restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Our Readers Respond
David Alan Black
The end of a year brings tender thoughts to the Christian. Gods faithfulness melts our hearts and dampens our eyes.
It has been my joy to edit this website on behalf of you, the DBO reader (there are some 100,000 of you out there in cyberspace). I know that many of you have joined me in praying that God would call our nation back to her biblical and constitutional foundations. I know this because you have told me so. As I contemplate the momentous times in which we live, I thought you might enjoy a sampling of our readers responses during the past twelve months.
This writer and there were many like him appreciated our calls to exclusive allegiance to Christ (No King But King Jesus!), a frequent theme here at DBO:
Dear Brother Dave.
Just a note of encouragement to you for your insight on what is going on (I surely hope there is an army of like thinkers in the wings). I have been reading your articles
and you (along with others there) have given me a new hope that maybe its not too late, but I think you will agree that the showdown between Baal and Jehovah is likely just around the corner. Keep up the good work; there are a bunch of us out here who are not afraid to face the Truth, and without it we do not know how to pray for Gods mercy on this nation.
The following letter, which comes from a Southern Baptist conference speaker who is in great demand nationwide, reflects the same desire for a return to costly Christianity:
Dr. Black,
I just wanted you to know how much of a blessing your site has been to me. I frequently point friends and foes alike in your direction. I remember what a blessing it was to meet you while I was a student at Southeastern, and I knew then that you were a strange bird (like me). I have often found it difficult to operate within the confines of American Christianity as I strive to be conformed to the image of Christ and discover how unwelcome that image has become.
I am currently serving as an Elder in a Family-Integrated church, and am working on two books
that I hope will contribute to the discussion about the role and goal of the Church as it relates to family life. At any rate, I want you to know that you are a constant encouragement to me as I strive to honor the Lord and confront hypocrisy, mediocrity and anti-intellectualism
. Thank you for being a voice crying in the wilderness.
The editor of Gimmie Back My Bullets was kind enough to send me this letter:
Professor Black,
I wanted to thank you for the links and kind words about my blog, Gimmie Back My Bullets. Ive been coming to your site daily for some time now, and almost had a heart attack when I saw youd linked to me
.
While Im at it, I want to thank you for your work. Your site has been a real asset. Its a rarity to see a Reformed pastor tackle politics; its even rarer to see one who does so as well as you do. You and your wife will be in my prayers as youre in Africa.
Thanks once again.
We received numerous emails when we returned to the States after ministering for five weeks in Ethiopia. This is perhaps the most interesting one:
Hey Dave! Im glad youre back in the saddle! The devils must be trembling!
Then letters like this one practically knock me out of the saddle again:
Wow! Ive only read a couple of your essays and articles, but this is some of the most thoughtful, exhaustive, engaging, biblically based commentary Ive ever read. I strongly agree in your stand on limited government and constitutionally guaranteed liberty.
Having lived in Europe, I was pleasantly surprised to see that DBOs influence is beginning to enjoy a readership beyond the U.S. From the United Kingdom comes this note:
Dear Dave:
Ive been looking through the mini-essays on your website. They are a breath of fresh air. Im a Reformed Baptist tutor & preacher in Britain, currently numb with horror at what my government (along with yours) is doing in Iraq. Although most of my Reformed friends are at one with me in being appalled at this mass shedding of innocent blood, & the lies that justify it, it has been impossible to hear a conservative Reformed voice from America articulating the same moral viewpoint. I am very glad, even relieved, to have discovered your website. Thank you!
And then there are the letters from our allies here at home. Doug Phillips of Vision Forum Ministries sent me this response to my posts on Christmas:
Dave,
We agree on so many things. Thanks for your blog entry exposing the paganism of believers introducing theologically unsound, historically inaccurate Roman Catholic/Pagan festival days into their worship. When I left Rome I also left the superstitions of Rome, but have found over the years more persecution and ridicule from other believers on this issue than any other. Men crave their idolatries.
When I hear people say Lets put Jesus back into Christmas, my response is this: Lets put the Mass back in Christmas, for Christ was never there to begin with.
Well done.
Persevero,
Doug Phillips
Not every letter is as lengthy, of course:
Brother Dave!
Excellent site! Keep up the great work. There are others who agree with you and are doing our part!
And then theres this straight-to-the-point e-note:
As always, I enjoy your blog.
Our emphasis on participatory church services brought this email:
Dear David:
Thank you for your powerful and beautiful message on Enter To Serve, Depart To Worship. I am in my 60th year of preaching the Gospel and I can testify that this is a seriously defective and missing truth in modern day Christianity.
And when we commented on the fact that our family doesnt watch TV anymore, we received a horde of letters, including this one
Dave,
I read the article on television today. I tend to believe that it is something Christians should not be doing not only because of the content, but also because of the time it takes up. I do watch some television presently, but I am and have been cutting back
.
