Acts 2:38, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Acts 2:38--Baptism Essential to Salvation? -- “Careful study will demonstrate that Peter does not assert baptism is administered in order to receive forgiveness in Acts 2:38, nor is such a view of the verse consistent with the apostle’s teaching elsewhere in the book of Acts.”
• American Voter Rolls Filled with Errors, Dead Voters, and Duplicate Registrations -- “SAVE collected registration and list maintenance data from 42 states’ registrant files, kept as part of the Help America Vote Act’s mandate regarding statewide voter registration lists.”
• Article 15: On Local Churches and the Sovereignty of God -- “One of the reasons that no other kind of ministry can make up the difference is because Jesus has given these actual, gathered communities genuine authority (Matt. 18:15–22).”
• Calendar Converter -- “This page allows you to interconvert dates in a variety of calendars, both civil and computer-related.”
• Cardinal Burke: Joe Biden is not a Catholic in ‘good standing’, should not receive Communion -- “...a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life, and has always been considered to be intrinsically evil.”
• Hate Crime Hoax: Black Teen Painted Own SUV With Anti-Black Lives Matter Messages, Trump Support In Apparent Insurance Fraud Scheme -- “Clifton Eutsey, 18, claimed his BMW X5 was vandalized as part of a hate crime, with the perpetrator writing every message left-wing provocateurs think the Right believes.”
• How two companies sprinted ahead in extraordinary race for a COVID vaccine -- “On Monday, Moderna Inc, a scrappy biotech with nearly $1 billion in research and development backing from the U.S. government, announced what appeared to be its own successful vaccine...”
• Is this election over or not? -- “If you are primarily following this election via cable news, I recommend that you turn to print journalism...cable news is a wasteland of commentary and instant ‘analysis’ which oftentimes ends up being a narrative in search of evidence.”
• Learn Christian Latin, Self-Directed: How I am Doing It -- “Latin is the language of Christendom for over 1,500 years--it is valuable for someone who wants to understand the history of Christianity, to understand the Latin Vulgate and Old Latin Bible translations...”
• ‘More power than traditional media’: Facebook, Twitter policies attacked -- “What I want to try to find out is if you’re not a newspaper at Twitter or Facebook, then why do you have editorial control over the New York Post?”
• No Reason to Fret the Harry Styles Vogue Cover Unless Designed Gender Distinction or a Male and Female Item of Clothing -- “I think that a dress or a skirt on men is still a bridge too far for most men, let alone Christian men, but the defense of that position comes from the Bible.”
• Supreme Court Justice Alito Warns: ‘Religious Liberty Is in Danger of Becoming a Second-Class Right’ -- “It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty has fast become a disfavored right.”
• The Foundations Are Not Destroyed -- “Psalm 2 predicted that all of human history would be characterized by vain imaginations, by nations raging and setting themselves against the rule of God, so when that happens, why are you surprised?”
• ‘Threat To Democracy’: CNN Sounds Alarm Over Conservatives Leaving Twitter, Facebook -- “...CNN reporter Pamela Brown suggested that it was a ‘threat to democracy’ that people were turning away from dominant social media platforms like Facebook and signing up to be on more pro-free speech platforms and sites.”
• Why Covid-19 kills certain patients, especially men, revealed in “breakthrough finding’ -- “‘Why does one 40-year-old get really sick and another one not even need to be admitted?’ asked Ranney, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University.”

Brief thoughts on same sex attraction

Some comments I have read by Christians on same sex attraction (SSA). We Christians find ourselves all over the place on this subject in this modern era.

• “I’ve known too many gay people who say they have begged God to take away their SSA, to believe feeling SSA is a choice.”
• “Same sex attraction is a sin and it is a spiritual stronghold from which Jesus can deliver a person. There is no such thing as a sexual orientation. Bible knows nothing of ‘sexual orientations’.”
• “Sin begins in the heart long before it is carried out in the flesh. It would be sinful for a person to desire to murder someone, as it would be for him or her to commit the act of murder. There is nothing in the Bible to support a notion that it is okay to desire and entertain sin in the heart and mind, even if you do not commit the act.”
• “Simply being attracted to a member of the opposite sex is not sinful. Temptation is not the same as sin. There are people who struggle with SSA, but who hate it and want to get help for it. I wouldn’t say they are in sin.”
• “It is one thing to struggle with something we know is a sin. It is quite another to entertain the desire and refuse to acknowledge it as a sin.”
• “One can be same sex attracted and not entertain it, but I am saying a lot of the time we continue to struggle with sins because it’s in our nature. God doesn’t always take them away.”
• “Equating homosexuality with heterosexuality is the first step LGBT uses to get Christians to say homosexuality is okay.”
• “There is no reason to identify as homosexual if one has not and will not engage in homosexual behavior.”

Same sex attraction = romantic, physical, and/or sexual attraction to a person of the same sex.
Sexual orientation = a pattern of romantic, physical, and/or sexual attraction
 
Sexual orientation and SSA are often discussed as if it is some kind of fixed characteristic in an individual – like biological sex or age.[i] The modern concept of sexual orientation originates from the discipline of psychology rather than the Bible. The most popularly-held belief currently seems to be that people are born homosexual. Question that and people look at you as if you have abandoned your senses. To them it is an unquestionably proven scientific fact. However, numerous studies conducted have not been conclusive.[ii] The American Psychiatric Association in 2015 stated: “Some people believe that sexual orientation is innate and fixed; however, sexual orientation develops across a person’s lifetime.”

