God, Law & Liberty Podcast

Today's episode compares what is said in the Declaration of Independence about how civil governments are "instituted" and for what purpose to what was said on those subjects by John Locke in the late 17th century and Abraham Kuyper at the end of the 19th century. It also offers a vision for how Christians today can be, as William Bradford said, "stepping stones" for continuing the work the Pilgrim...

Today David gives his answer to whether the following statement in the Declaration of Independence is more influenced by enlightenment hubris than sound Christian theology: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." The difference between the one and the other is manifest in a new version...

Today, David applies the Apostle Paul's declaration that true wisdom and knowledge are found in the revelation of “the mystery of God, of the Father and of Christ” (Colossians 2:3) to a famous sentence sentence in the Declaration of Independence often quoted by Christians. He asks: Have Christians been taken captive by philosophies of men? Today he documents the philosophy of the time...

In today's episode, David explains why he believes some well-intentioned Christian political advocates, notably in regard to the politics of abortion, have been taken captive by the empty traditions and philosophies of men that are “not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). He says why he thinks enacting "righteous" statutes is not really the issue: It's far bigger than many Christian...

Recent episodes have put an emphasis on growing in our knowledge of Christ in relation to how Christians should think about certain abortion legislation being proposed nationally. But shouldn't that apply to the way Christians legislators think and talk about law and public policy advocacy generally, or even a Christian with a neighbor? What might that look like? Two passages of Scripture and a co...

Today David considers the response to pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf published by the Foundation to Abolish Abortion (FAA), proponents of legislation presented in multiple states under the rhetoric of "equal protection" for the unborn. Some of FAA leaders want the SBC to take up the issue next week. What wisdom does FAA offer? What do we find of Christ in its counsel? Support the show: https:...

How is it that Christ was "MADE unto us wisdom" and how does that affect our understanding of wisdom when it comes to political issues? Today, David uses 17th century theologian John Owen to help us understand the "why" and "how" of wisdom, and then applies that to the published political counsel of long-time pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf against enacting legislation to indict abortive mothe...

Today's publication is intended to help you evaluate whether a rather standard kind of constitutional argument made by Christian legal advocates accords with Scripture's definition of wisdom. David explains how he came to understand "spiritual wisdom" and offers that for comparison to the wisdom provided by National Right to Life's General Counsel about challenging Roe v. Wade Support the show: ht...

Today's episode jumps directly into the introduction of nationally respected law professor Adam MacLeod and his testimony before the Tennessee Senate's judiciary committee in 2019. His testimony supported pro-life legislation I had drafted to challenge Roe v. Wade. It is a critical primer on the relationship of common law to the forgotten Ninth Amendment, and their relationship to the Fourteenth A...

Today’s episode is in lieu of one on Friday because of the importance of federal court decisions over the last four days. I address the importance of understanding recent decisions by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and SCOTUS regarding the FDA's rule allowing mifepristone (RU-486) to be dispensed by mail. What could a favorable mean for ending the scourge of abortion in the United States...

David uses his misguided reason for running for office and Puritan theologian John Owen to explain what he believes is  the most important consideration when it comes to Christian political engagement and often get’s lost. He will close by applying it to the political firestorm raised in several states by the end-abortion-now movement. Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/dona...

These brief thoughts of John Owen (1616-1683) on the glory of Christ are not just excellent, but they will be an aid to better appreciating Friday's publication. I will address what I see is most needed and yet often lacking in Christian political engagement, particularly in the present debates over abortion policies. Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listene...

David hopes last week's publication left you wondering what Christians are to do if our way of seeing the world has allowed politics to become disproportionately important. That's today's topic. As a way forward, David offers his personal political story, examples drawn from his recent politics experiences, and Hosea's instructive, probative, and sobering words and their application. Support the s...

David uses a Scriptural metaphor to explain what he sees missing in the way Christians understand our times. And he explains how it has affected the approach to politics taken by both end-abortion-now advocates and traditional right to life advocates. At a fundamental level, they seem to be the same. Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Today, David takes the next step in what we began to cover last week — what it might look like to be spiritually minded (Romans 8:6) in trying to apply the juridical aspects of the “law of Moses” to political issues such as the current push to criminalize abortive mothers. The spiritually-minded may find in today's episodes some consideration that make doing that harder than some...

When it comes to legislation, many Christians look to the "law of Moses" to flesh out what is right and wrong and, increasingly, to determine what sanctions should be applied to certain wrongful acts. It is part of the "whole counsel of God," but is there a way to flesh out this law out that is "spiritually minded" vis-a-vis "fleshly" or even "carnally" minded? Today, David offers a context for th...

Today’s short limited edition is an excerpt drawn from John Owen’s treatise,  The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded ." It is an important precursor to this coming Friday’s episode in which I will begin to offer my application of this excerpt to present efforts to end abortion now . We must be "spiritually minded" (Romans 8:6) about the subject of law, because "law i...

Today David looks at how some theonomists and abortion abolitionist might respond to what he said last week about Paul's 3-point summary given Timothy of what obeying the law of God means. Is it antinomian? To that end he considers what Paul meant when he told Timothy that some who desire to be teachers of the law don't use it lawfully because they neither understand what they say or what they aff...

If we say with the Apostle Paul that "law is spiritual" can't that lead to antinomianism? Does a fear of antinomianism lurk behind the thinking of some theonomists? Is it behind the rhetoric of some abortion abolitionists who recently castigated all who did not think that Tennessee's legislators should make an abortive mother indictable either for first or second degree murder? Paul gives all thos...

Without a sound Biblical content to the words, "image of God," the term becomes a shibboleth, something of little importance. Without that, today's policy debates become equivocal, and Christians can’t fully appreciate why Paul wrote that “the law is spiritual” (Romans 7:14). So, what is the image of God. That is the focus of today's episode. Support the show: https://www.factenn...

Certain events in Tennessee on Tuesday prompted me to release this SPECIAL and ABBREVIATED episode of GLL. It will be helpful to some who were the object of those events. However, it is also a helpful as a supplement to recent podcasts and a precursor to Friday’s. Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode considers an aspect of “the law of God” that is often overlooked when it comes thinking about proposed legislation that would conform to it. In the coming weeks, this aspect of the law of God will be applied to two legislative proposals: One that would again impose criminal sanctions on an abortive mother and one that would define the martial relationship as one man and...

This week Jason Farley returns to lay the final jurisdictional footer for building a Christian understanding of God's law, its purpose, and how it informs the way Christians use the jurisdiction God has given them in the legal and policy spheres. Find out why the key to understanding the two objectively real dominions we must deal with in law and politics -- of sin and of grace -- is, in Jason's w...

This week Jason Farley helps me lay the final jurisdictional footer for building a Christian understanding of God's law, its purpose, and how it informs the way Christian use the jurisdiction God has given them in the legal and policy spheres. Find out why the key to understanding the two objectively real dominions we must deal with in those spheres --that of sin and of grace -- is, in Jason's wor...

Today David explains why he said last week that the use to which evangelicals have put the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause “diminishes the glory of Christ respecting what Christ accomplished on the Cross.” Find out how evangelicals failed to deliver what the Founding Father's expected from Christians to make "permanent" the "free government" they e...