Is The Earth Standing Still?
[Author: Gerardus D. Bouw, Ph.D. This article was originally published in 1988 by the then Tychonian Society. It is now named The Association For Biblical Astronomy, 4527 Wetzel Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44109. Click here for more details.]
To hear tell, geocentricity, the ancient Biblical doctrine that the earth is fixed motionless at the center of the universe, died over four centuries ago. At that time Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astrologer, suggested the sun and not the earth was the center of the universe (heliocentrism). Copernicus knew his proposal was heretical to Christian thought and the Bible. Thus he delayed the publishing of his idea for about thirty years. For the next hundred years a debate raged in scientific and theological circles. By 1650 the consensus shifted from geocentricity to heliocentrism, even though there was no scientific evidence favoring either model.
Geocentricity has not been without its spokesmen over the years. Among the educated scientists who attested to geocentricity were three generations of Cassinis (astronomers who dominated French astronomy from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries), and astronomers and educators ordained by the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church well into the twentieth century. Others, such as John Jasper (a famous black, nineteenth century Baptist preacher from Richmond, Virginia) and William Lander (a nineteenth-century English writer) were quite vocal in their belief that geocentricity is truly a Biblical idea. They, as well as reformers such as Luther, perceived the world (and Christians, in particular) would not only bring into question the authority of the Bible but also weaken science itself by embracing heliocentrism.
I Dreamed a Dream, Too.
What Would a “Spiritual” Revival Look Like?
Charles Hodge, in his history of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, written in the 19th century, was critical of the revival period known as the Great Awakening. Why? His opinion seems to cut against common acceptance that this was a mighty work of revival, and that the Holy Spirit manifested Himself in a particular way during this period.
Charles Hodge (no known relation to this writer) would not accept this view so readily. In his opinion, the church was in a worse state two years after the Awakening than it was two years earlier. Thus, he was not so ready to accept the Awakening was the work of the Holy Spirit.
His criticism, therefore, begs the question. And if you allowed yourself to dream for a few minutes, what would a spiritual revival look like to you?
I dreamed a dream. There was a spiritual revival under way.
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God and Taxes
A Mark of Sovereignty
From time to time there are news items explaining why some people find it necessary to leave home. Taxes — property taxes to be precise.
In a period of rising house prices, it is easy to forget that with rises in prices come increasing property taxes. And property taxes can mean financial ruin for many whose income cannot rise to meet the increased tax burden.
One resident in Massachusetts some time ago was suffering when her tax bill increased from $2,200 to $3,500, while income remained fixed at $12,000 a year. The result? Sell the family home, with all its sweat and tears (it was built by the current owner and her late husband) and memories.
While the stock market may be on the move up again and there is little evidence that the real estate market is out of the doldrums, the banking fiasco in the US, together with fevered home buying, indicated personal debt was on the increase. So, too, were home prices, since a good portion of the debt went into home buying. Property prices were bound to increase — and property taxes along with them.
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Give Me the Facts!
Never Let The Facts Get In The Way of A Good Theory
I had another epiphany. You know, one of those “aha” moments when someone switches on a light.
The light on this occasion was Dr. Greg Bahnsen, and I was listening to the CD set Defending the Christian World View Against All Opposition. It’s a great set. No. It’s a brilliant set.
But what got me thinking was his comment about facts. Facts convince no one. You cannot start with the facts and end up with biblical truth. To attempt to reason that way is to reverse the process.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 9:10).
Oh My Gosh! I Did It Again . . .
AAARRGGGHHHH! I Did It Again!
You would think I learned my lesson. No. Here I am making the same mistake . . . again!
Trying to make sense out of the confused and erratic statements of my friends, is one of the challenges of life. However, this time I walked straight back into the same issues that started these postings.
I had a return visit with my Reformed Baptist friends for a few days. And right on the first night, we got into a discussion. The topic? Localized self government.
The Australian (me): The American foundation was an attempt to put the Biblical pattern of localized self government into practice.
My American Friends: Where does it say in the Bible we should have localized self government?
Why Capitalism Fails
Who’s Douglas Vickers? He’s an Australian who taught economics in the USA. He went into print against the free market and its biblical foundations. He promoted the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes — yes that one. Now Keynes did not invent modern economics of the state. He merely attempted to provide a rationale for it. I disagreed with Vickers, and therefore Keynes, and here’s why.
My first book, Baptized Inflation: A Critique of “Christian” Keynesianism, was published in 1986. It was a critique of Douglas Vicker’s attempts to argue that biblical economics was best presented in the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes. I relied heavily on the Austrian school of economics for my critique.
The Austrian school of economics, its key exponent being Ludwig von Mises, argues that all economic theories turn on the concept of property rights. Are property rights in the hands of the individual or the state? Good question.
10-Year Tribute to R.J. Rushdoony – Part 2.
In the first part of this Tribute to R.J. Rushdoony I recalled the personal side of my relationship with him and some of the fond memories I have as a result of a 21-year association.
In this portion of the Tribute, I’m going to highlight what I think is Rush’s very significant contribution to Christian thought.
The name R.J. Rushdoony is tied up with two concepts: theonomy and Christian Reconstruction. But for Rushdoony, these two concepts are tied together in a unique manner.
For those of us raised outside of Reformed circles, his call to return to God’s law was somewhat radical. Yet for those raised on Reformed catechisms, Rushdoony’s view was not that unusual in some respects. Both the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Larger Catechism expound the Ten Commandments using what Rushdoony called “case law”. That is, the Ten Commandments were given substance through the many laws given in the Pentateuch (or Torah).
