RESTORING THE FOUNDATIONS

This book was originally published as a series of articles in The Family Spokesman newsletter between the years 1987 and 1989. Finally, it has been polished enough to sell as a single volume. My goal, however, is to use it as the core for a future tome due to be completed in 1996 - a massive work on patriarchal law. It is nearly done.[1]

The thesis of this book is simple, yet revolutionary. The family is the central institution of society and the blessed Trinity is the proto-typical model for the family. As a philosophy of social order, the doctrine of the Trinity has not gone unnoticed by theologians. The problem has been their institutional and statist outlook, or their extreme individualism. They have not seen the obvious familial message in the Trinitarian doctrine. I know of only one theologian who has broached my thesis. And he quickly dropped it. I don’t know why.

Relational theology is that part of Biblical teaching concerned with the distinction and harmony of relationships. It is foundational to Christian civilization. It is greatly ignored by the modern clergy, who are more interested in psycho-pop and gimmicks than the solid and sensible rules of human conduct found in the Bible.

Fundamentalists love rules. But their rules for life are based upon an institutional paradigm for society. They are suffocating. The paradigm I offer here is familial and Trinitarian. This book might be tedious reading for you. I don’t profess to be the most readable author. You may have to re-read portions of it before understanding them. If you will make the effort, I can guarantee you that your life’s outlook will change forever.

God bless you.

James Wesley Stivers

P.O. Box 8701

Moscow, ID 83843

Footnotes:

[1] Instead of a massive tome, I have designed a curriculum which we offer to the Catechumens of the Cambrian Episcopal Church.

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1995, revised edition.