Two Hypotheses

I read with interest this revealing response (link) to James White's ten questions to a Roman Catholic convert (link).

Let me begin by pointing out that this Roman Catholic poster (purifyyourbride) has taken a more head-on approach than many others. He has actually read and attempted some kind of response to each of Dr. White's ten questisons.

Perhaps, at a later time, I could critique each answer. Allow me, however, to focus on a particular point that this poster made, in response to Dr. White's number one question:

"It just seems like you have no clue what the heart of Catholicism is."

I don't point this out so much to pick on PYB, as because I have seen this comment or comments like it consistently from lay RC apologists over the years. This type of comment is subject two at least two competing hypthotheses:

1) Purifyyourbride is correct, and Dr. White is clueless about Catholicism; or
2) Dr. White knows more about Catholicism than purifyyourbride.

Now, reading over the other responses that PYB included, I can say with a very high degree of confidence that Dr. White has studied Catholicism in much greater depth than PYB. In fact, I think that PYB would admit as much. Furthermore, I doubt that PYB would be willing to assert that Dr. White is objectively stupid, or even relatively lacking in intelligence compared with PYB. In other words, Dr. White has at least a normal degree of intelligence and has studied the issues in greater depth.

So, given those facts, when I see the comment making a claim like: "It just seems like you have no clue what the heart of Catholicism is," I'm inclined to believe that the claim is false. The apolgist using the argument is reacting emotionally to the depiction of Catholicism that Dr. White is presenting.

Undoubtedly that is why PYB does not say "Dr. White is clueless about Catholicism" (he does not use those words, any way) but that he is clueless about "the heart of Catholicism." You see, it is much easier to make a claim about a heart, a gist, a "main point," etc. than it is to make a particular claim, such as a claim about the "unanimous consent of the fathers" or the alleged regency of Mary.

There is an expression "He missed the forest for the trees," but does it really seem probable that Dr. White has missed the forest for the trees? It seems unlikely - particularly since people are constantly willing to point out what they believe the forest is (PYB is no exception). So, if Dr. White hasn't missed the forest for the trees, then there is really no reason to accept the first hypothesis.

What's the bottom line? The bottom line is that we can reject the "Dr. White is clueless" hypothesis in favor of the "Dr. White actually has a better understanding of Catholicism than most Roman Catholics" hypothesis. That conclusion should give a lot of folks who have placed their trust in Rome based on a less thorough analysis of Rome's claims a lot of pause.

Let me provide one notable example: The Donation of Constantine. Do you know what it is? Do you know why it is important to the discussion?

-Turretinfan

Focusing on the Wrong Problem

Many people will see this clip (link) and think that the problem is man put asunder what God has joined, i.e. an unbiblical divorce - or even that the problem is that this (apparently improper) action is being done by high-profile professing Christians, thereby bringing Christ's name into shame.

Those can both be problems, but they miss the bigger - more obvious problem. What was a woman doing being the pastor of a church in the first place? That's not a woman's job - that's not what God calls women to do.

The shocking part of the headline should be the part that suggested that "pastors" were married to each other, not that they are getting a divorce. To complain about their divorce, while ignoring the usurpation of authority by Mrs. White is to strain at a gnat while swallowing a camel.

Incidentally, as far as know, neither of the Whites is any relation to Dr. James White, who has been mentioned on this blog a few times.

-Turretinfan

Mother Theresa's Lack of Faith

Here is an article (link) that suggests that MT admitted that she did not have faith in Christ.
Roman Catholic fans will undoubtedly not be deterred from continuing toward having her declared a "saint" by the Vatican.

Scripture says:

Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

And again:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

May God strengthen the gift of faith that He has given us, that we may please Him, and may He give that gift to those who walk by who do not have it yet,

-Turretinfan

UPDATE:

Here's another article dealing with the same issue (link). MT apparently doubted the reality of Christ's physical presence in the Eucharist, which led to doubts about God's existence. It's a natural progression, and one great reason not to continue the false claims that Christ the bread is literally Christ's body.

From the Department of Questionable Diplomacy

Comes this odd entry (link).

UPDATE:
This updated report seems somewhat less troubling (link).

May God grant peace between the (professing) Christian nations of Georgia and Russia.

-Turretinfan

SECOND UPDATE:

Syria tries to pick off an Israeli aircraft. (link)

Incidentally, this approach by the British and Norse is much more sensible (link) (link).

