Collect for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

O Lord, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church, and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succor, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

By "Reconquista" logic, why don't we all join the Roman Catholic church, since it after all is the largest and most influential body?

Make no mistake, that body is our birthright and God will deliver it over to us, but Reformation logic insists we fight responsibly while not neglecting the faithful environment our children need.

Doug Wilson's concept of "strategic but feasible" is helpful here. Taking the RCC would be a highly strategic position, but is not feasible. Turning a small country church slighly more conservative is feasible, but ultimately not very strategic.

The via media is to target mid-size institutions such as seminaries, schools, and denominations like the PCA and LCMS.

Excellent history lesson on the part of Mr. Turnipseed and Co. The entire video is quite long, but the first hour in particular is very information heavy.

https://www.youtube.com/live/4ErNKnFbRNU?si=9RWJvr-DHQGpkipv

It appears we are entering yet another financial system crisis, right on schedule. Here are 3 takeaways:

1) The people in charge of the financial system are not actually very competent.

2) They obviously have no consideration for ordinary Americans.

3) True wealth will always be based upon real goods and real services. Stocks and securities only have lasting value to the extent they are backed by the above. Our current economy in large part is not.

Is the Roman Catholic Church a true church?

Yes and no. As Calvin, Turretin, and Hodge explained, the Roman body is not a true church inasmuch as they corrupt word and sacrament. Yet they are an actual church inasmuch as they profess the Christian creed and are covenantally bound to God.

A helpful analogy is a cheating husband or a rebellious son. An unfaithful husband is really a husband, but is not being true to his vows. A rebellious son is the biological offspring of his parents, yet may not be worthy to be called a son (cf. Lk. 15). Likewise, Rome is a church which is being unfaithful and rebellious against the covenant of grace.

Many Protestants simply say Rome is not a true church and lump it in with Mormons, Muslims, etc. But the Reformers argued that we cannot simply write Rome off as pagan but must work to call her back to faithfulness, like the OT prophets did to apostate Israel. Reformation is not optional; it is a requirement.

What If It's Not Envy?

Jewish dominance in finance and media is not purely due to competence. Nor is noticing their dominance envy.

Jews have extremely high in-group preference and so rise to the top of industries where success mainly relies on reputation, network, and connection.

We freely admit that Jews do show above-average levels of competence and intelligence in some ways, but this cannot even come close to explaining their sway and influence.

Jews are not simply "high-performance people" who occasionally do very good things and occassionally do very bad things. Indeed, after the death of the Apostles, Jews have done nothing of note for humanity, and it makes no sense to be jealous of them for being cursed by God.

I interpret repentance as regeneration, whose sole end is to restore in us the image of God... we are restored by this regeneration through the benefit of Christ into the righteousness of God... And indeed this restoration does not take place in one moment or one day or one year; but through continual and sometimes even slow advances God wipes out in his elect the corruptions of the flesh, cleanses them of guilt, consecrates them to himself as temples, renewing all their minds to true purity that they may practice repentance throughout their lives and know that this warfare will only end at death.

-- John Calvin, Institutes 3.3.9

For as God, regenerating us in baptism, ingrafts us into the fellowship of his Church, and makes us his by adoption, so we have said that he performs the office of a provident parent, in continually supplying the food by which he may sustain and preserve us in the life to which he has begotten us by his word.

-- John Calvin, Institutes 4.17.1

Collect for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot exist without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

That this may be more clear, let my readers call to mind that there is a two-fold grace in baptism, for therein both remission of sins and regeneration are offered to us. We teach that full remission is made, but that regeneration is only begun, and goes on making progress during the whole of life.

-- John Calvin, Antidote to the Council of Trent, 1.5

https://parlafoi.fr/2022/05/28/trouverez-vous-citations-bapteme/

I’ve compared here in French many quotes on baptism from the reformed tradition and the patristic tradition, including that one from Calvin.

I voluntarly do not give the authors until the end of the article so that people can see that it is impossible to distinguish the Fathers from the reformed on baptism.

Masculinity is the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility.

-- Doug Wilson

John Calvin on Parental Authority

However unworthy of honor a father may be, that he still retains, inasmuch as he is a father, his right over his children, provided it does not in anywise derogate from the judgment of God....

In condemning, therefore, the vices of a father, a truly pious son will subscribe to God's Law; and still, whatsoever he may be, will acknowledge that he is to be honored, as being the father given him by God....

Paul, therefore, does not simply exhort children to obey their parents, but adds the restriction, "in the Lord;" whereby he indicates that, if a father enjoins anything unrighteous, obedience is freely to be denied him. Immoderate strictness, moroseness, and even cruelty must be born, so long as a mortal man, by wickedly demanding what is not lawful, does not endeavor to rob God of His right. In a word, the Law so subjects children to their parents, as that God's right may remain uninfringed.

Commentary on Exodus [20:12]

We hold, then, that baptism being a spiritual washing and a sign of our regeneration, serves as an evidence that God introduces us into his Church to make us, as it were, his children and heirs... [the] ordinary method in which God accomplishes our salvation is by beginning it in baptism and carrying it gradually forward during the course of life.

-- John Calvin, Epistle to Westphal

The Church of England is dropping the word "church" to rebrand...

Apparently, most if not all church plants are branding themselves as "new things," "communities," or "congregations" as opposed to churches. This appears to be part of a larger agenda to rebrand for the C of E, which effort has a price tag of 82.7M pounds.

Pray for the reformation of the C of E, whom many martyrs have died to defend.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/church-england-appears-stop-using-word-church-sound-more-relevant-study

https://unherd.com/2024/08/why-cant-the-church-say-church/