[In memory of my beloved son Jeremy David Rankin, 1985-2020: See Here]
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Mission Field of Politics
Rooted in Biblical Theology 101 and its Mission (TEI Cohort)
JohnRankin.us: Home portal for EmancipationParty.us and PrePartisan.org
__________________________________
YouTube Links for the Introduction and Chapters One for the re-edited book: Jesus, in the Face of His Enemies: A Paradigm Shift to Overturn Politics as Usual:
- Click here for the Introduction: A Dangerous Book.
- Click here for Chapter One: Why Did Jesus Have Enemies?
__________________________________
[The Theological Education Institute (TEI) International (teii.org) was founded by John C. Rankin in 1986]
TEI Online Classes
__________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to teii.org. The twelve icons at the bottom of the page each focus on a given subject or subjects.
The mission of the TEI International is rooted in the reality of creation, sin and redemption defined in Genesis 1-3, being interpretive for the whole Bible and all of life. In particular, the mission is to advance religious, political and economic freedom for all people equally, in the Name of Jesus. And in so doing, the mission of the Gospel finds its greatest success. To accomplish this, biblically literate people are needed in all arenas of political culture — government, education, media, business, science and the arts. The TEI seeks to teach and exemplify the necessary foundation.
And here is a radical biblical assumption: Yahweh Elohim crushes Satan by giving him the freedom to choose evil, for evil implodes on itself. There is no coercion in the Gospel.
Or to put it a different way: Only when the church knows the biblical literacy of “an aggressive hospitality to dissent,” within and without, can we overcome the barriers of unbelief in a secular and pagan culture, and allow the Good News to be truly seen as good.
_________________________
1. In the biblical order of creation, Yahweh Elohim defines the freedom of the original level playing field for man and woman. They are free to choose between good and evil, freedom and slavery, and life and death. In so doing, the evil one is given the radical opportunity to make his case, indeed, to be deceptive in the process.
2. Freedom originates in the nature of Yahweh Elohim, the one true, sovereign and entirely good Creator, and where freedom is the power to do the good. Men and women are made in his image, and thus, in doing the good, we are always free to continue doing the good; but, if we do evil, we only become slaves to further evil. Freedom and goodness by definition cannot be imposed, for to do so is an oxymoron. In other words, unless we are truly free to say no to the one true Creator, we are not fully free to say yes — the radical nature of the original level playing field. And thus, in the end, as good conquers evil, so too, freedom conquers slavery.
3. In a political world full of distrust, the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah proactively seeks to recreate the level playing field, and this involves an aggressive hospitality to all questions and dissenting opinions (see Jesus, in the Face of His Enemies at johnrankinboooks.com). Indeed, in seeking to delineate between good and evil, freedom and slavery, life and death, the power to love hard questions is central to a lived freedom. Accordingly, with such a level playing field in place, goodness, truth and beauty will always rise to the top. See prepartisan.org. Those who seek the good will find the the shalom (wholeness) of the good; those are bent on evil will only be bent by evil in the end.
_________________________
