Category Archives: Optimism

HOPE AND THE GREAT “I AM”

Optimism, Theology, Worldview March 16, 2018 Leave a comment

PMT 2018-022 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Postmillennialism goes against the pessimistic expectations of contemporary Christianity. Christians have adopted Woody Allen’s view of life: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”

This is because we take our eyes off of God and his great power. We are like the Israelites who feared entering the land. We declare that “we are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Num. 13:31). We need to gain a renewed sense of the glory and power of God. Continue reading →

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CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA IS NOT DYING!

Church, Culture, Optimism March 13, 2018 Leave a comment

PMW 2018-021 by Lita Cosner (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

Gentry note: In 1897 Mark Twain was reported to have died, to which he supposedly responded: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” This response can be applied to the claim that Christianity in America is dead. Lita Cosner’s article makes some encouraging observations for us in this regard.

Lita Cosner article:

We’re used to hearing that religion is dying in America, secularization is inevitable, and that young people are leaving the faith in droves. But a new Harvard research study has great news for Christians. Previous research typically focuses on the massive increase in the proportion of people who claim atheism or ‘no religion’. But these reports generally don’t address where the decline is happening. This new research demonstrates that the decline is in ‘moderate’ religion. So it turns out that ‘religion’ isn’t dying, but the differentiation between believer and unbeliever is becoming clearer. Continue reading →

U. S. CHRISTIANITY NOT SHRINKING

Optimism February 2, 2018 Comments: 2

PMT 2018-010 by Glenn T. Stanton (The Federalist)

Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in ‘widespread decline’ so much so that conservative believers should suffer ‘growing anxiety’? Absolutely not.

“Meanwhile, a widespread decline in churchgoing and religious affiliation had contributed to a growing anxiety among conservative believers.” Statements like this are uttered with such confidence and frequency that most Americans accept them as uncontested truisms. This one emerged just this month in an exceedingly silly article in The Atlantic on Vice President Mike Pence.

Religious faith in America is going the way of the Yellow Pages and travel maps, we keep hearing. It’s just a matter of time until Christianity’s total and happy extinction, chortle our cultural elites. Is this true? Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in “widespread decline” so much so that conservative believers should suffer “growing anxiety”?

Two words: Absolutely not. Continue reading →

RESURRECTION VICTORY AND THE WORLD

Culture, History, Optimism, Resurrection December 5, 2017 Comments: 6

PMT 2017-097 by the Chalcedon Foundation

“In the world of sin and death, problems and troubles concern men most. In the world of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is opportunities, duties, service, faith, and obedience which concern Christ’s people above all else, not death and troubles.” (R. J. Rushdoony)

To look at the news headlines, one can see that the nation is being rocked by scandal, abuse, strife, disaster, protest, criminality, and the like. The changes are happening much faster than in times past, and with everyone plugged into social media channels, the national mood can shift within minutes. A weak nation is reeling from the constant blows. Continue reading →

“FIRST THE BLADE”

Kingdom, Optimism November 10, 2017 Leave a comment

PMW-2017-090 by R. J. Rushdoony (Chalcedon Foundation)

One of the very important and much neglected verses of Scripture is Mark 4:28: “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself: first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Our Lord tells us (Mark 4:26-29) that the Kingdom of God, as it develops in history, has a necessary growth and development. No more than we can plant grain and then expect the harvest at once, can we expect quick or immediate results in the growth of God’s Kingdom. If we plant grain, we must cultivate it, often water it, tend to the field, and, only after much labor, reap a harvest. To expect otherwise is stupidity and foolishness, whether in farming or in the work of the Kingdom. In fact, our Lord describes quick growth as false (Matt. 13:5-6, 20-21). Continue reading →

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE?

Optimism, Pessimism November 7, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-089 by Mark R. Rushdoony (Chalcedon Foundation)

A very brief encounter with a pastor nearly forty years ago is still vivid. We were hurrying in opposite directions, so our encounter was very brief, and we both just slowed as he realized who I was, greeted me, and expressed his admiration for my father’s writing. “I really like what he has to say,” he commented as he passed by. Then he turned back and added, “Except the postmillennialism. I just don’t see that happening in today’s world.”

He was already past me and looking back, and I never saw him again, but his words surprised me. His frankness betrayed the error in this pastor’s thinking—that his personal perception of what was possible was relevant to what God says about the progress of His Kingdom. Continue reading →

CALVIN, PUBLIC TRAGEDY, AND POSTMILLENNIALISM

Optimism October 13, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-081 by John Calvin

Note by Ken Gentry:
This citation of John Calvin was posted by American Vision on their website after the Las Vegas mass murder on October 1, 2017. Calvin was strongly committed to God’s sovereignty and held positions that aligned with postmillennialism. We must always keep our eyes heavenward, even in times of trial and tragedy. We must not be like Peter when walking on the water. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink and cried out for help (Matt. 14:28–31). We must not be numbered among those “of little faith” who “doubt” (Matt. 14:31). Continue reading →