Even if one could prove there are inborn tendencies toward specific behaviors – such as alcoholism, gluttony, homosexuality, pedophilia, violence – such a fact would not determine whether or not those behaviors are moral. Do you think someone might have a natural tendency or temptation toward excessive anger or physical rage? If so, should they indulge in it, or seek to control it? God the creator, not man the created, determines what behavior is moral or immoral. The Bible is his revelation of that knowledge (e.g. John 8:32; John 17:17).

There are Bible truths we know are true – regardless of what we think is or is not true when a person is born. The Bible teaches that all are sinners (Romans 3:23). We are “predisposed” to sin. We are all born sinners. However, that does not excuse our sin (Romans 1:19-21).
 
Jesus says that you must be born again (John 3:5-7. Cf. John 1:12-13). None will arrive in heaven based on their first birth in the flesh. Only those born of God will enter the kingdom of God.

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[i] And then again, some of the same people will deny that biological sex is a fixed characteristic. 

[ii] There is no consensus among scientists exactly why an individual develops heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual attractions.

Shenandoah Harmony Inclusion Statement

Example of the direction of some shape note singing:

Shenandoah Harmony Inclusion Statement

Do not lie to yourself

Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to the passions and coarse pleasures, in order to occupy and amuse himself, and in his vices reaches complete bestiality, and it all comes from lying continually to others and to himself. 

Fyodor Dostoevsky, in The Brothers Karamazov

Christ washing his disciples feet, John 13

The following common meter hymn on Christ washing his disciples feet (John 13:1-17) was written by English Baptist John Needham in 1768. It is found in Hymns Devotional and Moral on Various Subjects, Hymn 92, page 109 (Bristol: S. Farley, 1768).

1. What wonder’s this? ye saints behold

Your Saviour rise from meat;

In servile garb the master stands

To wash the servants feet.

2. The limpid stream with care he pours

Into a laver clean,

Wash’d by his hands the servants muse

What this strange thing should mean.

3. Wash me, blest Jesus, in thy blood,

And make me clean within;

Thy blood the sov’reign virtue had

To cleanse from every sin.

4. Great pattern of humility!

Teach me to condescend,

And by each office shew myself

To thee, to thine a friend.

5. Let vain and stupid mortals boast

Their wealth, or noble blood;

Teach me the humble are the great

And greatest those most good.

6. Lord, may the Spirit cleanse my soul

From envy, wrath and pride;

And may a love inflam’d by thine

My other passions guide.

Baptists do not have popes, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify when possible.)

“Baptists do not have popes. They never put anybody where they can’t put him down. And another thing: Baptists never ride a horse without a bridle.” -- J. B. Gambrell at the 1919 SBC meeting

“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” -- Martin Luther

“If salvation was ‘by chance’, then no man on earth would ever be saved.” -- Mike McInnis

“If anybody is coming to church just to eat, they'd do better to stay at home.” -- Nell Parrish

“Careless ordination of the unqualified has been a fruitful source of trouble.” -- John Crowley

“An idol is anything you love more than God, fear more than God, and serve more than God. Never be idle about idols in your life.” -- Steven Lawson

“Jesus doesn’t take sides, he takes over.” -- Attributed to several different people, original source unknown

“I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes” -- Henry David Thoreau

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” -- H. L. Mencken

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they’ve tried everything else.” -- Winston Churchill

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” -- Albert Einstein

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The fear of God, Scripture says, cast out all other fears. To be paralyzed by fear, or to be so outraged by fear that we no longer are able to love our neighbor, is not of Christ.” -- John Stonestreet and Shane Morris, on Breakpoint

