Hernando Presbyterian Church (ARP)

The Great Cosmic War

3/5/2021

Understanding the Times
The Great Cosmic War

Thoughtful Christians come to understand, sooner or later, that the world order of which we are unavoidably a part is not only not Christian, but is essentially unnatural and destructive. The world has changed dramatically since the days of Jesus and the apostles. There has been great progress in the building of Christian culture at various times, and in various places; but there has also been regress.
When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, it was to claim the sovereignty of the world, and to commence the sure conquest of all those powers that refuse to surrender to the authority of their rightful King (Psalm 110). The cosmic war that has been going on ever since is a total war – no holds barred! The Enemy has devised every imaginable weapon and strategy for the deception of men and nations. He has not only succeeded in deceiving the nations about the truth of Christ; but he has seduced them into a way of life that violates every law of God and of nature; and through the idolization of technology, has replaced the ancient system of institutions and customs of human society that once gave order and meaning to life with a diabolical, anti-human reign of evil. All the foundations of godly social order have been overturned, and what are we to do?
He cannot succeed ultimately. His days are numbered (Revelation 20:1-3). But he has done great harm that will not be easily or quickly undone. I believe we are where we are today, in part, because of our failure as soldiers to stand for all of God's revealed truth. The old maxim, “In essentials unity” has been so abused as to reduce the number of essential doctrines to a handful in the interests of a superficial unity. Whenever the church has stood firm on the particular doctrine under attack, she has been victorious. Whenever she has given way on the specious pretext that “this doctrine is not essential for salvation”, she has been overcome and driven back. The failure to hold fast to the whole system of revealed truth is folly; just as the failure of a fighter to guard any part of his body during mortal combat is a crucial mistake that may well mean his death.
God's way of life for men is a system, just as the human body is a system. Just as it would be madness to try to “remodel” a living human being in order to improve it; so it has been our folly to believe that the basic structures of social order can be remodeled without peril. The ancient Adamic, familial, agrarian social order passed on through successive generations was the basis of a common life, common understanding, and common action. It was the fertile soil in which the gospel of the Kingdom was planted.
In every place throughout the ancient world, there was a common understanding that farming was the normal vocation of men, that the production of food, clothing, and other necessities was best accomplished by a decentralized system of free, self-sufficient homesteads. This arrangement was the most efficient; for those who stood to benefit from the productivity of the farm were the ones who owned it and worked it, and they were all members of a family, bound together in a common labor of love. Furthermore, production was not removed from consumption by distance, the interference of markets, and the parasitism of middlemen. Money and markets did not, under that order, rule the world. Government was local, small, and comparatively unobtrusive.
That system has not only been modified; it has been so drastically changed that what we have now is no longer friendly to human beings. We have, most of us, lost even the basic understanding of how the world is supposed to work. Humanity has fallen victim to the new alternative social systems of an industrial world: fascism, socialism, communism and capitalism. Power-hungry plutocrats can destroy our fiat currency overnight, making us all paupers. They are too smart to kill all the geese that lay their golden eggs, but they are ready to sacrifice a certain number of us whenever it seems prudent to them. We are naked and vulnerable because we no longer have strong, economically-sound families or the family farm to go back to. We no longer know how to survive without the system; and we have been morally weakened by the habitual compromise that is the price of participation in that system.
Perhaps, now that the evil root has borne it's evil fruit, we are ready to begin to see things as they are. The situation is dire, but not without hope. It is hard to conceive how we can ever get back to the wholesome agrarian order from which we have been banished by the modern world. If I did not believe that the old paths are a part of that “will of God” (Romans 12:2), that “righteousness” that is destined to dwell in the earth (2 Peter 3:13), I would despair of this world entirely. But it is vain to speak of the triumph of Christianity apart from the re-establishment of the only social order that is consistent with it, and in which it can thrive. So I confidently expect that God has a plan that will restore both the true Christian doctrine and a godly social order. As the prophets assure us,
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.”(Micah 4:2-4)
Victory is assured, but it has never been secured by sloth or self-indulgence. We must get serious about our faith, and get ready for the battle of our lives.

