Blog - Page 200 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Friederich Hayek on the Economy

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00March 5th, 2009|Categories: Economy/Economics|

One of the more formidable voices in economics was that of the late Friederich A. Hayek (1899-1992). In his classic, The Constitution of Liberty (1960), he argued that progressive taxation does not accomplish what most people believe. Taxing the wealthy at higher rates, in order to provide for larger government spending for the poor, does not obtain the desired goal according to Hayek. Hayek said: “Not only is the revenue derived from the high rates on large incomes, particularly in the highest brackets, so small compared with the total revenue as to make hardly any difference to the burden borne by the rest; but for a long time . . . it was not the poorest who benefited from it but entirely the better-off working class and the lower strata of the middle class who provided the largest number of voters.”

Hayek believed, as do most fiscal conservatives, that in principle the progressive tax is a political issue more than a tax issue. In theory […]

Is David Brooks a Conservative?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00March 4th, 2009|Categories: Politics|

One respondent suggested, in commenting on my blog this week about columnist David Brooks, that he is most certainly not a real conservative. This type of argument is easy to make, so long as you define the word "conservative" by a definition that has little to do with the standard definition of the term in political use. Brooks actually defines himself by Edmund Burke, who is the gold standard for the word so far as I can tell. Most writers and thinkers always go to Burke in defining what really constitutes political conservatism in English/American tradition. Brooks is not a libertarian, nor a right-wing conservative or a Patrick Buchanan isolationist. He is a standard historical conservative in the primary sense of the word. For those who are open and interested you can hear the lecture I wrote about on the Wheaton College radio station. I encourage you to listen if you are interested. You may also view the presentation if you have the right tools on your computer. You be the judge. Do not let me, or anyone else, convince you […]

The Recession and Christian Missions

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00March 3rd, 2009|Categories: Economy/Economics|

The
economic recession has hit many of us very directly. I do not particularly
welcome the loss of income or the attendant problems this has presented
to me. But I believe God is at work in these difficult times in
renewing the faith, hope and love of his people in so many ways. I have seen
this firsthand in my own life and in the lives of several of my close friends. ACT 3 has suffered some loss of
income but God continues to provide for us day-by-day. I am learning
again to trust him as I did in the early 1990s when we were in our
infancy as a mission.

Many of you share in supporting this mission financially. Your gifts are vital
to our work. I am as thankful to God for your gifts as I have ever been. I try to make this gratitude know as personally as possible but to those that I do not know personally please know that I am grateful for you too.

The Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA) member
missions recently reported that […]

ACT 3 Luncheon Forums: The Surprising Neocalvinist Mandate for Diversity with Vincent Bacote

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00March 2nd, 2009|Categories: ACT 3|

Turning Sixty

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00March 1st, 2009|Categories: Personal|

Today I turn sixty years of age. Like anyone who reaches this age I wonder: "Where did the years all go?" And, "I can't be this old yet." It just doesn't seem possible at all. But the truth is what it is. I am 60! I think I am dealing with all this in a way that is emotionally and spiritually healthy but then I have my days when I do wonder.

Do I have any regrets? Of course I do. But I refuse to be led into the future by such regrets. These will not make me more like Christ.

Most of my regrets are about things I doubt I could change much if I tried. Many are even rooted in a kind of guilt that does not produce godliness. I would say the biggest regret I have is that I spent too much time pursuing causes and debates that do not matter […]

A Missional Church in Tulare, California

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:49-05:00February 28th, 2009|Categories: Missional Church|

Last weekend, February 20-22, I had the privilege of ministering in several different places in California’s Central Valley. For those who do not know the Central Valley is the most fertile and productive farming country in all of the United States. Both the soil and climate are perfect for growing a large number of crops that feed millions of people. I personally enjoyed a tour of a huge almond growing operation and learned more than I can begin to share in a short blog. It was a lot of fun for me and allowed me to see an agribusiness in a whole new personal light.

My primary purpose for this trip was to serve a new flock led by my dear friend, Rev. David Moorhead. David is a church planter with the Reformed Church in America in Shafter, California, a town about 20 miles north of Bakersfield. New Hope Community Church, this new congregation in Shafter, was begun just a few months ago […]

Justice in America? The Failure of Our Prison System

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:50-05:00February 27th, 2009|Categories: Ethics|

Our prison system is an unmitigated disaster. Very few Christians know the real problems in the system and even less really care. This is positively wrong. We need to become advocates for justice and mercy in the very best sense of both words.

Our system is moving towards a serious collapse and few know the answers. An obvious problem can be seen in the simple, observable fact that those who have money generally avoid prison and those who are poor do not. But even worse is how we treat those who are incarcerated.

California has the largest penal system. This is no surprise since it is our most populous state. It is also one of the worst systems in America. The state has been building new prisons, since 1970, at a rate that is almost beyond belief. The entire system is so overcrowded and inhumane that a federal court recently ordered the state to reduce the prison population by […]

The Intersection of Faith, Media and Politics: An Evening with David Brooks

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:50-05:00February 26th, 2009|Categories: Politics|

Last week I enjoyed another one of those great lectures that I get to hear now-and-then. (I have made reference to these several times recently.) This time the presentation was an evening hosted by the Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) at Wheaton College. The speaker was New York Times columnist David Brooks, one of my favorite columnists. Brooks spoke about how he began to embrace the conservative philosophy of Edmund Burke while he was a liberal undergraduate student at the University of Chicago (B.A., 1983). As he saw the impact of socially liberal political philosophy on real people on the south side of Chicago he was forced to question what he had always believed about government and people. In short, Brooks began to embrace a serious view of human sinfulness and depravity and this pushed him away from his liberal assumptions about mankind and how much government can actually serve the betterment of ordinary people. Don't misunderstand, Brooks is not a silly right-winger but a serious, intellectually thoughtful, political and social conservative. He is also a friend to evangelicals, though he […]

Ash Wednesday: The Beginning of Lent

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:50-05:00February 25th, 2009|Categories: Church Tradition|

Many evangelicals believe that Lent, and thus Ash Wednesday, are Roman Catholic celebrations. Nothing could be further from the truth. In this instance the "evangelical sub-culture" has misinformed multitudes of people to embrace a reactionary response against church tradition.

I was pleased to see in the news today that several non-liturgical congregations in my suburban Chicago area were actually holding Ash Wednesday services. So far as I can tell this is further evidence that liturgical celebration is spreading into places where it was once taboo. This, I believe, is a very good thing.

Lent is the season of forty days that comes before Easter. It is generally considered a "fast" time though various traditions deal with the "fasting" part of this celebration quite differently. Originally embraced by some Protestants the Reformed only began to embrace such seasons in the 20th century. Now others are following this pattern as Baptists, and other non-liturgical churches, consider the value of placing more […]

The Passing of the Peace

By John Armstrong|2009-02-23T05:00:00-06:00February 23rd, 2009|Categories: Church Tradition|

One of the most basic traditions of holy worship practiced by Christians down through the ages is called "the passing of the peace." This tradition is rooted in the several passages in the New Testament that refer to giving one another a "holy kiss."

I remember the first time I read those texts and asked the adults of my church why we didn't practice these customs the answer I got was unsatisfactory. I was puzzled at how insistent we were about interpreting the Bible literally but we tended to pick those things out of the Bible that we liked and left the rest. Such was the case here.

Then I discovered the "passing of the peace." This practice usually precedes coming to the Lord's Table. Part of the reason for this is so that we will all come having sought reconciliation with each other. We will also have a proper way to greet each other in the context of congregational worship.

The greeting is simple:

Leader: The […]