Theocracy

Dr. Tom Wadsworth's recent YouTube videos about "Why the Early Church Didn't Have 'Worship Services'" have attracted more than 750,000 views from more than 110 countries around the world. His videos stem from over 40 years of study and his doctoral research into Christian assemblies in the first century. He is a professional speaker, writer, and biblical scholar who has two master's degrees (MTh and ThM) and a PhD, all in New Testament. View the condensed version of Dr. Wadsworth's message that we discussed: youtube.com/watch?v=sw4MTdbq3Xw tomwadsworth.com voluntarytheocracy.org

Dr. Lisle discusses the evolutionary distant starlight problem that the new James Webb telescope has revealed. He was also the first to apply Einstein's theory of relativity to answer the distant starlight objection to young earth creationism. Consider subscribing on YouTube to watch more interviews like this: https://www.youtube.com/@theeocrat

You can't have more titles to cars than the number of cars that exist. If you do, you don't have a car title, you have a lottery ticket, and you may or may not have access to a car if each person wants to make use of his own car title at the same time. Walter Block and I discuss the following lecture and take some rabbit trails on morality and legality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXO4oCTYmQs

Solomon judges that a prostitute's baby be cut in half. He had laws about cattle in mind.

What does it mean to have law without the state, and what do insurance and public stoning have to do with it? mises.org/mises-daily/law-without-state bobmurphyshow.com

Is just getting back to the US constitution the best any people can hope for, or is there something better? Luke Saint is the chairman of the Mid Atlantic Reformation Society and occasional guest on the Lancaster Patriot Podcast. Luke's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/179239988X

Dr. Block coined a new position as early as the 70s called "evictionism" which states that in some instances, a mother may choose to evict a baby from the womb, and never to directly kill. If the child dies because it's premature, what realm of consequences there be for her? voluntarytheocracy.org/40

Did you know that God forbids prisons? Listen to the first 2 chapters of "Public Stoning: God's Design for a Nation Without Prisons." Available August 18th. Now available for pre-order. voluntarytheocracy.org/shop

Remember when the priests collected money for decades to fix the temple but never actually repaired it? Texts: 2 Kings 12:1-13, 2 Chronicles 24:1-14

I've celebrated a couple Biblical festivals, but I'm largely unfamiliar with the whens, hows, and whys. Listen if you'd like to familiarize yourself. voluntarytheocracy.org

PARENTS USE DISCRETION When my dad used to teach 6th grade, he decided to teach about the reasons for taboos and curse words from a Biblical view. Students and their parents continued to remember this lesson for years after, and it's not something I hear addressed by anyone else. We talk about which words aren't as taboo as they should be, vice versa, and why. voluntarytheocracy.org

This movie probably holds the top spot in pop culture as a reference point for what God's law means regarding public stoning. While it's a good film to bring attention to oppressed women around the globe, here's why it's a poor example of Biblical stoning. voluntarytheocracy.org

Failure to allow gleaning results in minimum wage laws. Here's why. voluntarytheocracy.org

I set up a table on the sidewalk to see who would be interested to discuss how the Bible forbids prison. I got two local university students to engage.

Joseph Foreman helped lead over 50,000 people in Operation Rescue from '88-'92, and he spent a total of 3 years in jail because of his ministry. Now virtually unemployable, he runs a coffee shop in North Carolina and posts thought-provoking articles on Facebook about the state of the organized church. All of Joseph Foreman's posts are public:

Is your mortgage lawful and honoring to God, or is it His curse on you? Learn Solomon's advice for the best person to lend to. How do your borrowing and lending practices stack up against God's law? Dive deep with us. voluntarytheocracy.org/31

How do you get local people to ask if they can be part of your believing community? Listen to Keith Darrell share his method. (site is down for now, should be up again soon) Twitter: @campusevangel IG: @campuspreacher YT: Keith Darrell

Talk Heathen is a live atheist show based in Austin, TX. I called in about a year ago at the request of an atheist friend. He said he found my views highly unusual in regard to Moses and thought I should bring up an unpopular law and why it's good. View my segment here: View the whole episode here:

If you're in the film/TV production space at all, or even if you just really like movies or novels, even just the news, I think you'll find this to be a fun conversation because of how much of an underpinning story is to theology and how we understand it. It is the primary way God communicates to us in Scripture after all. We get into presuppositionalism near the end and how people arrive at their positions of faith. I think story is an excellent tool in any storyteller's or theologian's belt.

