Dan Popp
Tea and anarchy
By Dan Popp
What fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14b, NASB)
I consider myself a Tea Party guy. If the Tea Party movement is against government bailouts, out-of-control spending and high taxes, I'm in. So it disturbed me recently to read from a self-described "patriot" that she believes Occupy Wall Street and Anonymous "have a lot in common" with the Tea Party. Of course any two groups have some things in common, if only accidentally. I would probably find common ground with a socialist – if there were a communist in the room. But Christians accepting National Socialism in order to fight back communism didn't work out so well in Germany in the 1930s. The enemy of my enemy is sometimes my enemy, too.
OWS and Anonymous members are anarchists.
That's evil.
Yes, there are bad governments. But government is not inherently bad.
The atheist Thomas Paine wrote, "Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." But the Christian James Madison countered, "It has been said that all Government is an evil. It would be more proper to say that the necessity of any Government is a misfortune. This necessity however exists; and the problem to be solved is, not what form of Government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect."
The Christian cannot conclude that civil government is a moral evil, because he believes that God instituted government, according to Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, and God cannot commit moral evil. (He does bring practical evil upon individuals, which confuses a lot of scoffers. They fail to make the distinction that any child can make; the distinction between a "bad man" and a "bad day.") More than that, God has even told us why governments are beneficial: They execute justice; and justice is a moral good. So opposition to bad government is far, far different than opposition to all government. To someone who hasn't thought the matter through, it may seem that the "small government" position and the "no government" position are very close to each other. In reality, they're as far apart as they could be.
Let me substitute the more precise term "constitutionally limited government" for "small government" because an oligarchy or a monarchy would qualify as a small government, but not the kind envisioned by most Tea Partiers. A government bound by just laws, enacting just laws and enforcing those laws justly is as far from oppression as we can get in an administration made up of humans. Individuals in society are not preyed upon by one another, and they aren't oppressed by the government.
Anarchy, on the other hand, is maximum human oppression. The strongest and the most ruthless among us have their way with the weak and the meek. I can't imagine anything less just, or more like hell on earth.
It may seem romantic to "rage against the machine." I'm sure it's exciting to burn off some rowdy youthful energy chanting against the "corporatists" and the "bankers" (perhaps a code word for Jews). But there are always some who are not playing at this. These real men of lawlessness won't stop at repealing the measures that Tea Partiers dislike. After they've busted Agenda 21 and the NDAA, they'll move on to destroying the Constitution, the rule of law and private property. Those who think OWS and Anonymous are cool will find themselves cowering under their beds if those mobs succeed. Well, not their beds. Their beds will have been lost when their house was burned down or taken over.
Those who don't respect the property rights of the "one percent" don't respect your property rights, either. Or any of your rights, for that matter. It's just that you're not big enough to show up on their radar. Yet.
Destruction, robbery and chaos are the means of Satan. And those who walk in his ways are his children – not God's. "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33a, NIV) Anarchists are not my brothers. If they don't repent, they will surely be condemned to hell. And that will be a good and just thing.
If I ever get a sense that the leaders or members of the Tea Party are cozying up to these anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Capitalism, anti-Civilization, anti-Human bullies and cowards of OWS and Anonymous, I'll be out the door before you can say "anathematize." And I would hope that every Christian would be racing me for the exit.
Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13:2, NASB)
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' – Jesus (Matthew 7:23, NASB)
Those who call for Nonsense will find that it comes. – C.S. Lewis
© Dan Popp
March 14, 2013
What fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14b, NASB)
I consider myself a Tea Party guy. If the Tea Party movement is against government bailouts, out-of-control spending and high taxes, I'm in. So it disturbed me recently to read from a self-described "patriot" that she believes Occupy Wall Street and Anonymous "have a lot in common" with the Tea Party. Of course any two groups have some things in common, if only accidentally. I would probably find common ground with a socialist – if there were a communist in the room. But Christians accepting National Socialism in order to fight back communism didn't work out so well in Germany in the 1930s. The enemy of my enemy is sometimes my enemy, too.
OWS and Anonymous members are anarchists.
That's evil.
Yes, there are bad governments. But government is not inherently bad.
The atheist Thomas Paine wrote, "Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." But the Christian James Madison countered, "It has been said that all Government is an evil. It would be more proper to say that the necessity of any Government is a misfortune. This necessity however exists; and the problem to be solved is, not what form of Government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect."
The Christian cannot conclude that civil government is a moral evil, because he believes that God instituted government, according to Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, and God cannot commit moral evil. (He does bring practical evil upon individuals, which confuses a lot of scoffers. They fail to make the distinction that any child can make; the distinction between a "bad man" and a "bad day.") More than that, God has even told us why governments are beneficial: They execute justice; and justice is a moral good. So opposition to bad government is far, far different than opposition to all government. To someone who hasn't thought the matter through, it may seem that the "small government" position and the "no government" position are very close to each other. In reality, they're as far apart as they could be.
Let me substitute the more precise term "constitutionally limited government" for "small government" because an oligarchy or a monarchy would qualify as a small government, but not the kind envisioned by most Tea Partiers. A government bound by just laws, enacting just laws and enforcing those laws justly is as far from oppression as we can get in an administration made up of humans. Individuals in society are not preyed upon by one another, and they aren't oppressed by the government.
Anarchy, on the other hand, is maximum human oppression. The strongest and the most ruthless among us have their way with the weak and the meek. I can't imagine anything less just, or more like hell on earth.
It may seem romantic to "rage against the machine." I'm sure it's exciting to burn off some rowdy youthful energy chanting against the "corporatists" and the "bankers" (perhaps a code word for Jews). But there are always some who are not playing at this. These real men of lawlessness won't stop at repealing the measures that Tea Partiers dislike. After they've busted Agenda 21 and the NDAA, they'll move on to destroying the Constitution, the rule of law and private property. Those who think OWS and Anonymous are cool will find themselves cowering under their beds if those mobs succeed. Well, not their beds. Their beds will have been lost when their house was burned down or taken over.
Those who don't respect the property rights of the "one percent" don't respect your property rights, either. Or any of your rights, for that matter. It's just that you're not big enough to show up on their radar. Yet.
Destruction, robbery and chaos are the means of Satan. And those who walk in his ways are his children – not God's. "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33a, NIV) Anarchists are not my brothers. If they don't repent, they will surely be condemned to hell. And that will be a good and just thing.
If I ever get a sense that the leaders or members of the Tea Party are cozying up to these anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Capitalism, anti-Civilization, anti-Human bullies and cowards of OWS and Anonymous, I'll be out the door before you can say "anathematize." And I would hope that every Christian would be racing me for the exit.
Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13:2, NASB)
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' – Jesus (Matthew 7:23, NASB)
Those who call for Nonsense will find that it comes. – C.S. Lewis
© Dan Popp
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