The nations of the world are divided generally along two
orientations: 1. The trust and love of freedom for individuals
and, 2. The fear, distrust and even hatred of freedom for
individuals. The first
orientation [let’s call it
the Freedom Orientation or FO] attempts
to restrain the accumulation of power in any sector, government,
group, etc. other than the individual. The
purpose of government in this orientation is to use its “power”
to provide services to free and unified individuals that are best
done collectively and are not productively done in the larger private
or religious sectors. Government serves under the ultimate authority
of the people. It requires, in
the general populace, a level
of psycho-spiritual maturity that can overcome the
lust for power and selfish endeavors, maintaining a sincere
dedication to the common good and policing and supporting the
government that is its servant. The
maintenance of this level of psycho-spiritual maturity
is why the originators of the American Constitution recognized the
importance of “religion and morality” as a necessary
pillar of democracy [See
George Washington’s Farewell Address (a
must read for any educated human being),
quoted and linked
below (1.)]
The
second orientation [let’s call it the Power Orientation or PO]
attempts to accumulate and maintain power within a certain person or
group of people who then dictate, with supposed beneficence and
wisdom, how the society will operate. This usually involves a firm
and powerful boundary between the authoritarian power group and the
common citizens who are generally afraid to speak in any way contrary
to ruling authority. This is true because it takes
fear-mongering to maintain
power over any people group. Power is maintained by fear. Freedom is
fueled by love. The Bible says that “perfect love drives out fear”
[1John 4:18]. Tyranny,
however, clothes itself in
power and instills fear.
The
PO is currently manifesting in three ideologies: 1. Theocracy, which
purports that everyone must submit to the authority of the only true
god who demands submission, alienation, persecution or death. {Saudi
Arabia and most
Islam-dominated nations} This
is a particularly heinous form of PO because it is infused with the
power of religion which calls for self-sacrifice and the promise of
an afterlife. 2. Communism, which maintains power
in a party and keeps bids for individual freedom suppressed. {No.
Korea, China, Russia}.
And 3. Political corruption
fueled specifically by greed and the ability to continue in illegal,
lucrative pursuits, using power to hold at bay any intrusions against
those pursuits. The nations
of So. America run by drug lords who buy or intimidate political and
police authority are examples of this form of PO.
It’s
noteworthy that the Bible and the Christian faith are excluded or
suppressed in the PO nations. Below are two links: one to
freedomhouse.org with a world map denoting nations where freedom
flourishes, and a second one to a world map denoting nations where
Christianity flourishes. If
you compare them you will see a remarkable overlap between freedom
and Christianity. Tyrants fear and hate the Bible because it
ultimately sets people free and encourages them to expose and
confront forms of evil that
enslave people. God sent ten plagues against Pharaoh saying “set my
people free.” [Exodus]. Jesus said He came to “set at liberty
those who are oppressed” fulfilling Isaiah’s messianic prophesy
[Luke 4:18]. An escaped No. Korean border guard said that in No.
Korea, harboring a Bible or allowing one into the nation carries a
more severe punishment than killing someone [from
Voice of the Martyrs, an organization worthy of our support]. This
is a stark commentary on the liberating power of the Bible and the
Spirit that it conveys into the human heart. For this reason it would
be wise [in fact it may be necessary, in order to preserve freedom]
for all freedom loving people [whether they believe the Bible or
not!] to support the evangelistic efforts of those who go to great
lengths to get it into the hands, and hopefully hearts, of all the
peoples of the earth. Tyrants and tyrannical systems recognize that
the Truth of the Bible erodes the
PO; and they do all they can
to exclude it from their realms of power or
twist it into something that bolsters their power.
Secularists have no need to fear a theocracy born out of the Bible
because it reveals that God has ordained freedom of human will---even
the freedom to violate His
eternal principles of Love and Truth and Faith [though
we see clearly that there are natural disastrous consequences in
doing so]. Christian theocracies of the past were and will continue
to be eroded and destroyed by the very Truth of the Bible
that was twisted into those
theocracies. God did not initially want His people to have an earthly
king [human
authority], but rather that all would look to Him--His Spirit of Love
in individuals would
be the ruling authority [1Samuel
8]. Christ, Who said, “I am in you….” is the fulfillment of
this Reality [John 14:20. Perhaps the most profound theological
statement in all religious scripture].
The great freedom that sincere followers of Christ experience is worthy of the world's attention. Devotion to Christ leads to freedom from fear: the fear of death and the distractions of materialistic enslavement, as Jesus describes. [Luke 8:14]. Christ brings our lives into a focus of peaceful love for all within our sphere of influence. This is a freedom that no political system can provide or prevent because it exists at the level of the soul---not accessible to the systems of man.
Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert
these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the
duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the
pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not
trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it
simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation,
for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which
are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let
us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be
maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the
influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason
and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
George Washington, Farewell Address.
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