God, Law & Liberty Podcast

What in Scripture about who God is might be learned from the national election results, and what that might mean going forward for those who profess the name of Jesus Christ?

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In today's episode, David explains why he thinks Abraham Kuyper, the 19th and early 20th century theologian who became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, would say that Calvinists, in particular, and Protestants, in general, have largely failed Americans in the sphere of politics and failed those who would be our legal and public policy advocates. Thankfully, Protestants can't shoot the real messenger because Kuyper died in 1920!

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In today's episode, David explains how he misread and applied Proverbs 13:24 (KJV) -- “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people -- and how Jesus Christ was a stumbling block to a righteous view of law during much of his career in legal and political advocacy.

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This short episode passes on what David wrote coming out of his study and prayer time this morning. It is for any who might find fear, worry, or doubt creeping into their thinking about something — anything, really. Maybe even the outcome of the upcoming elections? He see lots of that in the Tennessee part of the so-called Bible-belt right now. It is based, ironically, on the beauty of Christ underlying Romans 8:7 (KJV) “[T]he carnal mind is ENMITY AGAINST GOD: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

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Today David explains why law, rightly understood, becomes a beautiful form of art when rightly applied to politics, law, and public policy advocacy. He also shows how Christians have been taken captive by what he calls the "dark arts" of law. Which one will you be taking into the voting booth?

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Today's episode has two parts. In the first, David uses Abraham Kuyper's description of the four worldview that can apply to politics and law and David summarizes the fifth, nihilism. In the second part, David explains the nature of the worldview capitulation being made by many Catholics and Evangelicals in law and public policy. It not only explains why he expects little "gospel fruitfulness" to come from that sphere, but it may help listeners evaluate candidates for the upcoming election cycle. 

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With mid-term elections on the horizon, David provides a sobering assessment of his 12 years as a state senator and 18 years as a pro-family lobbyist in answer to two haunting questions drawn from Scripture and the writings of John Owen, Abraham Kuyper, and John Owen. His answer looks at the glory of Christ and its relation to how Christians think about the future of politics, public policy, and law in America.

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Today is a short, hopefully helpful bridge between Tuesday's episode and the one Saturday pertaining to a politics for the glory of Christ. David explains what every Christians knows about the problem of socialism that most economists and politicians don't.

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In today's limited episode, David uses a fundraising letter from a national Christian public policy and political advocacy organization to help us consider whether its proposed work toward stopping the rise of socialism will be fruitful or unfruitful.

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Today David explains the foundational beliefs drawn from Scripture  and expounded by 17th century Puritan John Owen that re-sculptured his political imagination from one of making proverbial "mud pies in the slums" (C.S. Lewis) to something beyond what he had ever thought to ask for or think of from Christ.

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Today David provides “gospel grounds” upon which he believes the  imagination of Christians - their vision - for legal and public policy advocacy might be expanded beyond doing politics the way the world does but only better because “we believe in Jesus.” You won’t want to miss what’s in his modernized chapter about a particular glory of Christ in John Owen’s Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ. It just may begin to reshape your vision for politics and law even as it did his a few years ago.

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Today David dives into insights he gained from his interview with Jason Farley. He applies the assessments Farley made of today's Christian mind to the sphere of political and legal advocacy. Most importantly, David offers a way forward for expanding the Christian political imagination beyond just doing business-as-usual better than the other side.

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Today's episode continues where David's interview with Jason Farley left off last week. The audio picks up with a look at SCOTUSs abortion decisions and flows into a look at the Court’s decision in 2015 about state marriage licensing statutes, Obergefell v. Hodges. It's an eye-opening look at the church's complicity in the culture we have.

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Today’s episode is the first part of an interview with Jason Farley (regular on Knox Unplugged) on law and its influence or effect on forming or transforming a culture. The discussion raises a serious question: Is the way some Christian leaders think about and speak into the sphere of politics and legislation Christian or something else? Don't miss this one. (The second part of the interview will be published next Friday)

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This short episode is very important to understanding a video clip of apologist William Lane Craig circulating on social media in which he says he is unable to affirm or deny the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) about the Son of God being begotten of the Father. His agnosticism on this subject drives home the importance of the metaphysical considerations that have passed from the evangelical mind. It also demonstrates what Kuyper said about apologetics and illuminates James 2:19.

