God, Law & Liberty Podcast

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 thinking about those laws that he believes is spiritually minded, and begins to apply it to legislative efforts to "end abortion now."Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 is spiritual" (Romans 7:14). Owen addresses a deceitful allure that can keep Christians from being so minded.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 affirm.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 those interested in law and public policy something to chew on.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee 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 one woman.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 words, that "everything is connected."Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 words, that "everything is connected."Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 established, and what Christians can do going forward.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Edition: Last Friday, I said I thought the use by evangelicals of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Free Exercise Clause emphasis on “religious acts” to mean protection for certain for civil conduct “diminishes the glory of Christ respecting what Christ accomplished on the Cross.” The following quotations from one of the leading Puritans on the dominion of sin and Christian liberty will be helpful preparation for this Friday's explanation of what I previously said.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the relationship between the protestant understanding of the doctrine of original sin and the purpose of First Amendment’s Free Exercise of Religion Clause? The U.S. Supreme Court's failure to consider that doctrine has made its interpretation of that clause wrong. But I believe its interpretation and evangelical reliance on it for protecting civil conduct demeans the gospel. It was for good reason that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story warned "the future experience of Christendom" would be determined by the duties assigned to our nation's churches by the Free Exercise Clause.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I offer the following brief explanation of Romans 7:20-21 by John Owen from 1667 that I hope provides a better understanding of the effect we can expect the “dominion of sin” to have on our political endeavors and will lead to a better understanding of tomorrow’s important episode about the true purpose of First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are large numbers of people in Minneapolis, many educated, choosing to do things that to many of us just don’t make sense? Is Christ, the prophet to His Church, revealing something to His people? If so, what is it? Is the answer something more than "Sinners sin"? I think so. It may be controversial, but I think it affects the "strategy" we need going forward?Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this 4 minute special edition, find out why Richard Dawkins, the atheistic evolutionary biologist, and a strict Calvinist, J. Gresham Mechen, agree on one thing: Certain Christians have abandoned Christianity. It shows up in how we approach the transgender issue in law and public policy.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today I discuss how a heresy I unwittingly embraced affected what I thought my 30 year engagement in law and politics could accomplish. Do you think my description of that heresy and its application is dominate among evangelicals and Roman Catholics? I do, and explain why.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our society and law have progressed from prohibiting access to contraceptives in 1879 to a Supreme Court argument this week about human sexuality to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley asking a Doctor if a man can get pregnant. Why has this "evolution" occurred and gone in only one direction? And why don't we ask "Why" questions anymore? It's all of one piece. Something fundamental may be missing in our thinking. [My reference to Kansas should be Nebraska]Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today I explain the dirty trick the U.S. Supreme Court played on the states to foist on them a new understanding of human meaning, a new anthropology. You will see how the Court degraded the high view of marriage expressed by a Massachusetts statute dating from 1879 to the constitutional protection of fornication in 7 years, from 1965 to 1972!Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is for those who want to dig a bit deeper into "understanding the times" that I explained earlier this week using SCOTUSs decision in Eisenstadt v. Baird. Two short audio clips of TN Senator Marsha Blackburn's interrogation of then judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson and my explanation of them demonstrate the cosmological merry-go-round of metaphysical nihilism we are on. Understand the cosmology she is writing into our law.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, I explain how the United States Supreme Court came to understand the word “liberty” in the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the changes in society's understanding of the cosmos that influenced it. Understanding the evolution of that word is critical to everyone who wants to understand our times and know better how to “walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Colossians 4:5 KJV). "Sons of Issachar" should not miss this one.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, I pass on my answer to a great question asked by a Christian state legislator who listened to last week’s podcast about working to restore God’s “ordered liberty”: If we are to do that, how should we have argued for the bill not allowing men to compete in women’s sports? Equally important is what can we learn about ourselves by thinking through the two different approaches?Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today David explains how the thoughts of Puritan John Owen in his monumental work, Christologia, completely re-ordered his thinking about law and legal and public policy advocacy in recent years, and how those thoughts relate to the God’s creational intention for every Christian in the present. Creation, the image of God, the Fall, and the “ordered liberty” of  government that rests on the child in the manger all come together in one glorious scriptural truth about Christ’s mediation in this final advent edition.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to record a prophesy that "the government shall be upon his shoulder"--a baby in a manger. Today, David examines what no one ought to overlook: Even SCOTUS knows that God prepared the Western world for His Son's Kingdom. But the Spirit also said the scope of his governance and its peace would increase. What are Christians and non-Christian to think of that part of the prophesy today? On that front, I say the news is still goodSupport the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The apostle Paul wrote, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Today I examine how reason led to an understanding of law by 50 B.C. that was ready for the law to become incarnate. Its the story we need to hear in our day, especially Christian lawyers. It's amazing! And I explain why the story of the person of Jesus is more important than ever.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we examine the test Isaiah provides us on whether our thoughts on winning are God's thoughts or conform to those of our age. And I will examine that test in light of a recent case argued before the United States Supreme Court by Christian lawyers and my wrong application of that test and compare them both to how Isaiah might have us apply that test to our legal and political arguments.