Teaching Dominion to a Twelve Year Old

(This article was originally written by Mark Hoverson and published on the Chalcedon website)

It is a challenge for a teacher to demystify seemingly lofty concepts before the eyes of their pupils. Jesus Christ illustrated how to teach great ideas through using images. He taught that the kingdom of heaven (a shadowy and vague concept even to the learned) was like a woman who found a coin. He said the kingdom was like a pinch of leaven in bread dough. Likewise, as we teach the concept of godly dominion to our children and others, we must not pretend that just saying the word dominion, or using the phrase go take dominion, will be enough to impart any understanding.

Recently, while with a group of very active churchmen, I shared that the purpose of our lives was to take godly dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). They were bewildered. The senior pastor of twenty years asked, What is dominion? Later on, a man from that group said to me very piously, Well, we can't expect to go dominate the world. He thought that because the word dominion looked like the word dominate, they must mean the same thing (and because the term dominion is used mainly in the Old Testament, it must somehow be cast away as harsh and expired). If misunderstanding triumphs among seasoned churchmen, how can we hope that our children will emerge from their youth with a clear sense of what taking dominion is all about? For example, the majority of children under the age of twelve, and most American churchmen, cannot read Rushdoony's theological teachings on dominion for themselves. So we must teach them using unsophisticated and common materials like Jesus did.

Behold the Tomato!

Bear with me while I illustrate: Place a tomato in front of your child and ask, How could we, using all the intelligence and resources available to us, take dominion over this tomato? Immediately, the idea of dominating the tomato through pounding it with his fist doesn't make much sense. With a little bantering and guided discussion, help him understand that the idea of dominion is to maximize the use of that tomato. Ideas could be to take the seeds and replant them, grow a tomato garden, sell them for profit, take that profit and tithe on it, hire workers to tend the garden, donate stewed tomatoes to the poor, contribute tomatoes to science for medicinal studies, research the uses of tomato-based products, etc. Require your child to study the life of dominion-man George Washington Carver and his work in unlocking the usefulness of peanuts. The important thing to impress upon your child is the earthly reality of God's assignment to take the entirety of the earth (making mention of the soil, beasts, and trees, as well as reminding your child that part of creation includes his own human body, brains, and energy) and make it flourish to the glory of God. Leave him no room to imagine that spirituality is abstract, otherworldly, or in any way unrelated to normal living.

As we pursue the weighty task of dominion, let us remember the earth is drenched in the revelation of God. It is to His genius and glory that the world is a giant pedagogical aid (Rom. 1:20). Therefore, we must learn to teach our children the deepest things of the kingdom, like our calling to dominion, through coins and tomatoes. If we fail to teach the urgency and duty to reconstruct the earth to God's glory, we rob our children of the very meaning and essence of Biblical faith.

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Book Review: The Trinitarian Father by Uri Brito

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a short essay on Kindle entitled The Trinitarian Father.  The essay was written by Uri Brito, who is the Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola,Florida. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Theophilus Institute, and last but not least, the founding editor of Kuyperian Commentary (which is on my daily blog roll).

In his essay, Brito points out and demonstrates that the Trinity is the pattern for all of life, including the foundation for parenthood. As parents, Uri points out that we have none better to imitate than the Triune God of Scripture. “The Trinity and the relationship within the Persons of the Godhead are not just theological dogma to believe, but a paradigm by which we are to live.”

From the beginning, God has made man to be His image-bearer. Though fallen and exceedingly sinful, this image bearing task remains. We are called to mimic God. Training for this task, according to Brito, begins at infancy. Like The Father to the Son, we are to prepare our sons to be kings. According to Brito, “to be a father means that by definition you are [your child’s] professor of ethics, economics, and relationships.”

Brito teases out various ways in which this Trinitarian paradigm applies to fatherhood, but rather than covering all of them, I will let you read the book. One thing that Brito said that really stuck with me was:

“Earthly fathers, then have this duty to heed the Trinitarian example of Jesus who acted as a father to his own children, who sacrificed himself for them daily with his own life and ultimately with his own death, and who shepherded his own and protected them from deceit and the enemies of the truth faith . . . Earthly fathers have the same duty to imitate the Spirit of God. Fathers are to convict their sons of sin so they may turn their attention to righteousness. They are to teach them truth and to make it so persuasive that their children will not be tempted to seek any alternative.”

This is spot on. I think as Christians we know that there is a special relationship between the members of the Trinity, but I think that unfortunately many of us never get past thinking of it merely as a dogma, and never come to realize that this is a paradigm to be lived. Brito does a good job of going to the Scriptures, especially in Proverbs, and demonstrating that God calls us to mimic this relationship that is shared amongst the Godhead with our own children. As Fathers, we instruct and commission our children. We sacrifice ourselves for them, shepherd them, and protect them from deceit. And we convict them of sin, empower them, and encourage them to turn their eyes to God.

Another aspect that I enjoyed that I don’t think many other books focuses on in the same way is discipline. Instead of laying out the same ole’ method of discipline that we’ve seen regurgitated over and over, Brito offers a unique method derived from the Covenant Renewal worship found in Scripture:

“Worship establishes pattern of behavior. In general categories, we could summarize the nature of worship in three acts: First, we are a) cleansed, then we are b) consecrated, and finally we are c) commissioned. This is a synopsis of a covenant renewal model. When you apply this pattern to child-rearing you realize it offers an edifying method of disciplining.

Concluding Thoughts

As I’ve already said, I really enjoyed that Brito emphasizes that the relationship between the Persons of the Godhead are a paradigm to be lived. This is good, and I believe that coming to realize this will send readers back to the Scriptures with new eyes to further examine this relationship and how to apply it to their lives. There are some helpful things in here that will be edifying to those who are already parents, and those who want to prepare themselves for the day when they will be.

My only complaint, and I’m not sure it’s a big one, is that I felt like Brito sometimes attempted to chase a theme a little too far to make a point. I felt that this sometimes got away from the main idea. I felt like there were points where he could have dialed it in a little bit more, focusing more on the Trinitarian paradigm that should be expounded further. But, this is rare. I hope that Brito one day decides to do a longer treatment. I would be very interested in reading that.

I would summarize my thoughts about the book by saying, Brito brings the reader into a hidden gold mine that existed right under their nose all along. He brings readers through the drift mouth, walks them through the dark long corridor, and walks them straight into the face where all of the gold is. He turns to them, and hands them a pick-axe and says, “get to picking – there’s all kinds of nuggets in here.”

Overall, I’d rate the book 4 stars. It’s very short (Like 55 pages or so), but it will most certainly send readers back to the Scriptures with new eyes, illuminating their eyes to the Trinitarian paradigm that is meant to be lived out.