Governed by God

On today's episode, I briefly discuss the Hebrew Roots movement and then begin reviewing a video by Professor R. L. Solberg on the topic of God's law. In what I believe to be his attempt to counter the Hebrew Roots movement, Professor Solberg goes a bit too far and seems to be advocating for a kind of antinomianism. While that may not be his intent, it demonstrates that we must take care to not fa...

On today's episode, I discuss the recent Theonomy Symposium hosted by Future of Christendom in Lancaster, PA. While there I was invited to serve on a three-judge panel that was given a mock trial/case to adjudicate. The specific problem we were presented with was a noise complaint. Aside from going over the trial and how we reached a solution, on this episode I also look at the related issue of zo...

In a follow-up episode from last time, I had the opportunity to chat with David Fowler on the topic of parental rights and responsibilities. David has been a previous guest on the podcast and is a former state senator from Tennessee. He also just recently retired from his position as president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee. Today we cover topics such as child abuse, parental rights, th...

What rights and responsibilities do parents have when it comes to their children? Well, according to Colorado, any parents who question or oppose the gender identity or chosen pronouns of their children are considered abusive. While we would agree that parents do not have absolute authority over their children, the limits to their authority must be determined by God. But, in our godless society, t...

The power to tax is the power to destroy, or kill. But for most of U.S. history, tariffs were the primary means by which the federal government acquired revenue. Yet, since the introduction of the income tax in 1913, tariffs have fallen by the wayside. Only recently have tariffs returned from the dead, causing great consternation and debate. But what is a tariff and how does it work? Furthermore,...

Based on my previous natural law episode, today I look at possible traces of theonomy throughout history. Theonomy is often accused of being novel or modern, originating with 20th Century theologians such as Bahnsen, North, and Rushdoony. But it seems that an argument could be made that theonomy is much older than that. Were there Christians during the Roman Empire that advocated for greater confo...

This week I look at the topic of natural law in an attempt to find a clear and useful definition. I consider statements from Aristotle, Aquinas, Calvin, and Blackstone, and compare/contrast their perspectives. Finally, I comment on a short video published by Jon Harris from Conversations that Matter regarding natural law. At the end of the day, any discussion of natural law needs to start with cle...

This week I had the opportunity to chat with Luisa Rodriguez, a friend and fellow Christian who has had extensive experience working with/for the government and seeing the impact of government "assistance" in other nations. We discuss some of the reasons why government help, despite being well-intended at times, is inefficient and ineffective. We also consider the role of both the government and t...

This week I address the topic of administrative power, which is a use of power that is outside of the ordinary and approved means of wielding power. In effect, administrative law is unlawful. Sadly, the federal government has grown to the point that we are governed by an administrative state. This has resulted in the creation of numerous agencies and an exponential increase in the amount of govern...

This week I spoke with Bradley Pierce, a constitutional attorney and president of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion. We discuss the current situation surrounding abortion in the United States since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Sadly, the number of abortions nationwide has not significantly decreased, primarily due to the continued distribution of abortion-inducing drugs via mail. Br...

Today I am finally able to walk through the 1824 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling Updegraph v. Commonwealth. This court decision, just a few pages long, serves (in my humble opinion) as one of the best arguments in support of blasphemy laws. The judge who rendered the decision, Justice Duncan, argues both that Christianity is part of the common law of Pennsylvania and that the U.S. Constitution d...

In continuing the theme of addressing controversial public policies, today I look at the topic of blasphemy laws. Such laws are generally viewed upon in a very negative light, but there is both a biblical and historical case to be made for them. In fact, I argue that there is no escaping blasphemy laws within any society, since there will always be some public speech that is punished. If you do no...

This week, Professor Jeffrey Tuomala joins me to discuss the topic of public education. Growing up, I always assumed that it was the government's job to educate children, and that private schooling or homeschooling was weird. But Professor Tuomala shows that not only is government-run education the exception, not the rule, it is also unconstitutional. Please join us as we discuss this hot topic of...