Fallibility of the Senses

Look out, Evidentialists and Quasi-Evidentialists, for this interesting demonstration of the fallibility of the senses. (link).

Thanks be to God for Propositional Revelation,

-Turretinfan

UPDATE:

Some readers seem to think that the example in the link above is a fraud, and that the two tiles are not the same color. For their benefit, I've linked to a second, similar, illusion:
(link), as well as to a further demonstration of the original illusion (link).

Theonomy - Capital Punishment

God justly ordered that the following crimes be punished by death, and consequently it cannot be said that death is an unjust punishment for the following crimes:

Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;


First Commandment – Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me

Forsaking God to Worship Anything Else
Deuteronomy 17:2-5
2If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

Attempted Spiritual Seduction

By Those with Miraculous Gifts (or claims thereof)
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
1If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

By One’s Relatives
Deuteronomy 13:6-11
6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.


Second Commandment – Thou Shalt Not Make unto Thee any Graven Image, or any Likeness of Anything that is in Heaven Above or in Earth Beneath or in the Water Under the Earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a Jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands [of generations] of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Worshipping God in a State of Uncleanness

Approaching the Holy things unworthily
Leviticus 22:3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

Defiling the Tabernacle
Numbers 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

Defiling the Sanctuary
Numbers 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

Exodus 30:17-21
17And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

(Several additional passages could be added regarding the particular of how the high priest and the priests must be appareled, and which families may not enter or do various things, upon pain of death, apparently by the hand of God.)

Eating the Peace Offering Unworthily
Leviticus 7:20-21
20But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 21Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Child Sacrifice (This may also properly fall under the 1st commandment, 3rd commandment, 6th commandment, and/or 5th commandment.)
Leviticus 20:2-5
2Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: 5Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.

Leviticus 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Occult Practices

Actually Practicing the Dark Arts
Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Soliciting the Services of the Practitioners of the Dark Arts (though perhaps this was to be administered by God Himself)
Leviticus 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Failing to Practice the Sacraments (possibly to be administered by God Himself)

Failure to Circumcise One’s Boy (nearly administered by God against Moses)
Genesis 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Failure to Partake of the Passover without excuse
Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Exodus 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Numbers 9:13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

Making Offerings and Sacrifices without Presenting them to God at the appointed place (possibly to be administered by God)
Leviticus 17:3-4
3What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, 4And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:

Leviticus 17:8-9
8And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.


Third Commandment – Thou Shalt not Take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain

Blasphemy
Leviticus 24:10-16
10And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; 11And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) 12And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. 13And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 14Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Profanity of God’s name (Apparently administered by God)
Leviticus 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Contempt of the Law of God / Willful and Presumptious Sin (though perhaps to be administered directly by God)
Numbers 15:30-31
30But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

Eating of a Peace Offering that is Older than Three days (apparently to be administered by God)
Leviticus 19:5-8
5And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. 6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. 8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Eating What is to be Sacrificed to God (apparently to be administered by God)
Leviticus 7:25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.

Eating any kind of Blood / Vampirism (apparently to be administered by God)
Leviticus 7:27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Leviticus 17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

(Those who take a quasi-literal view of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper should be prepared to explain why Jesus commanded his disciples to violate the law, by drinking human blood.)

Trespass on Sinai
Exodus 19:12-13
12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 13There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

Alien Trespass on the Tabernacle Area
Numbers 1:51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Numbers 3:38 But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

(Recall that the Jews falsely accused Paul of this capital offense as applied to the Temple, namely of bringing Greeks into the temple.)

Alien Trespass on the Priestly Office
Numbers 3:10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Numbers 18:7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

False Prophecy
Deuteronomy 18:20-22
20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Mixing the Priestly Duties and Alcohol (Apparently to be administered by God)
Leviticus 10:8-11
8And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, 9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 11And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Making, Using, or Imitating Holy Oil except as Required (possibly to be administered by God)
Exodus 30:22-33
22Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. 30And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. 33Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

Making, Using, or Imitating Incense except as Required (possibly to be administered by God)
Exodus 30:34-38
34And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: 35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: 36And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. 38Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.


Fourth Commandment – Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy, six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates, for in six dayhs the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Sabbath-breaking:

The Weekly Sabbath
Exodus 31:14-15
14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

Numbers 15:32-35
32And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

(As a grammatical matter, note that "soul ... cut off" just means that they died physically.)

