to help you in the long run, but at least it may give you a fighting chance.  BTW, Gordon College is beautiful, my son had a debate tournament there and my wife and I enjoyed our time on campus and the surrounding area.  I hope that the College sticks to its guns, but when it comes to the Northeast, I have to say my confidence in that happening is not very high.

Standing by for the lawsuit-All aboard the Gay Agenda Express

This case, brought to us by CNN is about as straightforward as it gets.  Contact signed, violation purposely perpetrated, and now the long, sad tale of remorse for an institution not willing to change their beliefs so that a poor student can finish her education and just be the person she wants to be.  Sure, private schools, sure churches, don't worry, this is the government and we would never tell you what you should believe or how you should govern those in your voluntary organizations. 
But yet, you can see where this is going.  A lawsuit is coming, and probably, given that we are still in this transition period to full homosexual demands for acceptance from everyone, it will be a loss. But then, with the government's dedication to making this issue the number one issue on their plate instead of other things that are actually crippling our nation like unfettered access through our porous borders, active conflicts throughout the world, a crippling debt, etc. they will find out that they can penalize these bigots by attacking the money that keeps them going.  Some point down the road, the federal and state spigot of money to these schools through loans is going to be cut off, and not to give them any ideas, but how about we put a toll booth on the road leading to these heinous institutions and make the price of the trip unaffordable.  I'm sure the government can think of many ways to cut the legs out from under these "private institutions."  After that, stand by churches, for you will be next.  You see, no matter how many times I tell you, it is not about civil rights in this or any other issue, it is about control, control of your life, what you believe and how you live according to those beliefs.  If it wasn't homosexuality, don't worry, they would find something else to try.  The problem is that in this issue, the government has finally settled on something they think can be the wedge to break those former institutions of our culture, family, church, education.  Once that is done, then there is nothing coherent that exists to protect us from the tyranny that will overwhelm us.