A Greatly Needed Work in American Churches This is a terrific primer on the Biblical view of economics. And it is immensely needed in our churches in America - if nothing more than to demonstrate the following: “That the Bible is not an economics textbook does not mean that it is totally useless for understanding economic issues. … Where ethics touches economics, the Bible is relevant.” (p. 16) In this short but greatly useful book, R.C. Sproul Jr. gives a Scriptural presentation of stewardship, property, profit, money, inflation, debt, poverty, equity, government, and more. The book is very readable and has solid practical value. I would recommend it to every Christian minister and layperson alike. Not only is it edifying in personal use, but I think it would be highly valuable for a small group study as well. Get this book and read it with Scripture! Book Review: Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest & Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics6/1/2013 A Must Read for Politicians and Laymen Alike This is a very good and timely book. It’s a downright shame that it was written in 1946 and governments around the world have not heeded the simple lesson and practical applications advanced in this work. It’s divided into three sections: Part One: The Lesson With one chapter, “The Lesson” - in which he asserts: “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.” (p. 17) Part Two: The Lesson Applied Here is the bulk of the book in which he goes into the particulars of applying that one simple lesson to various situations, including (but not limited to): public works programs, taxes, tarrifs, governments “rescuing” businesses, price-fixing, rent control, minimum wage laws, unions, profits, inflation, and saving. He ends the section with a restatement of the lesson and how if applied it would enable success on such a grander scale than what we’ve come to see in our own lifetimes since the government did not apply this lesson but did just the opposite. Gary DeMar does a wonderful job of showing the true historical Christian roots of our nation without unduly sanitizing the founding fathers. This book does a number of things in the way of being a great primer to American history: (1) Analyzes the role of government censorship, shows how it worked (in a bad way) throughout statist nations in history, and demonstrates the way it has happened and is continuing to happen in America today. (2) Demonstrates from primary sources the original intent of the colonizing of America, the first charters, and the Christian great commission assumption of the early settlers up through the forming of the new nation. (3) Handles the founding documents in their historical context, showing the true Christian nature of them - that is, even when the founding fathers were not all-together orthodox Christian, they still affirmed the necessity of the general principles of the Christian faith in order for the country to succeed. (4) Addresses several misconceptions of what the founding fathers, founding documents, and other items do and do not say - in their historical context - over against what is taught in government-run public schools today in America. It's a great read and a great reference. While I was not greatly impressed with a previous "Counterpoint Series" book I read (Five Views on Apologetics), this book was a great surprise and a welcomed read. While there are "five" views, there are basically only two main viewpoints:
The presentations were laid out as follows: Non-Theonomic Reformed View - William A. VanGemeren Theonomic Reformed View - Greg L. Bahnsen Evangelical View - Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Dispensationalist View - Wayne G. Strickland Modified Lutheran View - Douglas J. Moo Overall, every writer was very considerate and kind to the other writers, yet appropriately critical in an academic context while evaluating their differing views. With that being the case, the reader will learn a lot about how different perspectives of the Law and Gospel are understood within the large umbrella of orthodox Protestant Christianity. A terrific condensed book from his much larger workTheonomy in Christian Ethics. (If you're comparing page numbers it might be hard to see that since it goes from TiCE 563 pages to BTS 350 pages. But TiCE has 563 - 6"x9" pages - while BTS has 350 - 4"x6.75" pages. This makes a huge difference.) By This Standard is in many ways better than Theonomy in Christian Ethics in that it doesn't read like a master's thesis, is more digestible in its chapter lengths, is aimed at a broader audience thus more accessible for the layman, and has a great succinct section at the end refuting criticisms of his previous work on the topic. The main point of this book though is still the same: by what standard shall nations decide what is just in socio-political laws? By the standard God has revealed in Scripture. For a review of that main point, see my review of Theonomy in Christian Ethics. As for this book, Bahnsen applies the same principles of argumentation and clear exegesis but presents it in an easier tone. Of course this means his argument is not as exhaustive in this book; but it still carries the same weight. Chapter by chapter he uses Scripture over and over again to present the case. And just as before, while it is hard psychologically and emotionally sometimes to reach the conclusions he does. There doesn't seem to be any Biblical or logical reason not to come to the same conclusion. I hope every Christian interested in the Christian life, the Christian's role in social responsibility, or the nature of law, justice, and/or crime and punishment will read this book - if nothing else to at least see a view presented from Scripture that is not advocated that much today but is very hard to combat (Acts. 26:14). Not Even Close.... I'm not sure how Biblical this case was; and I'm not even sure it can be done, considering despite the attempt to show otherwise, if you're making a Biblical case for natural law, then you're not making a