Renewing Our Mind: Part 2

(Christ Is King)

Alas I cannot speak of transformation without the renewing of our minds nor can I speak of the renewing of the mind without transformation for central to the proposition of transformation is Christ. He is the key ingredient. Additionally, if your mind has been renewed, then you have the Holy Spirit inside of you. Your mind has been reformed to be on the thoughts of God and not of man. What I am saying is that born-again Christians have an acceptance of and are obedient to the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I am going to explain what every person needs and must do to be transformed and also provide a measure by which whether their minds are truly renewed. 

The Transformational Process 

For there to be a beginning of the renewing of the mind, there must be the beginning of the renewing of the heart. Because “there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) all individuals must both repent i.e. confess our sins (1 John 1:9) and turn away from sin (Acts 3:19) by turning toward Jesus Christ for as it says in Romans 8:9-11:

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Now it is vital for our souls that we hammer out the understanding of Faith and Repentance as they are coequal and cannot be separated from another. 

Christ Is King 

“We can never understand the God of heaven unless we come to know him through his earthly Son” (Batson, 22, Jesus is Lord). In the eternal perspective of things we cannot afford to take salvation lightly. Faith in Christ means understanding, respecting, and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord or Kurios as it is in the Greek. Kurios often translates as master, but in the context of Christ it is understood that He is the Supreme Authority because as all the gospel’s tell us and has been prophesied since the fall of Adam (Genesis 3:14-15) that a Savior would come, fulfill the law, die for the sins of the world, and physically come back from the dead on the third day. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is our Lord; our King who is without sin, and who conquered death. So often we make the death and resurrection of Christ about us, after all, John 3:16 states:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

But understanding the world did not love God, but rather the world chooses to live in sin. We know this to be true from the Old and New Testaments but consider 1 John 4:10 which states:

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

God, by his mercy and grace, chose to love us; His creation. Thankfully, God is a God of promises who keeps His covenants with His people as we see throughout the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. From Genesis to Revelations we witness the Gospel; the promise and fulfillment of the Good News of Christ our Lord. Nevertheless, this really is not about us, but about His unwillingness to allow sin to pervade over His creation. Take to heart Romans 3:9-18 which again shows man’s choice to follow sin:

What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their 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.  

Humanity worships the Self rather than Yahweh. Thankfully the Gospel is not about us, but rather it about God’s eternal power, truth, justice, mercy, and grace that overcomes death in every way. To finish out here, the Lordship of Christ means putting him above everything else. Your family, friends, houses, cars, jewelry, favorite foods mean nothing in comparison to God. Our so called “righteousness” are but filthy rags before the King of Kings (Isaiah 64:6) or as King Solomon exclaimed when looking over his works saying it was “all vanity” before God (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11). It is that understanding of who Christ is that leads us to the coequal step in salvation: Repentance. 

All Must Repent

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17) said Christ as he began to preach in Galilee. If true faith is upon a believer, repentance is waiting to bring godly sorrow. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:9-11:

Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.  

Worldly sorrow is when we feel bad because we got caught. Worldly sorrow is feeling sad and maybe even stop watching porn or getting drunk for a little while, but eventually falling back into it without consideration of the eternal perspective. Worldly sorrow is even when you kick a particular sin out of your life for good because you were just sick with the way it made you feel. This form of sorrow is temporal. 

Godly sorrow is the understanding that we are at enmity with God because of sin and implore for forgiveness from Adonai. Godly sorrow carries a thick air of esteem and contemplation of who we are before the Holy of Holy’s as sinful fools that attempt to taint His purity. The Puritan minister Thomas Watson would write that “Godly sorrow is abiding” (Watson, 25, The Doctrine of Repentance) explaining:  

It is not a few tears shed in a passion that will serve the turn. Some will fall a-weeping at a sermon, but it is like an April shower, soon over, or like a vein opened and presently stopped again. True sorrow must be habitual (Watson, 25, The Doctrine of Repentance). 

In the eternal perspective, godly sorrow is commanding the responses of our mind. In the temporal perspective, worldly sorrow drives the reactions of our heart. Heed my words then and repent with a godly sorrow for Christ is Lord and Christ must be addressed with deference. In doing so, we are then beginning the renewing of our minds through a process unlike any other.  

Trial by Fire: The Measuring Stick of a Renewed Mind 

Christ both justifies and sanctifies believers. In the First Letter to the Corinthians 6: 9-11 Paul explains this point clearly: 

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Quoting from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM), here are a set of definitions of what it means to be justified and sanctified in Christ: 

Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner, so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law. Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God’s work and being conformed to the image of Christ. Where justification is a legal declaration that is instantaneous, sanctification is a process (Slick, CARM, Justification and Sanctification: What is the difference?). 

