Fifth Monarchy Men

Recently I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a young law student who is an avid Rushdoony fan and who is ready, eager, and willing to disseminate the perspectives of Christian Reconstruction. He wrote to me about the exploits he has shared with three fellow students as they unashamedly proclaim the crown rights of Jesus Christ:

There is a very interesting story about N.D. Last semester N.D. took an appellate advocacy course in which he had to argue the Pledge of Allegiance case in front of a panel of professors. I was there for a first year review and had the opportunity to sit in on many of the sessions. Student after student provided the same historical/democratic (humanist) argument that was presented in the Pledge case. When N.D. argued the case, he challenged the court by forcing the biblical antithesis. The panel of professors was taken back. They insisted that while his argumentation was correct from a legal and biblical perspective, he couldn't argue like that because he would only offend the Justices. N.D. pressed them to show him where his legal analysis was flawed, but they could not. In the end he was told that if he wanted to speak like the prophets of old, he would have to learn to suffer like the prophets of old. In effect he was told that the humanist sets the presupposition in the courtroom and he had been wrong for violating it. He received a much lower grade even though he had a far superior presentation and case from a legal and biblical perspective.

We are all committed to forcing the antitheses in the legal profession and in the world. When it comes to Crown Rights of King Jesus we are all loyalists. We love to meditate on the Law of the Lord and are dedicated to seeing it lifted up as the standard in our legal system.

Here is a young man, steeped in the biblically orthodox teaching of R. J. Rushdoony, who is willing to take a stand regardless of the consequences of those who suppose they have the power to determine his future. How prophetic were those professors comparing him to the prophets of old! As Rushdoony states in his commentary Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation, these four are Fifth Monarchy men (Daniel 2:34-35) -- those who, like Daniel and his three friends, are unwilling to bow the knee to any other than the triune God of Scripture. I have run into many such young men -- those ready and eager to understand how their faith translates to all areas of thinking and living. A number of them are graduating from high school this year. My present of choice: the three-volume set of Institutes of Biblical Law by Rushdoony. I figure it is a sound investment for the future and the Fifth Monarchy.

Call Waiting

Today I was helping a friend (a homeschooling dad of 4 daughters who suffers from ALS*) make phone calls to handle financial matters and set up doctor appointments. The two hours we spent were enjoyable because Jay is one of those people to whom God has given an extra dose of funny. Sure his condition sometimes gets the better of him emotionally, but his faith in the Lord and his ability to turn the somber into laughter is something this devastating illness has not been able to touch.

When I arrived at his home, I watched his wife adroitly transfer him from his hospital bed to his wheelchair so we could get to work. We called his doctors' offices, a medical supply company, and the company that handles his employee investments. Each time I was greeted by a recorded voice directing me to punch all sorts of numbers and giving me instructions about the information needed in order to connect me to the proper person, only to have to repeat all the information over and over again. What's more, because I was acting as "Jay's mouthpiece," new permission had to be given by Jay to each person on the line for me to be okayed to speak for him. With his diminished lung capacity, this wasn't always easy.

During the many long waits on hold listening to selections from Handel and Mozart, Jay and I commented how grateful we are that we don't have to approach the Lord this way. Just think how humanistic man would improve upon Jesus' instructions in the Lord's Prayer. We figured it would go something like this:

Hello, you have reached heaven.
Your call is important to us, so stay on the line and someone will be with you shortly,
For praises, press one.
For confession, press two,
For thanksgiving, press three,
For healing, press four.
For all other petitions, please stay on the line for the next available operator.

Please be sure to have all identifying numbers ready when your call is answered.
For quality purposes, this prayer may be monitored.

Due to heavy calling volume, there will be a significant wait. Your prayer will be answered in the order received.
(Background muzak streams a synthesized version of Amazing Wait)

Someone will be with you shortly. Did you know that you can bypass this call by going to our website and leaving your question? Most inquiries are responded to within 48 hours.

(The lovely tones of Amazing Wait continue!)

Finally…a real person comes on the line, listens to your request, re-asks all the questions the first person asked, requiring new authorizations to speak on behalf of another, and back on hold you go.

Phew!!! I'm frustrated just recounting this process. My guess is that the hope on the other end of the line is that you'll hang up and forget why you called, deeming it not all that important after all, and learn to live without the answer you desired.

But, praise God, we have direct access to the throne of grace thanks to the mediating atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not only do we have free access to the Father becasue of this Advocate who sits at His right hand, instructing us to pray in His name, but we also have a Comforter and Counselor who knows our groanings better than we do and prays on our behalf. Even when, in His good pleasure, God delays responding (thereby working patience in us), our waiting on the Lord is never in vain. He who answers our call is not some impersonal representative, ill-equipped to handle our particular need. As we're told in Isaiah 40:31,

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

[*ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease for which medical scientific research has yet to find a cure. ALS affects motor neurons which reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to the muscles' death.]