Thank you for having this wonderful site.
and this one:
There is a reason the TV Guide calls it Programming. It is. They are Not Lying.
Our support for the Constitution Partys presidential ticket of Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin (a fellow Baptist) did not go unnoticed:
Mr. Black,
I just wanted to thank you for what you are doing. For months, I have enjoyed your web-site and the articles you have written. They have been a real eye opener. As Christians, we should be voting on principle rather strict party lines, which I have been guilty of. We should be glorifying God in all we do, including those who are willing to uphold the God-given laws this republic was founded upon. I believe God is using you for a just cause and I believe its no accident I stumbled upon your web-site
.
I happily voted for Mr. Peroutka and I will continue to support those who are willing to do what is right. I think I will go ahead and switch parties, the Republicans are not the answer. I vote Christian, the Constitution Party will continue to have my vote.
nor did our position on a national ID card:
Dave: I appreciate your article on the National ID efforts. The very thought sends shivers down my spine.
Occasional I am rebuked by a reader:
Hey Dave, this is just a note to let you know that your website is still getting an F in Margin Hygiene! Yall are STILL clipping off the last three or four letters of each word on your right hand margin when you go to print something from your website!!!! I know its not a big thing, but it is REALLY AGGRAVATING!!! Cant you please do something about it?????????
Later, after I had fixed the problem, this same reader was kind enough to write back:
Hey Dave, thanks for getting to the margin problem! I just printed an article from your website and it was just fine, no more clipped edges! Thanks again.
Many seemed to enjoy our essay on tithing. This was a typical response:
Dear Dave,
I appreciated your latest essay. Tithing is definitely something we dont hear too much about anymore.
As you pointed out, the Old Testament mandated a tithe while the NT teaches that everything we have belongs to God. I happen to think this is a point Jesus was making in Matt. 22:21.
Its also interesting to note other contrasts. For example, in the OT, we read of animal sacrifices; in the NT, we are to be living sacrifices. The OT taught that God dwelled in the temple; the NT teaches that our bodies are living temples and that the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer. The Law in the OT commanded, You shall not murder, but Christ taught us that even feeling hatred for someone is tantamount to murder.
Some Christians have been accused of over-spiritualizing scripture, but I think one of the biggest problems in the church today is the tendency to UNDER-spiritualize. As a result, many important Biblical principles are missed.
Keep up the good work!
The danger of blind nationalism (versus genuine patriotism) brought this letter to my inbox:
Dave,
I was informed about your web site from a member of the Sojourners List Serve. I wanted to thank you it is a breath of fresh air. I am not an evangelical, but I have many good friends who are. They are good people who seem to have been used by politicians and media on the far right to grab power under the guise of Christian values that is entwined with nationalism
. Thanks again.
as well as this one:
Dear Mr. Black,
I enjoyed reading on your website of your intelligently critical approach to faith and politics, and its current unfortunate marriage.
In history I find sometimes that the rule watch what you wish for seems to apply. One grotesque example was the pervasive anti-Semitism of early20th-century Europe, where many hoped long that someone in power would finally put the Jews in their place. When that hope was eventually answered it had devastating consequences for all.
Evangelicals have for decades worn their knees down to nubbins praying for a true born-again Christian president and a Republican Congress so that Gods will might finally be done on Earth, as though the Creator of All needed to hold American office to accomplish His will. Many Christians uncritically embraced Bush Jr. as the answer to these prayers. The insanity weve witnessed these past five years, from presidential vacations as terrorist threats loom large to the awarding of a medal to the most fumbling CIA director of all time, is a result of this uncritical embrace.
It appears that Christians continue to support Bush despite the fact that many of the issues theyd hoped would be dealt with lie forgotten. I fear things will become worse in America and the world before the attitude you demonstrate catches on in the Christian community.
I hope your work prospers and spreads quickly. And I doubt thats a hope Ill regret.
And our piece on the Pilgrims elicited this heartwarming response:
Dave,
I enjoyed your article today. I too will be remembering the pilgrims today; one of my ancestors was on the Mayflower with Governor William Bradford. I will have to look up their name again.
Thank you for your site. I enjoy my daily visits to daveblackonline.com.
Readers sometimes forward our essays to their friends, with varying responses:
Dear Mr. Black,
Thank you for your website. I found it this year and enjoy it very much, and agree with you most of the time. Like you, I voted for Bush in 2000, but Peroutka in 2004. I forward some of your articles to my Christian friends who are still under the Republican Party spell. The emotional reactions I get are most interesting! Thanks again. Have a blessed New Year!
