When someone asks me what my new year's resolutions are:

https://youtu.be/v-Pfy8o5Wr4

“It ought to be observed that the Jews, when they had treacherously set aside the covenant of eternal life which God had made with their fathers, were deprived of the treasure which they had till that time enjoyed; for they had not yet been driven out of the Church of God. Now that they deny the Son, they have nothing in common with the Father; for whosoever denieth the Son hath not the Father.”

— John Calvin (1509-1564)

“I have had much conversation with many Jews—I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness—nay, I have never found common sense in any Jew.”

— John Calvin (1509-1564)

“The Jews’ rotten and unbending stiffneckedness deserves that they be oppressed unendingly and without measure or end, and that they die in their misery without the pity of anyone.”

— John Calvin (1509-1564)

Best defense of McCarthy I’ve seen so far

Heidelberg Catechism
Lord's Day 1

Q. 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death?
A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, [i] and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

Q. 2. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?
A. Three; the first, how great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.

See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, "As I live forever,
if I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.

I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy."

Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods,
for he avenges the blood of his children
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
and cleanses his people’s land.

— Deuteronomy 32:39-43 (ESV)

Icon Veneration is CLEARLY an Accretion!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ytYX4dXpRo

In the Bible work is eschatological in meaning. It has a goal, the Kingdom of God. Work can be drudgery, a necessary means of survival, or work can be a means of dominion and subduing the earth (Gen. 1:26-28). Work can be a means of maintaining life and no more, or work can be the means of creating the future. Work thus can be done simply to maintain the status quo, or it can be the means of determining our tomorrows. Where work is eschatologically governed by the dominion mandate, it is constructive of things present and future.

Work only comes into its own when it is eschatological. To build a house, plant a tree, and till a garden has a future orientation. The world was not empty when we came into it, and it must not be more empty for our coming. We work to establish God's ordained future, His Kingdom. Where work is systematically eschatological, it is also blessed. Work must always have a purpose greater than ourselves.

— R. J. Rushdoony, Systematic Theology, Ch. XVI, Sect. 1.

A memorable circumstance is here recorded, from whence it appears how greatly God abominates all the sins whereby the purity of religion is corrupted. Apparently it was a light transgression to use strange fire for burning incense; and again their thoughtlessness would seem excusable, for certainly Nadab and Abihu did not wantonly or intentionally desire to pollute the sacred things, but, as is often the case in matters of novelty, when they were setting about them too eagerly, their precipitancy led them into error. The severity of the punishment, therefore, would not please those arrogant people, who do not hesitate superciliously to criticise God's judgments; but if we reflect how holy a thing God's worship is, the enormity of the punishment will by no means offend us….

Now, God had forbidden any other fire to be used in the ordinances, in order to exclude all extraneous rites, and to shew His detestation of whatever might be derived from elsewhere. Let us learn, therefore, so to attend to God's command as not to corrupt His worship by any strange inventions. But if He so severely avenged this error, how horrible a punishment awaits the Papists, who are not ashamed obstinately to defend so many gross corruptions!

— John Calvin’s Commentary on Leviticus 10

The side that wants to win will always beat the side that wants to be left alone.

Start taking ground for our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Build, recruit, and conquer in His name.

#SpiritualWarfare

How to Read the Church Fathers:

We should read them with a student's attitude yet with a grain of salt.

Meaning, we shouldn't assume everything they write is flawless (they were only men after all), nor should we assume that just because they were temporally closer to the Apostles, they must be more correct.

However, we should respect them as those who defined, defended, and in some cases died, for the faith they would pass on to us their children in the faith.

Calvin is a model of how to treat the fathers. He generally defaults to their interpretations, disagreeing occasionally, all the while maintaining a respectful attitude even towards those who flirted with heresy and error.

Cessationsim from Hebrews 2:3-4:

How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Salvation was first declared by the Lord (Jesus) and attested to by the Apostles, while God bore witness with signs and wonders. Notice that the author of Hebrews, writing likely in the mid 60s A.D. refers to miracles and signs occurring in the past tense. If they were an ongoing reality, why this deceptive phrasing? The author clearly makes reference to other ongoing realities, such as Christ "always living to make intercession."

The logic and grammar of the text clearly demonstrate that a) the purpose of miracles was to confirm the Apostles and their message and b) had already served their purpose and ceased by the late first century.

LOL:

“The average IQ of degree recipients has dropped over the decades.

From an IQ standpoint: high school graduates from the 1960s had almost the same level of intelligence as undergraduate degree recipients from the 2010s.”

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/links-for-july-095?utm_medium=email

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9, KJV)

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
(Proverbs 16:32, KJV)

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)

#emotions

There is nothing left to conserve.
There is much that needs be restored.