An Urgent Appeal

The average published book sells 3,000 copies in its lifetime. The book shown above has sold over 5,500 copies through Amazon in its first 3 months. After 119 Amazon reviews, its rating is 4.9 out of 5. 

We first posted about this book on September 18, and we are repeating that post today because we believe this book is particularly needed, "for such a time as this." 

Few will report it, and the mainstream media will ignore it. But Renewanation has done the research, and is breaking the news here today: George Floyd and the policeman involved in his death were of the same race.

And there's more to the story: 

A study published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that between 2003 and 2009, an average of 535 arrest-related deaths per year occurred (42% white, 32% black). Yet, none of these deaths sparked the kind of chaos we've seen in recent months. 

What's going on here?

More importantly: what's the solution?

To understand what's going on, we must understand the ideology behind the problem, and we must look to The Book (The Bible) for lasting solutions. We must understand the difference between "Social Justice" and "Biblical Justice," for these two "justices" are fundamentally unequal.

In his newly published book, Scott Allen examines the biblical differences in plain and compassionate English. His much-needed work is titled, Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice: An Urgent Appeal to Fellow Christians in a Time of Social Crisis.

Marvin Olasky says about this book: "We are a wounded nation now, and Christians need to bind up wounds and not make new ones. Instead of scorning those who push for social justice, we should recognize that leftist ideologies have twisted the concept--and some Christians have naively gone along with the distortion. Scott Allen offers an alternative that's crucial to consider."

Darrow Miller, co-founder of Disciple Nations Alliance, put it this way: "Scott, who has dedicated his life to fighting poverty, hunger, and injustice, has done us all a service in reflecting on the biblical concept of justice in comparison with the ideology of social justice."

In this timely work, Scott Allen not only provides a well-documented analysis of the issues, but a clear trumpet sound for moving forward. Not only does he clarify what a biblically informed Christ-follower must be against, when it comes to "Social Justice," but what a biblically informed Christ-follower must be for, when it comes to "Biblical Justice."

The book truly is an urgent appeal. With an urgent need.

Get your copy here. (Renewantion has no financial gain.)

Stuck on the first paragraph?

If you trace the history of George Floyd and the policeman, you will discover they go back to the same grand-grand-grand...grandparents: Adam and Eve. 

There's one race: the human race.

That's biblical.

This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

Got Joy?

 

With all that has happened in 2020, the word "JOY" is not one that would likely come up in a word-association game. Unless, that is, you were the Apostle Paul, who endured great suffering and pain in this life, yet repeatedly admonished Christ's followers to be joyful in the midst of hardship.  

The great Christmas carol Joy To The World is based on Psalm 98: "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth, break forth in song...for He is coming to judge the earth, with righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity." 

Some say this song is not about Christ's birth in Bethlehem, but about Christ's second coming, and the joy which will occur when He comes to set all things straight. 

But Joy To The World makes as much sense in celebration of Christ's first coming. While anticipating His Kingdom-yet-to-come, we can celebrate His Kingdom-already-here. 

Before Bethlehem, I Chronicles 29:11 asserted: "...all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all," and before Christ's second coming, Acts 10:36 placed Jesus' universal authority in the present tense: "He is Lord of all." 

It's true Christ's Kingdom is not universally recognized right now on Planet Earth. There are weeds in His field, which He did not plant (see Matthew 13). They will be bundled and burned someday, but the domain over which Christ is King (that is, His "King-domain"), includes both heaven and earth, right now. 

The whole field is His. The fact that not every human heart has received Him as King doesn't alter the fact that He is.

This is the world's greatest Christmas gift: that Christ came in human form "to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found." In the middle of the mess.

His blessings are intended to flow through people today who are reconciled to God and reconciling all things to Him, including the things of earth, far as the curse is found.  

So, by God's grace, let's occupy until He comes again, pulling up "bramble bushes" and planting "fruit trees" before Christ's second coming arrives. In the midst of hardship and pain.

Got joy?

Joy to the Earth! The Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy!

Far as the curse is found. 

This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

A Virtual Open House

 

You are cordially invited to join iLumenEd Academy for a Virtual Open House tomorrow, Friday, December 4, at either 10:00am Eastern (7:00am Pacific), or 6:00pm Eastern (3:00pm Pacific).

This is a free webinar, so please share this with your friends, family, and schools that may be interested.

iLumenEd Academy offers K-12 academic training in the context of a biblical worldview, with à la carte courses and full-time programs. iLumenEd Academy both partners with Christian schools to offer supplemental courses to enhance student experience, and also provides full programs for in-home learning.