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part 2 of my 3 part Thanksgiving gift to you on "winning" in a society rife with exhausting rivalries. Today we look at what John Owen meant when he spoke of "loving the person of Christ"--what I submit is the key to how we think about winning and how we go about winning.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode is Part 1 of my Thanksgiving gift to you. It responds to the fact that our society runs on rivalry. One person wins means the others lose; one group wins means the other groups lose. It's exhausting. I pray this gift will help you go back into your part of the world after the Thanksgiving weekend with joy and peace (Isaiah 55:12 ). And I pray it will jump start an Advent season filled with more of the same. Part 2 will come out Wednesday morning. Stay tuned.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we consider Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson's answer. to "what is a woman" at her U.S. Senate Confirmation hearing 3 years ago. . Her answer was ridiculed, but she said something important about law. Her answer will help us understand why lawyers no longer believe in law. And we will consider how she might have answered the question, “What is law?”Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode expands on last week’s episode by explaining why I think Jesus might "double down" on his "woe" for today's Christian lawyers. The reason: lawyers are taught not to believe in law and that can hinder others in coming to know Christ. That was true of my experience as lawyer, legislator, and lobbyist. Blackstone, Kuyper, Holmes, and Einstein help prove my thesis.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SPECIAL REPORT: Don't be discouraged now by those who may have led you to believe the Kim Davis case out of Kentucky might be the one that SCOTUS would use to overturn its 2015 "gay marriage" decision, Obergefell v. Hodges. Don't let anyone "cover up" what I said was wrong with the case from the get go. And listen to the steps we can take now to get a good "Obergefell case" up to SCOTUS.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesus had a pretty damning word in his day for some of the practicing lawyers among His people. Today, I explain why I think they apply to many Christians practicing law today and why the people of God need to know what they are doing. Why? Because Jesus said his people were being "hindered" by the lawyers of his day.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the recent contention over Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes and comments about the nation of Israel, that Tony Perkins and others in the sphere of public policy have now commented on, have you seen anyone address the application of the prophecy in Isaiah 49:1-3, particularly v. 3, “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified’”? I haven’t, so I will offer one that goes beyond mere semantical wrangling over a word.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview for a national Christian ministry recently commented on needing a certain win in the U.S. Supreme Court and on how to win. The question we examine today is whether his thoughts on the subject are his own or those informed by God's word. The answer depends on something I once never considered: Our knowledge of and love for the person of Christ.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we examine the belief of a “Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview” for a national organization about the importance of winning as a guiding principle. We examine this belief in light of the argument Christian lawyers recently made in favor of the unconstitutionality of state laws prohibiting "conversion therapy." We will also compare his belief that "the left" is being "ridiculous" against my belief that Christians are denying what they believe is true.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week we examined the questions a Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview suggested for discerning “Who is a Christian?” and “Who is on our team?” Today we take that examination a step further. Is it possible that getting the “right answers” to worldview questions has obscured the good news of Christ, the actual gospel? Is it possible that the gospel is better news than we’ve imagined? David says the answer to both is “Yes!”Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we will examine two questions suggested by a Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview at a national political and policy organization to determine, according to him, "Who is actually a Christian" and "Who is on our team." Abraham Kuyper provided a critique to the two suggested questions, but the Apostle Paul provided the one question we really need to ask. Today's episode may explain why policy discussions rarely include Christ.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, David looks at a recent statement by a Christian pro-family policy organization on military fitness standards to see what arguments complementarian thinking about men and women leaves Christians with when it comes to women in combat. Complementarian thinking is the "in" word for political conservatives when addressing the male-female "divide," but is that a Christ-denying capitulation? David explains how he would now approach these issues.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, David resumes his consideration of whether philosophical reasoning can be the way to get back to a Christian view of law. Its limits, he explains, are demonstrated when the question is whether women should fight in combat roles. David explains why the prevalence of complementarian thinking in Christian circles can’t answer this question and offers an answer he believes Scripture provides.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Edition: WHY is "free speech" so important, beyond just saying it is or “it’s in the Constitution"“ And WHY did Jesus say (Matt. 12:37) "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Here's my 4 minute stab at answering these "why" questions.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I started not to post today, because I needed “time off” to process the assassination of Charlie Kirk before continuing on the topic I proposed at the conclusion of last week’s episode: Is reason the way forward in law. But what came to mind this morning is too important in view of all the talk in media about needing a new way forward. Today, I ask and answer why logical reasoning seems to bounce off so many whose thinking is not logical or consistent. My conclusion: What’s preached in our churches must change to what Paul preached.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a four minute audio response to Senator Kaine’s comments about human rights that I pray honors God, and that Charlie Kirk would applaud. I actually recorded it earlier this week, but it seems appropriate today because the issue of rights will now swirl around Kirk’s work and assassination. It is what I would say if I were a United States senator having a platform to respond to the issue of rights. Query: Why do we think we have any rights?Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Increasingly, Christians offer a return to the philosophical reasoning of the ancients as the way forward in addressing public policies that put at issue what it means to be human. Getting back on the right road, as C.S. Lewis put it, toward the consideration of human meaning is necessary. But how does the eschatology of a Christian view of law apply to philosophical reasoning as the way forward?Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Law is inherently eschatological. Today I explain why that is so, the eschatology that now informs society and law and why, and the practical implications of that seemingly heady and "theological" topic in law.Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.