Alternative social network Parler, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Sad Chapter in the History of Evangelicalism in America -- “Please don’t tell me (or others) that courage is only standing for what your crowd wants you to say. Trust me, ‘my crowd,’ doesn’t want to hear this.”
• Alternative social network Parler hit first overall on the U.S. -- “App Store for iPhones and second on Google Play, according to mobile analytics firm Apptopia.”
• Could you be convinced that 2 + 2 = 5? -- “Enforced speech codes demanding that we recognize biological males as women is not very different from being forced to say that ‘2 + 2 = 5.’”
• David Platt’s bad political theology ignores God’s standard -- “This is true. As far as it goes. No political party has a monopoly on justice. However, one political party is pro-baby murder...”
• Death and Funerals -- “The first trend is to redefine the funeral as a “celebration of life.” No, funerals are not celebrations of life...We gather because death summons us.”
• Democrats Encourage Supporters to Relocate to Georgia to Vote for Ossoff and Warnock in Runoff Elections -- “Legally, Georgia’s law is vague, but experts say that casting a vote in a state without intention of staying would be classified as a felony, via Wall Street Journal.”
• Doctor or Brother? by Arthur W. Pink -- “The principal passages which have helped me I now mention, praying that it may please God to also bless them to others.”
• Finally: a simple timeline of Acts [infographic] -- “This doesn’t cover every character. You’ll notice that John doesn’t have a line, nor the faithful Luke, nor the prophet Agabus.”
• Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- “Issue: Whether free exercise plaintiffs can only succeed by proving a particular type of discrimination claim — namely that the government would allow the same conduct by someone who held different religious views”
• Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia -- “Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch each have decades of experience in the foster care system...These two Catholic women chose to partner with Catholic Social Services because they wanted to work with a faith-affirming agency and were impressed by its excellent reputation.”
• Georgia to Conduct a Hand Recount of Election Ballots -- “Georgia’s top election official said Wednesday the state will conduct a hand recount of all paper ballots cast in the Nov. 3 presidential election.”
• Gleanings From Ketcherside -- “Much of the irreverence, formality and cold ritual of these days is the result of a loss of significance of the priesthood of all believers.”
• Headstone Emblems -- “Pictures, with identification, of various emblems placed on tombstone.”
• How to Vote 2020 -- “Christian people must resist being driven by material concerns. Their primary interests are not economic. Their duty is to seek first the kingdom of God...”
• Is Being Gay Genetic? -- “People will often assume that there must be a genetic source for sexual orientation and will talk about it as if it is settled science. But it’s not.”
• Jordan Sekulow to Newsmax TV: Trump Team Building Its Elex Case Carefully, Methodically -- “It’s going to be a little bit of a slow process to get this into court, but then all the federal courts know they’ve got to do this rapidly...Let us do our legal work, and then the courts are going to do this in an expedited manner.”
• Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen pulls some votes from Biden and Trump, calls election a ‘wake-up call’ -- “About 70% of Jorgensen's campaign volunteers were registered Democrats or Republicans, she said.”
• QAnon, Conspiracy Theories, & the Church -- “Often, conspiracy theories come wrapped in biblical language, twisting a theological term here or a Bible verse there.”
• Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine: What to know -- “Pfizer hopes to produce up to 50 million doses of its vaccine in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion in 2021.”
• Southern Baptist Convention President defends Democrats in our churches -- “I have my own convictions,” Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said. “But I’m not going to make that a matter of fellowship and faith. If there is somebody because of their perspective or perception of what is going on in the world chooses to have a different political calculus than me, I don’t believe the church should be defined by anyone of those.”
• The Second Conservative Exodus from Facebook to Parler Has Begun -- “Let’s face it, Facebook is out of control these past 7 days. The level of filtering, censoring, throttling, and removing of Conservatives and Republicans is unprecedented.”
• What do we owe a President? -- “At the very least, we owe our president a commitment to pray for him. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4.”
• Yes, Democrats Are Trying To Steal The Election In Michigan, Wisconsin, And Pennsylvania -- “When my Federalist colleague Sean Davis noted this, Twitter was quick to censor his tweet, even though all he had done was compare two sets of vote totals on the New York Times website.”

50th hymn meter

I recently discovered a new hymn meter designation – 50th meter – that I do not recall seeing before (Thanks to Matt Bell.) The 50th meter was a meter for the 50th Psalm. Similarly, William Gadsby uses Psalm Tune names for several of his hymn meters – 104th for the 10.10.11.11 pattern, 112th for L. P. M., 122nd for S. P. M., and 148th for H. M.

According to Richard Crawford in The Core Repertory of Early American Psalmody (Volumes 11-12, pp. xxxix, xl), the “old” 50th meter was 10.10.10.10.11.11. (as in the tune Lyons), and the “new” 50th meter was 6 lines of 10 (as in the tune Wordsworth).

An interesting turn of events

Pennsylvania postal worker recants ballot tampering allegations: officials -- “The House Oversight Committee announced Tuesday that Richard Hopkins went back on his assertion that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., told workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day...”

Pennsylvania postal worker denies recanting ballot-tampering claims -- “Project Veritas chief legal counsel Jered Ede accused the investigators of coercing Mr. Hopkins into signing an affidavit recanting his claims; failing to give him access to his attorney, and refusing to provide him with a copy of the signed document.”

Project Veritas Releases Shocking Recordings of Federal Agents Trying to Intimidate USPS Whistleblower Into Recanting Election Fraud Claim -- “The whistleblower says that he even tried to contact reporters from the Washington Post to let them know their story was false, but that he was ignored.”

Veterans Day 2020

When first celebrated as Armistice Day, the day marked the end of World War I, formally recognized on the “11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month” in 1918.

Veterans Day 2020

Simple assembly

If you read much of what I write here at Seeking the Old Paths, you know I believe there is a need to return to and go by the way the apostles and New Testament churches did things. To be New Testament Christians, we need to ask New Testament questions and give New Testament answers. I find much of the simplicity and simple church ideas of the “house church movement” compelling. Much of modern American Christianity has distressed seeking Christians and gathering churches by complicating things that should be simple. An argument of many in the house church movement is that New Testament churches met exclusively in private homes, and that this is a scriptural mandate. When we ask this New Testament question, what is the New Testament answer?

The New Testament requires assembly, by command and example (Hebrews 10:25). It is quite clear that meeting in homes is a primary example in the scriptures (Acts 1:13, Acts 2:2, Acts 8:3, Acts 12:12, Acts 20:7-12, Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon, verse 2, 2 John, verse 10). The inspired text compares the church to a house. It is God’s house (Ephesians 2:19, 1 Timothy 3:5, 15, Hebrews 10:21, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 4:17). This concept and New Testament practice should not be taken lightly. However, is this pattern exclusive? Are any other “worship facilities” – meeting places – suggested in the New Testament?

Acts 2:46 says they (the church at Jerusalem) continued [to meet] daily “with one accord in the temple,” as well as from house to house.[i] Acts 5:12 suggests them meeting at Solomon’s porch. In Ephesus Paul borrowed or rented “the school of Tyrannus”[ii] for meeting with his disciples and discoursing on the things of God (Acts 19:9-10). It appears, then, that though meeting in private homes was the rule, that there were exceptions. These exceptions make it difficult to unconditionally agree with Mario Vega when he writes, “When the church today returns to house to house ministry, it will recover the model of the New Testament church.”