Howard Douglas King
March 5, 2021

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The New Iconoclasm

6/24/2020

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I have been dismayed about many things that are being allowed to happen in this country that are aimed at the destruction of our culture and our heritage. It is troubling to see the ones who have sworn to uphold the laws, preventing law enforcement officers from protecting the lives and property of others. This dereliction of duty is characteristic of the officials who belong to one of the two major political parties – the one under whose big tent can be found radical Marxists, socialists, progressives, and others of the far left. This leads me to suspect that – not only do they not see anything wrong with this kind of “free expression” as they call it – but that they want it to happen.
Among the illegal acts of the mobs that have taken over our streets is the destruction of statues. The most sympathetic view that I can take of their actions is that they are sincerely offended by the evil things that America has done in the past; and that their zeal for their ideals makes it seem to them a virtuous thing. Doubtless, some of them fit this pattern.
Others may be the kind of people who need to feel a part of a group; passive people, followers, who will do anything to gain the approval of others. When they realize that there are no consequences for their actions, they are encouraged to draw attention to themselves by trying to out-strip the others by doing even worse things.
Still others are evil people who simply love to destroy. They could never make anything of value or beauty; but they envy those who can, and despise their works for that reason alone. Under the cover of a cause, they hide their real motives.
And then there are those who do have a purpose in this wanton and indiscriminate destruction. These are the young Marxists who have been trained and brainwashed in our institutions of education (mind you, at taxpayer expense). They know that Communist revolutions are accomplished by the weakening of institutions, especially the church, the academy, the courts, and law enforcement; and the creation of chaos in the social order that they are attempting to take over. They, or at least those who direct them, aim at the eventual destruction of our culture and social order, and then finally, our system of government. This is not paranoia; but a matter of fact, as anyone who cares to research it will be able to verify for himself.
This is why the desecration of our public monuments is more important than it seems to some. This new iconoclasm aims at two things that are essential to the revolutionary program.
First, by removing the reminders of our history, they intend to cut us off from our roots and thus our identity as a people. Nothing is more fundamental to human beings than the need for a sense of identity. Where did I come from? What family and what country do I belong to? What are the moral and religious ideas that prevail in my family and nation; and to which I must always have respect? What are the laws that I have to obey? How am I to live – what are the mores or folkways and customs of my community? Such things define us. By them we know who we are, and to what people we belong.
America is in an identity crisis. For example; and perhaps most importantly of all, we have already begun to descend into the pit of sexual confusion. Men and women dress alike, walk alike, partake of the same vices, talk alike. Our young people are not even sure of their sexual identity: whether men are fundamentally different from women, whether traditional sex roles matter, whether homosexual and other hitherto taboo activities are natural or not. Males are not sure they are really males and females doubt their femaleness. Femininity and masculinity are forgotten concepts. It is doubtful that any such society can survive for long; or whether it deserves to survive.
While far less important, it is no small thing to destroy our geographical, cultural, or historical identity. To attack the symbols of our historical identity is an assault on every one of us; but especially our children, who will grow up without these valuable reminders of our national and historical identity.
But this is not the only goal that the new iconoclasts aim at. A second purpose is the creation of chaos. The deep divisions in our country are exacerbated when a controversial issue comes to the fore. Though there are many people (probably a majority) who deplore the new iconoclasm; there are many, and often vociferous people on the other side of the question. Acts like this do not bring us together to discuss and reach a compromise – they inspire resentment and antagonism on both sides. Constructive debate becomes impossible. What remains but to fight?
It does not help that the new iconoclasts are not accustomed to using reason or discussing their positions on the issues with an open mind. This is not an unfair characterization: it is a fact. For the most part, they have been taught to view anyone who disagrees with them as an enemy; and to regard any argument coming from them as an attempt to subvert their leftist faith. They are bound to resist; and as they have no reasonable defense, they must not commit the sin of listening to enemy propaganda.
Chaos is one thing that the ruling class cannot deal with. The only answer to it is the firm and proportional application of lawful force. This they are incapable of. Their one concern under normal conditions is to be re-elected. Thus the first rule of their lives is to talk much without saying anything unequivocal; and to do nothing. When a crisis occurs, a second rule applies: blame others and refer the matter to a committee.
Now, neither of these rules of action are going to be of much help when chaos has descended upon a city. So another rule comes into play: dither, and hope that the problem will go away of its own accord, or that someone else will solve it.
Knowing well the way of politicians, the left is confident that a confused state of things can be initiated and made to grow by a planned and coordinated effort beginning in the big cities – which are not very far from chaos already.
The fact is that most of the serious crimes are committed in the city; and most of them are either not reported, not solved or not punished. Police forces are often overburdened and under-supported. A power failure during the night hours will immediately bring out hosts of looters, robbers, murderers and rapists. They live for moments like this. That is how close the cities are to chaos. Light a match to it and the tinder will suddenly burst into flame.
The new iconoclasts care not that the property they are destroying does not belong to them; but to the people.
They do not seem to care whose statue they are throwing down, or what admirable qualities the man thus immortalized represents which inspires the best sentiments in the people. It is enough for them that the man had some moral blemish – real or imagined. It is enough for them that they are wiser in their own eyes than any generation that went before them; and so, fit to judge – to approve or disapprove, to save or to destroy – things which in truth, they cannot even understand.
They have no appreciation of the monuments' value as works of art. They have never been taught to distinguish beauty from ugliness. They don't have the patience to wait for the rightful lawmakers to remove them in an orderly fashion. The mob brings out the worst passions in the individuals who comprise it. And because no one resists them; they do not care that they are breaking the law. The mob is, after all, its own law, enforced by its own violence, subject to nothing but a superior force.
The new iconoclasts have so far been successful to an alarming degree (no small thanks to gutless or possibly sympathetic, but plainly derelict public officials); but they will never be satisfied until they have obliterated the last traces of a Christian nation. The real revolution has not yet begun. I pray that we will never see the indiscriminate shedding of blood and other enormous crimes that have marked the ascent of Marxism in every place where it has prevailed.