During the Virtual Open House, you will hear from key staff members, parents, and heads of schools. You will also get a sneak peek of virtual live classrooms, learning platforms, curriculum, accreditation, tuition costs, scholarship opportunities, and more.

You will receive information regarding the spring 2021 semester as well as the 2021-22 school year for Kindergaten through 12th-grade students.

You must register in advance, and you will receive a confirmation email after registration. Click on the links below to register. We recommend you do this now.

Register here for Friday, December 4, 2020, at 10:00am Eastern, 7:00am Pacific.

Register here for Friday, December 4, 2020, at 6:00pm Eastern, 3:00pm Pacific.

This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

What's A "Micro School?"

Since the Coronavirus outbreak, Renewanation has seen an increasingly strong interest from churches desiring to launch Christian schools. It isn’t just the Coronavirus, however, that is driving this interest.

In response, Renewanation is currently working on a “Micro School Start-up Program" that will help hundreds of churches (hopefully thousands of them) to get God-honoring micro schools up and running quickly and efficiently for their communities. It's Renewanation's own "operation warp-speed."

What’s a “micro school?”

Micro schools are not a new concept. Bill Gates has been involved in launching them around the world, and many see this approach as the “wave of the future” for education. Micro schools have been described as a “reinvention of the one-room school house.” Class sizes are typically under 10-15 students. The term “Pandemic Pod” has also been used to describe this phenomenon. One is reminded of that old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention.”

Renewanation strongly believes the micro school format provides a legitimate and effective means for churches of all sizes to get involved in educating children with relatively little financial outlay. The current plan is for Renewanation’s Micro School Start-Up Program to work hand in hand with the new virtual school Renewanation launched last September, called, iLumenEd Academy.

Renewanation has a vision for thousands (hopefully hundreds of thousands) of children to receive a True education through Christ-centered micro schools offered via churches across the country over the coming decade. 

Renewanation sees micro schools in which math, science, history and literature are all viewed in the context of something much bigger than math, science, history and literature: the context of the Bigger Picture of True Reality called a "Biblical Worldview." Our nation must get back to this kind of education.  

To assist in getting the Micro School Start-up Program going, Renewanation brought a veteran school startup specialist onto their development team to help put together a package which will allow any church, large of small, from A-Z, to start a micro school as easily and effectively as possible.

For this vision, Renewanation has launched a $100,000 fund-raising effort to get things off the launching pad. It is the hope and goal of Renewanation to provide this service and package to churches at almost no cost.

To direct a financial gift to the Renewanation Micro School project, contact Chuck Robb, Director of Ministry Partnerships, at crobb@renewanation.org.

This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

Why Christian Education?

 

This week, let's focus on the question, "Why Christian education?"

Few issues are more important today for parents who have sons or daughters in K-12 education.  

Some 85%-90% of Christian parents do not provide a biblio-centric education for their children. The reasons are varied.

Many pastors are silent on the issue. Some may feel it is best for children from Christian homes to attend the public schools to be "lights in the world," rather than separate themselves from "the mainstream of culture." 

But do we really want our children to be swimming in the mainstream of today's culture? They'll get plenty of this without subjecting them to more during 6 prime hours of the day. If it is evangelism that's the idea, invite the neighbors over.

Please read, "Debunking the 8 Most Popular Myths about Christian Education." Click here. 

Then watch a short (1:40 minute) video, here:

If this video does not play, click here: https://youtu.be/MNaMJFjdpGE

Many brick-and-mortar Christian schools are offering at-home services due to Coved-19 issues. Check this out with your local Christian school, or consider an on-line Christian school. More on this next week.  

This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

Perhaps You Missed All The Fanfare

Last Wednesday, November 11, was the 400^th anniversary of something truly unique and amazing in all of history. It was a remarkable occasion that has greatly affected all Americans, even to the present hour.

Perhaps you missed all the fanfare in the media.

The occasion that occurred 400 years ago this week set into motion an extraordinary approach to human governance based upon the idea that a group of people could actually be self-governed under God through the rule of law with the consent of the governed.

Wednesday marked the 400^th anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact. 

The Mayflower Compact was created by the Pilgrim Fathers, signed aboard the ship that carried 102 Pilgrims (in families with children, including three pregnant women), to the New World in 1620. Within 3 months, half of this group was dead.

The Mayflower Compact established a remarkable form of human government. It got the ball rolling toward the establishment of a new nation’s way of governance, whereby the players in governmental roles would be held in check by the rule of law with the consent of the governed, and no human King on hand to direct and control things. 

But the Pilgrims clearly had a King in mind. 