Modern churches in the United States have complicated church meetings and church matters. Many waste huge sums of money on extravagant buildings. However, these kinds of abuses do not support the exclusive use of private houses if there are legitimate exceptions found in the New Testament. It appears there are at least two or three. On the other hand, why do we make the exceptions the rule and the rule the exceptions? That is a legitimate question to ponder!

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[i] Evidently indicating the outer court area of the temple, and this seems to suggest all 3000 could gather together.

[ii] σχολῇ a “place of leisure” where teaching, discourses, or lectures were given.

Communion, unity, desire

Saving here notes on Communion: Ancient Church Strategy for Unity, Community, Purity

• typifies the marriage banquet future supper Isaiah 25:6-8
• recline at table Matthew 8:11
• a remembrance of the past and a reminder of the future
• Luke 22 Greek word emos, not mou
• a prayer for Jesus’s return
• until Matthew/Luke? when
• until 1 Corinthians 11 why

The keeper of the saints

“Neither angels nor men are the keepers of the saints, but the Lord himself; he is the keeper of every individual saint, of every regenerate person, of every one of his sheep, of every member of his church; he keeps them by his power, he preserves them by his grace, he holds them with his right hand; guides them by his counsel, keeps their feet from falling, and brings them safe to glory: and a watchful keeper he is, he does not so much as slumber; he keeps them night and day, lest any harm them.”

John Gill, from his commentary on Psalm 121:3

Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying

Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying, or Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (German)

Author: Philipp Nicolai (1599); Translated by Catherine Winkworth

1. “Wake, awake, for night is flying,” 

the watchmen on the heights are crying; 

“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!” 

Midnight hears the welcome voices 

and at the thrilling cry rejoices: 

“Where are the virgins pure and wise? 

The Bridegroom comes: Awake! 

Your lamps with gladness take! 

Alleluia! 

With bridal care and faith’s bold prayer, 

to meet the Bridegroom, come, prepare!” 

2. Zion hears the watchmen singing, 

and in her heart new joy is springing. 

She wakes, she rises from her gloom. 

For her Lord comes down all-glorious 

and strong in grace, in truth victorious. 

Her star is risen, her light is come! 

Now come, O Blessed One, 

Lord Jesus, God’s own Son. 

Sing hosanna! 

We answer all in joy your call; 

we follow to the wedding hall. 

3. Lamb of God, the heavens adore you, 

the saints and angels sing before you 

with harp and cymbals’ clearest tone. 

Of one pearl each shining portal, 

where, joining with the choir immortal, 

we gather round your radiant throne. 

No eye has seen that light, 

no ear the echoed might 

of your glory; 

yet there shall we in victory 

sing shouts of joy eternally!

In other words, Christian blends and other stuff

• abattoir, noun (British). A slaughterhouse.
• bapticostal, noun (slang, or “Christianese”). A Christian who identifies with aspects of both the Baptist denomination and Pentecostalism; a conservative or Baptist Christian who favors the use of charismatic gifts. Combination of Baptist + Pentecostal.
• bapthodist, noun (slang, or “Christianese”). A Christian who identifies with aspects of both the Baptist denomination and Methodism. Blend of Baptist + Methodist.
• calvminian, or calminian, noun (slang, or “Christianese”). A Christian who identifies with aspects of Calvinism and Arminianism. Blend of Calvinist + Arminian.
• chicane, verb (intransitive). To use deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose, esp. a legal, financial, or political purpose; to employ chicanery.
• copper, noun (British, informal). A police officer.
• dibble, noun (British). A derogatory slang term for police officer. [From the name of a fictional police officer in the cartoon ‘Top Cat’.]
• evangellyfish, noun (slang, or “Christianese”). Evangelical Christians who are spineless; A derogatory term for an evangelical who is alleged to be lacking theological firmness or soundness and whose faith or theology has been severely influenced by worldly ideas such as humanism, relativism, and postmodernism. Combination of evangelical + jellyfish.
• form, noun (British, informal). A criminal record.
• fundagelical, noun (slang, or “Christianese”). A Christian who identifies with aspects of fundamentalism and evangelicalism. Blend of fundamentalist + evangelical.
• preparatio evangelica, or praeparatio evangelica, noun. Preparation for the gospel; pre-evangelism; also, the Latin title of a work of Christian apologetics written by Eusebius.
• smartful, adjective. Painful, distressing; (in later use also) stinging, irritating.
• spiritato, noun. A person considered to exhibit excessive religious fervor; a religious zealot or fanatic. [From Italian spiritato, a person possessed by spirits.]
• sprusado, noun. A person who is smartly dressed.
• volcanello, noun. A small volcanic cone; (also) a volcanic island.

The goats are always butting, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify when possible.)

“The goats are always butting ‘CHRIST is ALL.’” -- Ferrell Griswold

“When there’s something in the Bible that churches don’t like, they call it ‘legalism.’” -- Leonard Ravenhill

“Seeking to obey specific commands of Christ is not “legalism,” no matter how many evangellyfish throw the term around arbitrarily.” -- Scott Ransom’s notes

“The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves.” -- John Calvin

“Businesses must be free to set their own COVID-19 policies, and citizens must decide for themselves how much risk to accept or avoid. Politicians need to butt out.” -- Jo Jorgensen

“People do not judge a tree by its leaves, or bark, or flowers, but by the fruit which it bears.” -- Albert Barnes

“Avoiding censorship on the Internet is like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.” -- J. D. Hall

“A sinner can repent, but stupid is forever.” -- Billy Sunday

“If brethren would do as the Lord says, the one doing the wrong and the one wronged would meet in the way, each going to the other for reconciliation.” -- R. N. Davis

“A man who first tried to guess ‘what the public wants,’ and then preached that as Christianity because the public wants it, would be a pretty mixture of fool and knave.” -- C. S. Lewis

“Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not.” -- Martin Luther

“He who owns the sheep owns the wool.” -- J. B. Gambrell, from sermon “Who Owns the Wool?”

