Governed by God

In this episode, I review and respond to an interview of Professor Richard Dawkins that took place near Easter. Professor Dawkins is a very outspoken atheist, having written numerous books against religion and against Christianity. In this interview, he reveals a very inconsistent and contradictory position: he loves Christian culture but does not believe a single word of it. In other words, he wants the fruit of Christianity but still is in the business of cutting down its trees. Such a strange - but common - attitude is one worth discussing, especially as Christians seek to defend the faith against an increasingly hostile culture. Watch the full video interview with Professor Dawkins on the LBC: Richard Dawkins: I'm a Cultural Christian As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

In this episode, I look at President Biden's recent proclamation regarding the Transgender Day of Visibility. What does this have to do with Easter and the White House Easter Egg Roll? And how is transgenderism actually one of the most deadly and dangerous false gospels that exist today? I do not mean that transgenderism is dangerous to Christians, but rather to those who are deceived by it and who deceive others by it. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

In this episode, I tackle the rather relevant and controversial topic of immigration. How should Christians approach that topic? Does the Bible have anything to say about freedom of movement, or lack thereof? How do we properly love the stranger and sojourner among us? These are important questions that we need to think about carefully and biblically. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I tackle the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling on the topic of IVF and the rights of embryos. More specifically, I look at a brief history of the term 'embryo' and 'fetus' and then consider Chief Justice Parker's opinion in the case. What is a fetus and an embryo? Do embryos have rights? And if they do, what does that mean for IVF? Alabama Supreme Court Ruling As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I look at some of the writings from the 16th Century Reformer Pierre Viret. Viret was a Swiss Reformer around the time of John Calvin, and he wrote several treatises and biblical commentaries. His works on government have been collated into a book titled The Christian and the Magistrate. What is the duty of Christian citizens? How should Christians honor rulers, even wicked ones? And how should a Christian act if he or she is in the position of a civil magistrate? The questions asked by Viret 500 years ago remain just a relevant for our culture today. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I complete my review and response of a recent episode of the White Horse Inn concerning misunderstood passages of Scripture. In their discussion, Dr. Michael Horton, Pastor Bob Hiller, and Dr. Walter Strickland talk primarily about passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14, and how such passages are misapplied today. While I agree with much of what they say, there are significant areas of disagreement. Once such area is whether passages that apply to the New Covenant people can be applied in any corporate sense or if they can only be applied individually. Another key area of disagreement is the meaning of "nations" in the New Testament, such as in Jesus's command to baptize and disciple the nations. Does the word refer to the modern nation-state? If not, what does it refer to? Here is the link to the original White Horse Inn episode: Misunderstood Passages About Culture As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I begin a multi-part review of a recent episode of the White Horse Inn concerning misunderstood passages of Scripture. In their discussion, Dr. Michael Horton, Pastor Bob Hiller, and Dr. Walter Strickland talk primarily about passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14, and how such passages are misapplied today. While I agree with much of what they say, there are significant areas of disagreement. Once such area is whether passages that apply to the New Covenant people can be applied in any corporate sense or if they can only be applied individually. Here is the link to the original White Horse Inn episode: Misunderstood Passages About Culture As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Today I analyze and critique an interview between Dr. Jordan Peterson and well-known atheist thinker, Sam Harris. More specifically, I look at the last several minutes of their discussion, where Harris presents his understanding of evil and the theoretical solution. Ultimately, Harris presents an entirely secular gospel that includes repentance, evangelism, and the giving of a personal testimony. The world knows that it needs saving, but Harris believes that man can save himself. Here is the link to the original interview on YouTube: Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Given the Christmas season, this week I compare two different narratives: one of Jesus of Nazareth and one of Caesar Augustus. Several years before Christ, Caesar was declared to be the savior of the world, whose coming brought good tidings for all the people. We see that Luke's account of the gospel parallels this, and offers a clear contrast between Christ and Caesar. I also look at Isaiah 9 and consider what it means for the government to be upon the shoulders of the Messiah. What does it mean that Christ is Lord of Lords? How should earthly lords think of that? As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I take a break from historical documents to look at some recent events here in Central Bucks School District. Our recent school board meeting on December 4, 2023 made Fox News and also was mentioned on The Michael Knowles Show. While there is much to discuss, the highlight of the evening involved the new board chair, Karen Smith, being sworn in not on the Bible, but a stack of LGBTQ+ books (including some sexually explicit ones). Today I look at Jeremiah 44 and see how Karen Smith, perhaps without knowing it, has sworn by the authority of a different god, the Queen of Heaven. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week I look at the concept of thanksgiving. First, I consider the importance of giving thanks as described in Romans 1. Then, I address the historical significance of Thanksgiving, including two Thanksgiving proclamations given by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Their proclamations are nothing short of Christian in their theology and terminology. If those proclamations were given today by a governor or president, I imagine that the person would quickly be labeled a Christian Nationalist. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

