TEI Seminars

   John Rankin teaches 1) The Love of Hard Questions Seminar; and 2) The Only Genesis Seminar. Contact the TEI if you are interested.
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   The Love of Hard Questions Seminar is designed for 1 1/2 to 3 hours, with time for questions and answers:

  1. The Power of Genesis 1-2 to Leverage the Nations. The theological content outlined at http://www.teinet.net/bibletheo_101.html.
  2. Should the Size of Government Be Cut Drastically? A look at "Samuel, in the Face of Saul," and "Jesus, in the Face of His Enemies."
  3. The Good and Dangerous Prayer: "Our Father Who Art in Heaven
     and the Power to Transform the Nations     (There are four comprehensive arenas addressed in the Lord's Prayer: Family ["Our Father in heaven, holy is your Name"]; Politics ["Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven"]; Economics ["Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"]; and Spiritual Warfare ["And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"]. The outline as at the bottom of the page.
  4. The Bible and the Qur'an Side by Side.
  5. Homosexuality, the Ministry of the Church and Public Policy.
  6. Spiritual Warfare, Witchcraft and Politics.
  7. Darwin and the Days of Creation.

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   The Only Genesis Seminar covers the content of Volume 1 of First the Gospel, Then Politics..., and can be taught in a succinct 1-3 hour format; or in a full 12-hour format. It is also the same as the first of the eight TEI Classes (click here):

  • The all-defining doctrines of creation, sin and redemption.

  • The four all-defining subjects of God, life, choice and sex.

  • The ten positive assumptions of Genesis 1-2: Only Genesis has a positive view of God's nature, communication, human nature, human freedom, hard questions, human sexuality, science and the scientific method, verifiable history, covenantal law, and unalienable rights and the First Amendment.

  • The six pillars of biblical power: the power to give, the power to live in the light, the power of informed choice, the power to love hard questions, the power to love enemies, the power to forgive.

   This seminar can also be expanded to cover Volume 2 and 3 of First the Gospel, Then Politics..., addressing cultural issues and spiritual warfare.

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The Good and Dangerous Prayer:

"Our Father Who Art in Heaven" and the Power to Transform the Nation

Seminar Outline

   The content of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is a structure through which to organize the church to be salt and light in society (Matthew 5:13-16). This prayer is good to those who seek the good, and dangerous to those who do not seek the good. If we lived by by it, how simple, ordered and prosperous life would be.

   There are four comprehensive arenas addressed in the universality of the Lord’s Prayer:

  1. Family – Our Father in heaven, holy is your Name.
  2. Politics – Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
  3. Economics – Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
  4. Spiritual Warfare – And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Line 1: Our Father in heaven, holy is your Name

  1. The radical nature of the Fatherhood of God, the one true Creator. (Contrast with paganism, Islam and secular constructs).
  2. The derivative nature of fatherhood/family; see http://www.teinet.net/affirmation.html.
  3. The greatest social evil in human history – the chosen absence of the biological father; see http://www.teinet.net/pain_dares_not_speak.html.
  4. The holy or sanctified (“set apart”) nature of God the Father.
  5. The call for us, as his image-bearers, to be sanctified.
  6. The interpretive power of Only Genesis (examples in the context of evolution debate at Columbia University: http://teinet.net/creation03.html and articles on  http://www.teinet.net/media/Islam_and_the_Invitation_of_Only_Genesis.pdf and http://www.teinet.net/media/Questions_for_Islam_article.pdf); newly edited and republished book forthcoming (Only Genesis has a positive view of a] God’s nature, b] communication, c] human nature, d] human freedom, e] hard questions, f] human sexuality, g] science and the scientific method, h] verifiable history, i] covenantal law, j] unalienable rights.
  7. The sanctifying power of the six pillars of biblical power (http://teinet.net/sixpower.html): a] the power to give, b] the power to live in the light, c] the power of informed choice, d] the power to love hard questions, e] the power to love enemies, f] the power to forgive.

Line 2: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven

  1. The kingdom of our heavenly Father versus big daddy human government (with Yahweh as King, consent of the governed in Samuel v. Saul).
  2. The kingdom of God now, and as the antidote to tyranny.
  3. The “dangerous” political nature of Matthew’s Gospel (Jesus. in the Face of His Enemies).
  4. The power of the pre-partisan.
  5. The six pillars of honest politics (http://teinet.net/sixhonest.html): a] the power to give, b] the power to live in the light, c] the power of informed choice, d] the power to love hard questions, e] the power to love enemies, f] the power to forgive.
  6. Occam’s razor and simplified law (The Senate [Governor’s/President’s] Committee on Political Ideas; reducing legal codes at the state level to 19 pages [Connecticut as an example], and 15 pages at the federal level).

Line 3: Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

  1. The nature of economics as rooted in the Greek term oikonomos (“the rule of the household/family”).
  2. The freedom of daily bread versus human certainty, and the cognate of entrepreneurial free market economies.
  3. The abolition of usury, and of debt that is unrelated to sound and honest investment.
  4. The Jubilee ethic of the Law of Moses, and the power for gaining national economic freedom.
  5. TEI Burden Sharing (www.teiburdensharing.com); biblical alternative to health insurance.
  6. The simple contract (http://teinet.net/simplecontract.html).

Line 4: And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

  1. The universality of the language of “temptation,” and its non-accusatory power in helping people face reality (The Ministers Affirmation on Marriage; see http://teinet.net/affirmation.html; The Ministers Affirmation on "The Pain That Dares Not Speak Its Name"; see http://www.teinet.net/pain_dares_not_speak.html).
  2. The universal need for deliverance not just from an amorphous “evil,” but from “the evil one,” i.e., Satan.
  3. Sorcery at the right hand of power: the all-defining spiritual war in the Bible, and its interface with politics and economics.
  4. Jesus, in the face of his enemies (forthcoming book by the same title = the biblical understanding of church and state).

Salt and Light

  1. Revival in the church.
  2. Awakening in the culture.
  3. 1982 vision and call to ministry: theologically educated people in politics.

Summation

  1. The Six Pillars of Biblical Power: An Affirmation (nationwide signatories).
  2. The Six Pillars of Honest Politics: An Affirmation (nationwide signatories).
  3. The Ministers Affirmation on Marriage (nationwide signatories).
  4. The Ministers Affirmation on "The Pain That Dares Not Speak Its Name" (nationwide signatures).
  5. The Pre-Partisan Caucus: (http://www.teinet.net/prepartisancov.html), biblically and constitutionally literate people running for office.

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