Social Philosophy: Property: Information Rights

Here is an excellent essay by Vern Poythress that deals with intellectual property from the perspective of God's law and common sense. Thanks to a commentator on Mark Horne's blog who left the link.

I like this phrase that describes our modern US culture:

"...the government is using bad laws to subsidize monopolists."

This one phrase demonstrates the problem of living in a Fascist-Oligarchy, which is what our government has devolved into from the ideals of a Republic.

Theology (the Prince of the Sciences): Credenda: Federal Vision 002

I have just completed reading of the first essay in the book, Federal Vision, entitled "Covenant and Election" by John Barach. In this essay, Mr. Barach explores the relationship between covenant and election (thus the title). The big concern for the writer is the pastoral concern for the church member who is struggling with questions like these: "Am I elect? How do I know? Can I really be confident of these things?" And he also wants to address the others who just view election as another theological subject to study, polish, and put back on the shelf. I recommend reading the essay in its entirety to get the whole treatment of the subject.

Lest I find myself compelled to write an essay on the subject myself, I will just confine myself to a few observations and quotes from the essay.

Here is something that caught my eye:
(from p.31-32 of the above mentioned book)

We need to hold three things together as we think about the relationship between covenant and election.

First, God has eternally predestined an unchanging number of people out of the whole world to eternal glory with Christ. We read that from Genesis 1:1 on. We know that from Ephesians 1:11: God "works all things after the counsel of His will."

Second, God's covenant includes some who have been so predestined to eternal glory with Christ, but it also includes others who have not been predestined to eternal glory with Christ but who will apostatize.

Third, God addresses His people as a whole, and that includes each one in the covenant, head for head, as His elect. That is the big issue we need to think through. God, in the Bible, through His prophets and apostles, addresses His people publicly as elect, as chosen.

Now the big question is this: May we speak the language of Scripture? May pastors address their congregations the way Moses and the Psalms and Peter and Paul do, the way that God does? Or maybe the bigger question is this: May we do anything but? Shall we not learn from Scripture how congregations are to be addressed?

If we try to do our theologizing and our pastoring and our speaking to God's people from the perspective of God's eternal predestination we run into all kinds of difficulties with the way God speaks in Scripture. We start to think that God shouldn't talk the way He does, and we don't want to talk that way either.

We are uncomfortable sometimes saying to our churches or to members of our churches or to our children, "God chose you." But God speaks that way. We are uncomfortable sometimes saying to them, "Jesus died for your sins." We start to reason that Jesus died for the full and final salvation of those and those only whom God has predestined to eternal glory in Christ and we don't know with infallible certainty that this child, this church member, this congregation has been predestined.

If we try to work from the perspective of God's eternal predestination, we have trouble saying things to the flesh-and-blood people in our churches that Peter and Paul and the other writers of Scripture had no trouble saying to the churches they addressed.

If we try to do our theologizing, our pastoring, our preaching from the perspective of what God has hidden, on the basis of the secret things of His predestination, we discover that we have a hard time applying not only the promises but also the warnings of Scripture to the real flesh-and-blood people in the pews.

To illustrate how one should preach a passage of scripture such that the emphasis is God's emphasis, I link here the sermon that first gave offense to the departing elder.

My pastor's Sunday evening sermon on the topic of Federal Vision is fairly clear (at least from the middle road position on the issue), and gives an explanation that makes me wonder why the departing gentleman had to do the "I'll take my toys and go home" approach. But we must all love our brothers even if they are mistaken.

We'll have to wait until the sermon is posted on my church's web site so that I can link to it here. When the sermon is posted I'll make an entry linking to it.

Novo Visum.
Neue Ansicht.