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Today, David explains something in his first book on politics (published in 2013) that needs fixing. He goes public with the reason, because the thinking he once held to seems prominent among many Christians today. David walks us through a consideration of whether a sound knowledge of the Holy Spirit's essential work and the nature of sin are to be found in Christian political rhetoric and engagement today

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Today David takes a sobering look at what is revealed when the wisdom Christ is made unto us by God is applied to the way many Christians today think of politics. He explains why a Christian worldview looks weak when applied in this sphere and discusses from the Word and personal experience the sin Christians are tempted to as a result. Might it reveal the sin of outright unbelief in Christ?

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Today David offers a second way in which a number of Christians seem to have lost touch with Christ when it comes to politics, law, and public policy. It shocked the Pharisees of old, and it will probably shock today's political pharisees. Find out what it is.

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Is there evidence that a number of Christian political candidates (Republican mostly) and a number of the Christians who support them have, in Abraham Kuyper's words, "lost touch with Christ"? Would the Apostle Paul say to them, "Oh foolish Christians, who has bewitched you?" Today David looks at how our view of justification and sanctification affects our view of politics and what it can accomplish.

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The question headlining today’s topic comes from Abraham Kuyper’s opening remarks at the First Christian Social Conference convened in the Netherlands in 1891. The news this week makes it clear that our nation is facing the same "social question" addressed by him at that conference: Is socialism or communism a better way to order our social relations in regard to material possessions? What is the Christian’s answer?

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Today, David offers his final reflection on our nation’s 250th anniversary by taking a look at what happened to "created equal" on the way to the 21st Century. He uses the insights from two speeches given by Abraham Kuyper at the turn of the 19th century to offer a corrective he believes the church must make if there are going to be another 250 years under our original written Constitution.

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Today David traces the meaning of the terms "state" and "republic" prior to 1776 through the constitutional revolutions throughout Europe in 1848 to what republic means now in light of the No Kings protest and use of the term "democratic republic." The change in meaning is very revealing, telling Christians what must change in politics, law, and the church.

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Today's episode compares what is said in the Declaration of Independence about how civil governments are "instituted" and for what purpose to what was said on those subjects by John Locke in the late 17th century and Abraham Kuyper at the end of the 19th century. It also offers a vision for how Christians today can be, as William Bradford said, "stepping stones" for continuing the work the Pilgrims at Plymouth set out to do.

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Today David gives his answer to whether the following statement in the Declaration of Independence is more influenced by enlightenment hubris than sound Christian theology: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." The difference between the one and the other is manifest in a new version he's authored and would encourage future generations to bring to fruition.

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Today, David applies the Apostle Paul's declaration that true wisdom and knowledge are found in the revelation of “the mystery of God, of the Father and of Christ” (Colossians 2:3) to a famous sentence sentence in the Declaration of Independence often quoted by Christians. He asks: Have Christians been taken captive by philosophies of men? Today he documents the philosophy of the time the Declaration was written to set the stage for the answer and way forward that he releases tomorrow.

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In today's episode, David explains why he believes some well-intentioned Christian political advocates, notably in regard to the politics of abortion, have been taken captive by the empty traditions and philosophies of men that are “not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). He says why he thinks enacting "righteous" statutes is not really the issue: It's far bigger than many Christians realize.

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Recent episodes have put an emphasis on growing in our knowledge of Christ in relation to how Christians should think about certain abortion legislation being proposed nationally. But shouldn't that apply to the way Christians legislators think and talk about law and public policy advocacy generally, or even a Christian with a neighbor? What might that look like? Two passages of Scripture and a comment by John Owen provide an answer, and David offer two challenging applications of it.

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Today David considers the response to pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf published by the Foundation to Abolish Abortion (FAA), proponents of legislation presented in multiple states under the rhetoric of "equal protection" for the unborn. Some of FAA leaders want the SBC to take up the issue next week. What wisdom does FAA offer? What do we find of Christ in its counsel?

