Council officers were posed this question

Council officers were posed this question: “You stated on your website that you have a duty ‘to suppress heresy, idolatry, and every other enemy of sound doctrine’. Does that mean that if you came to power you would feel it necessary to persecute non-Calvinists?”  Here is how one Council officer responded to the query:

“Let me first say that I am but one officer and member in the Party, and I am just responding as one officer and member.

 

I think we need to keep one thing in mind as a starting premise: no civil government is morally neutral and every civil government suppresses that which is contrary to its values.  For example, the modern USA is essentially a secular humanist nation, and it suppresses Biblical Christianity by teaching and promoting Darwinian evolution in the public schools (instead of the Biblical account of creation).  It provides funding for secular humanist schools but not Christian schools.  Public television for the most part comes from an un-Biblical perspective. Furthermore, one cannot hold civil office in the USA unless one swears to uphold the US Constitution, including the un-Biblical anti-establishment of religion position.  But even though secular humanism is promoted and Biblical Christianity is suppressed, does not mean the civil government is coming and executing me as a Christian.

 

So analogously, when it says heresy, idolatry, and every other enemy of sound doctrine should be suppressed, does not mean everyone who is not a Calvinist would be executed or thrown in prison.  Rather, it means the civil government will take appropriate and Biblical action to uphold truth and suppress falsehood, as is really the duty of every man and institution of man.

 

But when you say lots of Arminians were thrown in prison in the 17th century, I would ask you when and where.  I am a Presbyterian, and I can tell you that in Scotland those who were thrown in prison or executed were for the most part the staunch Calvinistic Presbyterians.  I think the record of Calvinistic rule compares very favorably with the alternatives.  And it most certainly looks good in comparison with modern Western nations where the abortion genocide is killing people by the tens of millions.  And the latter does not even consider how modern Western societies are suppressing the gospel, which has eternal consequences.”

The Council sent a letter to the Reformation Party co-organizers.

The Council sent a letter to the Reformation Party co-organizers.

The Council sent a letter to the SGP in the Netherlands.

The Council sent a letter to the SGP in the Netherlands.  The leader of the SGP, Mr. Kees van der Staaij, replied back, indicating his desire for God’s blessing upon the Reformation Party and continued communication between the SGP and Reformation Party.

 

The Council sent a letter to various Brazilian ministers, responding to their inquiry.

The Council sent a letter to various Brazilian ministers, responding to their inquiry.

Clarifying the meaning of certain terms used in the Reformation Party’s platform

In order to clarify the meaning of certain terms used in the Reformation Party’s platform, etc., the Council of the Party has issued this announcement:

 

a.       It is the understanding of the co-organizers of the Reformation Party, as well as its initially elected Council of Officers, that by the phrase "original Westminster Standards" is intended all of the principles and doctrines outlined in the documents of the Westminster Standards (Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, Shorter Catechism, Form of Presbyterial Church-Government, and Directory for the Public Worship of God), understanding that in certain of those documents (namely, the Form of Presbyterial Church-Government and Directory for the Public Worship of God) some elements of what was adopted were intended for a certain geography and time (e.g., in the Directory for the Public Worship of God the provision of praying for the Queen of Bohemia).

 

b.      It is the understanding of the co-organizers of the Reformation Party, as well as its initially elected Council of Officers, that by the phrase "original Westminster Standards" is intended "the original Westminster Standards as adopted by the Church of Scotland in the 1640s and as understood by them then".

 

c.       Although not products of the Westminster Assembly itself, the following documents historically associated with the Westminster Standards are agreed to by the co-organizers of the Reformation Party, as well as its initially elected Council of Officers: the National Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant, the Sum of Saving Knowledge, and the Directory for Family Worship.

 

d.      With respect to the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant, it is the understanding of the co-organizers of the Reformation Party, as well as its initially elected Council of Officers, that there is a descending obligation of these to the posterity of all parties for which these Covenants were intended.

The Reformation Party has elected its initial Council members to serve for the 2012 term.

The Reformation Party has elected its initial Council members to serve for the 2012 term.

A reformed Christian theocracy brings glory to God

Per http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-n-myers/kiryas-yoel-theocracy-in-america_b_1124505.html  - "...Judge Rakoff upheld the legal validity of Kiryas Joel, New York. In doing so, he rejected the proposition that the Village constitutes an impermissible "theocracy," and affirmed, perhaps unintentionally, another well-established American tradition: the granting of government sanction to strong forms of religious sub-communities, even (or perhaps especially) those whose norms of governance and behavior are illiberal and seemingly in contradiction to American constitutional values and norms...American courts have repeatedly approved the formation of private self-governing enclaves by religiously homogeneous communities. Kiryas Joel thus falls into a long American tradition of robust support for religious sub-communities, a tradition that enables private communities to form and then, once formed, to translate their private power into political power..."

So it is legally permissible to establish a theocratic community in the USA.  It is important to establish a reformed Christian theocratic community in the USA because we need to provide an example of how God prospers a reformed Christian theocracy as way of convincing more people to embrace the idea.  More importantly, a reformed Christian theocracy brings glory to God.