Against Spiritual People

What Aren’t They Telling Us?

James 4:1 asks a question most Christians apply only to personal quarrels: "From whence come wars and fightings among you?" But what if that same diagnostic — that conflicts are rooted in sinful passions and lusts — applies not just to family disputes but to the wars between nations that have defined the modern era? In this episode of Out of the Question, Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts argue that Christians who refuse to apply biblical categories to geopolitical conflict are left defenseless against manufactured narratives and engineered crises. The conversation traces a pattern from the interpersonal to the international: just as a parent asks "who instigated this?" when children fight, so Scripture demands we ask who benefits when nations go to war. Drawing on historical examples — from the circumstances surrounding Pearl Harbor to the pretexts for Germany's invasion of Poland, to the uncomfortable reality that the same financial interests often fund opposing sides of a conflict — Schwartz and Roberts make the case that wars redistribute wealth and power in predictable ways, and that those who profit from conflict have every incentive to perpetuate it. The problem, they argue, is not merely ignorance but a truncated theology that reduces the Bible to a personal salvation manual and cedes public life to autonomous human reasoning. The episode challenges listeners to move beyond both naive patriotism and cynical resignation. If Psalm 2 tells us that rulers conspire together against the Lord, and Psalm 127 tells us that unless the Lord builds the house the laborers work in vain, then the Christian's responsibility is not to retreat into pietism but to bring every institution — family, church, and state — under the governance of God's law. Listeners are pointed to Rushdoony's commentary on James, his *Christianity and the State*, and the *Faith in Action* and *Informed Faith* essay collections as resources for thinking more deeply. This is a conversation for anyone ready to ask the questions behind the questions.

Faith

Some people treat faith like a possession something comforting, personal, and safe while others find that faith has taken hold of them and refuses to let go. One faith comforts; the other compels. When faith becomes a living fire within us, it demands obedience, growth, and sacrifice, often making us uncomfortable but always drawing us forward. True faith points beyond ourselves to God’s will and His Kingdom, governing our lives rather than sitting quietly among our belongings. The real question is not whether you have faith but whether your faith has you.

The Key to Understanding

Throughout history men have sought a master concept by which to understand all things, yet every key that rests in human reason or material explanation falls short, because it cannot interpret the moral and spiritual meaning of life; Scripture instead provides the true key when it declares, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things” (Prov. 28:5). Understanding is inseparably tied to faith, for a man’s moral and spiritual condition determines his capacity to grasp God’s dealings, and rebellion against God inevitably produces confusion, while trust in Him opens the eyes of understanding. What the natural man stumbles over the justice and judgment of God becomes for the believer the very principle that explains life, suffering, and providence, turning what appears a curse into a blessing. Thus faith is not blindness but true sight, and those who surrender human self-confidence and walk by faith are given spiritual knowledge by the Holy Spirit, enabling them to interpret all of life in the light of God’s sovereign purpose. In this way, faith becomes the true master key to understanding, illuminating the heart to know the hope, power, and rule of Christ over all things.

The Faith of St. Patrick

He called himself a coward but history called him brave. When a runaway freight train hurtled down a mountain grade, every confident man jumped off except one: H. C., too afraid to leap. Instead, trembling but clear-headed, he crawled across the boxcars and set handbrakes he’d never used before, saving the train and earning a medal for bravery. True courage, as H. G. Wells said, is doing what you’re afraid to do and Scripture reminds us that “with the lowly is wisdom.” Pride bailed out; humility held fast. When the crisis came, the humble man stood firm. The question is simple: when your moment comes, will pride make you jump or will humility give you courage?

Appendix: Law in Western Society (Remastered)

Notes on the Law in Western Society – The early church regarded biblical law as binding on believers, applying Levitical regulations to clergy, observing sabbath and moral law, and enforcing discipline, penance, and restitution (Ancyra, Basil, Gregory Thaumaturgus). Canon law reflected Scripture even while navigating Roman law, bureaucracy, and societal decay. The Theodosian Code and later Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis integrated Christianity with Roman law, while common law, medieval codes, and urban law drew heavily on biblical principles. Jewish communities, grounded in Scripture, contributed significantly to commercial, urban, and civic order in Europe, influencing figures like Maimonides and shaping Western legal culture. Puritans and New England colonists codified laws based on biblical precepts (Massachusetts Body of Liberties, New Haven Colony Laws), emphasizing God as Judge, Lawgiver, and King (Isa. 33:22). Humanistic or state-centered law, divorced from God’s law, fails to restore social order; true law is Scripture-based, ensuring moral, social, and civil flourishing. The decline of Roman and humanistic law demonstrates that only obedience to God and His law provides enduring justice, order, and salvation. #BiblicalLaw #CanonLaw #WesternCivilization #PuritanLaw #Maimonides #CommonLaw #DivineJustice #GodsOrder #ScriptureBasedLaw #SocialOrder