Conflict
November/December 2012
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This is the prophecy of Zechariah. It is a prophecy not only concerning Jerusalem, but concerning the church today; a prophecy that is not a finished word because it had its first fulfillment in Jerusalem. It has its fulfillment now in terms of the church. Why? Because the church is, again, in the depths while the whole world seems to lie at ease, satisfied that it is in power and that history is in the hands of men, not in the hands of God, so that their only question is, which group of men will determine the future?
This is the hardest step in managing conflict: getting people who have cut themselves off from each other to be willing to be vulnerable and open again—husbands with wives, members with other members, etc. We are not talking about merely being civil to one another. People who are alienated can still be civil and smile and be pleasant to each other. But genuine reconciliation requires that we be willing to have hearts opened. And that’s hard.
James Jordan and Christian Reconstructionist leader Gary North disagree with R. J. Rushdoony’s understanding of the head tax as a civil tax. In Part 2 of this three-part series published in the last issue of FFAOL, I laid out my initial critique of their position. I resume a Biblical assessment of their rejection of the Biblical civil tax in this final article, with a view to firmly anchoring this crucial concept against well-intended but misguided assaults so that we might finally apply the Word of God rather than continuing to neglect it to our own hurt.
In my travels as a “circuit riding” homeschooling mentor and lecturer, I have observed that the institution of the family, by God’s design, is like a well-made machine. Nothing that man has devised serves the function of nurture and care better than this building block of society. The family, however, just like a finely engineered car, needs a tune-up now and again. Failing to do the necessary upkeep will produce a God-ordained institution that functions poorly. There are telling signs that adjustments are in order.
The authors’ purpose is to teach churches how to protect themselves from being sued if they try to exert church discipline. Actually, what lawyers Renaud and Weinberger are doing is informing pastors and elders that they can, and sometimes should, exert church discipline.
On more than one occasion a Christian brother has told me that the Kingdom of God is not a reality for today. Rather, it is the great hope of the future. Often this is followed with an empirical argument: "if Christ was ruling now, would it look like this?" Surely the evil and rampant unbelief in the world disprove the present reality of the Kingdom.