The renewing of our mind is a sanctification process, one that will continue until we pass-on, and it is what I call a Trial by Fire process as described in 1 Peter 1:6-9: 

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Walking with Christ will not be easy as there will always be temptations in our lives. Sin waits on every corner. As sons and daughters in Christ we must always remember that we are not at war with our own, but rather at war with the unseen; principalities and darkness above; spiritual forces that our beyond our own fleshly capacity (Ephesians 6:10-12). Paul alerts believers to put on the armor of God in our daily walk with Him which means at all times the Armor of God ought to be equipped so that we can fully honor Him and remain faithful servants to Him in our walk for Him (Ephesians 6:13-20). The description of the armor is as follows (I am paraphrasing some): belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the Gospel and the peace that comes from it, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (word of God). But there is more, believers are also called to pray always and always in the Spirit and be ever watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. This ultimately ties into the final part of this verse. 

Next Part 3: Trial By Fire

Clausis Oculis, Caelo Late Patente

(Christ Is King)

By: Edward Kyle Richey

This is the reading of the LORD,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones (Proverbs 3: 5-8).

Worldly wiseman, from John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress, informs the Christian that he need no longer burden himself with that “book” (the Bible) for he has a much more appropriate way to remove that pesky burden off of Christian’s back, “Why, in yonder village (the village is named Morality), there dwells a gentleman whose name is Legality, a very wise man, and a man of very good name, that has skill to help men off with such burdens as thine is from their shoulders;.” Indeed, there is mighty good to be found in the village of morality from whom Mr. Legality lives. Should any man or woman who praises virtue as a pillar to be built upon the foundations of eternality ought to admit, yes, there is goodness in work. Who are we without work? A dead faith according to St. James (James 2:17).

Neither the righteous seeking Christian or the virtuous practicing Pagan would argue against the value of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, clothing the homeless, or assisting the poor. Though today there are those who find that even the value of life, that of the person, is a deficit when compared to animals, plants, and other life outside of the human-being. Those blind and broken souls deny the Imago Dei. Absent from all three of these views, however different, are the wisdom of trust established in Proverbs. Doing good is never enough. Faith in the one true God can only save, heal, and progress the good man or the good woman.

We are called to not lean on our own understanding. That phrase to lean is sha`an in the Hebrew שָׁעַן which carried over into the English as a forewarning to not rest fully, to not support, to not rely on ourselves, but rather put all of our understanding, to invest all of our trust, in God.

It cannot mean we are never to rely on our understanding in the sense that I must doubt all that I think and do; that is an absolutist attitude of skepticism which the Scriptures are not advocating. If they were, we could not even rely on our own understanding of what the Bible is telling us. That would be foolish, rather the Proverbs are instructing us, as that is the literal meaning of Proverbs i.e. instruction. Solomon through the Wisdom of God is instructing believers to put their full and final faith in God, and for Christians’ in Christ the King, and never themselves.

Our world dictates to trust the Self, to value billionaires such as Warren Buffet or famous actors or a political leader. Trust thyself is the motto. Yes, there is plenty we can learn from such rich and powerful men like Buffett. Let there never be any doubt that Buffett knows how to invest money. But money and power will only last as long as the body is alive. Then shall all fade away from thy hands. No more, we are naked again, yet alive regardless of whether one believes in the Almighty or not. At that moment, their wisdom will be put to the test. God shall judge. And judge us all He shall.

Turning to the Lord requires a holy acknowledgement that only can be ignited by God in the midst of our pitch black, darkness of the night soul searching. Fumbling and bumbling we shall walk, but walk we must toward the light. Running from evil and calling out to the Lord are means to an eternal end, a life that is His alone. Once one is captured by the grace of Christ they are tied to the bosom of the Church by which Christ is King. Headship over heaven and earth; dominion over all that is and was and shall ever be. That is the wisdom that covers the believer. Do not fear the world, fear the Lord.

Like Noah, take cover in the Ark; let God seal the doors from the crashing waves in the rising floods. End will always be near whether it comes from war, famine, accident, or natural causes. Until the moment your eyes are shut once again, it is better to build a life that seeks the goodness of God than empires of gold, iron, and feast for they shall rot or rust. The world may be decadent today. But tomorrow is never guaranteed let alone a better tomorrow can always turn to worse. Only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are eternal and always good.