I will be covering the events surrounding Mr. Kyle Rittenhouse, the law in Exodus 22:2-3 that applies here, definitions of the words the law uses, their applicability in this case, the entire range of possible legal outcomes and punishments according to God's law, and what has been handled improperly in the court of unbelievers. You can find this episode as an article and support the show on voluntarytheocracy.org

In this roundtable, we talk about a unique capital offense where someone can pay a ransom to redeem himself, marriage and sexual misconduct laws, the near equivalent of blasphemy laws in the homosexual community, God's design in the law for caring for the rejects from other nations, and the law's redemptive view of capital punishment. Support the show: voluntarytheocracy.org/donate

Did you ever think it strange that Scripture doesn't specify how we're supposed to do dating or courtship? What if I told you that God's design can be deduced from the laws of Moses and Christ's atonement? Support the show: voluntarytheocracy.org/donate theeocrat@gmail.com Check out the Betrothal Guys: betrothalandwedding.com facebook.com/betrothalguys

Questions discussed: How does Paul use the law? Is the 3-fold distinction of the law a cop-out? (Moral, civil, ceremonial) What's the law's role in evangelism? What basis do I have to confront a neighbor who often gets drunk? What was Jesus's ultimate problem with the Pharisees? Isn't it dangerous to let the law be applied only by "experts?" If we focus on the spirit, doesn't obedience to the law take care of itself? How did Jesus transform the law by establishing it? How do we win favor with outsiders in how we apply the law? When is caution in establishing the law not a concern? Is it useful to categorize the law? How do we encourage unbelievers to willingly ask us to teach them the law? Help more people find the show by leaving us a review wherever you listen, and you can help make future shows possible by donating at

I had known of my guest today for several years, but even with how close our circles are, I don't think I would have ever gotten an interview with him, except, I was running a Doordash delivery to a mobile home park, and as God would have it, I saw someone I knew. As I rolled by, I rolled down my window to say hey, and I was invited to come and visit for a few minutes. I couldn't right then, so I went and finished my other deliveries, and then came back by. Thankfully, they were still there.   They were having a visit with Jeremiah Roberts from the Cultish podcast. They talk cults, theology related to cults, they interview escapees, all with an eye toward evangelism education.   Jeremiah Roberts is the co-host and producer of Cultish.   IG: FB:

One update off the bat, the organization website is launched now voluntarytheocracy.org, so there is now an easier way to access show notes and helpful links. There is one for this show already which I hope you'll find handy with things we reference today. There is a donation page also. I ask for $1/month. I have had several people ask to give one-time bitcoin donations before, but now there's a simple way to support. If you can't do a donation, please share an episode with someone who might find it helpful. I've gotten a couple reviews on iTunes so far. So thank you "slimzac" and "Joshua" for helping more people find the show. Now, some of you know I have a background in media production. And I have gotten royalty checks and benefitted from a copyright "tradition" (I don't call it law) on multiple occasions, and I have family who have had their entire livelihoods supported by it. So how can I say in the title that "Copyrights Are Unlawful?" Stephan Kinsella is my guest today. I found him through Tom Woods's podcast years back, and I've run in to his talks at Mises University online several times. He's a patent attorney who has helped me think through these issues practically relating to intellectual property and why it doesn't exist. I believe there is a Bible verse I can point to as well in Exodus, but we'll get to that. We get in to some less-than-settled issues as well.

My guest today is Kevin Novak. I first met Kevin at my local assembly in north Texas. My parents visited with his family at a potluck and found they had some favorite authors in common. I visited with Kevin a few times and have been shown hospitality at his house several times. Kevin is in the interesting position of being a prosecuting attorney in Ft. Worth, Texas near Dallas, and he has a pretty radical perspective on God's law comparatively speaking. I think that gives him a unique perspective on what goes on locally, and I think he has some wisdom on what to do about it. He actually has a ministry that has nothing to do with criminal justice on the surface, but everything at the root. deconstructingthecoliseum.com Kevin's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998078808

My guest is Dr. Gary DeMar whom I was introduced to about 14 years ago through my dad. As a family, we went through a long period of studying America's Christian history as a family, and that led my dad to a book called "America's Christian History: The Untold Story" by Dr. DeMar. We also heard him at a conference Kevin Swanson put on at Generations with Vision. Most recently, I went through his book called "Wars and Rumors of Wars" which is a systematic reasoning of why Matthew 24 can only be speaking of events leading to the destruction of the temple in AD70. My biggest takeaway from Dr. DeMar's work is that if Matthew 24 is not talking about the end of the world, then what are Christians supposed to be doing? americanvision.org

This is a special interview for me. Dr. McDurmon has written several books that have greatly expanded my thinking on the scope of the great commission. The biggest danger to consuming his work is that it will depress you with the magnitude of work there is to be done and decisions to be made about where to start and how; it's called analysis paralysis. The biggest benefit is that he will encourage you to take action doing the next right thing every day (no matter how small) because there's no time to waste. Joel McDurmon has worked for over a decade as a public theologian. He has authored or edited over a score of books and lectured internationally. Joel has featured in variety of other media on topics as diverse as theology, law, history, economics, and philosophy. Joel lives near Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and five children.