Howard Douglas King
June 23rd, 2020

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Racism, Racial Prejudice and Racial Generalities

8/8/2019

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The Governor of Virginia has made a public statement which implied that it would be permissible to murder a baby who has somehow survived the attempts of abortionists to end his life in the womb, and has been born alive. This shocking revelation provoked a storm of protest and many calls for his immediate resignation, as a person who had shown himself to be unfit for public office.
However he has so far resisted the pressure to resign; and since the commission of the original offense, evidence of a really criminal nature has emerged -- namely, an old picture that supposedly proves he is a "racist". This will probably be the end of his career.
Racism seems to be the one crime that is unforgivable these days. The very allegation that one is a racist can completely ruin one's life! Now it appears that, to many people, the murder of innocent and helpless babies for hire is no crime at all; but having once dressed up in blackface or a white sheet is an outrage not to be born!
What's wrong with this picture?

Prejudice and Dislike
Let's begin with the fact that all people have prejudices and things that they dislike about other people groups. These two things must be distinguished; for prejudice is always wrong; while one may dislike things that are really characteristic of a certain class of people, without fault.
A prejudice is a "pre-judgment" of the character of a person or persons. It is an unwarranted disposition to view others, who are in some respect different from ourselves, in a negative way, and to treat them accordingly. When a customer enters a store and is served with reluctance and rudeness because of his ethnicity, this is an expression of prejudice -- in particular, what we used to call "racial prejudice".
Prejudice expresses itself in such things as mocking, disparaging, and otherwise abusing members of the despised class. For example, poor people are often prejudiced against rich people as a group, just because they are rich, and as a result indulge in hateful words and acts against them. English people often display their disgust with French people in the same way.

Generalizations that are True
But it is not wrong to recognize and sometimes to state the fact that a particular nation is generally lacking in some virtues, when this is true. An example is the statement of the Apostle Paul to Titus, his apprentice, concerning the people of Crete to whom he was being sent:
"One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, 'The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.' This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith..." (Tit 1:12-13)
This unflattering description was not a gratuitous expression of "racism" or mere prejudice on Paul's part. He had had personal experience working among them; and found that it was true - not in every particular case -- but as a generalization. One of their own, a poet, is quoted in proof of their bad character. Not all of them were infected with all these vices; but they were common enough among them to make Paul's allegation generally true. It was necessary to prepare Titus for the problems he would face in his new parish, and how to handle them.

Racial Prejudice versus Racism
Racial prejudice is no different from any other prejudice. We all have them; and it would be impossible to eradicate them from society. Prejudices may lead to crimes; but they are not in themselves criminal. They are immoral. They are sins. But they are not crimes.
Racism is another matter. Racism is the belief that one's own race is superior to other races; and that this supposedly superior race is entitled to treat other races as a lower form of life -- even to destroy them, in the interest of making the world better. It is based on the evolutionary dogmas of the survival of the fittest, and of the development of man from animals. Superior races are to inferior ones as the first humans were to the apes from which they came. To treat them like animals is therefore right and proper. To make use of them as we make use of horses or cows, to kill them whenever it is useful for us to do so -- these are the logical consequences of racist doctrine.
To call one a racist because he may be racially prejudiced is to evidence a different kind of prejudice. Accusing a person of racism suggests another species of racial prejudice. It is usually people of African descent who use the term, and it is usually applied to white people. White people are assumed to believe in the superiority of their own race and their right to lord it over black people. This is rarely true. It is certainly not true of the generality of white people.
To believe, without evidence, that it is true of all of us is at least prejudicial and unjust, and at worst, it is black racism. To charge it upon any of us who evidences the least hint of racial prejudice (or none at all) is slander, defamation, and incitement to violence; just as the ravings of the Nazis against the Jews were slander and defamation and incitement to violence! It makes no difference that the Nazis were in a position of power and therefore able to dispose of the Jews as they wished. There are places, such as Zimbabwe and now South Africa where the opposite is true, and racial prejudice of the opposite kind has given rise to a kind of racist dogma that has been used to justify black people in robbing and killing white men en masse.
Doubtless, it is the intention and the goal of black racists in America to overthrow what it sees to be a white racist culture. Those people of European descent who are afraid of doing anything that might invite the accusation of racism are doing all of us a disservice. They ought to confront the evil; exposing it as a weapon employed by those who would dominate us, if they could.

It is important to draw the distinction between racial prejudice and racism. It is important to point out the ineradicable fact of prejudice in the sinful human heart. It is important that we defend the right of all people to make informed judgments about the character of their own and other social groups and to state them publicly. It is important to take this weapon out of the hands of those who are as racially prejudiced as we are, before this country is torn apart, and quite possibly by a bloody civil war.

Howard Douglas King
February 3, 2019

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The Great Cosmic War

The New Iconoclasm

Racism, Racial Prejudice and Racial Generalities

Howard King

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