“Having been indoctrinated into lies told by Western university-trained economists, the gullible people in nations such as Zimbabwe are deceived into thinking that the class of greedy businessmen, not monetary inflation, is the cause of rising prices. The people thus turn for solutions to the state — the very source of the problem through its money-inflating central bank — and they suffer total collapse.”

The state will of course ‘help’ the people in all kinds of unhelpful ways. From the AP report in The Guardian,

Two weeks after the government ordered price cuts in response to the country’s rampant inflation, the economy is coming to a standstill.…Last week, the government announced it was reviving the long-defunct State Trading Corp. to run businesses that had collapsed or were seized. The corporation itself collapsed in the 1980s through mismanagement.

The government will run business that had collapsed? As my brother says, “let me know how that works out for you”. That could never happen here, could it?Proverbs 11:1 says “A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.” When the Government is printing more money, it is basically stealing value by causing the cash people have in hand to decrease in value. What they need to do instead is to stick to their God-ordained role of punishing evildoers and praising those who do well- by being obedient to God’s Law. And we need to trust in God as God alone and not put our hope and confidence in the State, in roles it was not designed to fulfill.

Or something.

That is what we will see, eventually, and perhaps even in the USA if the Lord shows such mercy to us. But are Monica Goodling and the other “cells” really a step towards this? Goodling, a graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University, coordinated the firings of US Attorneys who were investigating corruption scandals, declined to testify before Congress citing her Fifth Amendment right, and later resigned. Sounds like business as usual for the Bush administration, and hardly a step towards Theocracy, unless the “θεος” in question is the almighty State.

So what of these many Christians, even homeschoolers, graduating from Regent, Liberty, Patrick Henry College, etc. with a vision to go into Government and Christianize it?

In an audio interview with Dr. Kevin Clauson, Chris Ortiz asks about why these schools are “manufacturing bureaucrats”. Their conclusion is that it is passion about Christian legislation and political involvement over and above being passionate about Christian limited government, recognizing that a biblical government must be severely limited in what it does, and what its scope and size should be.

So what would a triple-TR (thoroughly, tenaciously(?), totally, reformed) biblical view of civil government look like, and how would it contrast to what has the humanists and the “progressive” “Christians” scared?

The “Impending Theocracy of Doom™” that has people scared seems to consist of:

1. Republicans
2. Large, powerful churches and parachurch organizations.
3. State control over every area of life.
4. A militaristic, or at least militant, takeover of the existing government.
5. Government funding for Christianity-related programs in schools, clinics, etc.

But a biblical view of civil government:

1. Would not be a Movement. It wouldn’t be an ism.
2. Recognizes that all power and authority is from God, and God ordained. All rebellion and takeover is out of the question.
3. Recognizes that God has ordained different spheres of government: self, family, church, civil. Each has their own limited sphere.
4. Recognizes that religion and state cannot be separated, that there will be one god or another worshipped and obeyed in the public square. God alone must have that position, and the only “separation between church and state” is that of the separate callings and responsibilities between civil government (state) as contrasted with church government.
5. Recognizes that civil government is not about centralized power, but about limited power, and separated powers, because man is inherently sinful and corrupt. Therefore, it is not focussed upon national office.
6. Recognizes that the limited scope of punishment for lawbreaking, leaves to God to exact His greater and more just judgement upon all sin.
7. Recognizes that serving as a leader is a noble and godly calling, for godly men, and one to take seriously and prepare for.
8. Recognizes that while it is the responsibility of individuals to spread the seed of the Gospel, and of the church to preach the Word faithfully, that God the Holy Spirit is responsible for the conversion of those who are Christ’s, and not the responsibility of the civil government or any other entity.
9. Recognizes that salvation is alone in Christ and not in any work of man, such as the civil government. Therefore, trust will not be placed inappropriately in the government.

Sadly, most Christians in the US seem to see having a Christian influence over the present government to be a worthwhile goal, or even an end in itself. This is most counter-productive to the actual work which should be done in the area of civil government. We should be concerned about this continuing “conservativism”, not because it will bring in a Theocracy, but because it will bring more and more oppressive anti-biblical government. May the Lord open the eyes of those that are His so that they see the tower of Babel they are building.

What has these folks worried? Another author is concerned that “Dark clouds are gathering over the political landscape of this country.” in the form of a mercenary army which will supposedly set up.. a theocracy? The other continues with some other interesting quotes, including some discussion of the “lesser magistrate” concept.

The disconnect here is that the lesser magistrate concept applies to armed resistance of evil and protection against tyranny. It doesn’t mean that you have the OK to start an armed “revolution” just because you found someone in government who supports you, or for any other reason.

