This is why it’s important to study history and read older Christian writings on society. C.S. Lewis wrote of some similar stuff about the young Christians in his day who had very similar views on national repentance, the same we see today with the Every Child Matters and Black Lives Matter movement.
He made a point that man has a habit of not repenting for his real sins but finds himself attracted to repent of imaginary ones (for being white) or ones made by his neighbours (that is his government).
What I see is a child who enjoys rebuking his parents, though in reality he has not been a good son.
Obviously there is something wrong with society that people feel the need to stop the freedom of movement for others in order to make a statement about their personal convictions. There’s a problem with this society that is very obvious. We are quick to band together to point out the sins of the government but not our own. The sin of not loving our neighbours and instead loving ourselves and in some cases our families over our neighbours who are also made in God’s image.
Some even jump on the bandwagon of conspiracies. It becomes almost attractive to believe in any conspiracy, an invisible sphere of evil that is conspiring to take away their freedoms. A readiness to suspect evil.
Nothing is so earnestly to be wished by certain powers than a growing desire for a Christian ‘front’, a real assault by Christianity on the politics of the world. Seeing the world fall around them and the aggressive liberal assault on the church, family and society as a whole. We must be aware of this as Christians to rightly divide the truth from conspiracy.
Deeply convinced and anxious to preserve the claims of God from any infringement by those of Caesar, they only see democracy and man-made constitutions as their only hope of Christian freedom.
Progressive Christianity represents a post-modern theological approach, developed out of the Liberal Christianity of the modern era, which was rooted in enlightenment thinking.
It is characteristized by a strong emphasis on social justice with a focus on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance, often through political activism. Though prominent, the movement is by no means the only significant movement of progressive thought among Christians.
The concerns of feminism are also a major influence on the movement, as expressed in feminist and womanist theologies. Currently the LGBTQ community's concerns of acceptance are a focus point for the group.
What is problematic is most progressive Christians are moral relativists. They are generally loose on their views of theology. They hold onto Jesus' love but try to make Jesus more palettable for the culture. They believe that Christianity needs to progress and change and adjust its morals and beliefs to survive to the times.
In principle, it consists of evolutionary thinking and deconstructs; critically dismantling and opposing traditional theology, language, and logic of literary text, expositing nihilism and frivolous skepticism.
Some secularists argue the problem with the world is nationalism. They may argue that nationalism causes division and we are all human beings and politics just draws imaginary lines to divide us. They may argue that nationalism is just like rooting for your team and when you get great players on your team you get riled up and it's like we are going back to our "tribal instincts".
I would argue that it's not about tribalism. It's not this barbaric caveman mentality based on evolution. All of history men were not dumber than the previous generation, history just shows the progression of human technology. Technology has advanced as it always has. Men were geniuses all throughout history. We can't look back at history and just think it's wrong because we know better now. Technology has progressed, that's all. We've developed new ways to do things to improve our way of life, to make it more convenient. But I would argue that we've been just as sinful as any generation, or any empire before us.
But I digress, the point I want to make is that in a biblical perspective, the only way to tear down boarders is to see things through God's eyes. But this only works if you believe in the God of the Bible. No other god can give you this perspective, only the God of the Bible can. If we are all children of God then we don't have nationalism. Our citizenship doesn't belong on earth. It is not restrained to man made laws and borders. Yes, God does establish the Kings and leaders of this world, but as Christians we love each other no matter the passport. We don't put our nationality over our heavenly citizenship. We are stewards of this earth together. All men and women are one family with one Father. We are brothers and sisters under God. Not by a nation's declaration or constitution. We belong to God. We belong to Jesus Christ.
Did God choose the elect because of His mercy? Or did He choose the elect to display His sovereignty?
Supralapsarianism is the belief that God chose the elect before He decided to create the universe, man and the fall.
Infralapsarianism is the belief that God chose the elect after the creation of the universe, man and the fall.
Supralapsarianism (Before the fall)
Infralapsarianism (After the fall)
The Supralapsarian position might have God’s sovereignty uppermost in one's mind.
The Infralapsarian position might have God’s mercy uppermost in one's mind.
Christalogical-supralapsarianism would be a position that the last thing that will happen in Heaven, the consummation of the union of all believers to Christ was what He had intended in mind at the very beginning. The end of all God’s decrees. Simply the glory of Jesus Christ.
There is perhaps no more hotly debated issue in the church today than the issue of women serving as pastors. As a result, it is very important to not see this issue as men versus women. There are women who believe women should not serve as pastors and that the Bible places restrictions on the ministry of women, and there are men who believe women can serve as pastors and that there are no restrictions on women in ministry. This is not an issue of chauvinism or discrimination. It is an issue of biblical interpretation.
