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Arise & Build 2018 Sept
Arise & Build 2018 Sept
I
came to faith in More than any other Reformed
Christ from a life theologian and scholar with whom I
of principled athe- was familiar, R. J. Rushdoony took that
ism. Having majored sentiment seriously. The magazine article
in philosophy as an showed that some men are hated more
undergraduate student, for their virtues and not their vices.
and as with many young people of my
generation, I was on a quest to find the ARMED FOR THE WARS OF THE LORD
all-encompassing truth about reality. After earning degrees from two
The philosophers of world history Reformed seminaries and entering
offered a bewildering number of expla- full-time pastoral ministry, the works of
nations about the meaning of life, but Rushdoony became one of my primary
at that time, of one thing I was certain: sources of information and guidance in
the Biblical worldview, as I had known terms of applying all the Bible to all of
it, offered nothing at all. life.
When many years later God by His As I have continued in pastoral
grace called me into His covenant fam- ministry for a quarter of a century I am
ily, I was stunned to learn that someone still puzzled by the hostility that some
had actually articulated a worldview in the Reformed churches have toward
based solely on Holy Scripture, and Rushdoony’s solidly Biblical, Reformed
that person was R. J. Rushdoony. writings.
I had become a presuppositionalist In the book Sovereignty, Rushdoo-
and Calvinist before having heard of ny addressed one reason for such hostil-
Rushdoony but when I did learn of ity. He described perfectly the problem
him, it was through a less than com- that has created an environment in
plimentary magazine article that was some circles against the full-orbed mes-
highly critical of his work. sage of God’s Word:
As I repeatedly read that critical
Calvinism had become truncated and
assessment of Rushdoony’s writings it
more governed by traditions than
didn’t make sense to me. I was already by the power of God. From a feared
familiar with the words of Dr. Van power, Calvinism had receded into
Til who said: “The Bible speaks with a dour and critical collection of men
authority concerning everything about who endlessly preached the “Five
which it speaks, and it speaks about Points of Calvinism” to one another
everything!”1 … It is especially sad that the name of
A
s many know, Another bright spot on the horizon
R.J. Rushdoo- is a real-time example of “a church that
ny expressed his ever faithful stands,” right in Silicon
heartfelt convictions in Valley, California. For over forty-six
poetry, most of which years, St. Paul’s Anglican Church and
were private dialogs its mission work, Canterbury Chris-
between him and God. I had the honor tian School, has influenced the lives of
to help compile these for the book The countless students whose early edu-
Luxury of Words: The Poetry of Rousas cation included a solid foundation in
John Rushdoony and to select some for a God’s Word and its relevance to every
special anniversary CD that set some of area of life and thought.
his poems to music and others recited First under the direction of Rev.
by those impacted by his life and work. Norman Milbank and his wife, Til-
One of my favorites is I Still Have lie Ann, the mantle was passed on
Prayer. to Bishop Ron Johnson and his wife
O give me, Lord, a task to do Barbara, almost ten years ago when the
And strength to walk and be true, Milbanks were well into their nineties.
Someone to love me, someone to love; In 2017, the day before Thanksgiving,
This I ask of the Lord above. God in His providence took Bishop
Children whose lives will glorify Johnson unexpectedly, leaving this vital
The Lord of glory ere I die. work without a leader at the helm.
A church that ever faithful stands As I sat in the memorial service, I
Midst an alien world’s demands. became convicted that this work must
And having these, I have my share – continue. Trust me when I quickly
But if none, I still have prayer. discerned I was being given “march-
And having these, I have my share – ing orders” and this was more than
But having none, I still have prayer. a fleeting thought. Having had such
Today the Chalcedon Founda- “charges” before in my life, I quickly
tion faces many challenges, but has began making phone calls after I prayed
remained true (by God’s grace) to the for God to help me accomplish the task
mission of its founder. Moreover, Rush’s He laid before me. Long story short,
prayer has come to fruition. He has my first and best candidate, Steve Ma-
a son, Mark, who cias, ended up being
continues to carry the person who now
on the work begun holds the dual posi-
by his father, and tion of pastoring the
has remained true congregation of St.
to the conviction Paul’s and serving
that God’s law-word as the headmas-
alone will bring a ter of Canterbury
revival in Christen- Christian School.
dom that can meet He, along with his
our “alien world’s wife Sarah and their
demands.” Rev. Steve Macias and Andrea Schwartz three children, have
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8/17/18 6:12 AM