The Day of the Atonement
Leviticus 23:27-32
28Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.


Fifth Commandment – Honor thy Father and thy Mother that they days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee

Parent-cursing
Exodus 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Contraparental Rebellion
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Parent Battery
Exodus 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.


Sixth Commandment – Thou Shalt Not Kill

Killing
Leviticus 24:17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 24:21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

Battery resulting in death
Exodus 21:12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

Numbers 35:16-18
16And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:20-21
20But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.

Negligent Homicide by One's Beast
Exodus 21:29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

(note that the beast also gets the death penalty)


Seventh Commandment – Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Prostitution/Strumpetry
Deuteronomy 22:20-21
20But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Contra-Marital Sexual Relations

Adultery with a married woman
Leviticus 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

Leviticus 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.

Fornication with (and by – if consenting) an Engaged woman
Deuteronomy 22:23-24
23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

Incest, to wit Sexual Relationships “Near Kin”
Leviticus 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

Including: Parent
Leviticus 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Including Step-mother
Leviticus 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Including Sister and Half-sister (even if born in another house, with polygamy it would be possible for a half-sister to be born in the same house)
Leviticus 18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

Leviticus 18:11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

(I really question whether the translation / transmission of verse 9 or 11 may be errant. I suspect that verse 11 is conveying that she is to be considered as though she were begotten by one’s father, meaning that sexual relations with no-blood step-sisters would also be prohibited. The LXX does not enlighten the matter, and I would give very little – if any – weight to Jewish traditions regarding the matter.)

Leviticus 20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Including Granddaughters
Leviticus 18:10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.

Including Both Paternal and Maternal Aunts (presumably including the widow of one’s uncle)
Leviticus 18:12-14
12Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. 14Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.

Leviticus 20:19-20
19And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. 20And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

Including Daughters-in-law
Leviticus 18:15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Leviticus 20:12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

Including Sisters-in-law
Leviticus 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

(though there was a "leverite" exception if the brother had died childless)

Including One’s wife’s grandmother, mother, daughter, or granddaughter
Leviticus 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

Including One’s wife’s sister while the wife lives
Leviticus 18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time

Sexual relationship with a woman who is “put apart for her uncleanness” (and having sexual relations when a woman has been so put apart)
Leviticus 18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

Leviticus 20:18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

(A woman of marriageable age would be expected to be “put apart” about one week per month when she was not with child.)

Male Homosexuality
Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Beastiality - both male and female
Exodus 22:19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

Leviticus 20:15-16
15And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

(note that the beast also gets the death penalty)


Eighth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Steal

Kidnapping/Selling Kidnapped Person/Holding Kidnapped Person
Exodus 21:16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.


Ninth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness against thy Neighbor

False Testimony as to a Capital Crime
Deuteronomy 19:16-21
16If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Tenth Commandment – Thou Shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

(No Crimes punishable by death in this category.)

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In contrast, the following are explicitly NOT punishable by death

Being related to a wrong-doer
Deuteronomy 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

Merely Cursing God (though possibly, “shall bear his sin,” should be viewed conjointly rather than disjointly with “shall die” in the following verse)
Leviticus 24:15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

Certain Crimes against Slaves

Seducing one’s engaged slave girl
Leviticus 19:20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

Battery that results in the delayed death of one’s own slave
Exodus 21:20-21
20And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

Battery by one's animal on a slave (apparently, even if the battery results in death of the slave)
Exodus 21:32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

(note, however, that the animal is still to be stoned)

Battery that results in the death of an unborn child (unless the mother also dies)
Exodus 21:22-25
22If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Purely accidental killing
Numbers 35:11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.

Numbers 35:22-23
22But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, 23Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:

Battery (even if it results in death) by one's animal unexpectedly
Exodus 21:28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

(note, however, that the animal receives the death penalty)

Battery that only results in injury, not death
Exodus 21:18-19
18And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: 19If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

Being forced (or seduced in a place where resistance is futile) as a betrothed woman
Deuteronomy 22:25-27
25But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: 26But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: 27For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

Fornication with a single (unmarried and not engaged) woman
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
28If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

(but note that there is a penalty of life marriage without the possibility of divorce)


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The author of the present blog invites comments on, additions to, or subtractions from this list by any reader.