The Word of God proclaims, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11–12). In the church, God assigns different roles to men and women. This is a result of the way mankind was created and the way in which sin entered the world (1 Timothy 2:13–14). God, through the apostle Paul, restricts women from serving in roles of teaching and/or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors over men, which definitely includes preaching to them, teaching them publicly, and exercising spiritual authority over them.
There are many objections to this view of women in pastoral ministry. A common one is that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, 1 Timothy 2:11–14 nowhere mentions educational status. If education were a qualification for ministry, then the majority of Jesus’ disciples would not have been qualified. A second common objection is that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching men (1 Timothy was written to Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus). Ephesus was known for its temple to Artemis, and women were the authorities in that branch of paganism—therefore, the theory goes, Paul was only reacting against the female-led customs of the Ephesian idolaters, and the church needed to be different. However, the book of 1 Timothy nowhere mentions Artemis, nor does Paul mention the standard practice of Artemis worshipers as a reason for the restrictions in 1 Timothy 2:11–12.
A third objection is that Paul is only referring to husbands and wives, not men and women in general. The Greek words for “woman” and “man” in 1 Timothy 2could refer to husbands and wives; however, the basic meaning of the words is broader than that. Further, the same Greek words are used in verses 8–10. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger and disputing (verse 8)? Are only wives to dress modestly, have good deeds, and worship God (verses 9–10)? Of course not. Verses 8–10 clearly refer to all men and women, not just husbands and wives. There is nothing in the context that would indicate a narrowing to husbands and wives in verses 11–14.
Yet another objection to this interpretation of women in pastoral ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament. It is true that these women were chosen by God for special service to Him and that they stand as models of faith, courage, and, yes, leadership. However, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue of pastors in the church. The New Testament Epistles present a new paradigm for God’s people—the church, the body of Christ—and that paradigm involves an authority structure unique to the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.
Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla’s name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more prominent in ministry than her husband. Did Priscilla and her husband teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to Apollos? Yes, in their home they “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). Does the Bible ever say that Priscilla pastored a church or taught publicly or became the spiritual leader of a congregation of saints? No. As far as we know, Priscilla was not involved in ministry activity in contradiction to 1 Timothy 2:11–14.
In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a “deacon” (or “servant”) in the church and is highly commended by Paul. But, as with Priscilla, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Phoebe was a pastor or a teacher of men in the church. “Able to teach” is given as a qualification for elders, but not for deacons (1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9).
The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11–14makes the reason why women cannot be pastors perfectly clear. Verse 13 begins with “for,” giving the “cause” of Paul’s statement in verses 11–12. Why should women not teach or have authority over men? Because “Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived” (verses 13–14). God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a “helper” for Adam. The order of creation has universal application in the family (Ephesians 5:22–33) and in the church.
The fact that Eve was deceived is also given in 1 Timothy 2:14 as a reason for women not serving as pastors or having spiritual authority over men. This does not mean that women are gullible or that they are all more easily deceived than men. If all women are more easily deceived, why would they be allowed to teach children (who are easily deceived) and other women (who are supposedly more easily deceived)? The text simply says that women are not to teach men or have spiritual authority over men because Eve was deceived. God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church.
Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, evangelism, and helping/serving. Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men. The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15).
God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case). It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3–5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors to men. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them.
Remove All Pleasures Temporarily ("You're Grounded")
Just because a child is well-behaved, it doesn’t necessarily mean he has self-discipline. Self-disciplined kids can choose to refrain from immediate gratification. They can make good choices regardless of how they feel.
Kids who have self-discipline can cope with uncomfortable emotions in a healthy way. They’ve learned anger management skills and are able to control impulsive behaviour. They can respond respectfully when adults correct them and they can take responsibility for their behaviour.
The more self-disciplined your child becomes, the less discipline he'll need from you. When your child accepts responsibility for their own behaviour, you won't need to use as many negative consequences. Instead, you'll be able to focus on teaching your child new skills and building a healthy relationship.
God is free. God is not conditioned by anything other than himself. He permits good things to happen with divine pleasure and enduement, as well as evil things. But God is self-determined either way. Does this mean that God is free to approve sin? By no means! God is not free to be unloving, unwise, to ignore hard facts of reality, to be unfaithful to what is or ought to be, to be uncompassionate or unmerciful. God cannot deny Himself and His own character. He is free to be Himself--His personal, eternal, living, intellectual, ethical, emotional, volitional self.
