The Anglosphere's Broken Covenant
Dr. Wagner presents a brief but powerful summary of the case for National Covenanting, and particularly, the case for the obligation that yet rests upon the Anglosphere Nations (i.e. the entirety of English-speaking civilization) to own their broken covenant with God, The Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Kingdoms (1643). For those who may be unfamiliar with the covenanted obligation that lies upon the Anglosphere Nations, this concise primer will provide the reader with an excellent overview of why God will not forget the sacred National Covenant that England, Ireland, and Scotland (along with all the Dominions of Great Britain) made with Him, who is Governor among the Nations (Psalm 22:28) and who keeps truth forever (Psalm 146:6). What makes this a matter of the utmost importance is that lawful covenants made with God (whether personal, ecclesiastical, or national) cannot be dissolved, repealed, or antiquated by the mere passage of time, by wars of independence, or by crossing an ocean to plant a daughter-kingdom. For the sacred duty of all those bound by lawful covenants is squarely founded upon the moral obligation of the Third Commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7).
Author:
Michael Wagner is the Senior Alberta Columnist for the Western Standard and Alberta Report based in Edmonton, Alberta. He has a PhD in political science from the University of Alberta and has authored several books on Alberta politics and the independence movement. He has also authored books on Canada and its Christian heritage and religio-cultural development such as Leaving God Behind: The Charter of Rights and Canada's Official Rejection of Christianity, and Standing On Guard For Thee: The Past, Present, and Future of Canada's Christian Right. Michael and his wife and eleven children live in Edmonton, Alberta.
Review by Doug Wilson:
"Many moons ago, I wrote an article for the magazine Antithesis, in which I argued that the Solemn League and Covenant had been broken and set aside by a disobedient people, but the covenant had not thereby evaporated. I was therefore exceedingly pleased to see that someone had written a small book that made the same case in a much more effective way. This is a book that will really mess up your hair.
If you have been tracking with the Christian Nationalism discussion, this is an issue that is upstream from that. And what do I mean?
I will give you the basic thesis here, and leave you to get the book to pursue the arguments into all the possible nooks and crannies.
In 1643, the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland made a Solemn League and Covenant with Jehovah, promising to serve Him faithfully. In that covenant, they bound themselves to that commitment with an oath, and in addition they bound their posterity to it as well. After Cromwell’s death, in the Restoration, Charles II committed himself to the Solemn League and Covenant as one of the conditions for bringing him back to the throne. He of course broke his word, and the solemn covenant was subsequently repealed.
The argument of this book is that a mutual covenant cannot be repealed by just one of the parties, and so the covenant is still in force—broken, but still in force. The additional arguments that Wagner mounts are that members of the Commonwealth (Canada, New Zealand, Australia) are still bound by the covenant as well. Because of the unique history of the United States, and our War for Independence, the argument for us takes a little different route, but arrives at the same conclusion. We also are bound by it.
I think that all Christians would likely agree that covenants made centuries ago, say with the Navajo, should still be honored today. But we think that the covenant with God is just 'words on paper.' This is because we believe in the Navajo, but when it comes to God, we are functional unbelievers."
Specifications:
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 82
ISBN-13: 978-1-99077-116-3
Size: 12.7 x 0.51 x 20.32 cm
Published: 2022