Many of Rushdoony’s followers, then and now, came from outside the Reformed tradition. What is curious, however, is the hostility Rushdoony received from the Reformed community, and I can understand why.
10-Year Tribute to R.J. Rushdoony – Part 1
R.J. Rushdoony left this life in February, 2001, just 10 years ago. At that time I wrote a tribute to a remarkable man, a friend, and a mentor. Here’s my updated version of that tribute.
It is with sadness, yet a spirit of hope, that the tribute was written to acknowledge a great man, Rousas John Rushdoony. His greatness, however, remains one of the best kept secrets of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, except for a relatively small devoted and loyal following that Dr. Rushdoony accumulated in his lifetime.
“Rush”, as he was fondly called by his friends, was a unique man. I did not have the opportunity to meet him more than a dozen times during the 21 years of our association. But I thoroughly enjoyed every moment with him.
Whatever Happened to the Ekklesia?
I know you might think this is crazy. But bear with me, and see if the logic fits.
While driving through Canada in 2009 I listened to a lecture Dr. Rushdoony gave somewhere. It was an introduction to lectures on Corinthians, and he had one vitally interesting point that I cannot get over.
Rushdoony pointed out that the word ekklesia in the Greek — usually translated “church” or “congregation” in the New Testament — has its origins in Greek culture. The ekklesia were the “called out ones.” This would be a group in a city or town who were “called out” to deal with issues of the township.
The Condition For Civil Disobedience
When Is It Time To Disobey?
Almost everyone knows the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. What is not so well understood is the specific reason why Daniel came into conflict with king Darius.
Darius had appointed a number of officials to assist in ruling his kingdom. These officials became jealous of Daniel, who had distinguished himself in the service of the monarch. They sought his downfall, but could find nothing in his work habits that would give them cause to complain to the king.
These officials, however, knew that Daniel was a religious man. And they knew enough about his religion to be able to devise a trap that would ensnare Daniel and bring about his political downfall. They were certain that they could only destroy him if they brought some issue to the fore concerning the law of God, forcing Daniel to choose between the law of his God and the law of the king.
Appealing to the political philosophy of the time which put the king’s law above everything else, they suggested that he should pass a law forbidding any person in the realm from making a petition to any other god or man for thirty days. On the surface this did not seem such a harsh law. Only thirty days. These advisers were not greedy men. All they wanted was enough rope for Daniel to hang himself. And it would be a good test of the king’s ultimate authority. So this suggestion had some ego appeal for the king.
The Politicization of the Church – Part 4.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN SPIRITUAL POWER?
In part 3 of this series, I explored the idea of the church as the body of Christ. Not in a nominalist sense, but somehow in a real sense. I observe some interesting indicators of this in contemporary Christian thought as it pertains to politics.
It seems the only valid reason to seek change in the nation through political means is because the political realm has the power to change things. Now this concept of power is a powerful one and often mistakenly applied.
In the Bible power and authority are connected. To have authority was to have power. Jesus said, “All authority is given to Me” (Matt. 28:18). Was he speaking as the Triune God in general, or more specifically as the second Person of the Trinity? There is a fine difference, because Jesus and the Father are One, in essence if not in their functions. But Jesus appears to indicate all authority belongs to Him as Second Person of the Trinity.
Lies and Manure
“Lying is to democracy what manure is to rhubarb.”
Can you believe someone actually said that?
Sometimes you wonder what depths highly paid academics will go to in offering the public the latest in academic research.
In 2003, a Reader in Politics at a British University claimed to have discovered something the ordinary citizen has known all along.
Politicians lie.
The Making of a Worldview – 5: Destroying Speculations
How do you destroy speculations and lofty things raised up against God?
Have I made it clear enough? There is only ONE worldview. That is the worldview based on the . . .
I was about to write “Bible” but I stopped myself. Here’s why.
This is the fifth (final?) article in this series “The Making of a Worldview.” And I’ve only quoted one verse of Scripture, and referred to one section of the Bible. Almost everything you need for a worldview is wrapped up in the first three chapters of Genesis. Now there are some important things that come later, but they are not the foundation.
So it is a worldview based on the Old Testament — the Hebrew Bible — that is the only worldview. It is the principles in the Old Testament that allow us to make comments about worldviews, even if we pretend that we have somehow decided our worldview without the Old Testament.
Thus the Old Testament is not true because you or I or someone else says it is. The Old Testament is true because without it we cannot even begin the process. Without it our minds and mouths are locked tight.
The Making of a Worldview – 4: The Image of God
The Image of God
A worldview, by definition, is the idea that all areas of life can be viewed from the mountain top of certain principles. In this series, I’ve concentrated on just one of those principles, But I have assumed — or presupposed — another two principles at all times. The reason they are presupposed? They are inescapable concepts; you can not do anything without including them in your assumptions.
Behind our theory of knowledge (epistemology – how do we know things, and how do we know that we know) is an underlying assumption about ourselves, other people, and the world that we comprehend around us.
The Making of a Worldview – 3: Apostles of Denial
Meet the Apostles of Denial
“Everything is just a matter of opinion. You have your opinion. I have my opinion. Truth is whatever you perceive it to be.”
So said a young lady in my home recently. A Christian young lady educated in the best public schools and the best state universities.
And she attends a church that cannot tell her how to tell the difference between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil.
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