On today's episode, Dr. Bob Murphy comes onto the show to discuss banking, specifically fractional reserve banking. At any given time, banks only have to keep on hand a fraction of the money that we deposit, all the while letting us believe that our money is there. Dr. Murphy lays out the implications of this for the economy and also explains how we might move away from such an immoral policy in t...

On today's episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Aaron Pratt, who is director of Abolish Abortion Pennsylvania. Aaron and I speak about the rules that Pennsylvania has regarding abortion, as well as some of the key differences between the pro-life movement and the abolitionist movement. For more information on the ministry that Aaron is involved in, please visit Abolish Abortion PA And, as...

On today's episode, I finished responding to a video published by Dr. Stephen Wolfe, the author of The Case for Christian Nationalism . I address topics such as covenants, federalism, and the role that one's eschatology plays in this. As a reminder, here is Dr. Wolfe's entire critique of theonomy: Theonomy vs. Natural Law If you have any questions or comments, please email me at thegbgpodcast@gmai...

On today's episode, I continue responding to a video published by Dr. Stephen Wolfe, the author of The Case for Christian Nationalism . I address things such as separation of powers, preventative vs. punitive law, and how applying God's law sets the foundation for true civic liberty. As a reminder, here is Dr. Wolfe's entire critique of theonomy: Theonomy vs. Natural Law If you have any questions...

On today's episode, I respond to a recent video published by Dr. Stephen Wolfe. Wolfe, the author of The Case for Christian Nationalism , critiqued the theonomic perspective, specifically a version of it in which there is no legislative body. While I hold Dr. Wolfe in the highest respect, I wanted to offer a thorough response in defense of theonomy. As Christians, we ought to consider what it mean...

On today's episode I look at the rather controversial topic of Church and State. Starting with Scripture, I consider both Deuteronomy 13 and Romans 13 in their context. The topic then moves to some historical examples of church/state relations before addressing the modern example of the United States. Ultimately, Scripture lays the foundation for a broadly Christian affirmation by the civil magist...

On today's episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Luke Saint who works with The Future of Christendom and is the author of The Sound Doctrine of Theocracy . We first discuss the main premise of his book, as well as what it means to be a theocracy and to love God's law. We then move into the topic of immigration, where Luke presents the case that he will be defending in debate at the upcoming...

This week, before we go into specific public policy topics, I want to discuss how to understand and apply God's law. This is the starting point for addressing any public policy issue. If we misunderstand God's law we end up engaging in legalism like the Pharisees. They used God's law in a wooden fashion to try to earn God's favor. But God's law is a common law system that requires the exercise of...

Welcome to Season 5 of Governed by God! Today I open up with a planned theme for the season, considering what the Biblical position is (if there is one) on topics such as drugs, immigration, pornography, regulations, etc. Do these topics have a biblical perspective, or is it a matter of choosing your own adventure? But before we dive into those topics, we first need to see if the Bible even applie...

In concluding this season of Governed by God, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pastor Joel Saint on the topic of loving God's law. Joel is pastor of Independence Reformed Bible Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He also serves as executive director of Future of Christendom Press. Although we touch on a variety of topics concerning politics and government, our focus today is on the importa...

As we finish up this series on Christian Nationalism, I wanted to respond to the next challenge on the list: isn't the law powerless to save? So why should we even focus on it? Furthermore, isn't God's law too complicated and difficult to follow? This two-fold challenge is quite common, but usually involves an over-simplification of the purpose of the law. The law can never save, but it does point...

As part of this series on Christian Nationalism, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Hume about his new book, Seven Statist Sins . In this episode, we discuss man's pride in attempting to ignore God's law and create man-made traditions. We also consider the issue of coerced taxation, along with several other related topics, such as the Luke Saint - Justin Magill debate . You can learn more ab...