-Turretinfan

Darkness from the North

This article (link) illustrates the reversion from modernism to paganism. The article details how the (former?) princess of Norway intends to create a school to help people get in touch with their "angels." She herself claims to be clairvoyant. I think her formal royal highness (she renounced her title in 2002) put things quite correctly when she said, "I'm glad I wasn't born 200 years ago, because I would surely have been burned at the stake long ago."

-Turretinfan

Infidels attack Other Infidels

Here's the article.

An ancient pagan, demon-worshipping religion against a modern anti-Christian religion of demons. Neither worships the one true God, though both are condemned by their knowledge that God exists and punishes sin.

While the Muslims are sending their soldiers, let us pray that God will send His harvesters to this dark region.

Praise be to the God who created the Sun, and sent His Only-Begotten Son to save,

-Turretinfan

Persecution Update - Brother White

This week, my Christian brother Dr. James White has been under a particular load of persecution from Catholics, who have falsely accused him of various things via a number of Internet outlets such as blogs and chat forums.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why they are attacking Dr. White: he has been a faithful witness to the truth against the Mordorian tower of the Vatican. What more needs to be said? Unable to attack the truth of what he has to say, they have made the issue personal, falsely accusing a Christian many of various character defects.

Take courage, brother White! God has chosen to bless your ministry with resistance by those who oppose the gospel. Call to mind Matthew 5:11-12. This opposition may same hard to bear at this time, but God will reward you in heaven. The brethren know that the accusations of these Catholic persecutors are false, and we recognize the reason why such weaponry is being employed.

Recall how it was employed also against Luther and the other Reformers before us! Has not one of your own Team Apologian recently been documenting various of the false accusations leveled against that prominent preacher?

If they did that then, should you be surprised if the spiritual heirs of the deniers of Sola Fida use similar tactics now? Let us give thanks that God has deprived Rome of the strength to inflict physical persecution on its enemies.

Even more, though, be encouraged to cast off your consideration of the vain babbling of those whose hatred of the truth carries over to hatred of those who preach the truth. If you can, redouble your diligence to shine the light of truth on the accreted darkness of Rome, so that perhaps some may be set free. God knows how many of the elect may be under the oppressive shadow of that regime, and how many true Christians may be deluded by the false claims of that apostate body.

You are part of the light of the world, but men prefer darkness to light. Do not be afraid of their cruelty, but rejoice in the truth, with me

Praising the Creator and Provider of All Things for the Good of the Elect,

-Turretinfan

Thanks Be to the Lord

For Coffee (recalling I Timothy 4:4-5 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.)

A quick comment, though - how many people who drink coffee for its caffeine drink only 8 ounces of coffee at a time?

Don't forget, however, that rest is a blessing from God:

Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

And, should you use coffee, don't try to take away your friend's blessing:

Proverbs 27:14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

And don't use coffee simply for your own pleasure:

Isaiah 5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

-Turretinfan

The Love of God - White on TV

Here's an excellent off-the-cuff presentation in response to an audience question on British television by Reformed Baptists Elder James White (link). Note how shocked the audience member is to hear that God loves even those whom he creates for destruction.

To finish up Dr. White's point, God loves different people in different ways. As we know from other parts of Scripture, "Hate" is typically used to mean "Love less." God hated Esau, but yet God loved Esau: he blessed him with a family and a name that will be remembered. The nation of Edom has been cut off, but Esau had an enormous number of descendants, and many kings were his grandchildren. So, despite the audience member's incredulity, God can love someone and provide them with good things in this life and tolerate their sin for a season, and yet (by comparison) hate them in contrasted to (as Paul puts) the great love (πολλην αγαπην) with which God loved us before the foundation of the earth and consequently sacrificed His own Son for us.

Both are love, but by contrast the former is the hatred of God. Is that truly hard to understand?

-Turretinfan

This Blog's Rating

On a lark, I ran this blog through an automated blog rating program, one linked to by TeamPyro. The result surprised me: the present blog received an NC-17 rating. The apparent source of this rating was the high number of mentions of death, dying, and hell as well as (and perhaps especially) the use of a particular Latin preposition that has a very vulgar (and apparently completely unrelated) use in English.

To confirm, I ran the same analysis on the copy of the book of Isaiah, New Vulgate translation, from the Vatican's website: http://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_vt_isaiae_lt.html

It received the same NC-17 rating. Depending on the sophistication of the rating engine (and I doubt it was very sophisticated at all), I've just further entrenched my rating by linking to such an "obscene" site as the book of Isaiah in the Latin tongue.

