Inflation or Deflation? Mish v. Faber
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Monthly Archives: October 2010
Federal Vision in the PCA?
The “Federal Vision” is simply the title of a conference that recommended the covenant theology aspects of Reformed Theology over the excesses of “experiential pietism.”
Of course it is present in all the NAPARC denominations that allow confessional Reformed theology without further restrictions.
It tends to overlap with those who take exception to the Reformed confessional heritage by embracing paedocommunion, but it is not identical with the same.
It has been marginalized recently by various committees in NAPARC denominations that are noteworthy for being highly stacked and highly wrong both to Scripture and breadth of the Reformed heritage.
Why is the “Federal Vision” hated (it really is) in some circles in the PCA? In my opinion it is because only a minority in the PCA believe this:
Q. 76. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, he so grieves for and hates his sins, as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavoring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.
Q. 101. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?
A. The preface to the Ten Commandments is contained in these words, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Wherein God manifesteth his sovereignty, as being JEHOVAH, the eternal, immutable, and almighty God; having his being in and of himself, and giving being to all his words and works: and that he is a God in covenant, as with Israel of old, so with all his people; who, as he brought them out of their bondage in Egypt, so he delivereth us from our spiritual thraldom; and that therefore we are bound to take him for our God alone, and to keep all his commandments.Q. 153. What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us by reason of the transgression of the law?
A. That we may escape the wrath and curse of God due to us by reason of the transgression of the law, he requireth of us repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and the diligent use of the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation.
Q. 167. How is baptism to be improved by us?
A. The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others; by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein; by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements; by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament; by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.
So, because the majority are uncomfortable with this, a powerful few have the opportunity to portray the minority who believe the above as heretics and are attempting to do so. All the claims that so-and-so really disbelieves the Gospel or disbelieves in justification by faith alone, etc, are really reducible to the belief that the above affirmations are also incompatible with justification by faith alone or the Gospel, etc.
Sometimes you see anti-FV material trying to rationalize the statements above. Mostly you just see them ignored because the attempts are obvious failures.
That is how I see it. That is why I have always believe that “Federal Vision” was just a nickname for Reformed Theology though not always the stream of it emphasized by some Puritans and/or pietists and/or the contemporary “Reformed Baptist” ethos that classifies the Reformed as next of kin theologically to John Piper, Mark Dever, and/or Mark Driscoll. I have certainly never seen any argument to the contrary that is remotely persuasive.
For further reading: What is “the Federal Vision”?”
GOP villiany
Through DeLay, he appealed for his old party’s support to unseat the Democratic incumbent in the district next door to his old one. Instead, Republican leaders got the Democrat, Greg Laughlin, to switch parties. Paul ran anyway. He drew on a national network of newsletter subscribers, libertarian activists, gold bugs, and other believers to vastly outspend Laughlin, despite Laughlin’s access to the GOP’s national donor base. Paul’s campaign, fueled as it was by an army of small donors, prefigured the Internet campaigns that would come later. He shocked everyone by winning.
But in Washington, Paul was out of step with the times—an isolationist as neoconservatism took over his party, a sworn foe of central banking when Alan Greenspan was being celebrated as “The Oracle,” a fiscal conservative overpowered by Karl Rove’s attempt to build a lasting Republican majority by buying off key interest groups with new government benefits.
Paul’s independent streak put him at odds with a Republican leadership that ran Congress like a Tammany Hall machine and punished anyone who strayed. Paul strayed habitually. In 2003, his seniority put him in line to chair the subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve. To deny him, Republican leaders merged two committees. In 2005, he was again set to assume the top spot. With another merger impossible, a senior colleague was pressured onto the subcommittee so that she, and not Paul, would take the gavel.
Japanese banks 1990-2003
If you are OK with R-rated action movies, go back and watch the original DieHard. Takes you back doesn’t it? No, not to when Bruce Willis had hair. To when Japan was considered an amazing economic superpower…
Now click on this image.
top_20_banks.jpg (JPEG Image, 1029×541 pixels).
Here is the article that uses it. Don’t know what to think of it all, but it seems possible that American Zombie Banks will be just as dead as the Japanese ones.
Another political advantage to making debt easy and attractive
The political advantage to making it easier to go into debt than to save (edited) at Mark Horne.
It just struck me that I should add another factor to what I mentioned before.
If people expect the government to somehow produce a growing economy and the economy is failing to grow, debt can be used to mask the failure. Rather than goods and services becoming more affordable, renting money is made (to seem or for awhile) more affordable.
