Free Republic

As those of us in the United States this week celebrate freedom from British governance, consider the many ways that Presbyterianism influenced the decision to enter a war for independence and take up arms against a magistrate: Only a Presbyterian understanding of Romans 13 would allow us to enter a war. The Bible calls for submission to magistrates, but Presbyterians understood the nuances that allowed for rebellion against tyranny. (See James M. Wilson's Establishment and Limits of Civil Goverment for an exposition of Romans 13.) It was psalm singing Presbyterians like Rev. James Caldwell who helped win some battles--when paper...

Experts have found a rare bronze bust depicting one of the most colourful characters in Roman history – the mad, sexually-depraved Emperor Caligula.Considered lost for nearly 200 years, the 5-inch-tall bust was originally excavated at Herculaneum, a Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79...After a determined decade-long search, the bust has been found by Dr Silvia Davoli, curator of Strawberry Hill and historian at the University of Oxford...At some point in the 18th century, the bust was gifted to renowned English writer and politician Horace Walpole (1717-1797) by Sir Horace Mann, a distant relative who...