Perhaps this blog's new motto should be: "rated the same as a major prophet." In any event, it just goes to show the uselessness of automated mechanisms for making judgments with respect to obscenity.

Pax Dei vobiscum!

-Turretinfan

Persecution Update

Here's Doug Wilson's report (link) on the local persecution of the church in Moscow, Idaho. Incidentally, that is the kind of response one can expect to receive when one preaches loudly against sin in one's community. Wilson may be ignorant or confused regarding the higher level aspects of theology, but his fundamental opposition to sin and his fearless opposition to it are worthy of praise, even in the midst of chiding regarding his theological shortcomings.

Hopefully Wilson will be able to distinguish between those who persecute him for righteousness sake, and those brethren that seek to correct his errant doctrines as they relate to justification and the sacraments.

-Turretinfan

Murder Update

Usually I reserve murder updates for news regarding the murder of unborn people. In this case, however, the victims are Christians being murdered by Muslims.

True martyrs.

Let's hope the American government uses the opportunity presented by the South Korean government (link) to track down and eliminate these infidels. Since the mainstream American media (including the Associated Press) is trying to conceal the religious aspects of this issue, it may be valuable for the curious reader to check out a more balanced report here (link), with a cynical - though not entirely inaccurate - explanation provided on Doug Wilson's blog (link), though not by him.

Big Surprise

On a related matter, the other most public branch of militant Islam, Al-Quaeda, issued a statement that the West should expect a "big surprise" (link). It may be that the Muslims will succeed in killing, maiming, or otherwise causing suffering to even more people - if they do it will not be a big surprise. The world is aware of the activities of the followers of the false prophet.

The big surprise will be on the judgment day for jihadists who believed that their god will forgive their sin gratutiously or because of their service in his name. Only the Most High can forgive sin, and He only forgives those who trust in His Son for salvation. If any Muslims are reading this, I exhort you: do not delay, repent of following the false prophet, confess your sins to the God who created Heaven and Earth, and throw yourself on His mercy, begging Him to be compassionate toward you.

There is no God but the Triune God, and the false prophet of Islam is not His prophet.

May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be praised!

-Turretinfan

P.S. Praise be to the Lord for this heroic victory (link)! And these amazing victories as well (link)!

The Efficacy of Good Works

Jim at Oldtruth.com recently posted a thought provoking article (link) entitled "Am I Doing Enough To Get God To Forgive Me?" (although he posted it, it appears it may have been written by a contributing author)

Jim's (or perhaps Chad's?) message responds to a Roman Catholic view that it is necessary to do something positive (good works/acts of penance or contrition) to counteract the negative (sin) in one's life. The view itself (whether actually the official view of Rome or not, I leave for the reader to decide) is based on a faulty premise, namely that good works and sins are somehow together on the same ledger book.

As discussed in a previous post (link) sin is any failure to follow God's law. In contrast, righteousness is following God's law. If one is to construct a ledger book regarding obedience to the law of God, therefore, sin is a violation and righteousness is no violation.

Thus, from the standpoint of the sin ledger book, any righteous deed is a zero, and any sin is a negative. In the garden, before the fall, Adam was innocent. He had not yet sinned, and consequently, his sin ledger book was zero. Once he sinned, he was negative, and nothing he himself could do could ever restore him to a zero position, because perfect righteousness is required by God.

Nothing that we do can negate the effect of sin, namely guilt. The only negation for the guilt of sin is punishment, either of the sinner himself or of an acceptable substitute. Furthermore, the penalty for any sin is death. Thus, eternal life is beyond the reach of anyone who has any sin to their account.

Objections:

Some may object that, from a moral perspective, there is a difference between sleeping and preaching the gospel. This difference, however, is not based on one being more righteous in ipse than the other. As Solomon wrote, there is a time for everything (Ecclesiates 3:1). There is an appropriate place for both ministry of the Word and sleep in the life of a Christian. Failing to sleep at an appropriate time is vain (Psalm 127:2), and sleeping too much is folly (Proverbs 6:6-11).

Some may object that it is possible to do more than what the law of God requires, and consequently earn positive merits. As to righteousness, the answer to this objection is an emphatic "certainly not." The law of God requires perfect righteousness, as I have discussed in a previous post (link) and consequently it is not possible to be more righteous than one is required to be. Accordingly, one cannot be more righteous than the law of God requires and consequently obtain merit on account of superfluous righteousness.