Straight Party

As long as I have been voting, our state’s general elections offered the ability to vote “straight party.”[i] Straight party voting gives voters the option of completing their entire ballot with a single mark – a mark that votes for every candidate running for a specific party (e.g. Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Republican, etc.). This year we did not have that option. In 2017, the Texas state legislature passed HB25, ending the practice of straight party voting – beginning with the 2020 election. Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law June 2, 2017.

From the standpoint of politics, straight-party voting in Texas apparently favored the Democrats. At the least, both the Republican and Democratic parties thought so. First, the Republican Party is the majority in Congress and hold the governor’s seat, so they are most responsible for passing the bill. Second, since the Democratic Party sued over the change in March 2020, they must have thought straight-party voting helped their cause.[ii] In September 2020, with less than 3 weeks to the start of early voting, a federal judge blocked Texas from eliminating straight-party voting. Whatever the ins and outs of the suit and its outcome, we did not have straight-party voting on the ballot.

As a practical matter, straight-party voting helps “down-ballot” candidates – candidates whom voters often do not know and might not vote for otherwise. Ideally, the elimination of straight-party voting would force voters to make choices that are more informed on the down-ballot races. More likely, they will make ill-informed choices or just simply not vote for them at all. Straight-party voting may also expedite the voting process, making a quick one-stop experience rather than wading through each selection individually.

As a matter of principle, I do not like straight-party voting. A position is no better than the person who holds it. While party alignment reflects something about principles, voters should give serious thought to the beliefs, experience, and qualifications of each individual candidate. In practice, even if I knew ahead of time that I would be voting for candidates who all belonged to one party, I never chose to vote for the party, but selected each candidate individually.[iii]

Christians who are “all in” for a “straight party” probably are neither careful voters nor careful Christians. Christian culture is created in Christ and is prescribed in the New Testament. Though times change and cultures differ, the Christian culture is unique and exists independently of world cultures. Christian culture is neither Jewish nor Gentile (Romans 10:12, 1 Corinthians 10:32, Colossians 3:11). “Christian politics” is neither Democrat nor Republican, but seeks consistently to follow biblical principles, and will dissent from parties or candidates when they diverge from biblical principles. The culture of gathering believers – which exists outside of and independently from world governments, cultures, and standards – is universal and permanent, having neither command to change nor necessity to conform. We must be “all in” for Jesus Christ and his word.

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[i] Also known as “straight-ticket” voting. Apparently, most states don’t offer this option. According to one article I read, Texas was one of only eight states that still have straight-party voting. And then there were seven.

[ii] That they waited three years to sue seems suspiciously more like wanting to throw the November 2020 process into a kink.

[iii] Very seldom have I voted for all candidates of one party, and probably in most elections there has been some office for which I did not choose any of the candidates.

The scope of biblical commands

Years ago, an internet acquaintance who posted under the moniker Scott Ransom shared a summary of some notes he took in a moral theology class. 

The instructor gave guiding hermeneutical principles for determining the scope of biblical commands. I do not agree on all points, but I find the subject compelling and found the comments interesting.

• Determine the intended audience for the text.
• What category of people is it addressed to? Am I a member of that category?
• Determine the basis of the command. What is the logic behind the command?
• Determine the progress of revelation on this topic. Is it consistent throughout Scripture, modified later, frequent or occasional, or interpreted in a particular way by Christ or the apostles?
• Is the text normative, or merely narrative? Some texts are descriptive, but not prescriptive. Narrative does not always imply that we should “go and do likewise.”
• Interpret imperatives in light of their literary genre. A specific context may contain both timeless and temporary forms. The principle of antithesis; A particular imperative might be limited by the evil to which it is opposed: that is, if we are told to “do A as opposed to B,” that does not necessarily translate to “always do A.”
• Legalism is a misuse of the moral law that occurs in several forms: An attempt to become right with God through meritorious obedience. (Rom. 3-4). Imposition of the Law on Gentiles, for whom it was never intended (Acts 15, Gal. 1-4; Paul argues clearly in Galatians 3 that the Law was intended to be temporary and that its time was over). A focus on minor matters of the Law as a way to justify failure to reflect bigger, less explicit matters (e.g. in Matt. 23:23-24, Jesus attacks the Pharisees for using assiduous tithing as an excuse to avoid justice). Elevation of pious application of the Law to the level of Law itself (e.g. Matt. 15:1-9, Mark 3:1-6). On the other hand, seeking to obey specific commands of Christ is not “legalism,” no matter how many evangellyfish throw the term around arbitrarily.

Summary

Use of imperatives of the Bible is enduring for us if:

• it is addressed to an enduring audience
• it is based on a permanent relationship
• it is repeated, especially transculturally
• it is supported by prescriptive, and not merely descriptive, passages
• it is supported without abusing its literary genre
• it is taught as principle, not merely a manifestation of a principle.

A Demon’s Guide to the Election

A Demon’s Guide to the Election: How C.S. Lewis addressed national division

“...we will not serve this moment or any righteous cause well unless we keep certain things straight. We must not confuse the end with means. We must not confuse the King of Heaven and earth with the princes of this world. We must not confuse the potential of politics with the hope of resurrection.”