Seek Him, Seek Christ Alone.

Substack Chronicles

(Letter From The Editor)

By E. Kyle Richey

Thirteen days ago I started a Substack account. Free of charge readers can enjoy a daily report from me about culture, books, art, faith, emotions, and just about anything that does not directly fit within TIF. EKR Report, my Substack page, like Truth In Focus is a new project; a source for Christians and Conservatives like myself to share new, but more likely old ideas for a newer audience.

Christianity is a two-thousans year old faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth that goes even further back into it’s Eastern Judaic roots making it one of the oldest monotheistic faith’s in the world.

Hardly anything true conservatives center their ideas around comes from ten, fifty, hundred, or two hundred years ago, rather they source from principles that are thousands of years old.

TIF is founded on that understanding and application. Yes, we cover current events but often we look to the past for answers; for eternal truths to ground ourselves no matter the frame of time.

My Substack carries the same principles, yet the posts are more personal. An insiders view of yours truly. I have been posting daily since November 6, yesterdays post was titled, Biopic Memories of Cadence Past: Great Balls of Fire. There is a reasoning to my madness with yesterdays post. When I entered my first master’s program, there was an understanding that postmodern thinking had distorted academia. While true it had since morphed into identity politics along with Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, Feminism, cultural Marxism, et cetera all the while containing a postmodern milieu. Well last night after a wonderful conversation with my dear friend Thomas Doane concerning postmodernist/poststructuralist “incredulity towards metanarratives” I wanted to poke a little fun at their arguments by making a metanarrative out of several stories from my day. I do hope you enjoy.

There are various reasons why authors and journalists start a Substack account. You can make a living from it if you are good enough and consistent with your work. After leaving The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald went straight for a place where he could have journalistic freedom, a wide audience, and an ability to make a living without much overhead. Substack was an obvious solution.

So far I find it to be a curiosity. There appears to be a good number of people on the network. Yet I find it difficult to traverse. Sure I follow Greenwald and Dreher but I could not tell you who these top twenty-five Substackers are except Andrew Sullivan being one.

As for small fries like myself perhaps it is a good place to just write freely yet it will take more to build an audience let alone make a living. However there is always a good chance that with enough time and effort, as TIF grows along with All Things Veritas and more freelancing that I can gain such a position. Is that why I do Substack? Not exactly. Rather I am more interested in trying to gain an audience in order to dialogue, however, making a livelihood is eventually the goal.

Dialogue seems to be something lacking even on TIF. Granted it has taken me time to learn how WordPress works. I have found WordPress to be less friendly to writers than I’d hoped but I am grateful nevertheless.

Substack is very friendly to writers but it will take a lot more work to build an audience.

Then you have freelance networks like Medium. Neither are like Medium. At Medium you can write an article for thousands if not millions to read and critique and truly gain an audience while while possibly making a profit from each article. I have not jumped onto Medium, yet. To be honest I have a been a bit hesitant. All of these sources feel a bit like an echo chamber. I do not like the idea of an echo chamber. It is vitally important that we have sources of information that can be open to everyone beyond ideological or philosophical or theological differences. That is why I’m spending so much time trying to build a network of Christians for example who are Catholic, Protestant like myself, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican. Surely we must come together on the same foundational beliefs, but we can vary over issues deemed non-essential. Same applies to conservative thinkers. Over the years I’ve discovered that we conservatives can be a bit more conservative than others while some can be a bit more liberal or even hold what may be seen as progressive views, but principally be philosophically conservative at heart.

Truth In Focus is such a site. While it remains an entity by which I can share my ideas I never wanted it to remain just about me. So I am thankful for the writers and audience who have already joined in this journey. There’s much to be done and much more to be said.

Substack tact’s on another role by which to make a connection with readers who share similar values as myself. We do not need to be ashamed of our Christian faith nor afraid to include a non-ideologically driven idea into a society drowning in ideologies. Family, Faith, Tradition these are not poor relics of the past; they are treasures beyond modern enrichment necessary to the continuation of human existence.

I hope to be announcing here soon more editor’s and future goals for TIF. Thank you for being patient. I promise there’s more thorough content coming your way. Nothing comes easy without working hard, an eternal value, and that includes great content.

Looking forward to growing with you. In the meantime keep commenting, join our Facebook Truth In Focus, and listen to our podcast on All Things Veritas which you can see and hear on YouTube. And take a look at my Substack. All of this talk of making America Great Again when really what we need to be doing is making an effort to improve our lives and help others. That my friend’s is how we make everything better again.