Others may object that although it is not possible to be more righteous than God requires, it is possible to provide a sacrifice that God will count in place of righteousness. Thus, for example, one may sacrifice one's money, desires, health, or even life. This mindset is not completely new: note how Paul makes oblique reference to it in I Corinthians 13:3.

But the bottom line is this, no amount of personal sacrifice can take away sin. The ordained sacrifices of the Old Testament could not please God so as to take away sin (Hebrews 10:6, 8, and 18). In contrast, Christ by one offering has taken away the guilt of all the sin of his people forever.

God may reward our sacrifices, but not with remission of sin. For remission of sin, only one sacrifice satisfies God, and that is the sacrifice of His Son.

Praise be to our Great High Priest and Mediator.

-Turretinfan

Young Earth Creationism - Not Young

Perhaps the neophyte will find it ironic that Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is the elder of the two branches of Creationism, the younger of the two being Old Earth Creationism (OEC). Once one has even a cursory knowledge of the issue, however, any surprise immediately dissipates.

A plain reading of the Old Testament and the Gospels makes it clear that the world was created supernaturally by God in the space of a week, and more particularly, in six days each consisting of an evening and morning. This event took place less than 10,000 years ago, which we can calculate more or less accurately from geneologies provided, for example, in Genesis 5 and the gospels.

Frankly speaking, there is no reason for anyone who excludes outside information from the Bible to arrive at any other conclusion. The Bible, on its face, is clear. God created the world, he did so in six days, and rested on the seventh day. In celebration of this fact, we observe the week.

Nevertheless, from time to time, weak Christians are tempted to believe the testimony of scientists (and their acolytes) who claim that they have unshakable evidence (some may even claim "proof") that the earth is older than 10,000 years. These Christians, led astray by the lies, deceit, or simply errors of the "science crowd" believe the testimony of the crowd.

Some do so by disbelieving the testimony of Scripture outright: these are the so-called Theistic Evolutionists. They deny that God created man from the dust of the Earth and woman from the rib of man. Others, however, seek to harmonize the Bible somehow to the old earth claims of the science crowd. These are termed Old Earth Creationists. They create novel and sometimes bizarre interpretations of Scripture to try to justify a timeline that holds the universe to be tens of billions of years old, and biological life to be billions of years old.

The detailed rebuttal of the underlying fanciful expositions of Scripture are a subject I hope to take up at another time. For the moment I want to seize upon one of the more sinister and devious approaches that have been made by those who oppose the plain truth of Scripture.

Specifically, some portion of the anti-YEC movement has been spreading lies regarding the age of YEC, claiming that YEC is a 20th century phenomenon. Seizing upon a grain of truth, namely that one of the foremost advocates for young earth creationism in the 20th century was a Seventh Day Adventist, dishonests oponents of young earth creationism have attempted to claim that it was never the view of Christians before the 20th century that the world had been created only recently.

Amazingly, some professing Christians in the 21st century have actually come to believe these lies. Let us put the lies to rest once and for all.

A few clear examples should suffice:

1. Theophilus of Antioch (3rd Century A.D.) dated the Creation at BC 5509.
2. Julius Africanus (ca. 225 A.D.) dated the Creation at BC 5500.
3. Ephraem Syrus (died 378 A.D.) - adopted LXX Creation date of 5508 and accused the Jews of subtracting 600 years to avoid the conclusion that the Christ had come.
4. James Ussher (died 1656 A.D.) - dated the Creation at BC 4004.
5. William Hales (ca. 1809) - dated the Creation at BC 5411
6. Henry Fynes Clinton (ca. 1824) - dated the Creation at BC 4138

The first (that I have been able to identify) that attempts to make the world older than the Bible indicates is

Martin Anstey, in his 1913 book "The Romance of Bible Chronology." He calculates man's creation at BC 4042. Mr. Anstey, however, asserts that a gap is to be found between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis. This gap is potentially of a great length of time, and the reason for it's appearance is obvious: Darwin's "Origin of Species" (First Edition 1859) had become wildly popular (launching from the platform built by Lamarck who died 1829), and in order to cowtow to the science crowd, it was necessary to avoid the first four chapters of Genesis. Accordingly, Anstey begins his chronology with Adam at Genesis 5, and essentially writes off the historical value of the account of the first week. The theory was not entirely new to Anstey, having been invented earlier by Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), with essentially the same obvious motivation, though to Lamarckian, rather than strictly Darwinian, Evolutionism.