A One Issue Conception, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A One Issue Conception Against Biden/Harris and For Trump: Why Are Washington DC Businesses Boarding Up Windows In Anticipation of Tuesday? -- “So, some simple questions. Who is going to break these windows? Who is going to loot? From whom are we expecting violence?...Washington DC is not getting ready to have its windows broken by Trump voters.”
• Best Secondhand Bookshops in the UK -- “Many of the books we love were published in the UK and are now out of print and extremely hard to find inexpensively here in the US.”
• Federal judge rules Colorado’s mask mandate, restrictions on churches are unconstitutional -- “The Constitution does not allow a state to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurant’s or spa’s.”
• Hundreds of medical experts question Belgium’s coronavirus policy in 2 open letters -- “Instead of the strict rules for the entire population, the signatories advocate a reverse lockdown, in which high-risk patients, together with their doctors, develop a strategy for self-protection.”
• Island Culture -- “The tidal island is a decent illustration of the relationship between the church and its surrounding culture.”
• Mandatory Vaccination: Stop it Only One Way -- “I am against mandatory vaccination because of parental rights. I am not against mandatory vaccination because vaccines do not work, are dangerous, or are ineffective.”
• Michigan unveils order forcing restaurants to record ‘names and phone numbers’ of customers -- “The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the new order on Thursday, which will require restaurants to note the date and time of entry for customers who visit the premises.”
• National Fraternal Order of Police Releases Scorcher of an Ad Endorsing Trump -- “The images are shocking, the violence described is disturbing, and the actions taken by those in leadership in Pennsylvania have undercut the efforts of the police.”
• Sanders/Dunn “Fork in the Road” in the Current Controversy over the Pauline Doctrine of Justification by Faith -- “The most debated topic among Paul scholars today is Paul’s understanding of the law and more specifically the meaning of his key phrase, ‘works of law’.”
• Shy Trump Voters -- “Shy Trump voter...designates voters who plan to vote for Donald Trump but aren’t telling pollsters how they will vote.”
• Texas pastor details realities of human smuggling: Ransom gets paid or people get killed -- “The cartel member waiting in the sunny Walmart parking lot with a captive beside him looked just like anyone else, said Pastor Robert Sanchez of El Tabernaculo Church in San Juan, Texas.”
• The New Lie of ‘Authenticity’ and the Excuse It Gives Its Adherents to Live Ungodly -- “The word ‘authentic’ is now being used in an inauthentic way. Now it is a commonly used word to justify bad beliefs and behavior from adherents.”
• There’s No Such Thing as “Retiring” From Ministry -- “...as long as we’ve been granted the ability to serve, we must strive to fulfill the ministry to which God has called us, equipped us, and employed us for his glory.”
• Tips and Resources for Homeschooling Kindergarten and Young Children -- “Everyone is a little apprehensive the first time out of the gate, and we all want to get it right from the beginning.”
• Torah’s Counsel -- “The wicked’s counsel is, the only way to flourish is to burst the bonds of God’s rule and cast off his cords. What is the righteous counsel?”
• US Marshals rescue 27 missing children in 5-day Virginia operation -- “Operation Find Our Children also confirmed the location of six other children who had been reported as missing but were in the custody of their legal guardian.”

Why some Christians will vote for Donald Trump

Many people seem to wonder about why some Christians will vote for Donald Trump. If those same people also wonder why some Christians will vote for Joe Biden, their amazement is probably legitimate. If not, it is likely just politics as usual. 

In the linked article, Baptist pastor Kent Brandenburg gives Three Reasons Christians should vote for Trump. Perhaps this will help those who wish to understand.

• If you pray 1 Timothy 2:1-4, you should vote for Donald Trump, since he will defend religious liberty.
• If you sigh and cry over the abomination of abortion, you must vote for Donald Trump.
• If you value free speech and oppose communist Antifa thugs Burning, Looting, and Murdering (BLM), then you must vote for Donald Trump.

Not chasing into an impregnable castle

It is the duty of preachers to plead with men about their sins, but we must always remember to speak in such a way as to lead them to the discovery of their state and condition. Otherwise, we may lead men to formality and hypocrisy and not accomplish the true end of preaching the gospel. It will not avail to beat a man off from his drunkenness into a sober formality. We must lay the axe at the root. To deal with sin without the root is like beating and enemy in the open field and chasing him into an impregnable castle where he cannot be touched. Drive the conviction to the heart, not just particular sins. 

John Owen in The Mortification of Sin

Groaning for Redemption

The following hymn is Part III of “Groaning for Redemption” by Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems of 1742, pages 107-108. It is written in Meter 88.88.88. – or Long Particular Meter. The rhyme alternates in the first four stanzas, with a different rhyme in the last two. The hymn extols the will or decree of God over the will or desire of his saints – “To thy dread sovereign will I bow, Thy will be done, thy name adored.” I have not found this with a tune setting, but it could be sung to Abraham Maxim’s Bridgeton, and probably most L.P.M. tunes.

1. Omniscient, omnipresent King,

The true, and merciful, and just,

To thee my last distress I bring,

To thee my desperate cause I trust,

I give my fond complainings o’er,

I set my God a time no more.

2. My time, O God, is in thine hand,

Thou know’st my feebleness of soul,

Able thou art to make me stand,

Thou canst this moment speak me whole,

Or keep me thus till my last hour,

To shew forth all thy saving power.

3. I leave it all to thee alone,

Thy counsellor I cannot be,

To thee thy every work is known,

And secret things belong to thee,

Thy manner, and thy time is best:

But let me enter into rest.

