Gary deals with an argument making the rounds on social media about Biblical Law. He points out that it’s very similar to the “borrowed capital” argument that atheists rely on to make their own case. Scripture does not present the law-covenant as fundamentally opposed to the grace of the New Covenant. For example, consider Hebrews 3-4. According to New Testament theology, why was [...]
Oliver Thomas, a retired Baptist minister, wrote that “American churches must reject literalism and admit we got it wrong on gay people.” It appeared in USA Today where he is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors. He wrote something similar in 2006 article asking the following question: “What if Christian leaders are wrong about homosexuality?” His later article was similar but with an add [...]
Gary discusses an article about the upcoming presidential election and the fatigue about the entire process being experienced by the majority of voters. There are problems with some kinds of circular arguments. But you might be surprised to know that you can’t help arguing in a circle. At some point, everyone has to argue in a circle. Why? Because everyone has certain assumptions. No one is neutra [...]
Gary interacts with Carl Trueman’s newest books about “expressive individualism” and the modern “truth” of the interior self. The greatest offense to the unbeliever is the Christian’s insistence that there is only one truth. The statement that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only light seems rather closed-minded. For secularists, it seems reasonable tha [...]
Gary responds to a video where a woman is raging against Christians and the Bible. In applying all the Bible to all of life, those “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) must have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” so they can rightly understand God’s Word and the world He created for our use (1 Cor. 1:18–25). The “heart of stone” must be removed and replaced with a “heart of flesh,” that is, a he [...]
In this encore episode from a couple of years back, Gary discusses the impossibility of a “neutral” law system. Constitutional scholar Archie Jones argues there is no way to escape legislating morality: Every system of government exists to produce or enforce certain laws, and every law necessarily entails a set of moral assumptions. All morality—even that which is usually supposed to b [...]
In an earlier article and podcast, I responded to a Facebook Post related to the application of God’s law in the NT, including laws found in what is described as the “law of Moses,” actually God’s law. The Mosaic Law is God’s Law that was revealed to Moses. The FB poster went on to write the following: [Gary DeMar] also believes [God’s laws] should be legislated in secular government. There is no [...]
Gary responds to an individual that claims Torah law no longer applies to Christians. Christian Reconstructionist writers revived the older expression of world-and-life-view Calvinism and added the particulars of the Genevan and Puritan models. The revival of this particular expression of world-and-life-view Calvinism has not set well with the critics. As long as Reformed churches were preaching t [...]
I saw the following on a Facebook post indirectly aimed at me. “It frustrates me when people insist that the New Covenant has Torah requirements, i.e., that we are still under the law. Paul pitted law against grace. Grace is not the adapter that connects us to the law; it actually frees us from that slavemaster. We don’t live by an external force like the law; rather, we live by an internal nature [...]
In his book The Population Bomb, first published in 1968, the year I graduated from high school, Paul R. Ehrlich made several predictions about the future of our planet based on his understanding of population growth and food supplies. Ehrlich’s projections were not new. Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), a British political economist and mathematician, proposed that population growth would outstr [...]
According to Richard Dawkins, our “selfish genes” don’t have a moral compass. They are like the Terminator. Their only goal is to survive and replicate and pity the poor organism that stands in their way. Michael Ruse and Edward O. Wilson contend that “We need something to spur us against our usual selfish dispositions. Nature, therefore, has made us (via the rules) believe in a disintereste [...]
Dr. Gary North concludes this talk about the importance and historic significance of the Scopes Trial and William Jennings Bryan. Christians do not object to freedom of speech; they believe that Biblical truth can hold its own in a fair field. They concede the right of ministers to pass from belief to agnosticism or atheism, but they contend that they should be honest enough to separate themselves [...]
In terms of Christian theory, privatization means that the grand, global umbrella of faith has shrunk to the size of a plastic rain hat. Total life norms have become part-time values. In terms of Christian practice, watch your average Christian business person or politician. Are there family prayers at home before leaving for work? The private sphere. Are there Bible studies with colleagues at the [...]
Gary responds to a claim on Facebook that the Law has been fulfilled in Jesus (true), so we no longer need it (untrue). The continuing authority of God’s law today is inherent to a biblically based theology. Time does not change or wear out the validity of God’s commands, and a change of geography or locality does not render them ethically irrelevant. With the coming of the New Covenant and the sp [...]
Gary DeMar talks with Dr. Gary North about the need for Christians to take action. (Part One of Three) We have been given both a dynamic of history and a tool of dominion. We have done our best to ignore them both. We have, especially in the last hundred years, retreated from both in the name of “Christian liberty,” or “separation from the world.” But such an approach is doomed to defeat. [...]
There was no whining allowed when I was growing up. My father served in World War II. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He survived. He served in Korea. He survived but at great cost. After a mortar attack, he lost his right leg above the knee. He almost never complained about his situation, but you know it was a source of regret and what ifs. There was no whining or “woe is me” at our h [...]
Gary discusses several recent new stories surrounding sex, gender, and ideology. Once ethical norms become arbitrary, we can expect the dismantling of long-standing Christian familial relationships like marriage and heterosexuality. Radical feminist Gloria Steinem once described marriage as an institution that destroys relationships. “I don’t think marriage has a good name,” she wrote in 1987. “Le [...]
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a website designer who refused to design a site for a same-sex wedding. She was sued. The case went to the Supreme Court where the 6-3 ruling upset the usual suspects. It’s not enough to tolerate the LGBTQ+ mafia, you must be forced to support it or lose your business if you don’t comply. There are many other examples. Here’s a short list from ten years ago in T [...]
In this first part of a lecture given at a Worldview Conference a few years ago, Gary discusses legacy and responsibility. The church is a government ordained by God. It has rulers (overseers/elders: 1 Tim. 3:1–7), members (flock: Acts 20:28), laws (goodness of God’s law: 1 Tim. 1:5–11), sanctions (“removed from your midst”: 1 Cor. 5:2), and a legacy (“the gates of Hades will not overpower it”: Ma [...]
Technology is a double-edged sword. Like anything it can be used for good or evil. Nuclear material can build weapons or power plants. Lasers can kill or cure. Recently I had some retina tears that were fixed with a laser. Cataracts are also being remedied with lasers. We’re all concerned about chemicals being sprayed on food for pest and weed control. A non-chemical solution is coming. Farmers in [...]