Today, the idea that man was created less than 10,000 years ago is out of vogue with the science crowd, and consequently the gap theory of OEC is no longer widely popular. Even the other school of OEC, the day-age (alone) crowd, is no longer very popular, mostly because the science crowd will not agree that all of humanity descended from a single pair of human ancestors who lived less than 10,000 years ago.

Instead, we see modified old earth creationists holding to ever more erratic views of the text of Scripture, as they attempt to remain popular with the scientific crowd.

Another group has simply given up: their motto is, "There is scientific truth and religious truth, and the two are in different worlds." This is nonsense and confusion. There is only one truth. The Bible reveals that truth to us clearly and testimonially. If foolish scientists derive a conclusion at variance with the revealed truth of Scripture, it is that scientist who is in error.

But perhaps all that can wait for another day.

For now it suffices to say that OEC is essentially new. There are some scattered passages from the fathers that are sometimes pressed into service to attempt to show an older age for the earth, but this distortion is vain.

Perhaps we ought, like the monks who copied Scripture in the middle ages, to date our writings absolutely in testimony to the doctrine of Creation, rather than in testimony to the doctrine of the Incarnation.

If so, then we should consider this to have been written July of 7015 (if we adopt the LXX's chronology).

May the Glory of our Creator-God be praised in this 8th (or however many) millenia of His reign over the Earth!

-Turretinfan

Worthy of Note - Turretin on Discipline

"[E]xcommunication is the rod of a pious mother over a bad son, whom she does not therefore regard as not a son because she whips him, but chastises him severely that he may reform and not cease to be a son altogether."

- Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Fifteenth Topic, Question XVI, Section XL (page 613 of Volume 2, in Giger's translation as recently published)

Original Latin: Excommunicatio est flagellum piae Matris in pravum filium, quem non quia flagellat, ideo habet pro non filia, sed castigat graviter, ut emendet, ne fiat omnino non filius.

We, in this modern age of moral decay, should not be surprised to see that both church and family discipline have been corrupted similarly, such that in churches where severe discipline for the restoration of children is not (or rarely) practiced, severe discipline for the restoration of congregants is not (or rarely) practiced.

The parallel remains, though the Refomers would condemn our generations for failing to heed the Word of God as it pertains to discipline, both ecclesiastical and parental.

-Turretinfan

Is it even worth mentioning? Sippo Update

Sippo in three recent posts:

(a) connects Lutheranism and National Socialism (Do you really want a link?);
(b) thinks his question "Was the Good Samaritan saved?" has an answer other than, "The Good Samaritan was not a real person." (link for those who doubt that Sippo would actually call that answer "a dishonest excuse."); and
(c) denies that the first and great commandment (upon which hangs all the law and prophets) is meant literally (link in which Sippo attaches the adverb "crassly" to the adjective "literal": particularly ironic when you consider his view of the Eucharist), in order to avoid admitting the obvious, namely that we all always fall short of perfect obedience to the great commandment.

-Turretinfan

The Simple Gospel - Four Suggestions

The Simple Gospel

Advice for Parents and Evangelists

In recent dialogue with an internet friend of mine, who goes by the handle Doveflight, I was reminded of the need to express the gospel in clear, understandable (but correct) terms to those who listen.


DoveFlight wrote:

I am finding myself stumbling all over how to explain to my children salvation faith without saying the words "make a decision." I have presented the gospel many times before my 'reformation' but now can't seem to find the right words in correlation with God's election.

My first two suggestions to parents and evangelists are these:


1. Keep it Simple: the discussion of the issue of election is not a simply issue that should necessarily come up in every presentation of the gospel. While it may come up in some gospel presentation, and especially if someone has mistaken ideas about the strength of their sin to separate them from God, nevertheless, in most cases, the glorious truth of individual election is more properly classified as meat than milk, and is something that believers should be grateful for, not something that convicted sinners should be fretting about.


2. Keep it Real: don't try to suggest that it is a choice, because it is not a free choice: God is applying the most powerful possible coercive, eternal punishment. You'd have to be incredibly stupid or insane to refuse God's "offer" once you realize the reality of your predicament. It's not so much an offer as a command: "Worship Me!" says God, "Or Die!"



DoveFlight continued:

Anyway, the best I can come up with is repent of your sins, believe Christ alone is the answer and confess Him as your Lord and Savior.