Then there are those likeminded bloggers whose sites I enjoy promoting:
Dear Mr. Black:
I was so surprised to read your blog today and find that you linked to me. Thanks for mentioning me and my blog. Ill do my best to heed your advice of blogging early and often. I previously printed out and read your article TV Or Not TV to some of my friends from church. One of them made copies for all his adult children and gave a copy to one of our pastors. Maybe my blog wont change the world, but I pray that God will use it somehow in the lives of others, as He has used your site.
As for voting, I dont wish to brag, but I voted for Howard Phillips in 2000 instead of King George, then supported Peroutka in 2004; I have never voted for the Republican presidential nominee since I became eligible to vote in 1998. I only regret that, unlike some supporters of the major party candidates, I had but one vote to cast for Michael Peroutka. Fortunately, I persuaded one of my friends to support Mr. Peroutka, and perhaps my blog will be an instrument to persuade others to support those who support the Constitution in the coming years.
Your site is now linked at the top of my blogs sidebar; with your permission, I would like to add your blog to the top of my Reader Blogroll, once I set that up. If you stop by again, Id love to read any comments you have regarding my site or particular postings. Happy New Year, and may God bless you as much as you have blessed your readers.
Apparently DBO has encouraged a few intrepid readers to take a courageous stand:
Dear Professor Black,
Thank you for your tireless effort in www.daveblackonline.com. These essays provoke such thought and assist me to stand for what is holy regardless of popular opinion.
Still others think DBO is unbalanced:
Dear Dave:
Ive been a fairly regular of DBO for several months now and Ive noticed 1 disturbing trait. That trait is your emphasis on the New Testament over the Old Testament. Gods Word CONSISTS of the Old Testament AND the New Testament TOGETHER AS ONE HOLY BOOK, THE BIBLE. I realize that there are things in the NT that do away with or nullify some OT teachings, i.e. Jewish dietary laws or the OT sacrificial system. The Old Testament is still important and must not be set aside or ignored. That 1 complaint aside, I do enjoy your website. You are trying to call the American church out of its apathy, complacency or whatever you wish to call it. That is a great and worthwhile endeavor. The church MUST be salt and light to the world around it. Keep up the good work.
Finally, in response to my request for prayer as I finish writing my book on the church, I received numerous responses including this one:
Dear Mr. Black,
I read your comments about your upcoming book. I prayed for you. I prayed that your book will contain Gods truth and do much good for His church
. Thank you for all your hard work. Your website is a blessing. My home page is set for your website.
as well as this one:
I will pray for your new book
. I also want to thank you for your eye-opening insight regarding ecclesiology. There seems to be a somewhat small revival in this area. Several fellow grads and pastor friends that I have talked with are more and more coming to the conclusion of plurality elder led churches after close examination of Acts
. Thanks again for your outspoken stand.
and this one:
Dr. Black,
For the past few weeks, Ive been reading some of your essays and sending links to friends. Tonight, I came across Muggeridge and Me and just wanted you to know that Ill be praying for you as you write this book. Youre right about it being comforting to know that believers are praying for you, in writing or any venture. On consecutive nights last week, I was impressed to ask God to guide you with your work and your time and now I know why
.
May God continue to bless you and your work. Ill pray for you before I go
to bed today, which will be a little while from now.
Here, then, is a brief sampling of responses and happily their number is legion to our attempt to help restore our biblical and constitutional foundations. Such marvelous encouragement keeps this web ministry from becoming onerous. Indeed, life is not merely enjoyable but victorious; and we rejoice even in tribulation.
This is no time for drunken Noahs, but for sober saints who understand the times to know what they ought to do and who are enabled by the Spirit to do it. I count it a privilege, dear reader, to consider you a friend and co-laborer in this work.
January 23, 2005
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.
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Our supreme business is not success or self-satisfaction but being faithful to that message, to death if necessary. 
Tax reform, did I say? I meant to say the largest tax increase in the states history. Amendment One would up fees on everything from farmland to oil changes. Riley says a tax increase will mean an investment in something which allows Alabama to achieve a level of greatness never before seen. And he is not above using Christian apologetics to make his case. According to our Christian ethics, were supposed to love God, love each other and help take care of the poor, he said in one widely publicized statement to the news media. It is immoral to charge somebody making $5,000 an income tax.
He will be a man who unquestioningly supports the Constitutiona document that William Gladstone once described as the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of manwhich protects all American citizens from tyranny on the one hand and anarchy on the other. 
Two centuries ago, George Washington was the inevitable and unchallenged choice for president of the newly founded republic. He did not seek the office and was reluctant to accept it. He was uncertain of his ability to discharge the duties that would devolve upon him and was more than ready to retire to his beloved Mount Vernon after the exertions of the Revolutionary War. But the unanimous call of his countrymen was hardly less than a command to a man of his character and love of country.