Social Philosophy: Cold War Memory: Nena's song

For those of us who grew up during the (supposedly) final part of the Cold war until everyone began to believe that it was over, I quote here a song that still has a message for today:

Hast Du etwas Zeit für mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Denkst Du vielleicht grad' an mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Und dass sowas von sowas kommt

99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hielt man fuer UFOs aus dem All
Darum schickte ein General
Eine Fliegerstaffel hinterher
Alarm zu geben, wenn es so war
Dabei war da am Horizont
Nur 99 Luftballons

99 Duesenjaeger
Jeder war ein grosser Krieger
Hielten sich fuer Captain Kirk
Das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft
Und fuehlten sich gleich angemacht
Dabei schoss man am Horizont
Auf 99 Luftballons

99 Kriegsminister
Streichholz und Benzinkanister
Hielten sich fuer schlaue Leute
Witterten schon fette Beute
Riefen: Krieg und wollten Macht
Mann, wer haette das gedacht
Dass es einmal soweit kommt
Wegen 99 Luftballons

99 Jahre Krieg
Liessen keinen Platz fuer Sieger
Kriegsminister gibt es nicht mehr
Und auch keine Duesenflieger
Heute zieh ich meine Runden
Seh die Welt in Truemmern liegen
Hab' nen Luftballon gefunden
Denk' an Dich und lass' ihn fliegen

Following is the English translation of the song (which I happen to think is not as good as it could be--perhaps later I'll do my own translation):

You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got.
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone.
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message, Something's out there.
Floating in the summer sky.
99 red balloons go by.

99 red balloons
floating in the summer sky.
Panic bells, it's red alert.
There's something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky,
Where 99 red balloons go by.

99 Decision Street.
99 ministers meet.
To worry, worry, super-scurry.
Call the troops out in a hurry.
This is what we've waited for.
This is it boys, this is war.
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by.

99 Knights of the air
Ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a superhero.
Everyone's a Captain Kirk.
With orders to identify.
To clarify and classify.
Scramble in the summer sky.
As 99 red balloons go by.

99 dreams I have had;
In every one a red balloon.
It's all over and I'm standing pretty
In this dust that was a city.
If I could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here.
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go.

[bold emphasis mine]

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
ESV, Rev. 8:8-10.

Theology (the Prince of the Sciences): Credenda: Federal Vision 001

I am entering the discussion of "Federal Vision" with great trepidation. From brief data scans of the blogosphere, it appears that much more heat has been generated than light. So I have to set aside my reading of literature to deal with the issue. Therefore, to begin my study of the controversy, I am reading the book, Federal Vision, ed. by Steve Wilkins & Duane Garner (ISBN 0-9753914-0-2). This book is a collection of essays by various modern Reformed Christian theologians and ministers on various topics of theology from the bible as they relate to the Reformed tradition. I am also reading the wikipedia article on Federal Vision mainly for the bibliography.

It is ironic that one of the things, the primacy of reason over emotion, that has drawn me to this tradition within Christianity is sadly lacking in many pundits and pillars of the church. I hope to avoid this by studying directly the essays of the proponents of what is broad stroked the Federal Vision and then comparing their positions with Scripture. I have only just begun, but from what I have read thus far, there is no reason to "freak & peak". I just don't understand the ridiculous visceral emotional reaction of otherwise reasonable men; what a sad day for a small branch of Christianity that cannot afford to be divisive.

So, I will post a few observations of my study of this topic when I have time. And then hopefully we can get back to some more wholesome topics like the literature of the English language, etc.

Novo Visum
Neue Ansicht

Personal Update: general

We've been going through some changes in our family. Sam just turned 17 years old and it is quite apparent (no details necessary) that I have failed as a father. That and my many other sins have only emphasized how much I am counting on Christ's redemption. The only thing that will allow me to survive judgment day is Jesus' blood cleansing me.

I have just started Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" in my literary group, and I am finding it to be an excellent novel. I haven't had time to post my observations about it, but I am glad that I am reading it closer now. In my American Literature class in high school, we covered this novel, but I just watched the movie and read Cliff's notes. I missed so much by not having read the book at the time, but at least now I can really 'get into it'.