DoveFlight's solution is very Biblical, after all that's the very message Christ preached: "Repent and Believe!"


That's my third suggestion to parents and evangelists (including missionary-evangelists):


3. Keep it Biblical: preach Repentence and Faith


If you're looking for other ways to express it:

• Acknowledge the guilt of your sins to God and trust in the Son for mercy.
• Turn from your evil and worship the living God.
• Confess your wrong-doings, and cast yourself upon Him.

Another Internet poster, TheoJunkie, whose site is linked over on the left, chimed in:

Terms like "turn from evil" and "repent" have gone the way of "evangelical" and "born again" in meaning (that is, they may or may not mean what you meant for them to mean (more likely not), depending on the ears they fall on).

TJ makes a great point, and this leads me to my fourth suggestion:


4. Keep it Clear: try to avoid using terms that are laden with connotation that will confuse, and stick with unambiguous words, especially if they contradict the person's preconceptions. If the person has been fed a steady diet of pluralism, make it clear that God's name is Jealous: He demands to be worshipped alone, and that he declares that all the other gods are dumb idols, the works of mens imagiantions and hands, or else demons. If the person has been fed a diet of works-righteousness, point out the requirement of perfect obedience, and the consequent impossibility of doing works of supererogation.

After all, the key is to convey what you mean - that can mean not speaking in Latin to Americans nor in baggage-laden terminology to post-modern pluralalists. With that in mind, you might be able to make the alternative expressions above even plainer by adding more words:

Admit to God (and yourself) that you have broken God's law, and deserve eternal punishment for (each of) those violations; beg God for mercy[, and learn to loathe breaking the law of God, because you know it offends Him (not because you can ever make the violations right yourself)].

I put the last part in brackets, not because it should be omitted, but to point out that sanctification is not a part of justification.

I would love to hear what other suggestions readers may have for relatively simple, real, Biblical, and clear expressions of the Gospel message.

May our Holy and Just God be praised in the Glory of His Excellency!

-Turretinfan

Sin: any failure to perfectly follow God's law

What is Sin?

Sin is any failure to perfectly follow God's law.

Sin, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.

The Westminster Larger Catechism slightly expands and clarifies, by stating that sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.

The Westminster Confession of Faith treats the matter implicitly: "Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, does in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal."

The first twenty questions of the Heidelberg Catechism (link) do a great job of discussing sin, its effect, and its cure. In fact, any Roman Catholic who concerns Reformed Theology to be in error should be prepared to respond to those twenty questions and answers.

Why belabor this point? Because there are certain folks running around these days claiming that sin is only voluntary violation of the law of God: i.e. that only conscious, volitional infractions are sins, namely that one can only sin by choosing to sin.

Before we prove that point, it is important to point out the voluntary, intentional sins are still sins and they are particularly heinous sins. We will return to this in a moment.

The moral law of God, as summarily comprehended (i.e. summarized) in the ten commandments, does not include a "volitional" component, especially as some of its commands are positive. More especially, the most famous summary of the moral law:

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Quoted here:

Matthew 22:35-40
35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Both of these are phrased positively, namely by stating what we must do, not what we are forbidden to do. Failure to do what are supposed to do can be attributed to many factors, but it should be readily apparent that one can fall short of loving God or of loving one's neighbor without voluntary act: in fact, failure to act may itself be a violation of the law of God, where loving God or one's neighbor requires action.

A second argument against a requirement that sin be positively voluntary are the references to sins of ignorance in Scripture:

Numbers 15:28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

Deuteronomy 19:4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

1 Timothy 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

The first verse identified above makes it clear that sins done in ignorance are still sins, are still in need of atonement, and consequently are something that can be forgiven. The second verse shows the breadth of ignorant sin, in that it encompasses the unintentional. The third verse provides confirmation that sins of ignorance are still justly to be punished, and that mercy is the way of escape from punishment for such sins.

Some may object that sins are described as willing or willful (Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, ). It should be understood, however, that willing sin is more heinous than done in ignorance, thus premeditated killing (punished by execution) is more serious than accidental killing (punished by exile to a city of refuge). Thus, some sins are more heinous than others, with willful sins being more heinous than ignorant sins.

Perfection

One non-Calvinist poster named "FreeGrace" has challenged not that God prohibits sin, but has suggested that God does not require perfect obedience. On the contrary, yes, God requires perfect obedience.

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Deuteronomy 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

-Turretinfan