I just read a piece from Peter Leithart from the on-line Credenda Agenda called On Not Blackballing. The argument in the piece is that it is the Reformed tradition to be inclusive. His evidence is from a book about the openness of the Westminster Assembly and the English Delegation getting certain condemnations removed from the Synod of Dort. Both showed a willing to be inclusive of certain positions and not have a down the line dogmatism. Thus, the Reformed tradition is one that is tolerant of certain divergent views and it should not use those documents to blackball certain people or at least certain positions out of the Reformed churches. Such action would violate the very spirit that made the documents. Or at least so goes the argument.

This was an interesting piece since Leithart himself is now going to be on trial with the PCA in his presbytery and the SJC has basically already condemned him. This article seems then to be a bit of plea not to go down the road that the PCA appears to have chosen to go down.

However, his argument has one glaring hole. Even if we agree that the documents (Dort and the Westminster) are documents that are open to various positions, what does it mean for those positions that are clearly outside of those documents? If Dort was unwilling to condemn the idea that some people could temporarily enjoy some soteriological benefits, does it then mean that those who teach sacraments convey salvation benefits must be tolerated too, or those who change the definition of election taught in the standards must not be forced out of Reformed churches? Does it mean that everything not specifically condemned in the Canons of Dort are to be accepted? Such appears to be the plea. But, it seems to me that if the Synod was as open as he claims that those things that contradict the teachings of Dort then not only are not acceptable, but must be blackballed. If such an open Synod did not leave room for it then it cannot be tolerated in any way shape or form. The same can be said for his point about the Westminster Confession. If the Westminster was still nice to some who argued for positions that were not in the end adopted, those who outright go against the Westminster cannot be allowed anywhere near a Presbyterian pulpit? If it was so bad that such an ecumenical gathering could not allow it, then it cannot be allowed ever. That seems to make sense to me.

So, I wonder if Leithart has not argued himself into a corner in this article. Clearly Leithart does not believe he has violated the Westminster or Dort for that matter. But, when I think I have not violated the speed limit, it does not get me off the hook when the officer shows me the radar gun. What matters is whether or not I did violate the speed limit, not whether or not I think I did. Ultimately God is the judge of such things, but on earth the church will make such a decision. It is what pastors mutual agree to when they join a denomination.

I am not a big fan of the PCA judicial system. In fact, I think it is a mess. But, I do hope Leithart actually sticks around for the trial rather than running to the Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals. I think all sides deserve a day in court.

Merry Christmas!

Let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. A remember that we celebrate because the Word was made flesh so that we might be saved from our sins. Has there ever been a better reason to feast than that?

One Child Policy in America?

Thanks to the EPA everyone is now officially a polluter. CO2, Carbon Dioxide, the stuff we all exhale, is officially a pollutant. Yes, the stuff that helps plants stay green is actually bad for the environment, that is if you believe the government.

The question is why? Since it is becoming clearer and clearer that Global Warming is a hoax and no real science supports carbon dioxide warming the planet, why the EPA decision. Well, I believe the reason is two fold. One, so that even if the Congress fails to pass the Cap and Trade the EPA will just impose it. But I think the other reason is the real one.

Two, this is about population control and forcing people to abort or not have children. Yes, the policy that is currently in place in China is the goal of environmentalists who are communists in the end anyway. Think I am crazy? Take a read of a Canadian journalist who believes the government killing machine in China is a great idea. Global warming can only be stopped if fewer humans exist. Because humans are the enemy. That has always been the real point. People are bad. And now they want to control population in order to achieve their goals. Global warming is just the latest reason to promote their love of death.

You might be saying, "That is just one wacko in Canada". But wait, it is also CNN and apparently a lot of their viewers. Jack Cafferty thinks that if we keep having children their will not be enough stuff and that the problem is “religious fundamentalists” like me. That is right. The reason emerges. These people promote one child per family despite the obvious math dilemma, despite no science to support them, and despite the disastrous effects in China, they still argue for aborting or preventing all children after your first. Why? I believe the answer is in the laying the blame at the feet of fundamentalist. They hate God. Man is in the image of God, and thus, anti-religious people hate man too. They will prevent him from being born if they can. Those who hate God love death. And death is what they hope to deal out when they are promoting this one child policy.

Keep an eye on this subject. It is not over. It will come up for debate again and again. The war on Christians and their families has just begun.

The Conference to watch in Basketball

The College Basketball season has started, and I just wanted to make sure that everyone is watching the right conference. Keep your eye on the Missouri Valley Conference.

Currently only Drake and Creighton are below .500, and Creighton (3-5) has beaten Nebraska, who beat USC and TCU earlier this year. They also have two undefeated teams. Missouri State (8-0) with wins over Auburn, Tulsa, and Eastern Michigan to name a few. Illinois State (7-0) is also undefeated, but with a weak schedule so far with the only win of any note being over Illinois Chicago. Wichita State (8-1) and Northern Iowa (6-1) have only one loss and are a bit stronger than Illinois State. Witchita State destroyed Iowa at Iowa and played Pitt close. Northern Iowa beat Iowa and Iowa St. in addition to Boston College on the road and East Carolina at home. Their only loss is to Depaul. The Conference has an overall winning record on the road and even Bradley (5-2) has beaten Illinois, who was ranked in the Top 25 at the time.

So just make sure you keep an eye on this conference. They are loaded with teams that have potential. It will be an exciting season and perhaps a multiple bid year for this confernce.

Intellectual or Anti-Intellectual: Does truth matter?

Intellectuals are not ever really held to standards anymore. At least with how the term is usually used. People are intellectual because they are, or because they work at a university or something like that. Those who come along and buck the system are not intellectuals, they are stupid and ignorant, or at least they are until their team wins and then they are the party line and now intellectual. Which leads me to this question? Does truth matter when we are considering someone to be intellectual?

Take this recent bru-ha-ha about Global Warming. Some scientists, who were all considered intellectual and some of them at least had shared in a Nobel Prize, were all faking their data and making things up. The truth stared them in the face, and they went in the opposite direction despite the truth. Surely we can now recognize that these people are not intellectuals, but rather silly liars despite the Nobel Prizes and degrees hanging on their walls.

But do we have to wait for proof of out right fraud before we apply the truth to discerning whether people are intellectuals or not? Take Karl Marx for example. He still has millions of followers, but all of the Communistic countries like the USSR have been placed firmly on the “ash heap of history” or at least have altered their economic system to allow capitalism. Does Marx rate as an intellectual? What about the next step in John Maynard Keynes. His system does not appear to work, but still has devoted followers, at least politically. Milton Friedman led a critical movement of Keynes and for almost a generation economists agreed that his theories did not work. Is Keynes an intellectual? More importantly can both Keynes and Friedman be intellectuals? One of them has to be right and the other wrong? Is the one who is wrong still an intellectual despite being completely wrong? What role does truth play in who is and who is not an intellectual?

Let me get one step closer to a point. What about Charles Darwin or Jay Gould (inventor of Punctuated Evolution)? Are these men intellectuals? Darwin had a scientific theory. He proposed what he considered evidence, and even admitted the lack of fossil records, but assumed they would be found soon enough (they have not by the way). It is not really a testable theory as we cannot re-create the beginning of the world in a test tube. Gould’s ideas are even less testable as he makes the lack of evidence a sign of evidence for his theory, convoluting the whole thing even more. But the untestable point goes both ways, as there is no way to actually prove evolution either. Yet, these men are considered intellectuals. But, if they are completely and totally wrong then should they be?

The Bible tells us that the fool says in his hear there is no God, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Can one be both an intellectual and a fool? Maybe depending on the definition, I guess. But the point is that it seems odd to me that today we throw around terms of intellectual and anti-intellectual (or worse terms such as liars and skeptics)without regard for truth.