Rationalism treats human reason as the judge of reality and therefore reshapes God to fit man’s standards. By ignoring Scripture’s teaching that all people already know God and suppress that truth because of sin (Ps. 14:1; Rom. 1:18–22), rationalism misdefines atheism as an intellectual problem rather than moral rebellion. It assumes reason is autonomous, neutral, and capable of judging God, instead of recognizing that reason itself is fallen and dependent on God’s revelation.

Biblically, God’s existence is not something to be “proved” by reason; He is the ground of all proof and all reason. When man begins with autonomous reason, he inevitably replaces the living God with an imaginary, weakened god who answers to human judgment. Rationalism thus repeats the original temptation man seeking to be his own god (Gen. 3:5) and substitutes human authority for God’s self-revelation, preferring to judge God rather than be judged by Him.

The birth of Jesus Christ was not the arrival of a harmless figurehead, but the coming of a true King one born to rule, to defend, and to enforce justice. In ages past, the birth of a king meant security, order, and hope for even the poorest man, because a ruler had come who would restrain evil and protect the realm. Scripture declares Christ King from His birth, ordained to overthrow every enemy and set all things right. This is why His coming is truly joy to the world: not a fragile peace of sentiment, but the strong peace of justice, righteousness, and victory. Come what may, Christians rejoice for one simple reason we have a King.

Isaiah foretold that Christ would bear the government of the world on His shoulders and that His rule and peace would never stop increasing. True peace, Scripture insists, does not come from the absence of authority but from righteous government under Christ the King. The world’s demand for peace while rejecting God’s law only produces chaos and perpetual conflict. Christ reigns as Prophet, Pries t, and King, establishing justice and righteousness forever, but His government must first be welcomed personally. The promise of lasting peace begins not in institutions or nations, but in hearts prepared to receive their King.

The Christmas story reminds us that when Christ came into the world, there was no room for Him not in the inn, not in the town, and not in the busy lives of men preoccupied with their own affairs and that same tragedy is repeated whenever our hearts are so crowded with trivialities, schedules, excuses, and self-interest that there is no place left for the Lord. Like the people of Bethlehem, we often mean well, speak kindly, and offer explanations, yet still turn Him away because our lives are already “full.” And yet the wonder of the gospel is this: though we so often have no room for Him, He always has room for us, calling the weary, the overlooked, and the undeserving to come in, making space by grace where none seemed possible. The question Christmas presses upon us, therefore, is not whether Christ is willing to enter, but whether we will make room for Him in the inn of our hearts.

Rationalism inherits a Greek idea that treats good and evil as metaphysical states on a “chain of being” rather than moral obedience or rebellion against God. This view assumes a continuity of being between God and man, making human reason capable of accessing ultimate truth and reducing sin to a “thinness of being” instead of lawless defiance of God’s law. Biblically, however, God is uncreated and man is created; sin is moral rebellion, not metaphysical decline. The chain-of-being idea undermines creation, predestination, and the historic atonement, replacing them with autonomy, deification, and a rationalized, impersonal god ultimately leaving man to enthrone his own reason as supreme.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a vague spiritual symbol it is the decisive victory of God in history, in body and soul, over sin, death, and every power that opposes Him. Because Christ rose bodily from the grave, His authority extends over all things, spiritual and material, making prayer effective and hope unshakable. This is why the early church lived with joy and courage even in a hostile world: death was defeated, fear was broken, and victory was assured. While the modern world drifts from faith into anxiety and darkness, Christians are called to live as people of the resurrection confident, joyful, and unafraid because our King lives, reigns, and has already secured the victory.

In Easy Chair 150 (July 14, 1987), R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott interview Gary and Carlinda Mose about two years in Sweden, portraying a society that looks peaceful and prosperous yet functions as a “new totalitarianism” built not on terror but on education, conformity, and cradle‑to‑grave dependency. The Moses describe a nation where the state effectively replaces God, families are weakened by high taxes (they cite roughly 55% income tax plus a 25% sales tax) and two‑income necessity, and dissent—though celebrated in theory—is punished in practice through social shaming and even official intimidation (Gary recounts being threatened with arrest and recorded by police for quietly holding alternative placards at a public “peace” demonstration). They warn that the system increasingly treats children as belonging to the state: spanking is illegal, kids are encouraged to report parents, and welfare authorities can remove children with little meaningful appeal, while the established church is politicized and moral standards are inverted (abortion widely accepted, private Bible studies labeled “subversive”). Yet they also testify to faithful Swedish believers who pray earnestly and meet in informal “house” settings because they know only God can heal what state planning cannot—making Sweden, in their view, a sobering preview of where the wider West goes when comfort replaces conviction and “non‑discrimination” is used to silence the freedom to call right and wrong.

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When church and state drift into self-glory and abandon obedience to God, it can feel like everything is lost but history tells a very different story. God has never tied His power to institutions, monuments, or influential men; His greatest works have always erupted in times of apostasy and collapse. From Noah to Christ Himself, God moved most powerfully when human systems failed. Our task is not to guarantee results, but to obey. The outcome belongs to God alone and His Kingdom cannot be shaken. Every day, no matter how dark it looks, is still the day of His power.

In “Epistemological Self-Consciousness,” Rushdoony argues that every worldview must eventually face the implications of its own foundations, and that atheism, when consistently applied, leads to meaninglessness, lawlessness, and the collapse of authority. He contrasts figures like modern artists and scientists who deny God yet still borrow God’s order in practice, showing that unbelief cannot live consistently without smuggling in divine presuppositions. As history advances, God forces cultures toward greater self-awareness, exposing the impossibility of maintaining order, morality, or meaning apart from Him. The result is rebellion against all authority—family, church, state, and law—and the rise of chaos and mob mentality. Rushdoony insists that Christians must develop Christian epistemological self-consciousness through comprehensive Christian education and systematic obedience to God’s law, rather than fighting humanism on humanistic grounds. Only a coherent, God-centered worldview can rebuild what unbelief can only destroy, and victory belongs not to lawless systems of negation but to faithful submission to the triune God who alone gives knowledge, order, and meaning.

There are seasons when God asks of us what seems unbearably costly the surrender of loved ones, cherished hopes, or the fruit of long labor and we are tempted to think that life is little more than a series of losses; yet Scripture shows that God never asks before He first gives, and never asks more than He has already bestowed. As Exodus reveals at Sinai, God reminded Israel of His mighty acts of deliverance before calling them to obedience, declaring that their giving was a response to His prior grace. What appears to us as continual taking is, in truth, a divine pattern of investment: God enriches us so that we may give, and every act of faithful surrender is preceded and followed by greater grace. When we yield our lives, we do not lose them, but invest them in God’s faithfulness, trusting His promise that what is given up in faith will be returned beyond measure. Thus God asks, not to impoverish us, but because He has already given abundantly and will continue to give, turning our sacrifices into eternal gain and calling forth praise rather than complaint.