A Woman Who Fears the Lord

By Angela Wittman Dear Friends, For those who have received either my past newsletters or subscribed to my blogs: At the end of 2013, I retired the Christian Liberty newsletter.  I also deleted the blogs "Christian Liberty News" and "Reformed Christian Studies" because I had repented of pointing others to "bad" theology; and while they had some very good newsworthy posts, they also contained much theonomy. In fact, that was my main reason for creating the blogs in the first place. Then after promoting theonomy and Christian Reconstruction for approximately a decade, I had a change of heart.  This wasn't an overnight or sudden change, but one that gradually took place over a period of months as I began to study the Reformers, their work and the Reformed Confessions of the 16th Century. I began to realize that while I agreed with the "general equity" of God's Law for civil government and agreed with the Reformers teaching of natural revelat

By Angela Wittman My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. - Hosea 4:6 While reviewing and updating some previous posts, I came across a teaching on Christian citizenship that I believe is an essential lesson many Christians might not have access to. Let me begin by sharing the setting I was in when receiving this lesson: I was part of a Bible study that had begun as a possible OPC church plant in my local community. When we found there was not enough local interest in the OPC, we continued the study under the leadership of Pastor Ray Morton of the Sparta (Illinois) Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA). At the time I was also very politically active and serving as an officer in the Constitution Party of Illinois.  I had always believed Christians should be "salt and light" in the community, including civil matte

By Angela Wittman The  Christian Post recently featured an intriguing article called 'The Bible Belt Is Collapsing;' Christians Have Lost Culture War, Says ERLC President Russell Moore . First of all, I think the "Bible Belt" was collapsing a long time ago. I began my Christian life in 1993 with involvement in the Christian Coalition and other conservative groups. I can remember how frustrating it was to try and get local Christians active in cultural endeavors. The few friends I had that were Christian Activists were looked down upon by local clergy and considered as "trouble makers." We consisted of grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads and perhaps a few youth who joined us for potluck dinners held after our meetings. The only trouble we caused was in trying to wake-up those sleeping in the pews; I suppose we were a bit successful or there would have been no need for opposition from the respectable local church and civic leaders, who I might add included the lib

By Angela Wittman I believe I have found within the Scriptures the key to what made America great, and this key can restore her to her former greatness. - Ted Weiland, ( Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution; The Christian Perspective , http://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/biblelaw-constitutionalism-preface.html) A couple of years ago Ted Weiland contacted me and asked if he might send me his primer on  Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective . After receiving and reviewing the primer, I decided to toss it in the trash due to the concern that Mr. Weiland was missing a foundational point - Biblical covenanting.  And after recently reviewing his work in greater detail, I believe the reformed and theonomic community should be cautious about Mr. Weiland's book and his beliefs. Due to some glaring "red flags" I encountered while researching Mr. Weiland, I've decided to write this warning and state my concerns. First of a

By Angela Wittman (Revised and updated 9.16.2012) “ When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn .” Proverbs 29:2 KJV There has been much discussion in Christian circles about how one should vote in the upcoming 2012 Presidential elections.  And while I won’t presume to tell the reader who to cast their vote for, I will share some Christian history on how earlier followers of Jesus Christ believed and taught on this important aspect of our life: Biblical Christianity and the civil government. Much of the information I am presenting was found in “Reformed Confessions Harmonized” edited by Joel Beeke and Sinclair Ferguson, the “Historic Church Documents” page at Reformed.org (CRTA – Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics) and the website “ A Puritan’s Mind ” created by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon. The Belgic Confession (1561) is known as one of the oldest reformed doctrinal standards and originated in the Nether

As the New Year begins, a Christian can find great comfort and encouragement by reflecting upon what God has done in their life during the previous year.   And while one can find peace while tracing the hand of God in their circumstances, hope for the future can also be found by looking at the history and triumph of God’s Church in this world. One of the best loved passages of Scripture is Hebrews, chapter 11 , which is also referred to as the chapter of the “Heroes of the Faith.” One can find hope in the stories of others who faced persecution, adversity and severe trials for their faith, but who remained steadfast and did not waver in their faith. Here is an excerpt from the King James Bible, beginning at verse 32:   32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:   33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths

A study of The Barna Group conducted in April of 2011 reports that nearly one out of three Americans feel they aren’t living up to their “fullest potential” while three out of ten adults report they are “dealing with unresolved emotional pain or conflict in life.”   And 15% of Americans are questioning God due to “their experiences with religion.” The director of the study 70 Million Americans Feel Held Back by their Past concludes the report by saying “the research shows that internal doubts about fulfillment, faith, emotion and personal history significantly define millions of the nation's residents."   Clearly many Americans are not content with the current status quo and are seeking truth, meaning and purpose for their lives. One can find direction from the Westminster Assembly of Divines . The Westminster Larger Catechism composed in April of 1648 begins with this question: What is the chief and highest end of man? And responds with the answer: Man's chief and hi

"Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people." ( 1 Chronicles 16:8, KJV ) While preparing for the gathering of family and friends this Thanksgiving season, let’s not forget to also prepare our hearts in humble gratefulness to God for the blessings and grace which He has bestowed upon us as individuals and as a nation. Here is a bit of history about Thanksgiving which you may not have been taught in school as taken from the website “A Puritan’s Mind” by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon : The celebration we now popularly regard as the ‘First Thanksgiving’ was the Pilgrims' three-day feast celebrated in early November of 1621 (although a day of thanks in America was observed in Virginia at Cape Henry in 1607)... The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, sailing for a new world that offered the promise of both civil and religious liberty. The Pilgrims had earlier left England in 1608, as the Church of England had curtailed their

By Angela Wittman “Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. "On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." ~ Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, April 17, 1521. (Source: Martin Luther: Excerpts from his account of the confrontation at the Diet of Worms ) Martin Luther's nailing of the 95 Theses  to the All Saints Church door at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 has long been said to be the beginning o

By Angela Wittman Sarah Livingston - Photo Courtesy of WLOX - 13 A friend recently sent me this link to a story about a home schooled teen, Sarah Livingston, and her re-enactment of the Scottish Covenanters for a Mississippi History Day Competition at USM this past June where she won first place in the Performance category and the Overall prize in the high school division. Sarah is quoted in the news story as saying she wrote her own script and found her own props for the ten minute performance before the judges. To prepare for the competition she not only studied the history of the Covenanters, but she also studied the Scottish accent to make her performance more realistic. In my opinion, this is quite remarkable for a seventeen year-old young lady! May the good Lord bless Sarah Livingston and her quest to introduce others to the Scottish Covenanters through historical drama; she truly appears to be a twenty-first century Lady of the Covenant. News Source : http://www.wlox.com/Global