Combating the Humanistic Inquisition

My daughter and I are currently in the midst of a study of idolatry. Sound funny? Well, since one of the major themes of the Bible is to abstain from worshipping idols, it is incumbent upon me, the Christian homeschool teacher, to make sure that the subject is thoroughly covered and properly understood. Unfortunately, most parents spend more time on "Look both ways before crossing the street," and "Have you cleaned your room?" than giving their children a strong foundational understanding of this topic. Since the first two of the Ten Commandments deal with idolatry, and do so in very strong language, it is a subject that should not be taken lightly.

We are currently going through the second volume of the Institutes of Biblical Law by R. J. Rushdoony. We read a chapter a day and together discuss it. Sometimes the discussions are so far-reaching that an hour and a half has gone by before we realize it because we've examined the implications of a particular concept across many disciplines.

A recent chapter dealt with Idolatry and Law. Dr. Rushdoony had many insightful points. For example, he describes the dedicated assault on Christianity in our culture as the Humanist Inquisition in action, because the humanistic state won't tolerate dissent from its stated theological position and persecutes those who deviate from it. No wonder Christian homeschoolers are often in the bull's-eye of state and federal legislators and regulators who try to gain access and control over those they wish to proselytize.

Later in the chapter, Dr. Rushdoony makes the following statement, having previously expounded on the biblical definition of idolatry and its manifestations:

All who are content with a humanistic law system and do not strive to replace it with Biblical law are guilty of idolatry. They have forsaken the covenant of their God, and they are asking us to serve other gods. They are thus idolaters, and are, in our generation, when our world is idolatrous and our states also, to be objects of missionary activity. They must be called out of their idolatry into the service of the living God. (p. 468)

For those who have already taken the obedient step of teaching and nurturing their children in terms of God's Word, this perspective is probably not new to you. However, its implications are enormous. Among other things, it means that it is time for homeschooling families to stop apologizing for their decisions to obey God, feeling the need to justify their course of action to those who have chosen the path of compromise. It is time to stand firm on God's command to make disciples of ALL nations, starting with our own families. Quoting Rushdoony again:

It is our duty to evangelize, to work for the conversion of men and nations to Christ as Lord and Savior. At the same time, as part of our evangelism, we witness to the meaning of covenant law, and, in our own personal dealings, we live by it: we practice the tithe, restitution, debt-free living, and much, much more. Only as God's law is made the practice of man can it become the practice of nations. Only those laws are enforceable which virtually all men are already enforcing in their own lives. (p. 468)

Therefore, among the greatest tools of evangelism remains our faithful application of God's law-word to every area of life and thought. When we do so, we are acting as a beacon of light to a dark and hopeless world, and are boldly manifesting the position that, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." What better way to combat those who seek to destroy our faith, our families, and our foundations.

I'd be Lyin' If I Didn't Tell You About the Lion

It is easy to assume that if you homeschool your kids, teaching them all things from a faithfully Biblical point of view, everyone will live happily ever after and they will grow up actively serving and praising the Lord. As many who've traveled this path before can tell you, that just isn't always the case. Sometimes they stray from the path you've guided them on and there is much heartache that ensues. God instructs us, though, to be faithful and states that He will determine the results. That's why homeschooling would be an impossibly insane activity without receiving and living by the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. Not only does the Lord promise that His purposes will be accomplished, He walks beside us to comfort us on our journey.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Without this undergirding, I seriously doubt that I would be an active home educator after 25 years and still eager and ready to help those just starting out.

Along with this portion of Scripture, there is a warning in 1 Peter 5:8 that we need to heed for ourselves and alert our children about: the ever present reality of the battle for their souls.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...

This enemy waits for openings, and if the homeschooling parent allows ungodly, disrespectful attitudes to go by unchallenged, that roaring lion is ever-ready to come in and encourage these and other sins against God. But, even if all things are done by the Book, there is still the reality that some children consummately reject the teachings of their parents and walk in paths they've been warned against. However, difficult it is to accept, we don't make Christians; the Holy Spirit does.

Lest anyone be faint of heart and determine that this homeschooling task is beyond them and their capabilities, let me remind you of another Lion referenced in Revelation 5:5. This is He who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The same One who came to earth to do for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. If He was capable and ready to redeem us from sin, will He not also be with us as we labor for the hearts and souls of our children? You see, I'd be lyin' if I didn't tell you about this other Lion!