But these are Statists, and the only 2 and 2 they will put together is a focus on the State. That’s why they expect revolution. Jesus rebukes revolutionary thinking quite soundly:

And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ”Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?“ Matt. 26:51-53

Christ is the one who has all authority. And His chosen means of dominion and conversion, individually and as nations, is the sword of the Word.

Lord Willing, I will be discussing the B. A. T. event here and link to some interesting posts

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort!”(Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood, or Death!) — French Revolutionary Slogan

The platform of the Libertarian National Committee begins as follows:

As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.

I was listening to a sermon entitled Liberated into Bondage and in part of it there is reference to the law of the year of jubilee, which is in Leviticus 25. There are various laws about returning lands to their original owners, and redeeming those sold into slavery or else they will go free on the 50th year. This is hardly a mere economic incentive package, or even the restoration of civil liberties to those who had sold them for economic reasons. In verse 55 it is written: “For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” So, the purpose of liberty is servanthood. We are never ‘free’ from service to our Creator.In the context of submission to lawful authority, in 1Pet. 2:16 Scripture says “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”So really, individuals cannot be sovereign over their own lives. Only God is sovereign, and one may live in obedient freedom in Christ, or in slavery and bondage to sin. Those are the two options.But coming back to the LP platform, the Statement of Principles begins:

We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.

The State isn’t God either. So it is right to defend the rights of the individual. This is why Libertarianism is associated with freedom, because it stands against civil government that would attempt to be God.However, the Statement of Principles continues:

We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.

In other words, they claim that individual sovereignty is only limited by where it might collide with the individual sovereignty of others. That sounds like it could become a very tangled web to sort out.However, true liberty comes from being free in Christ and obedient to His Law. And liberty on a civil level comes from godly rulers who use biblical standards for what the civil government should, and shouldn’t, do.So in summary, “Liberty” is not a valid end in and of itself. While some of the goals of Libertarianism may be biblical and stand against governments that are out of control, the fact remains that individuals and nations alike should pursue liberty only by being obedient to God.[ update Here's a good and extensive article on the topic entitled Why LIbertarianism and Christianity Don't Mix by C. S. Hayden. ]

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isa 40:2-3

And what was that voice crying about? It was John the Baptist, preparing the way for Christ to come. So what is the comfort? It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.And yet, in 2006 according to this article one ministry alone channelled US$37 million into aid to Israel – including rebuilding a synagogue in Turkey. Keep in mind that Christian evangelism is forbidden in Israel. So are they comforting ethnic Israel with the gospel? Or propping up a false religion? Ministries like Christian Friends of Israel are content to “share” in the covenant with ethnic Israel. But, the Scriptures tell us in Romans 9:6 that they are not all Israel, which are of Israel and in Romans 2:29 that he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. The judgement against ethnic Israel – was because this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. (Isa 29:13).So what is the summary:

• Are we to prop up Israel because there is some special blessing of God, or because it fits with the eschatological timeline we’d like to see? No.

• Are we to be anti-semitic? After all, didn’t the Jews deserve whatever trouble they get? Well, any good or calamity is the result of the sovereign will of God. What we refer to as ‘anti semitism’ throughout the ages – pogroms, holocaust, etc. – may well be partly the judgement of God, but, that doesn’t make it any less wicked on the part of those perpetrating them. So this is also a resounding No.

• What should our attitude towards Jewish people be? Well, tending to physical needs is all well and good and we are commanded to do so. But, it must be accompanied by tending to their need for repentance and believe in Christ.

“If parents can control every aspect of the kids’ education, shield them from exposure to things that the parents deem sinful or objectionable, screen in only things which accord with their convictions, and not allow them exposure to the world of democracy, well the children grow up then basically in the own image of their parents, servile to their own parents’ beliefs.”

Technorati Tags: Statism

Oh really? Turn that around a bit, I would say that if the government can control every aspect of the kids’ education, shield them from exposure to things that the state deem sinful or objectionable, screen in only things which accord with their convictions, and not allow them exposure to the world of democracy, well the children grow up then basically in the own image of the government leaders, servile to the state’s beliefs!

So it’s really a question, of who should be charge? Chris Ortiz has more commentary here.

Of course, don’t forget the situation in Germany:

Heinz Kohler, the county education director, dismissed the [homeschooling] families’ beliefs, stating, “you and your children are not living in isolation on some island but rather in an environment posing intra- and extracurricular situations where you’ll have to accept that your world view will be curtailed.” Mr. Kohler further explained that homeschooling could not be allowed as “children should not be encapsulated or kept apart from the outside world. In these cases, the parents’ rights to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society…”

In other words, the goal of education is to bring children up in the nurture and nationalism of the State.