Mike Maharrey is the national communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center. He runs a podcast called GodArchy where he and his guests explore Christianity as it intersects with the State. Mike shares his story of how he came to realize that he needed to bring his views on politics and religion into a coherent whole. We also discuss how he became an activist in local movements to nullify unjust laws, as the 10th Amendment gives the states and the people the authority to do so. We cover the process for how you can get involved and make a difference too. tenthamendmentcenter.com godarchy.org

My guest is Dr. Walter Block, a professor of economics at Loyola University in New Orleans. He went to school with Bernie Sanders, and he's the author of several libertarian philosophy and economics books, most notably a set called "Defending the Undefendable" where he lays out acts which may be socially unacceptable or morally corrupt but should not be punishable in court. Some things we touch on are of a disturbing nature: nothing graphic, but I do want to mention that some vocabulary words do come up which may prompt hard questions from children or google searches they may not be ready for.

First solo episode: I cover all the Biblical texts on laws for war, draw some applications for modern-day USA, and provide some insight on the current consequences of nations both obeying and disobeying these commandments. Texts: Numbers 1, Deuteronomy 17, 20-21, Luke 3, John 10

William Reusch is a highschool teacher in LA who is having to deal with the current state of american education and all its flaws. He hosts a podcast called Cylinder Radio, where he basically just enjoys talking to people who challenge his critical thinking on controversial topics. He also brought up an organization I wasn't aware of called the Heterodox Academy. Their homepage sums up his teaching philosophy: "Diverse viewpoints & open inquiry are critical to learning." Doesn't get more straightforward than that. So as I've followed him over the past year or so, it's been so encouraging to me that there do exist teachers out there who share this philosophy and are doing everything they can on the teacher's side of public education, as irredeemable as taxpayer funded education may be. Will acknowledges this, and he's in it anyway. Anyway, he's just a fascinating guy, and I really think he's worth your attention.

Some of the questions we discuss this month: What's our attitude towards the law? Do we assume a commandment is gone unless repeated? What if the American legal system obeyed the law of punishing false witnesses? How do we deal with the deep consequences of driving on "public roads" claimed by eminent domain? Is the government just in building a wall? How do I deal with lonliness in my Christian walk? What can I do to stop paying unlawful taxes? What's a practical application of all believers being priests? What about tassels? Is accelerationism Biblical? How do I plan for the collapse of an earthly kingdom? What examples can we use from the American Arbitration Association? What's the difference between American slavery and Biblically lawful slavery? What is postmillennialism, and how does what I believe about prophecy affect my daily life?

Back in April 2019, I reached out to my guest today, and in October, we finally conducted this interview you're about to hear. I had seen some of his economic theory articles on a website called Mises.org, which I had been turned onto by the Tom Woods show. Anyway, he has the best breakdown of how interest works and and the moral repercussions of biblical lending and unbiblical lending. He didn't say it that way, but I was able to connect what he was saying with God's law, and I knew I had to at least reach out. He's the clearest teacher that I have found on how banking works, and if I can get off track for one second here, here's what he cleared up for me: There's two distinct functions that used to be totally separate in business—1) paying a bank to protect your stuff. 2) Saving money at a bank, lending it your money which they pay interest on. Sort of like the bank buys your money at wholesale prices, lots of small amounts, and it sells your money at retail and splits the interest earnings with you. Look up his lectures on YouTube. Fantastic teacher. Very clear and able to distill ideas to their essence. His name is Robert Murphy. He's a Christian and economist. He's a Research Assistant Professor with the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech, a Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute, and he's a co-host with Tom Woods on their podcast "Contra Krugman." We talk about: Bob's story from nominal Catholicism>atheism>Christ, reconciling Paul's commands to be subject to authority with Christian anarchism and anarchocapitalism, socialism in the early church, mandatory charity enforcement in the Bible, capital punishment, life ransoms for crimes, lawful slavery, negligent homicide insurance, and much more. This same interview is episode 74 on Bob's show. Bob turned the tables on me and started digging in to my ideas, and we had a fantastic time. I think it will be well worth your time, and it was definitely worth my wait.