Cody Cook's Blog

A conversation about Paul’s apocalyptic political theology and my book Delivered from the Evil Age of the Present with Nick Quient.

When you’re a libertarian Christian, you keep a number of Scriptures on your theological Rolodex. We love to talk about 1 Samuel 8, where Israel asks God for a king and He responds by chastising them for their lack of faithfulness. Revelation and Daniel have lots of great passages about Jesus coming to destroy all empires at the end of the age that serve to salve the longsuffering libertarian. Acts 5:29 is short and sweet–it’s better to obey God rather than men. I probably quote Luke 4:6-7 the most. That’s the one where Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world on the basis that Satan is actually the one who directs the rulers of nations.

But we also have passages we get tired of responding to…

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“Thomas Sowell cuts through the two extremes here: “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.” If we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, we must follow his advice. The dangers of both credulous embrace and reactionary rejection of new technology raise the need for a third way. And despite their caricature as eschewers of all innovation, Amish communities approach technology in precisely the way Sowell suggests.”

Read the rest of my piece at https://ifstudies.org/blog/a-third-way-what-we-can-learn-from-the-amish-approach-to-tech

My latest book is now available. Get Delivered from the Evil Age of the Present on paperback and Kindle!

Description:
In this episode I am joined once again by the great Cody Cook, this time to discuss the recent controversy regarding Kirk Cameron’s changing views of hell. Cameron defended the annihilationist position, also known as ‘conditional immortality’, and castigated by many evangelicals who hold to eternal conscious torment. We talk about the fallout of Cameron’s remarks and explain the differences between eternal conscious torment (ECT), annihilationism, and universalism. We then argue in favor of the annihilationist perspective, discussing the Biblical and theological evidence, and explain what is at stake in the debate.

Link to download MP3:
https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-238-hell-yes-or-hell-no-annihilationism-vs-ect-with-cody-cook/

Is Conditionalism the True Meaning of Christmas? Seeing the Incarnation Through the Eyes of Athanasius, the Father of Christian Orthodoxy

To say that the New Testament has some negative things to say about the wealthy would be an understatement:

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt. 19:24, KJV).

“Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation” (Lk. 6:20, KJV)!

“Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats” (Jas. 2:6, KJV)?

“He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Lk. 1:53, KJV).

From a reading of these verses alone, it would be reasonable to conclude that wealth is a grave sin, that having money is a form of oppression against those who have not, and that no rich people will be allowed into heaven…

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This was a really fun one to record. We discussed how films can clarify values and give us the language to think about issues like liberty, faith, forgiveness, and atonement. I also got to discuss a few of my favorite movies with libertarian and Christian themes!

Whereas libertarianism emerged out of the insights and convictions of an 18th century European movement that is now called “classical liberalism,” Christianity was birthed in the first century A.D. Why then, if Christianity and libertarianism are fundamentally compatible, did it take so long for libertarianism to come about?

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