“My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning the abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs)...”
- J.R.R. Tolkien -
UPDATE: December, 2021
This article is now more important than ever, as we see governments world-wide using a presumptive health crisis to impose tyrannical control over their citizens. Having rediscovered this article today, I'm adding it to my Kingdom of God library shelf (which I dearly hope you will visit and peruse).
As you read the following analysis of "government as we've always known it," you may find it enlightening to consider this related article which compares and contrasts the states we know all too well with governance as it ought to be.
Simplifying my thinking...
My life has seemed one long struggle, ever striving toward clarity of thought and comprehension. I think I can finally sum up my political views in a very few words. However, it may take more than a few to provide the context that explains how I came to this understanding.
Oppression ~ (source)
Not that you'd ever make the connection from listening to your preacher in church, but the Christian bible speaks volumes about oppression, and it roundly condemns human government.
But what is "oppression?"
To answer that question, we need to go back before the beginning.
As I understand scripture, the very first sin ever to appear in the Heavenly Places took form in the mind of Lucifer, God's most magnificent created being. Lucifer became Satan when he began to turn his attention inward, to his own beauty and splendor. Consequently, he began to believe he was equal to God, and decided to elevate himself to Godhood.
“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
“But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’”
- Isaiah 14:12-14
It is no coincidence that this poem in Isaiah begins with a discussion of how the LORD has put an end to the oppression of human rulers.
At it's core, my simplifying insight is this:
Like Lucifer, humans are created beings. We reflect the image of Jesus/God who created us, but we are and always will be creatures of his, like him in significant ways, but lesser.
As our Creator, Jesus/God has every legitimate right to rule us, to control us, to dictate to us how we must live. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans is very clear about this, though simple logic should reveal the fact upon thoughtful reflection.
A corollary of this observation is that, as fellow humans, we are all peers. We are all creatures, though we are capable of creating lessers of our own. Therefore, no human—or group of humans—has any innate right to rule other humans. All philosophical theories of "divine right" are in fact no more than echos of Satan's original arrogance.
To be sure, there are limited exceptions to this that are also logically obvious. Parents must needs govern the lives of their own children until they are capable of self determination. And there is the somber reality of individuals with mental deficiencies, those who absolutely need the care, provision, and guidance of others. Finally, and perhaps most problematic, are the sociopaths who actively seek to harm others, who must be decisively dealt with.
To our great and everlasting shame and misfortune, human government as we have known it all of our lives, inherently violates the truth that Jesus/God is the only rightful sovereign over mankind. Like Satan, virtually every human government that I am aware of arrogates itself to Godhood by presuming the right to coerce other humans into submission by decree and the initiation of force. Like Satan, the ultimate tool of this misguided belief is violence.
Thus, despite all pretense to the contrary, human government as we know it is the diametric opposite of liberty. True liberty is the exercise of free will in the service of good, and in the absence of all external coercion.
Liberty ~ (source)
I will close, then, with the simple, distilled essence of my current "political views."
“Voluntary cooperation among men to form a society is legitimate.
Men initiating force by any means against others is illegitimate, oppressive, and to be soundly condemned.”
I suspect this can be seen as a slightly expanded expression of the classic libertarian formula, "Don't initiate force."
The astute observer will understand this to be a subset of Jesus' opinion as to the second greatest commandment.
Do you extol liberty by living what you believe in this regard, or do you support the oppression of human government over yourself and your neighbor?
I ask you to consider and respond in the comments below. (Please do consider joining Hive; a thriving community in which you can interact and actually earn for your efforts!)
*FIN*
