2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy

I have been listening to a CD set by Vision Forum from the 2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy. This is an great set of CDs that anyone that sees the state of our country and world should listen to. Dr. Cornelius Van Til wrote in Christian Theistic Ethics, "There is no alternative but that of theonomy and autonomy." This CD set helps flush this statement out in many ways and in many areas.

These disks help one to see that while there may be disagreements in how the idea of theonomy works itself out the only alterative to basing ones ethics on the law of God is to ultimately base it on ones own law (autonomy). These CDs speak to how we deal with law and ethics and explains biblical law, natural law and positive law. For Christians it is imperative we learn what God’s word says about our actions. It is not enough to look to the world and nature or to simply live by man’s law but we need to see how all of God’s word speaks to all of life.

As believers we have been sold a bill of goods, often by the church, that God’s word is limited and restricted to simply spiritual matters. But, God’s word speaks to our relations with man and the world and gives us ethics to live by and is quite often much more explicit than we allow it to be.

From the Vision Forum Site:
“With our nation’s legal heritage under attack, it is imperative that Christians be armed with biblical answers to the various law and public policy debates that are raging in our land. In this special Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy conference album, learn from some of America’s leading Christian statesmen, legal scholars, and public policy advocates as they tackle such issues as the Christian foundations of Western law, the legal challenges surrounding America’s border wars, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Second Amendment, defamation in the blogosphere, the battle for biblical marriage, the state of parental rights, and more—all from a distinctly biblical perspective”

Here are the CDs included in this set.
• Introduction to the Christian Foundations of Western Law (3 cds)
• Christian Jurisprudence: Biblical Law, Natural Law or Positive Law (2 cds)
• What the Bible Says About Female Magistrates
• Symposium on the Reformation and Law
• Christianity and the Courts (2 cds)
• An Introduction to the Theology of Church and State
• The Battle for Biblical Marriage (2 cds)
• Defamation in the “Blogosphere”
• You May Not Take Our Guns (2 cds)
• Biblical Law, Ethics and Public Policy for Lawyers (2 cds)
• Biblical Law, Ethics and Public Policy Recap (2cds)
• The significance of the Electoral College
• Genesis & Geneva: The Emergence of Liberty in the West (2cds)
• Spheres of Sovereignty: Church Discipline, Autonomy, and the State
• The State of Parental Rights in Light of the Polygamy Case

These CDs are not only for lawyers or those interested in law but they are for every person who desires to live by God’s word. All of God’s word (2 Tim 3:16-17) speaks to all of life not simply as suggestions but as to how we actually are to live and think. So if at all possible listen to these CDs and be prepared to be challenged by what they teach. I have found my thinking has been so influenced by the world and a worldly church that I need teaching such as this to help to counteract areas where my thinking has strayed from the biblical directives.

I understand why the world hates what is taught here but what is sad is that many in the church dislike these teachings as well. They make a false dichotomy between grace and law that does not exist in scripture. In man there may be a tension but it is one that does not need to exist. It is the nature of man to seek to rule himself so when it is revealed that God is to rule us and how He rules is found in His word man will react, often in dislike. These CDs will help you to better see and explain how God’s law is to work in the life of His people.

Enjoy these CDs and listen to them more than once, as I will be doing. Wrestle with what they teach. Do not wrestle with the one teaching but with the teaching as reveled in God’s word. Let us grow to live by the word of God, all of it.

By the way these messages are also available in MP3 format from Behemoth.com.