Rulers Of The Gentiles Lord It Over Them

2020 has been a kinda icky year, with a Presidential election as our cherry on top. 

You know the stereotype of Jewish mothers doting on, and bragging about, their sons. Having Peter and James's mom embarrass them in front of Jesus and the other ten disciples (Matthew 20:20-28) did nothing to erase that picture. But, as always with Jesus, he turned an awkward moment into a teachable one. The topic was leadership. Specifically the way-of-the-world versus the-way-of-God's-kingdom.

If anybody had the right to be demanding and authoritarian, it would've been Jesus Christ, maker of heaven and earth, who breathed life into man. Yet he did not act that way when on earth, and argued against it for those who would be his followers.

What of a leader who demands that you not leave your house, dictates what you must wear, orders selected merchants closed down, while deeming others "essential?" They go so far as to stipulate how many people are allowed on a privately-owned boat. And, as we all know, they decree that churches shall not gather to worship. That's more than mere authoritarianism. It's Totalitarianism. 

To be sure, not all elected Democrats in America are Totalitarians. But all American Totalitarians are Democrats. If you live in a Blue State, or in a Democrat-run major metropolitan area (some of which may be in Red States), you are much more likely to be oppressed than your friends in the rest of the country. A question for any readers who may say Trump is a Totalitarian: please name a Democrat Governor or Mayor he has overruled. Remember that the armed Feds he sent in to Portland were ONLY protecting a Federal Courthouse. And, at least in California, the Democrat Governor is openly defying Trump's classification of churches as "essential." No troops have been sent to Ventura county to guard churchgoers, the way JFK sent troops to Little Rock to guard school children.

And despite Leftists' repeated use of the word "science," Democrats are the ones suppressing the actual science, with a major assist from their bosses, the Leftist Mainstream Media. Hydroxychloroquine was the most widespread/famous science-denial*, but there's also been a dramatic exaggeration of coronavirus deaths, as described by California Pastor Rob McCoy (start at 24:48):

In fairness, counties receive extra money for "Covid Deaths," so the motivation to inflate the numbers isn't entirely about grabbing power. It's partly financial. But come-on-man, only TWO out of 102 actually died from the coronavirus? How's that not fraud? Ventura may not even be the most egregious county out there. County Medical Examiners are almost always appointed by State politicians, and in many counties aren't even required to have a medical license. Science will take a back seat to politics every time. Bureaucrats will do what bureaucrats do: protect their budget, and please their masters. And you may recall that 2020 is an election year.

So based on Jesus' description of leadership style, one can reasonably conclude that the less demanding and controlling an elected executive behaves toward her constituents, the more she is living out kingdom values. It's hard to imagine anything more "lording it over them" than forcing coronavirus patients back into nursing homes to infect all their friends. Or shutting down restaurants, churches, gyms, and hospitals (the latter to all but a handful of Covid patients), while leaving abortionists and marijuana peddlers alone.

One big reason I am a conservative, is that limited, non-intrusive government is a great blessing. A blessing Americans are increasingly pining for as the weeks turn into months. Thankfully, in America the "negative rights" that Barack Obama complained about (strictly speaking "enumerated powers"), are enshrined in our founding documents to protect citizens from overbearing rulers. It is no coincidence that Democrats are always whining about the constitution. It's the last thing standing between them and total domination.

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* Dr. Harvey Risch, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine: "The evidence in favor of hydroxychloroquine benefit in high-risk patients treated early as outpatients is stronger than anything else I have ever studied. So scientifically there is no question whatsoever.”

Review of "The World Is Not Ours To Save"

Back in 2013, when this book first came out, I was working for a company that promoted InterVarsity Press (among other Christian publishers) to churches, and church staffs. I was immediately taken by the title of this IVP book, and lobbied to add Tyler Wigg-Stevenson's contribution to our eBlast calendar. No luck. The topic was deemed too far off the radar of our evangelical audience. And the author was hardly a household name.

Not sure Ron Sider's endorsement helped or hurt my case.

Not only did the company choose to not promote the book, they didn't even order a review copy. I know, I know, a book salesman should avoid picking favorites. Y'gotta be able to persuasively present books you aren't personally interested in. Sigh.

Flash forward seven years. That book marketing company is now out of business—a familiar fate these days in the Christian product category. I've been blessed to get a job back in my longtime field of Christian entertainment, where one of my tasks is to place Christian movies and stand-up comedies on Amazon Prime. And so it was that while on Amazon's site one day, this book popped up on screen... and I ordered it.