God Bless,

EKR

TIF Podcast: November 3rd Is Here

Click Link: November Issue 2020

Political Indoctrination and Enzyme Inhibition: How Imbalances Prevent Unity

(November Issue 2020)

By Thadyn Du Pont

It is easy to recognize when a political view or ideology is different from our own. And it is easy to recognize that these views are brought about by some level of indoctrination. Upon thinking about this topic, however, I want to first of all be very careful, and recognize that there is a difference between differing opinions and freedom of thought as allowed by our Constitution, and biblical falsehoods and strange doctrines when it comes to Christianity and God’s Word. What God has mandated in His Word as true is undebatable, and therefore non-negotiable. Regardless of what the rest of the world decides to believe, practice, and teach, wrong is still wrong in the eyes of God. 

Through the forced teaching of a single, corrupted worldview, we are being fed lies to shape our minds into distorting what God has called right and wrong.

It is true: the freedom of thought and the freedom of the expression of opinion is what makes the United States what she is. Because this freedom appeals to the heart of man in its desire to be unbridled, this country is a melting pot of cultures, races, and ethnicities. This consequently also makes her a melting pot of political and ideological baggage. One side is convinced they are right and that their opinion is superior, while the other tries to carry out the opposite. 

As a pre-med biology major, the first things that come to mind in relationship to this idea are enzymes. Fundamentally, an enzyme functions as a catalyst in the human body, speeding up a reaction that would ordinarily take twice, three, maybe even ten times as long. However, as the body does not always need that reaction to run continuously, inhibitors bind to the enzyme to reduce the rate of the reaction. Of the many different inhibitors present in the body, they can all be grouped into four main categories: one of which is called Competitive Inhibition. In Competitive Inhibition, the enzyme speeds up the reaction by binding to substrates or particles within the reaction; but when inhibitors are present, they compete with the substrates for that single binding site. Because the inhibitors almost always share the same structure as the substrates in this type of inhibition, all it takes is for the inhibitor to bind to the enzyme, and the enzyme can no longer fulfill its purpose. The only way to prevent an inhibitor from out-competing the substrate is if the concentration of the substrate is significantly higher. Now, don’t tell my biochemistry professor of my explanation, as I have left many important details out for simplicity’s sake; but what do enzymes, reactions, and inhibitors all have to do with political ideologies, difference of opinion, and ultimately indoctrination? When things are placed in an environment for two opposing forces to thrive, there is inevitably chaos. There is only victory when one is greater than the other. 

Indoctrination can simply be defined as the repetition of an idea or belief so that the listener accepts the idea as true without question and without opposition, regardless of how true the idea actually is. We know that this idea of repetitive teaching and, quite frankly, brainwashing is prevalent primarily in our education systems: our daycares; our child-focused television programs; our elementary, middle, and high schools; our colleges and universities; and yes, even some churches that claim to preach the name of Christ. As a recent transfer student to the University of Oklahoma, I am required to take webinars in diversity and microagression, sexual assault and awareness, and responsible alcohol use. Even our workplaces serve as sources of indoctrination. My part-time job as a bank teller requires me to sit through Human Resource initiated training on diversity, inclusion, empathy…the list can just keep going. Not to say that all training in these categories are fundamentally and morally wrong: in fact, some could recognize that the intentions of training are good. But where do these required webinars and training lead to? Indoctrination.

Indoctrination of ideologies that may initially align with morally and spiritually acceptable behaviors, but then deceive the indoctrinated into allowing the education systems, the workplaces, and ultimately the government into determining what to believe, how to believe, when to believe, but with no explanation why. Through the forced teaching of a single, corrupted worldview, we are being fed lies to shape our minds into distorting what God has called right and wrong. Our children are being taught by drag-queens and sexually promiscuous individuals in the name of inclusion and acceptance, yet are being raped, molested, and assaulted behind closed doors in our school bathrooms, offices, and even online. Yes, racism is wrong. But it is more wrong to funnel people into one single politically-influenced-and-nominally-anti-racist propaganda, and then label those as racist who oppose, not the statement, but the corrupt organization. Yes, rape is wrong. But advocating for the destruction of human life when that human life had no choice in their existence is more wrong. Yes, birth defects and genetic mutations that cause cancer, Down’s syndrome, Turner’s syndrome, and countless other diseases are not what we consider to be an ideal life. But to deny any chance at a life at all is to deny the humanity of one’s self. 

The conservative political party has not gotten in right every time, and there cannot be an expectation for it to be right every time. However, we are what is necessary in this country to stop the spread of evil that is prevalent. Perhaps in days gone by, the moral compass of the nation was such that the spread of wickedness was easier contained. Perhaps in days gone by, we functioned as an inhibitor in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, where our influence in the minds of the American people overpowered the influence of what is now radical, leftist ideology. In these modern times, the concentration of evil and sin-nature has not necessarily increased, but has been encouraged by a lack of inhibition, to the point where we as the inhibitors are being overpowered by the way-ward minds of a catalyst pushing towards complete and utter destruction. Speak out. Step up. Not for influence. Not for power. Not for fame, and not for glory. But for the hearts of the American people, the spiritual state of our world, and ultimately for the glory of our Almighty God.

When things are placed in an environment for two opposing forces to thrive, there is inevitably chaos. There is only victory when one is greater than the other. 

The Left’s Feminist Narrative Killer

(November Issue 2020)

By Kimberly Hagen

“Her very existence repudiates the left’s binary thinking about womanhood, that women have to deny what makes women different from men to achieve professionally. And that’s why they hate her.” – Joy Pullman

Justice Amy Coney Barrett is debunking all the leftist well spun narratives. She goes against everything the anti women coalition and what they stand for with her husband, 7 kids, and her unfaltering faith and her quickly advanced career. ABC poked holes into their well manicured doctrine as the lefts finely crafted web of lies began to unravel. 

During their anti-women’s marches, some stand with signs saying, “I want to break glass ceilings!” Yet, when a woman is being considered for the highest court in the land, we begin to see the irony drip from their playbook. They can’t wrap their “open minds”  about how Christianity isn’t something one can simply define. With all of its ambiguity and “rules” they would have to follow. 

It should be no surprise to the left that in fact not only do Christian women have their own minds but they can also choose to be mothers and doctors; teachers and scientist; lawyers and even a Supreme Court Justice.

The hearings continued on about how a Justice Barrett would force us back to a time where women will be fearful of strong work force discrimination and the rights of women would be rolled back. Conclusions were drawn from a woman, who has four daughters, will somehow take the power out of the lawmakers hands into her own. Democrat leaders poked and prodded at ACB to see if she would crack under their hypotheticals and tiresome questioning over the Second Amendment, Affordable Care Act, and Roe v. Wade. Under the Code of Conduct for US Judges are included the ethical canons that apply to federal judges and provides guidance on their performance of official duties and engagement in a variety of activities. Barrett stated, “Judges can’t just wake up one day and say ‘I have an agenda. I like guns. I hate guns. I like abortion. I hate abortion.’ and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world.” She said she’d “keep an open mind” on any case coming before the court.

As a self described originalist, like her mentor Justice Antonin Scalia, Senator Chris Coons claimed that she will follow suit to how he has ruled. “I hope that you aren’t suggesting that I don’t have my own mind,” Barrett said, “or that I couldn’t think independently or that I would just decide like, ‘Let me see what Justice Scalia has said about this in the past.’ ” I assure you I have my own mind.”

In a recent Vogue article, Michelle Ruiz writes, “white women voters are establishing themselves as maddeningly, confusingly . . . unsisterly.” 

“It’s tempting, in light of all this, to want to give up on white women. But even if we see history for what it is and adjust our expectations accordingly, the fact remains that white women make up a voting bloc that is too massive to ignore or simply write off.”

The goal post of equality has moved from rights over our own body and equal pay to abortions on demand and free birth control. Without them, they will divert to some perverted idea of the Handmaids Tale and must stay submissive. They assume white Christian women go aimlessly into a voting booth, checking the red box like our patriarchal husbands who command over us (sarcasm insertion complete). 

The goal post of equality has moved from rights over our own body and equal pay to abortions on demand and free birth control.

Since the beginning Satan has tried to drive a wedge between God and His creatures. Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Satan deceived Eve by causing her to make her decision based on what she could see and not what her emotions and reason told her to be right, even when it was contrary to what God had already told her. Eve thought that if she and Adam ate the fruit they would gain infinite wisdom and live forever.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide you a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 

For Christ to accomplish God’s will, he had to face Satan and prevail. In Matthew 4, Christ is presented as one who served faithfully regardless of opposition. Showing temptation doesn’t mean to succumb to failure. It should be an encouragement to all that find themselves as pawns in Satans clever underhanded plans. 