Self-governance under God through the rule of law with the consent of the governed was a radical idea in 1620, and it is still a radical idea today. 

It is clearly an idea we need to recover.

 This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

Soft Totalitarianism

 

A friend of Renewanation, who is alerting his community to the prejudicial effects of CRT [Critical Race Theory] in public schools, informed us he was “doxed,” and had received threatening phone calls to his home.

“When you fight back against equity/CRT, it gets ugly,” he wrote. “There are groups out there who target people who speak out against CRT. One such group sent a letter to the employer of an individual who worked with me, telling this man’s employer about his 'anti-equity rhetoric,' and claiming he was 'attacking' a community group 'that was supporting racial diversity and inclusion.'"

In that letter, this man’s adversaries wrote: “We share this with you because we are concerned that Mr. ________ might also be bringing a biased attitude—implicitly or explicitly—into his work for your company…We felt that you should know.”

Our friend continued: “These are the tactics they use. They try to get people fired, and ruin their name and life. It is dirty. Other people self-censor because they fear these attacks.”

This is what Rod Dreher calls “soft totalitarianism.”

In his book, Live Not by Lies, Dreher helps Followers of Christ to not be surprised when “soft totalitarianism” reveals its ugly face. It has been increasing in recent years, with cake decorators being sued for not making cakes for same-sex weddings, and the like.

“Hard totalitarianism” took place in Russia following the Bolshevik revolution. Freedom of speech disappeared, and people were afraid to express their thoughts, lest they be reported by a neighbor and disciplined by the State. Freedom of religious expression (other than State-approved expression), disappeared. Prison time resulted for some. Many Christ-Followers gathered in secret. 

Dreher traveled to former "Eastern Block" countries of the now-defunct Soviet Union to interview Christ-Followers who lived through the totalitarianism of “the Soviet days.” He wanted to learn how these people navigated those rough waters, so he could help Christ-Followers in America to deal with the increasing “soft totalitarianism” of today’s 'cancel culture.'

You, too, may become a target. Perhaps you've already been one.

You don't have to write a letter to the editor to become a target. All you have to do is not wear a rainbow pin on your collar when the rest of your co-workers do. 

The State will not send you to prison, but many “Social Justice Warriors” will see to it that you pay—one way or another. 

This book may be the survival guide you never thought you'd need in the United States.  

To order, click here.

 This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org 

Debunking Howard Zinn

It is difficult to name a single person more effective in shaping the "oppressed v. oppressor" view of American history than Howard Zinn. The U.S. history text he crafted 40 years ago (which is popular at both high school and college levels) is Critical Theory on steroids.

In 2019, when a newly elected Oklahoma City council member, JoBeth Hamon, was sworn into office, she placed her hand not upon a Bible, but upon Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States. 

Hamon's action illustrates the continuing prevalent influence that Zinn’s book has upon the thinking of many Americans—and the loss of the Bible’s place of honor.

A People’s History of the United States first appeared in 1980. Even in its 32nd year, it was identified as the bestselling American history survey book, both as a trade book and a textbook.  

Stanford University education professor Sam Wineburg referred to the book as having a “preternatural shelf life.” To say Zinn’s book is “trendy” is an understatement. Few history books can touch its record.

Yet, A People’s History of the United States has been perhaps the single most influential text in shaping negative views of the United States. It epitomizes Critical Theory applied to history.

From Christopher Columbus, to the treatment of Native Americans, to the practice of slavery and the motivation for the Civil War, to World War II and the Cold War that followed, Zinn’s book is one relentless criticism after another. It is nearly impossible to read Zinn’s book without concluding the United States is an evil empire, and has been evil from the start. A nation worthy to be brought down.   

But is Zinn’s criticism historically sound? Is it accurate?

That question has been answered with a resounding “No!” by Mary Grabar, in her long overdue 2019 book, Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America.

Garbar goes into meticulous detail, with extensive documentation, pointing out multiple specifics of Zinn’s “fundamentally and grossly dishonest” work.

It is the specificity of Grabar’s book that is so impressive. She doesn’t just make general observations about Zinn’s dishonesty, but takes a thorough look at Zinn’s specific claims throughout his book. Time after time, Grabar proves Zinn to be anything but an authentic historian. 

Zinn was a shrewd storyteller, with a nefarious agenda.

Rather than buying a copy of Zinn’s book, get a copy of Garbar’s book, which contains so many quotes from Zinn’s book, you will in essence have read both books at once.

To understand why so many people today are anti-Western, anti-capitalist, anti-Columbus, and anti-statues, Debunking Howard Zinn is essential reading.

 This blog is a service of  RenewaNation www.renewanation.org