4. The hireling longeth for his hire,

The watcher for the break of day,

But, O my restless heart’s desire,

Let me not murmur at thy stay;

Be stopt my mouth, and fail my tongue,

But let thy Spirit groan, How long!

5 The thing thou dost I know not now,

But I shall know hereafter, Lord,

To thy dread sovereign will I bow,

Thy will be done, thy name ador’d,

Act for the glory of thy name:

Lo! In thy gracious hands I am.

6. Act for thine own, and Sion’s sake,

And let thy will in me be done;

If but one soul may comfort take

By hearing me so deeply groan,

Still let me all my burthen feel,

And groan, and weep, and suffer still.

7. If but one tempted soul may find

Relief by my afflicted state,

I would be patient, and resign’d,

Still in the iron furnace wait;

Still let the sin, the grief, the pain,

The thorn in my weak flesh remain.

8. Still let my bleeding heart be torn,

If other bleeding hearts it cheer,

Disconsolate for thee I mourn,

My nature’s cross consent to bear,

To languish for my Lord’s delay,

And weep a thousand lives away.

Things I thought

Or at least I thought I thought.

“Jesus’s love is higher than the cross on which he hung, stronger than the wood and nails between which he placed his hands and feet, keener than the spear that pierced his side, and deeper than the grave that could not hold him. Jesus’s love is sovereign, eternal, sacrificial, and unfathomable.” [related to Romans 8:38-39 (et al.) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.]

“If our history hadn’t been our history, what would our history be?”

“Works for salvation does not work for salvation.”

“Some people say that our country needs more tolerance and civility. The Bible does not say, ‘Tolerate your enemies’ or ‘Husbands, be civil to your wives.’ Tolerance and civility often teaches us to pretend each other are right. Love demands that we act right toward those we think are wrong.”

“If we never change, we must already be right about everything, or we are unwilling to admit we are wrong about anything.”

“We should always be careful about arguing about words to no profit.”

“If you have the omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence of God all figured out, you’ve got it all wrong!”

“To be New Testament Christians, we must answer questions with New Testament answers.”

“Death cures all things temporal.”

$300 Million Telemarketing Scheme, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• $300 Million Telemarketing Scheme Preyed on Older People, U.S. Says -- “Sixty people have been indicted in a nationwide telemarketing scheme in which federal prosecutors say people were tricked into signing up for expensive magazine subscriptions they could not afford, did not want and often did not receive...”
• Black Lives Matter Protesters Burn Down Vietnamese SBC-affiliated Church in Philadelphia Amid Rioting -- “‘I have no idea why they attacked our church,’ said Pastor Pham, who was woken by a parishioner with news that their building was burning.”
• California Has No Excuse for Its Wildfires, and Blaming Trump Is a Dishonest Cop-Out -- “California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to blame anyone and everything for his state’s wildfires except himself, his Democratic party and the radical green groups that have dictated the California agenda for the past 40 years.”
• China bulldozes ‘illegal’ gravestones of 20 Swedish missionaries -- “The demolished gravestones were established in 2008 by the Church of Christ’s Family, a local house church established in 2008 to honor missionaries with the Swedish Mission in China, including Verner Wester, who lived in China from 1903 to 1930, and his six family members.”
• Disinformation Is the Present Norm In American Culture: Hunter Biden Laptop as a Case Study -- “For whatever reason, Hunter Biden left his laptop at a Delaware computer repair shop, which had an abundance of incriminating evidence on it against his dad, who’s running for president of the United States.”
• How to Hold Your Tongue About Politics And Thereby Not Split Your Church Over Things the Bible Doesn’t Talk About -- “Here, like this...”
• How to Hold Your Tongue About Politics And Thereby Not Split Your Church Over Things the Bible Doesn’t Talk About: AN ADDENDUM -- “Stay off social media...Preach the Bible, not the headlines.”
• Is There a Biblical Baptismal Formula? -- “One of the problems with this interpretation is that various “formulas” could be found in the New Testament since there are slight differences in wording in the passages dealing with this subject.”
• Man and Woman in Creation (Genesis 1 and 2) -- “It’s not about difference from each other, but difference for each other.”
• Mean and Unclean: Electric Cars Powered by Child Labor in Africa -- “The makers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and other supposedly environment-friendly technologies — as well as the green activists, politicians and bureaucrats who promote and support them with our tax dollars — continually claim that these technologies are ‘green,’ ‘clean’ and ‘just.’”
• Mt. Airy Baptist: The oldest log church in Georgia still in use -- “The story of Mt. Airy is really the story of the Gooch family. The church house was built on land donated by Jim Gooch.”
• Sen. Ted Cruz calls Joe Biden's '60 Minutes' preview video clip 'chilling' -- “...I will ask them to, over 180 days, come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it’s getting out of whack the way in which it’s being handled, Biden said.”
• “Sir, This Is a Local Church”—Or, How an Absurdist Meme about a Roast Beef Shop Might Help Heal Your Church -- “...a church’s primary assailants are supernatural, not personal—and its primary weapons are spiritual, not political.”
• State-enforced Racial Segregation — by Progressives -- “State-sanctioned racial segregation ended with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but has recently returned in an unlikely place: government agencies in Seattle. According to new whistleblower documents I’ve reviewed, at least three public agencies in the region have implemented race-segregated diversity trainings.”
• The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, by Hiscox, 1890 -- “A Christian church, therefore, according to the New Testament idea, is a company of persons divinely called and separated from the world, baptized on a profession of their faith...”
• The Surprising Reason We’re Fighting Over the Supreme Court — and How to Fix It -- “Nothing in the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power of judicial review or implies that the Court should be the ultimate decider of which laws are constitutional.”
• Trump says he now identifies as a nondenominational Christian -- “President Trump is largely known to be a Presbyterian in terms of his religious identity, but in a media interview, he said he now identifies as a ‘nondenominational Christian.’”
• Was there a Specific Baptismal Formula Given in Scripture? -- “This is not a study on if baptism is necessary for salvation, or if it should be full immersion, or anything like that. It is strictly examining the formula (if there even was a formula).”
• Whitmer kidnap plotter also wanted to hang Trump, other politicians, FBI says -- “A Delaware man accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also threatened to hang President Donald Trump...”

Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election

Contrasting thoughts from John Piper and Wayne Grudem.

John Piper explains why he will not support either presidential candidate on Nov 3rd in Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin.

“May I suggest to pastors that in the quietness of your study you do this? Imagine that America collapses. First anarchy, then tyranny — from the right or the left. Imagine that religious freedom is gone. What remains for Christians is fines, prison, exile, and martyrdom. Then ask yourself this: Has my preaching been developing real, radical Christians? Christians who can sing on the scaffold, ‘Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still; His kingdom is forever.’”

Wayne Grudem gives a respectful response to his friend John Piper about voting for Trump.

“As is characteristic of Piper’s personal humility, he allows that ‘you need not be sinning if you weigh matters differently,’ and adds, ‘my way need not be yours.’...Piper’s argument fails to recognize that people can decide not to imitate the sins of a leader, but they cannot do that with laws. Laws require obedience. But millions of people have seen and decided not to imitate Trump’s character flaws. The most frequent comment I hear from Trump supporters is something like, ‘I don’t like his insulting tweets or his personality,  but I’m supporting him anyway because he has brought about good laws and policies.’”

5 Awesome Mausoleums, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 5 Awesome Mausoleums from Around the World -- “A mausoleum is a building constructed at a cemetery to house the remains of a deceased person or an entire family in their own burial chamber...Mausoleums can save space over traditional in-ground burials...”
• A Biblical Case for Limited Government -- “The state’s basic job is to preserve a stable, peaceful social order by punishing wrongdoing that involves the violation of people’s negative rights.”
• Abortion, The Mother’s Life, And The Principle of Double Effect -- “It is the doctor’s duty to fight for life, and he should call on every possible therapeutic intervention to accomplish both goals.”
• Amazon nixes new documentary from celebrated black author Shelby Steele -- “Steele argues Brown’s death, as well as other racially-charged incidents that have roiled the nation, play into victimization tropes that hurt, not help, the black community.”
• Analyzing the Values Yard or Window Sign -- “Sure, science is real, but not the so-called science of the virtue signaler.”
• Antifa Knocks Out Black Man’s Teeth for Holding Free Speech Rally While Calling Him “N” Word -- “The predominantly white Antifa crowd can be heard screaming the “N” word multiple times...Anderson went on to speak at his rally which broke down a short time later when the angry mob became more radicalized and police believed they were no longer safe.”
• Heritage Foundation Responds to Media’s False Claims on Election Fraud Database -- “The database is thoroughly sourced, systematic, accurate, and based on verifiable information with detailed references to government documents and media reports.”
• Justice Thomas Writes in Favor of a Narrow Reading of 47 U.S.C. § 230 -- “...on balance I think Justice Thomas’s argument is a forceful and thoughtful analysis of the statutory text, and the common-law backdrop against which the text should be interpreted.”
• Matagorda Island Lighthouse -- “The barrier island is 38 miles long and uninhabited, save for a small outpost used by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.”
• Pope endorses same-sex civil unions in new documentary -- “Pope Francis called for civil unions for gay couples, in what would be a significant shift from the Catholic Church’s long-held opposition to homosexuals getting married.”
• Shoal Creek Association query on church discipline -- “Is a church justifiable in any case whatever, in receiving into her fellowship, a member who has been excluded from a church at a distance...”
• The hidden Covid-19 health crisis: Elderly people are dying from isolation -- “The lockdowns and visitor restrictions meant to protect nursing home residents from the coronavirus can also threaten their lives.”
• The U. S. Constitution -- “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...”
• What is Your Position on Complementarianism and Egalitarianism? -- “A female professor of Christian ministry just sent me a survey to fill out.”
• Why Horses Wear Shoes -- “Farrier, derived from the Latin word ferrarius, meaning blacksmith, is the professional name given to horseshoers.”
• William Attersoll’s Badges of Christianity (3) - The Baptism of John -- “...the baptism of John was consecrated and sanctified in the person of Christ, for Christ was baptised with the baptism of John.”

Church councils

A combined paragraph of my thoughts, the writing of James Madison Pendleton, and Edward Thurston Hiscox.

Councils and presbyteries may be called and convened to give advice in cases of the moment. They are not standing bodies; they are advisory only, and not authoritative. Baptist Churches are independent and autonomous under their Head, Jesus Christ. There is no court of appeal, whose decisions can nullify those of the individual church. Councils are advisory bodies that have unquestioned utility. Biblically-informed brethren are called to give scriptural advice in cases of serious and unresolved difficulties. There is good in hearing and heeding Godly counsel. There is danger if churches assume councils have authority over the churches. There is no higher earthly authority in ecclesiastical affairs, than the individual church. Each church acts under the truth of the Scriptures and leadership of the Holy Spirit, and, ultimately, will answer to her Head.