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How is it that Christ was "MADE unto us wisdom" and how does that affect our understanding of wisdom when it comes to political issues? Today, David uses 17th century theologian John Owen to help us understand the "why" and "how" of wisdom, and then applies that to the published political counsel of long-time pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf against enacting legislation to indict abortive mothers for felony murder, championed by the Foundation to Abolish Abortion (FAA) and Christian podcaster, Seth Gruber.

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Today's publication is intended to help you evaluate whether a rather standard kind of constitutional argument made by Christian legal advocates accords with Scripture's definition of wisdom. David explains how he came to understand "spiritual wisdom" and offers that for comparison to the wisdom provided by National Right to Life's General Counsel about challenging Roe v. Wade

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Today's episode jumps directly into the introduction of nationally respected law professor Adam MacLeod and his testimony before the Tennessee Senate's judiciary committee in 2019. His testimony supported pro-life legislation I had drafted to challenge Roe v. Wade. It is a critical primer on the relationship of common law to the forgotten Ninth Amendment, and their relationship to the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. His testimony explains what the U.S. Supreme Court got wrong in justifying abortion. It is also the path forward for states to have the unborn declared a legal person with a right to life. 

Today’s episode is in lieu of one on Friday because of the importance of federal court decisions over the last four days. I address the importance of understanding recent decisions by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and SCOTUS regarding the FDA's rule allowing mifepristone (RU-486) to be dispensed by mail. What could a favorable mean for ending the scourge of abortion in the United States? The answer may surprise you.

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David uses his misguided reason for running for office and Puritan theologian John Owen to explain what he believes is the most important consideration when it comes to Christian political engagement and often get’s lost. He will close by applying it to the political firestorm raised in several states by the end-abortion-now movement.

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These brief thoughts of John Owen (1616-1683) on the glory of Christ are not just excellent, but they will be an aid to better appreciating Friday's publication. I will address what I see is most needed and yet often lacking in Christian political engagement, particularly in the present debates over abortion policies.

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David hopes last week's publication left you wondering what Christians are to do if our way of seeing the world has allowed politics to become disproportionately important. That's today's topic. As a way forward, David offers his personal political story, examples drawn from his recent politics experiences, and Hosea's instructive, probative, and sobering words and their application.

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David uses a Scriptural metaphor to explain what he sees missing in the way Christians understand our times. And he explains how it has affected the approach to politics taken by both end-abortion-now advocates and traditional right to life advocates. At a fundamental level, they seem to be the same.

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Today, David takes the next step in what we began to cover last week — what it might look like to be spiritually minded (Romans 8:6) in trying to apply the juridical aspects of the “law of Moses” to political issues such as the current push to criminalize abortive mothers. The spiritually-minded may find in today's episodes some consideration that make doing that harder than some might think it is.

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When it comes to legislation, many Christians look to the "law of Moses" to flesh out what is right and wrong and, increasingly, to determine what sanctions should be applied to certain wrongful acts. It is part of the "whole counsel of God," but is there a way to flesh out this law out that is "spiritually minded" vis-a-vis "fleshly" or even "carnally" minded? Today, David offers a context for thinking about those laws that he believes is spiritually minded, and begins to apply it to legislative efforts to "end abortion now."

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Today’s short limited edition is an excerpt drawn from John Owen’s treatise, The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded." It is an important precursor to this coming Friday’s episode in which I will begin to offer my application of this excerpt to present efforts to end abortion now. We must be "spiritually minded" (Romans 8:6) about the subject of law, because "law is spiritual" (Romans 7:14). Owen addresses a deceitful allure that can keep Christians from being so minded.

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Today David looks at how some theonomists and abortion abolitionist might respond to what he said last week about Paul's 3-point summary given Timothy of what obeying the law of God means. Is it antinomian? To that end he considers what Paul meant when he told Timothy that some who desire to be teachers of the law don't use it lawfully because they neither understand what they say or what they affirm.

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