When More Letters Were Needed, More Came

One quick questions going way back, on Rittenhouse:

I teach civics and OT, and confirm that vigilantism is sinfully acting outside our authority. But that authority is arresting suspects, holding trial carrying out penalties. I taught my students last semester that it is not only optional but a moral imperative to protect anyone (including ourselves) who is being harmed if we are aware of it. If I am aware of my neighbor’s person or property being damaged (whether that awareness comes from being there or hearing about it) I should defend him and his property and use force if needed; that is not vigilantism. While the police should also be called, the responsibility to prevent harm is not a role solely given to the state. I do not see Kyle as stepping in because the state was not doing their job (though the latter fact is true) He did not go there to hunt criminals, but to stand guard and use force to stop people in the act of harming innocent people and property. Nor when he preserved his own life with force (also a moral imperative) he had not been hunting them down in an investigation (the state’s job) but the attack was initiated by the group threatening people’s persons and property. I think it is dangerous to call doing what IS the moral role of all people Vigilantism. Rittenhouse no more “broke the social compact” than a man who sees a woman being raped, calls the police, and realizes he should not just wait and watch until they get there.

Any correction of my own position or clarity on yours would improve my teaching of Civics and Ethics

Luke

Where would you point to in the Institutes to show how Calvin actually sorted out the problems that Augustine was trying to sort out in his work “Rebuke and Grace” and other places on the gift of perseverance? This question came up from you telling James White in the “Federal Vision” sweater vest dialogue that the “Dark Stout” FV guys are more Augustinian/Lutheran and you being an “Amber Ale” FV guy are more Calvinistic.

Jonty

In covenant theology the family is responsible for education, healthcare and welfare. As reformed Christians we have done a great job of pulling our kids out of government schools and taking responsibility for their education. It has gotten to the point (because of preaching and teaching) that a family might feel an uncomfortable stigma if they keep their kids in the government schools. As a result of the shift to home and private schools many new options have began to spring up.

With regard to welfare many families have taken it upon themselves to learn to grow a little food at home and maybe to shop farmers markets instead of just going to the grocery store. Some places have started forming co-ops where community members can help to support each other in the event of a shortage or “supply chain” issues. More teaching and encouragement is still needed to weather the next wave of mandates and or restrictions.

We however rarely consider that the doctor that is seeing our child sat right next to the public school teacher through elementary, jr. high, high school, and probably even the first four years of college. After college they most likely spent the next 6-8 years in a couple of God hating universities learning how to treat a body that evolved from primordial ooze. You now stand before this state trained doctor with your son who broke his arm falling out of a tree and you want him to respect you religious objection to the covid “vaccine” and to not call CPS because you refuse to vaccinate him? We have all been trained to “ ask our doctor” if we think something might be wrong with us. If that logic follows then the gold standard for a question on what to teach our children should be “ask your public school teacher”. If we want to know what to eat then “ask the USDA”. The medical system is godless and we have been paying them to rule over us. We pay though tax dollars, insurance premiums, deductibles, and finally copays. We pay all of this money into a system that kills 250, 000 people every year just in medical mistakes. Is there another industry that could survive killing that many people every year?

In years past people took much more of an interest in their own healthcare and that of their families because doctors were reserved for the emergencies and when all other options had been exhausted. It is going to be a steep and uncomfortable climb for many of us to regain our God-given healthcare independence from the government system. The first step is to learn as much as you can about the basics of family healthcare. Find people in your community who have a knowledge base and are willing to bring you along. Start acquiring supplies to take care of little injuries and illnesses. Support those who decide to birth at home. Start a deathbed hospitality ministry. The more we take back of our healthcare, the less we will be forced to bow to all their wishes in order to get the help we need.

It would be good and right to admonish a father who gave his children over to Caesar to be educated or to McDonalds to be fed. Why should we not hold each to the same standard with regard to the healthcare of our families?

Joshua

Would you please interact with this article? It has to do with Aquinas and Natural Theology. I know James White and Owen Strachan are active in the canceling of Aquinas. Joe Rigney just tweeted about this topic the other day defending Aquinas. What say you??

Thankful for your ministry,

Silas