Reedy River Presbyterian Church

An historic Reformed church committed to the historic Biblical faith.

The Blog of Dr. Charles Roberts

Axiom of Truth - The Blog of Dr. Charles Roberts

From CVT to GHC

By Dr Charles H Roberts

Reedy River Bible Presbyterian Church

I enrolled at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1988 primarily to pursue academic studies in apologetics, philosophy, and theology. The reason I chose Westminster was because of one man: Cornelius Van Til. I had begun reading his works prior to entering seminary and having earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1977, I was eager to continue philosophical studies, but this time, from a distinctly Reformed, Christian perspective.

Soon after I enrolled, I also joined the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and was received under care of the Philadelphia Presbytery. Through my course of study, I became aware of the “Clark-Van Til Controversy.” My impressions of Dr Gordon H. Clark were largely grounded in the reflections and analysis of seminary faculty and presbytery officials who lived through that controversy as staunch supporters of Van Til. With the exception of Dr Clair Davis, many of those men had negative attitudes toward Dr Clark. My first “encounter” with Dr Clark was his book, The Doctrine of Man, assigned reading in a seminary class by the same name. I recall, as I read it, being aware of how concise and intelligible it was compared to similar writings by Van Til!

The more I read Van Til, the more I became aware of how obscure and confusing some of his writings were. I knew of older men, who had actually studied with Van Til, who likewise confessed to having had difficulty making sense of some his lectures.

Dr Clark’s writings by contrast continued to appeal to me for the simple reason that they were clear and logically coherent. But there was still the legacy of the “controversy” and the bad impression I was given of Dr Clark that made me hesitant to rely too much on his work.

All of that changed for me a few years ago upon reading Rev. Doug Douma’s superb biography of Gordon Clark, The Presbyterian Philosopher. From that book I learned how dishonorably Dr Clark was treated by some of those on the Van Til side of the “controversy.” But even more importantly, I got to know the real Gordon Clark as a man of immense faith and scholarship, and a man completely dedicated to the Bible as the Word of God. For all these reasons, and especially because of Dr Clark’s strident fidelity to the authority of Scripture and to the Westminster Confession of Faith, I unashamedly and by God’s grace, call myself a Clarkian.

The Cruel Mercy of the State

In 1952 the state of Arizona established a Children’s Colony that at one time housed over 250 mentally and physically disabled children and adults. Legislative action in 1979 determined to close the facility and move its residents to normal society.

To that end, in the same year, a law was passed banning any new residents to the facility, and those that remained would either end their days there or, at some future time, be removed.

In early 2016 there were around 86 residents, all mentally and physically disabled, and many of them in their 50’s and 60’s. They have known no other home.

The state decided last year that these men and women were to be discharged and the property sold. Various reasons have been given by the state as to why this action was being taken.

None of those reasons satisfied many of the family and loved ones of the residents who were being impacted by the decision.

Many suspected the real reason for the action was because the state wanted to sell the property for profit.

From ancient times state governments ignored the less fortunate in society.

Ancient Roman society, for all of its advances over barbaric paganism was not a happy place if you become sick or born with a deformity.

The rise of Christianity brought sweeping changes to the ways that the most vulnerable in Roman society were treated.

Because Christians believed that all human beings are created in God’s image, and because of New Testament exhortations to care for widows and orphans, and the example of The Good Samaritan, extensive networks of charity and care were developed to address the needs of the less fortunate.

The foundation of those networks was solidly Biblical and theological, and based on the belief that God, not the state, is sovereign.

The decline of those theological commitments eventually lead to the state taking over, if not usurping, the ministry of the church in those areas.

In societies where the state has tended to see itself as its own ultimate authority, answerable to none else, least of all God’s Law in Holy Scripture, tyranny and cruelty soon follow.

Until families, churches, and state governments once more embrace God’s word in Scripture the text of Proverbs 12:10 remains sadly accurate: the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

copyright: Dr Charles H Roberts

 

 

 

SHEN YUN?

You’ve probably seen the posters, flyers, brochures and full-page, color newspaper ads promoting Shen Yun

In the 1980’s I used to work in retail advertising at a daily newsp
aper in North Carolina. Back then, a full page color advertisement was around $3,000.

In 2016 that’s close to $7,000. In many places the ads are run in multiple newspapers.

In other words, there is a rather large amount of money spent to promote something that would be of not much more than passing interest to the typical American.

The phrase Shen Yun means “divine performing arts,” and it purports to be a panoramic dance, music and acrobatic performance of 5,000 years of Chinese culture.

Shen Yun performances take place in music halls, auditoriums and performing arts centers around the world.

A few years ago, the New York Times published an article about a Shen Yun performance and included this bit of background:

“A nonprofit group supported by ticket sales and donations Shen Yun began as a single company of 30 dancers.” (August 13, 2010, NYT)

The “nonprofit group” that is the driving force behind Shen Yun is the Chinese religious group known as Falun Gong (or sometimes, Falun Dafa).

A Google search for Shen Yun finds reviews that give it passing approval as a performance, but also express serious concerns about the propaganda nature of the production as a tool to promote the religion of Falun Gong.

Before saying anything else about Shen Yun and the Falun Gong religious movement, I want to acknowledge the terrible suff
ering and persecution that  its followers have endured in Mainland China.

You can read about the awful things that many of them have had to deal with here.

The suppression of Falun Gong in China notwithstanding, Christians who attend Shen Yun performances ought to be aware of the religious content that is a vital part of the performance.

Although to the casual observer Falun Gong looks to be an exercise and breath control program for health, the teachings closely associated with the program are what ought to be of interest to Christians who plan to attend Shen Yun performances.

Deeply embedded in the performance (and in Falun Gong religion) are fundamental ideas that separate traditional Chinese religions such as Taoism and Buddhism from the Biblical, Christian worldview. You can read the Christian Research Institute’sanalysis and comparison of these differing worldviews here.

Christians should be aware that, although the Shen Yun performance may be entertaining and engaging, there is more included in the purchase price than 5,000 years of Chinese culture.