I'd forgotten about Ron Sider's endorsement. I'd promoted a 1988 Tenth Anniversary Edition of "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" while working for Word Publishing in Canada. I didn't agree with much in Sider's influential book. In fact, a few years later I enjoyed the terrific "Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider," written by David Chilton. So when I saw another book that appeared to challenge the current Social Justice fad among evangelicals, I was delighted. So despite the endorsement, I eagerly dug into "The World Is Not Ours To Save."

First up this author comes across as very likable. He tells of being raised in San Diego in a secular, liberal household by parents who were anti-war activists. But even before becoming a Christian, young Tyler was already living in San Francisco and working on the staff of a former Democrat US Senator. The story of his conversion involves a theophany, in which God speaks the seven words of Wigg-Stevenson's title (the publishers substituted "Ours" for "Yours"). His re-telling of the encounter sets the tone for what must surely be the most biblically- and Christ-centered "activist" book ever published.

I think Wigg-Stevenson's book is more for activists than for civilians. While making the case for temporal/political/global "peace," he isn't primarily trying to recruit garden-variety evangelicals to become activists. His main goal is to help other activists who are Christians keep Christ and His Kingdom front-and-center in their thinking, and allow the gospel to temper their earthbound activism. His bottom line on finding-the-freedom-to-do-good: the root of what ails the world is spiritual, and the best outcome we can expect from our political good deeds is temporary and tactical improvements in a fallen world.

A few of my favorite quotes:
• "Those who have aimed at utopia have often been the most effective at unleashing hell on earth."

• "No historically nuanced critique of Zionism undoes the fact that millions of Jews now make Israel their home, and their safety matters."
• "The most mundane work, if offered as genuine service to God, is greater by far than labor that seems outwardly kingdom-oriented but is self-glorifying."

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 is labelled "The Limits Of Activism," which is nothing short of a wake-up call to Christ-followers who are activists. 

Part 2 is "A Deeper Calling," and suggests a renewed vision of activism based on Micah 4:1-5. For one who is a convinced Christian activist, you could do a lot worse than this passage as a foundation of your efforts. 

I confess that I do not see Activist among the gifts given the church by the Spirit. Of course "good deeds" are essential—almost a litmus test of genuine faith, per the Epistle of James. And any believer who feels called to work in politics or public service may be greatly used by God, provided they trust in the Lord and do good.

But I have a couple of least-favorite quotes too:
• "We must surely view imbalances in resource consumption as an example of Biblical injustice."
• "Micah preached that benefitting from inequality led to the judgment of God, citing 'dishonest scales' and the 'short ephah.'"

The notion that imbalance and/or inequality are in-and-of-themselves wicked or sinful is, at best, a novel biblical interpretation. But I see the two assertions above as originating in secular activism—generalizing backwards from disparate outcomes to arrive at "systemic" injustice. As Greg Boyd points out in "Satan And The Problem Of Evil," the problem isn't really systemic, but uncomfortably particular. It comes down to a personal choice made by an individual. If you're a butcher, keep your thumb off the scales. If you sell fabric, don't short your customers.

By itself, imbalance isn't evil, given that God bestows many different gifts and talents among us, his created beings. Still, "to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." If I'm sitting on a surplus, and am surrounded by neighbors in complete lack, Christ would have me be as generous as possible. But Jesus's story about the Good Samaritan talked about a needy person RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Even a child understands that eating extra food because kids in Somalia are starving makes no sense. But inviting a hungry neighbor kid to join my family for supper is exactly right. Don't paint everybody, say, with white skin, as evil-doers because their family budget is higher than that of a family in Lesotho.

The only other thing that struck me odd in "The World Is Not Ours To Save" was the dog that didn't bark. Nowhere does this book tackle the reality of spiritual opposition to efforts for peace and justice. Any ordained minister "fighting against" oppression and tyranny must surely have encountered demonic resistance. My fear is that activism continues to do battle against flesh and blood, not factoring in principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, or spiritual wickedness in high places. Alas, when I've heard activists talk about "systemic" evil, they are too often referring to conservative political philosophy. For a Christian activist, failure to identify the enemy is a glaring omission.

An activist isn't a missionary. Activists work in the governmental and political arena. Yet Wigg-Stevenson, founding director of the Two Futures Project, "a movement of Christians for the global abolition of nuclear weapons," is an ordained minister. And he proposes a different kind of activism. I, who am not an activist, do not oppose activism, per se... because scripture reminds us there is no law against good deeds. So if folks will donate money to the "cause" you are pursuing, terrific. