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Christus
Rex
Skeletal Thoughts and Emaciated Musings
Gregory Soderberg
John Olin writes: “The Reformation of the sixteenth century was essentially a religious event.” I was blown away! Really! I thought it was a result of the influence of lesbian nun-poetry and Moslem homosexuality on Jewish alchemy books in Brussels! In postmodern scholarship, it is original to state the obvious.
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The Reformation did not intend to tear down the medieval cathedral. The Reformers did want to wipe the windows clean and let in a bit more light. However, we must acknowledge that more than one window was shattered in the process.
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Dead Poets’ Society, which glorifies rebellion against authority (oppressive authority is still authority) is ultimately depressing and pessimistic, as is all Romantic rebellion. The System of totalitarian rule, of "orthodusty", is entrenched. The only way out is through suicide. The false dichotomy ends in a last-stand, with the students literally standing upon their desks. One wonders what will happen when they step down. Back to the System as usual. Romanticism only knows a rebellion in fits and starts, with no lasting cultural vision. Rebellion against the System is ultimately dependent and parasitic on the System. Dionysius, the Greek of disorder and drunkenness needs Apollo, the god of light and order. Only in a Christian culture can we have genuine loving authority combined with obedience to authority.
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“I don’t believe Christ was God. I don’t believe there is a God. But I believe in what He taught.”
“If He wasn’t a God, I don’t see that it matters much what He taught.”
(Conversation from P.D. James’ Devices and Desires)
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We are people who live between the Sabbaths, in the midst of the long week of history, the
Sabbath of creation behind us, and final Sabbath in heaven awaiting us. And yet, we participate fully in the resurrection of our Sabbath rest, the Lord Jesus, journeying every week to Mt. Zion in Sabbath worship, where the law of Lord goes forth. Though Mt. Zion and the Heavenly Jerusalem await us in glory, we are given a foretaste of glory each Sabbath.
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As a young father, passages in Scripture about discipline have taken on new meanings for me. I’ve found Hosea very helpful in applying Biblical discipline to the “little bundle of sin” (Jim Wilson’s phrase) God has blessed us with: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up,” (Hos. 6:1).
We see here that Biblical discipline is both punitive and restorative. Using simpler language, discipline must truly punish the child (through pain or removal of privileges), and it must lead to true restoration. After the spanking, there should be hugs and prayer for the child. If both parents and children are still angry and out of fellowship afterwards, true discipline has not been administered. The children have simply been punished, but there is no restoration.
This is not how God deals with us. In Hosea, terrible warnings and judgments are intertwined with glorious promises of restoration and blessing. God’s justice and his mercy cannot be separated. Discipline should deal with the problem and then leave the problem behind. If parents do not show affection and mercy, even in the act of discipline, they are lying to their children about God.
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“The doctrines of the Gospel may be explained ever so clearly, but so long as they are against you they will never seem to you consistent. While you dislike them they will always appear unjust.” (Edward Griffin, a 17th/18th century Puritan pastor)
Volume One - Issue Two
Literature: Thoreau & the Dust of Death - Gregory Soderberg
Theology: Historic Creationism on Trial - Maurice Hagar
Aesthetics: Hours - Maurice Hagar
Culture: Manhunt - Maurice Hagar
Sodomy: Letter to an Editor - Marcus Rench
Skeletal Thoughts and Emaciated Musings - Gregory Soderberg
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