You also mention, "Life is not a playground. It is a war zone-a clash of worldviews competing for the souls of men and the destiny of nations." Can you further elaborate on this statement?
The battle that rages for the souls of men and the destiny of nations is described Biblically as a war between two seeds, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The seed of the serpent obeys the lies of the Evil One, which keeps them bound to their natural state, which is to be a law and god unto themselves. In other words, they live life based upon their terms, religious or otherwise, instead of the terms set forth by the God who created them and the Savior who died for them. The strategy of this camp for world domination is to adopt the failed agenda of the Tower of Babel, which is to reach into the heavens and vainly attempt to dethrone the God of heaven and earth and replace Him with totalitarian statism. This explains why all the "isms," such as Communism, Socialism, and Nazism, which crush freedom and promote tyranny, all have as their foundational premises the vain philosophies of atheism and evolution.
The seed of the woman, however, repents of being a covenant rebel, humbly bows before the majesty of God, and receives Christ's salvation by faith and publicly declares, "not my will, but thine be done." It is this seed line that underscores the vital nature of our Lord's admonishment, "You must be born-again to enter or see the Kingdom of God."
Patriarchy is a dirty word in today's culture yet you use the term often in your book. What is biblical patriarchy?
You cannot write a book on leadership and avoid the name or its implications for the family, church, and our culture. According to Weldon M. Hardenbrook, "The biblical term patriarchy is derived from two words in the Greek language. 'Patria' is taken from the word pater, father, which means family; and 'archy,' which means, beginning, first in origin and to rule. A 'patriarch' is a family ruler. He is the man in charge." I not only agree with the definition, but also add my amen to Mr. Hardenbrook's exhortation, "But whether we use this word (patriarchy) or not, without its recovery, without its function being made known and its reality working in society, there is absolutely no clear positive way to redeem the male identity."
This particular chapter challenges men to return to their God-ordained position, role, and function to restore divine order and the blessing it provides for women, children, and society.
In keeping with that question, you also wrote a chapter on Biblical femininity. Can you briefly comment on this chapter?
The two main reasons for these chapters are to reveal the inherent weakness within men and women, which is ignored to the detriment of families and society. The other purpose was to point out the confusion generated by the misunderstanding between function and value as it pertains to women.
As stated previously, the sin nature, which manifests in men, typically leads to passivity and irresponsibility. Men are typically passive when it comes to God's righteousness and aggressive when it comes to wickedness. When the going gets tough and manhood is required, men tend to take off and become irresponsible.
For women, the inherent weakness within them is to manipulate, control, and dominate men. The combination of passive males and dominating females has created the sexual confusion that is running rampant in this generation.
In value, Christ loves us all the same. Men are not superior and women are not inferior when it comes to the salvation of the Lord. There is, however, a marked difference when it comes to function and the distinctive roles God established between men and women. The divine order is God is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of the man, and man is the head of the woman (1 Corinthians 11:3). I know our modern day era chafes against this revelation, but it is true nonetheless. Most of the dysfunction in our families can be traced to ignorance of the inherent weaknesses manifested through gender and violation of God's order in the marriage covenant.
In society we hear a lot about freedom─ "freedom of choice," "freedom of sexual orientation," "freedom from want." In your book you define freedom differently. What is the correct definition of freedom?
Our Founding Fathers believed that there were two main enemies to freedom, licentiousness amongst the citizenry and tyranny in civil government. Both are manifesting under our watch. Biblically and historically in America, true freedom was not the allowance to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and with whomever we want to do it with. Freedom in this case leads to anarchy, which unchecked, leads to tyranny.
The freedom they fought and died to secure is the freedom to do what is right. John Adams clearly stated, "Our Constitution was made for only a religious and moral people. It is entirely unsuitable for any other." George Washington asserted that religion and morality were the firmest supports for liberty. Let not any man claim himself a patriot who would undermine them.
You also explore the issue of education in your book. You look at it more from a jurisdictional perspective. Could you explain?
Education in the Latin means to "pour in and draw out." When we examine the condition of our youth culture, I believe it is prudent to examine what is being poured into our children by the state-run schools and what is being drawn out. I believe many of our societal woes, such as, illiteracy, moral depravity, and loss of saving-faith that is running rampant in this generation can be traced back to government schools.
Most believe, however, that the sources of failure in public education are due to lack of money or the need for better teachers. We have spent billions of dollars pursuing this course of action. Has the quality of education improved? Not hardly, and for one main reason, education at its core is not just a matter of money or teachers, it is a jurisdictional issue.
In other words, nowhere in the Bible does God ordain the state to teach our young. Education does not fall within the parameters of their civil functions. The primary government responsible for the education of our children is family government. Parents and not the state are responsible before God to train up their children. When Americans submit their children to the state to educate in their stead, untold damage results: unruly children, parental despair, excessive taxation, and a major issue for the church, 85 % of Christian young people renounce their faith by their first year in college. What other business can remain solvent, if they failed 85 % of the time? And yet most of America and the church refuse to connect the dots between public education and the failure of our families, church, and nation.
In your book, you describe your family. How many children do you have? Do you homeschool? What is life like with so many children?
I am a Kingdom man seeking to raise a Kingdom family for the glory of God. We have a multi-generational vision to advance God's Kingdom in the earth. As a result, we have been blessed with 13 children. From the very beginning, we decided to homeschool our children based upon the teaching found in Deuteronomy 6, which states, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Based upon this passage I state in the book, "loving God is the greatest commandment and the greatest application of this commandment is home education."
Life in the Thomas Nation is never boring. There are many challenges in seeking to raise godly children in today's world, but it also very rewarding when we see them fulfill what the Apostle John wrote, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth (3 John 4)."
How can people contact you?
The best way to contact us is through our website at www.elijahmin.com.
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