So economic decline is masked by growth in credit cards and “ninety days same as cash” tricks.
Of course, eventually, a much greater decline will become undeniable.
Landlord Card
The political advantage to making it easier to go into debt than to save (edited) at Mark Horne.
One more thought on this.
Consider the authority structure of feudalism. The most pressing relationship of political authority was that of serf and landholder. The term “landlord” is a vestige of that kind of authority. The majority of people were serfs because they were tenants.
And now we have left all that behind, right? We own houses. We are propertied freemen.
Or have we just gone back to serfdom?
We don’t think of renting land and homes as common or desirable. But what difference does it make if we are renting all the money we use for our houses and cars and myriads of consumable goods and services?
Powerful combines have convinced us that we should be tenants forever in order to have the life we want. And thus we are continually vulnerable (since debt involves risk that we are told not to take seriously) and continually anxious about the general economy–looking to the government for a safety net since we have no savings to help ourselves or others.
The Covenant Promise: Our Preborn Babies Know God and Are Known by Him
They call the movements “quickening.” It means it’s the first moments when a mother can feel her baby’s movements. What a bizarre concept! A person can live inside another person. Sometimes I try to imagine I’m an alien visitor to our planet, completely unacquainted with how anything works. Try it. What would you think if someone explained to you how new people are born into the world? I think I would laugh in their face and think them mad as a hatter. People inside other people? I think it’s time to put down the sharp objects, my friend.
Yet it is so. There is a person inside, and that person has had a beating heart since he/she was the size of a pea! No, I’m not exaggerating. Don’t look at me that way.
There is a person inside. And they are known to Jesus. In fact, He has an active relationship with them right now. As David confessed, “From my mother’s womb You have been my God,” and, “You made me trust in You from my mother’s breasts.” (Ps. 22) The tiny person inside has tiny faith. Who knows what things this small person experiences and perceives, before he or she possesses even self-awareness? Before he or she can form conscious memories? John the Baptist leapt inside his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice. What causes my child to leap? I don’t know. Maybe my voice. Maybe some kinds of music. Maybe something I ate. Maybe the voice of One I cannot hear, but whom he/she hears better than I.
“And a little child shall lead them…” “From the mouths of children and nursing babes You have ordained strength…”
Read the rest: Quickening « The Hinterlands.
Hoping for gridlock
It is far more likely that the Tea Party movement will end in the same way the Republican uprising of 1994 did. Recall that the new Republican majority in Congress then did not cut the budget, did not abolish agencies, did not end government regulation of anything, and did not cut taxes much less curb the power of the Fed. If this next round follows suit, the Republican elite will benefit from the energy and enthusiasm of naïve activists, but will trim and curb the anti-government agenda in the interest of “responsible governing.” The most we can hope for is a wonderful gridlock.
via The Killing and Reviving of the American Dream by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr..
The political advantage to making it easier to go into debt than to save (edited)
Continuing from here…
I think there is a political motive to promote debt and discourage savings.
I do not believe that this was a conspiracy because I don’t think the state is competent to carry out complicated plans that work. Probably, the initial motive for promoting debt had more to do with simply wanting to promote “industry,” and lobbyists on behalf of those in a position to most benefit from such policy (i.e. Wall Street).
While that plan is obviously self-destructive, once the ruling class pursues such a plan they may have discovered that they gain another advantage.
Consider how easy it is to rule over people who are desperately poor and who feel vulnerable.
Then ask yourself how you might be able to gain such power over middle-class people with a much higher standard of living.
What would make them feel poor and vulnerable?
Encourage them to go into debt as a normal and expected way of life. You would allow credit card companies to develop curricula for state schools (and to push into private and homeschooling). You would promote and underwrite loans so that it was easier for businesses and families to get stuck in a cycle of debt.
And so, when the economy tanks (as you have ensured it will) no one will have any safety net. Everyone will want to the government to “do something” so that Johnny can pay off his thousands in student loans by getting a job in a new bubble economy or Mr. and Mrs. Smith can stay in their house despite owing more than its value in an “home equity” loan.
In the midst of plenty you will have a population begging for a savior.
Joe Sobran and I have noticed the same thing
“I note that my enemies have written a great deal about me, yet they rarely quote me directly. Why not? If I am so disreputable myself, I must at least occasionally say disreputable things. Is it possible that what I say is more cogent than they like to admit?”
via The World’s Greatest Writer – Ann Coulter – Townhall Conservative.