case simply for natural law but for natural law substantiated and validated by Biblical law. I realize Dr. VanDrunen used parts of the Bible to demonstrate (or at least attempt to demonstrate) his view. But even a cursory reading leads one to see it's pretty clear there's a forcing of his view from outside of Scripture into the Scripture. And while a cursory reading can find this pretty readily, it's always best to go into details when saying someone is not really presenting the Bible correctly. So here are a few examples: [Loc. 83 (Kindle Version)]: "The term [Natural Law] generally refers to the moral order inscribed in the world and especially in human nature, an order that is known to all people through their natural faculties (especially reason and/or conscience) even apart from supernatural divine revelation and that binds morally the whole human race." Here VanDrunen says there is a moral order known innately to all people, which morally binds them all. But how do we know what the specifics of those moral universals are? Well...eventually we have to discover them objectively in divine special revelation, as VanDrunen does later in his book [Loc 805]: "In conclusion, the reader might note the range of evils that are prohibited by natural law as described merely in the texts discussed in this chapter [ed. note - consider this statement: natural-law-evils prohibited as described in the Biblical-texts - irony]: murder (Gen. 4), including infanticide (Ex. 1), rape (Genesis 34); violation of the marriage relationship (Genesis 12, 20, 26); harsh treatment of servants (Job 31); slave trading (Amos 1); and judicial corruption (Ex. 18). Even were natural law limited to these, such prohibitions would afford an impressive foundation for a civilized and orderly society." It's amazing how compelling and convicting simple logic can be. This book is great for educating Christians on why the pro-life movement is worthy of their consideration (and action). And Randy Alcorn doesn't make it so much about politics rather than actual people. Even in talking about steps to take he doesn't sound the alarm for everyone to go protesting outside of abortion clinics. But he does show that everyone can have a part to play, even including caring for those single mothers who decided not to get an abortion. The book is essentially well-reasoned arguments for why a Christian should have an actual stake in the pro-abortion/pro-life movement. It's not meant to give anyone the ability to go out and defend the pro-life position to non-Christians (that's going to be found in his larger ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments). But it certainly gives Christian readers the evidence they need to know that they no longer can turn the back to this "issue" or put it to the side. Life is something for which we must take a stand. And Mr. Alcorn argues persuasively that that thing in the mother's womb is indeed life. A Biblical Response to Two Kingdom Theology Here is a very interesting but very important work by Dr. John Frame. The book consists basically of several very long, very thoughtful book reviews of authors who've come from the Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Based on the works they've produced Frame makes a very compelling case that they've developed their own "version" of Reformed theology particular just to the Escondido school. Unfortunately, as Frame goes on to show, their "version" is not truly standard Reformed theology. Furthermore, when seen through a Biblical analysis, it is at many points unbiblical theology. Taking on about a half dozen authors (including such authors as Michael Horton, R. Scott Clark, David Van Drunen, Meredith G. Kline, and Darryl Hart), Frame shows review by review how their particular outlook is simultaneously (1) not in line with standard Reformed theology, (2) particular only to the Escondido school, and (3) not at all a truly Biblical outlook. The main common denominator between the Escondido proponents is their "Two Kingdom Theology" whereby they teach in essence that it is not the church's responsibility or call to try to influence culture or society much in any way. While the exact opposite of this can be seen throughout Frame's Theology of Lordship series (and many other Reformed works by other Reformed theologians and teachers), in this work he makes a very concise application of that theology by reviewing selected works of these Escondido authors. On one level this book is very easy to read in that Fancis Schaeffer is a brilliant communicator. On another level this book is very hard to read in that it discusses the terrifying truth of how society in America has year after year continued to de-humanize humanity. Schaeffer and Koop write a depressing but important documentary on what happens when a society arbitrarily assigns humanness apart from the fact that all humans are created in the image of God. Their work deals with abortion, euthanasia, the basis for human dignity, the importance of history and understanding it, and what our personal response as Christians needs to be regarding the devaluing of human life in American society. The the last chapter is full of a variety of pro-life organizations throughout the nation and contact information so the reader can get more involved. While it was first published in 1979 and 1983, it is still relevant to Christians today and their need to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves (the unborn, the infants, the infirmed, and the elderly). As with Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live, the movie with the same title that accompanies the book is well worth the watch and adds even more to the impact of this important message.
The great things about this book are the very detailed explanations of how our government is supposed to work (concerning how it was originally set up), how it's currently functioning, and some of the difficult issues that are dividing the nation. There really is a great deal of reference material in here and some truly sobering facts.