Just like the wedge of the enemy the unsuccessful attempts to make ACB one of their own was a devastating blow to feminists everywhere. It should be no surprise to the left that in fact not only do Christian women have their own minds but they can also choose to be mothers and doctors; teachers and scientist; lawyers and even a Supreme Court Justice. That we can choose to show our large families love and stand firm in a boardroom. It is a loud cry for Christian woman to stand true to who you are. Do not let anyone create a narrative other than the one God has written for you and your life.

TIF Podcast: Ep 1: Live Not By Lies By Rod Dreher

Episode One of the new TIF podcast is out! See it at All Things Veritas linked here: https://youtu.be/Z8ill_1ttgs

Principles Over Politics: Integrity

(Special Series)

(Part 5: Final)

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. – Proverbs 10:9

The truth is, wrote Kent Hughes, “American culture is in big trouble. The colossal slide of integrity (especially masculine ethics) has grim spiritual, domestic, and political implications which threaten the survival of life as we know it” (Hughes 2001, p. 125, Discipline of a Godly Man). Integrity is an issue of structure, a consistency that holds the entire weight of the framework or the system or the person in question. Corruption is not integral. Lying and cheating are not integral. Threats, injustice, harm, and murder are not integral. All are corrosive elements to the whole of nature. Inwardly Christians acknowledge original sin—that inner corrupted nature which the Enlightenment set out to deny. However, Christ is the Soul Changer. And under true conviction we do not ignore the faulty broken nature, our purest impure identity as humans. Rather we embrace the healer that condemned the sin that dooms us all. We seek to rise to each occasion though flawed. None are flawless. Integrity is always battling erosion. Maintaining institutions and ourselves are paramount practices to keep falsity and brokenness at bay. To walk securely means to bind one self to ideals outside the self and toward God and surrounding ourselves with people of integrity. Nothing lasts forever but we can build lasting impressions into the imprint of time. Preserving life by preventing evil. Speaking against divorce and sexual immorality. Helping the poor. Creating equal opportunity especially for the downtrodden. Standing up as truth-sayers when our own lie, cheat, steal, and abuse others. In the end, our actions will be judged along with our faith. The Gospel must always come first. Yet we can never ignore the least amongst us. Stand TALL. Stand for TRUTH. Build on the rock, not the sand.

Truth eternal, wise Creator, Fallen man’s illuminator! Light of reason, hope, ambition, Fire of love and true contrition… – W.S. Vale 1935, Cowley (Hymn)

Principles Over Politics: Moral Courage

(Special Series)

(Part 4)

Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished” (1 Chronicles 28:20).

Aristotles’ mean for courage was between fear and recklessness. American author Henry van Dyke argued that there was a “sharp distinction between courage and recklessness” (Dyke, Courage Is the Standing Army of the Soul). Ignorance versus intelligence, according to Dyke, is that fine distinction that thrusts the drunkard into battle or equips the well-trained, studious solider who knows all that awaits them. Courage can come in several forms as well. Physical courage and intellectual courage both demand a surrendering of safety and peace. Leroy E. Mosher observed it was “easier to drift with the current than to oppose it” (Mosher, The Courage of His Convictions). While all of these are true statements, the highest form of truth manifests itself from the Christian pursuit of God as A.W. Tozer informed his readers that, “Our pursuit of God is successful just because He is forever seeking to manifest Himself to us” (Tozer 2006, p. 71, The Pursuit of God). Modern academia tells its students to cite their sources. Christians must acknowledge their source by which the God of David and Solomon gain their strength of moral courage.

Courage is the opposite of fear and no one can be courageous unless he first has fear. A courageous person acts despite being afraid; there is nothing special about doing that which he does not fear. Stimulating courage in one another is therefore a vital ministry. – R.C. Sproul

Fear and Courage

Principles Over Politics: Fidelity

(Special Series)

(Part 3)

[T]here are moral as well as practical consequences to intertemporal commitments. Gratitude, as well as loyalty and patriotism, for example, are all essentially commitments to behave differently in the future, toward individuals or societies, than one would behave on an impartial assessment of circumstances as they might exist at some future time, if those individuals and societies were encountered for the first time – Thomas Sowell

A Conflict of Visions

Fidelity is commitment; a place of assurance; bindings of loyalty; and a practice of faithfulness to a spouse, a friend, a job, or to God. It is the absolute expectation of those who profess, an oath, to their wives and husbands; God and Church; community and county; and resolute to helping their fellow man. Fidelity is the bonding of the soul to something greater than yourself.

What you have inherited from your forefathers, earn it, that you might own it. – Sir Roger Scruton

England and the Need for Nations