10 August 2012

Protect and Defend Your Right to the Establishment of a Religion, and the Free Exercise Thereof – Part III


Protect and Defend Your Right to the Establishment of a Religion, and the Free Exercise Thereof – Part III


I was listening to an Andy Stanley sermon on iTunes this afternoon when the doorbell rang. It was Chris Hagenow, my state representative, doing the door-to-door thing for this fall’s election. Now, I don’t know if Chris is Republicrat or Democan, and I don’t care. He emails his constitutents, I email him, he always writes back, takes what I talk about and explains how he is carrying the views of his constituents into the snakepit Iowa House of Representatives. At least it isn’t the Iowa State Senate where he has to put up with dingbat Gronstal on a regular basis.

But, I digress. Yes, I am going to vote for him again and would recommend you do so too if you have the opportunity. But, as we were talking, he mentioned that he hadn’t seen a new blog from me for a while. Just knowing that anyone else reads these things inspired me to go ahead and get back on the keyboard. And, knowing it was Chris kind of puffed me up and pepped me up.

This is the third in a series. It is longer than a typical blog, because this is a really detailed topic that I feel very strongly about. Very simply, it is time for all citizens, let alone all Christians, all Disciples of our Lord, to fight for the right to establish their religion and to exercise thereof freely.

Let’s get clear on this. Please, understand completely from the outset how strongly I feel here. This is what Doug Giles had to say that kicked my mind in to “prolific writing” status:

The Church needs the biblical rebel spirit of our founders injected back into the evangelical mix instead of this squishy, pusillanimous, ignoble and compliant crapola that’s currently cranking through our indolent pulpits and pews. God help the Church to lose its cowardly, effeminate bent in these critical days. Amen. – Doug Giles

I always said that, when the revolution comes and they are lining up people who they try and find to be guilty of Christianity, they would grab me, stab me and slab me without a trial, that there would no need to find evidence, that my true colors are clear. You shall know we are Christians by our love, and there are a lot more reasons that you should know I am a Christian.


As a Disciple of our Lord, you might ask, what is it that I fundamentally believe. Lots of things are variable and optional among those I know to be Disciples and those who profess to be Christians, but the salient points of import to me are:

1.       The Great Commission – found in Matthew 28:16-20
It is our job, directly commanded to Disciples by the Lord, to go into the world and preach the gospel to everybody. Not just the ones who want to hear it, not just where we want to go, not just where they want us to go. It’s like Stansfield in The Professional screaming”I MEAN EVERYBODY!!!”
2.       One Way – found in John 3
Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
3.       One End – found in Revelation 21:
Conquerors inherit all this. I’ll be God to them, they’ll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless —for them it’s Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!"

Conveniently, Doug Giles then brought up 4 points that he proposed as talking points. Then he did not do a lot of talking. Silly boy. That leaves room for me to talk, right?


Point, the First

Some dainty saints of today think rebellion against tyrants is disobedience to God, when the converse is actually true.

One of the greatest learnings of a Disciple is discernment; that pretty much either follows or leads to willingness to buck the flow, another key ingredient in life according to the Voice of Truth.

The “unknown epistle writer” tells us in the letter to the Hebrews in the 5th and 6th chapters:

By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ.

Practice in telling right from wrong. Easily said, difficult initially to discern. God makes it pretty clear to me in His Word that right is right and wrong is wrong; but, the world of today, post modern as it is, has phased to a state of relative truth. Relative analysis is dangerous, because what we end up with what I think is right may be wrong for you, what I think is wrong may be right for you, and we both are right and wrong at the same time.

Sol Davidson, who was pretty much regarded as the smartest man around then and could have given Hawking , Freud, Kant, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Einstein a run for their money, in the 29th chapter of his book of witticisms says:

  1 For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it’ll be too late to help them. 2 When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans. 3 If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents, but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with whores. 4 A leader of good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste. 5 A flattering neighbor is up to no good; he’s probably planning to take advantage of you. 6 Evil people fall into their own traps; good people run the other way, glad to escape. 7 The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor; the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea. 8 A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down. 9 A sage trying to work things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble. 10 Murderers hate honest people; moral folks encourage them. 11 A fool lets it all hang out; a sage quietly mulls it over. 12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip, all the workers get infected with evil. 13 The poor and their abusers have at least something in common: they can both see—their sight, GOD’s gift! 14 Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly. 15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom; spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents. 16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild, but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse. 17 Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—they’ll turn out delightful to live with.

My first thought to discuss that popped immediately out of this is: “When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.” True then, true now, shall be true forever.  And, another line worth noting especially is “A sage trying to work things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.” And, finally, “Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—they’ll turn out delightful to live with.”

The same principles are equally or moreso true with respect to tyrants and kings.

Next time:

Point, the Second

A lot of evangelicals would rather live as government slaves than live and die as free men.

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