The down side to the book was how a Christian is actually supposed to respond. He argues that Christians should have significant influence in their government, and he presents some texts that indicate as much. And that is great! But he approaches the Scriptures with a very pick-and-choose attitude as to which texts actually apply to politics. A Masterpiece of Theology, Philosophy, and Biblical Scholarship First let me say this: This book reads like a thesis (and as it started out as a thesis for a Master of Theology degree, that makes sense). But what a Biblically substantiated, exegetically sound, and theologically insightful thesis it is - by a truly gifted theologian, teacher, and communicator! It is so very rare that one comes across a book in which after finishing it he can say, "This book has truly altered the course of my life." If there is any one book - obviously apart from the Bible itself - of which this can be said by me, it is Greg Bahnsen's Theonomy in Christian Ethics. The theonomic principle as stated by Bahnsen is simply this: By "theonomy" I will mean that verbalized law of God which is imposed from outside man and revealed authoritatively in the words of Scripture" (p. 35). Theonomy is God's Law - over against man's self-law - applied in all areas of life, both in the church and in society. While throughout the history of the church it was taken on assumption that the Old Testament had abiding validity unless something in the New Testament was revealed to have cancelled or changed it in some way, in today's evangelical world just the opposite view seems to be the one most widely held: that unless a commandment is repeated in the New Testament, we should assume it no longer has abiding validity (a view with many more problems than one might think). And so Bahnsen lays out cogently, articulately, and (most importantly) Biblically in 563 pages his thesis that the Old Testament Law is just as much applicable today as it was in the days before Christ, even in the area of the civil magistrate. Originally published in 1978, I wondered if some of the arguments would be out-of-date. But really the arguments haven't changed that much from those who are in the homosexual community. "Oddly enough" God's word hasn't changed since 1978 either. That being the case, this book is still a valuable resource and is helpful in providing a solid understanding to the discussion of homosexuality and the Christian church. Bahnsen's work on the topic is up to his normal standard: exegetically sound, well researched, and comprehensively woven together with airtight logic. He makes his case unapologetically using God's Word as the standard, and presses the reader to undertake the same task. While homosexuality is a hot button today and the church is sometimes afraid of what to do about it, Bahnsen provides clear answers as well as cogent defenses to those who would try to persuade people otherwise. He makes clear distinctions in his vocabulary and is careful not to come across as legalistic or tyrannical; yet the reader comes away wondering how anyone could ever see the Bible endorsing or approving homosexuality, which is so often claimed today. A Remarkable Narrative of Christian Involvement in Politics (and vice versa) Wow! A history of hope, a history of despair. A history of victory, a history of defeat. A story of people with character rising up in great courage and conviction, and a story of people with few principles giving up and giving in. And as these histories and stories occur on both the political and religious sides, Daniel K. Williams writes a remarkable, well-documented narrative of the birth and rise of Christian involvement in politics in the 20th and 21st centuries in America. Showing a mastery of historical facts in the political realm and even being able to distinguish between a fundamentalist and an evangelical in the Christian realm, Williams is clearly qualified to write about this subject with authority. And along with that authority he brings an amazing writing ability to continually engage the reader. Regardless of your views of the Democratic or Republican party (or even if you have a distaste for a two-party system), this book will certainly educate you on American history with regards to Christian fundamentalism, Evangelicalism, and the political strategies employed by both Democrats and Republicans as they begin to recognize the importance of the Christian vote in today's America. Foundational to Biblical Thinking and Application This is without doubt a foundational work in the world of theology and especially as it pertains to the philosophy of knowledge. John Frame's writing is always written with a pastoral warmth even when it's on such a topic as epistemology. It would be remiss, though, to say that this book is solely on Christian epistemology. It also is very much a book on theological method as well as apologetics. With the heart of a shepherd and all the precision of a theological surgeon, Frame takes the reader through his book in three parts: The Objects of Knowledge The Justification of Knowledge The Methods of Knowledge While this book is written well in a style that befits the layperson, the nature of the content is still very heavy at times. So this book may not be for all readers. However, for anyone in seminary or the Christian interested in philosophy (especially as it pertains to epistemology), this book is a must-read! Saturated with Scripture, a Biblical worldview, and a commitment to the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life, this book will not disappoint those seeking a deeper understanding of our relationship with the Lord Jesus, how we come to know Him as Lord, and what that means as it pertains to our relationship with the rest of the world. I think I understand why this book got such raving reviews at its publication in 1987. Allan Bloom certainly documents his acute observations on how our society moved from one that had absolute standards to a society where everything is relativized and the only thing absolute is the maxim that all views are equally valid (except the view that holds that not all views are equally valid). Through the book, Bloom takes the reader on a journey through three main sections: Part One: Students Part Two: Nihilism, American Style Part Three: The University While some places are easier to understand than others, throughout the book I was constantly scratching my head either because of a criticism he gave that offered a lot to think about or simply because he used such high-minded language I had no idea what he said. I was reminded of a book published 11 years earlier called Foundations of Christian Scholarship, where the contributors' aim was to write for upper division college students and graduate students with the caveat that "If Christians had done their work properly in the field of private Christian education, these essays would be geared for high school seniors, or at the most, college freshman." That was in 1976. I would venture to guess even upper division college students and/or graduate students would have a hard time with the book at this point (although I will say it was still easier than Bloom's). |
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