In continuing our study of John Locke's two treatises on government, today I finish up looking at his second treatise. The premise of Locke's version of Social Contract Theory is that, at some point in the past, everyone was completely independent and free but then explicitly consented to form a government. Locke does not explain when this meeting took place, or why it resulted in a system of majority rule for those who consented. Those who come later still have to consent, but Locke fails to point out that later generations only need to give implicit, or silent, consent. The problem with these two different forms of consent is that no serious long-term relationship can be based purely on consent, whether implicit or explicit. We see the failure of this concept in many different areas within our culture. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Today I shift over to a discussion of John Locke and his works on government. Many consider Locke to be both a secularist and a key influence in the American War for Independence. I challenge both of those notions. More specifically, I look at his first treatise on government, which was a response to the concept of the divine right of kings. Then I begin looking at his second treatise on government regarding the matter of consent of the people. Consent is a vague concept, and one that I think hinders Locke from really reaching an accurate conception of civil government. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Today I finish our study of Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville, by looking at what he says concerning the women of America. In the 1830s, Tocqueville drew a stark contrast between American women and the women of France. He went so far as to say that the prosperity, success, and strength of America was a direct result of "the superiority of their women." But what was it about American women that made them superior? The answer might be surprising. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Today I look at two documents. The first is the book of Philemon from the New Testament, which sets the stage for the peaceful end of slavery. The second is Alexis de Tocqueville's book Democracy in America, in which he discusses the issue of slavery in the southern states. He argues against slavery not only on the basis of Christianity, but also on the basis of economics. Simply put, slave states were far worse off economically than free states, and that is not an accident. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

Today I continue looking at Alexis de Tocqueville's work Democracy in America, written in the 1830s. He saw Americans as having an inordinate love of the power of the majority. Yet even so, liberty remained strong in the land. How was that possible? What was restraining the power of the majority in the United States? Tocqueville provides the answer to that by highlighting three things that preserve liberty: demographic/geographic factors, federalism/decentralization, and the Christian faith. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

To start off this season, I look at the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, specifically his work Democracy in America written in the 1830s. Today I consider his chapter on omnipotence and tyranny of the majority. In democracy, we say that majority rules. But what restrains the majority from abusing their power? What about when the majority opinion is formed? How are those who go against the majority treated? Tocqueville answers those questions while also describing what we would call the roots of cancel culture in America. Now, almost two hundred years later, the roots of cancel culture have produced the fruit. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week, I finish the series on idolatry and the demonic by looking at our modern context. Secularism, at its root, is a modern form of paganism. The idea that there is no God, there is no meaning, and we are all just little autonomous gods running around is simply paganism repackaged. These ideas have possessed our culture today, similar to other cultures in the past. But there is a solution. So please join me today as I end this season of the podcast looking at a very important, and relevant, topic. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week, I continue with the series on idolatry and the demonic by looking at the god Molech, or Moloch. Molech was a god of death and harvest, requiring sacrifices for success and protection against evil. He was most well-known for the demand of child-sacrifices, something that the people of Israel failed to resist. Join me today as I consider the worship of Molech through the ancient world and how it continues today. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

This week, I continue with part two regarding the ancient worship of Asherah, or Ishtar. As an androgynous goddess whose holiest month was June, what else did Asherah worship involve? Most importantly, why does that matter for today? This is part of my greater series on idolatry, the demonic, and the pagan deities of the ancient near east. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!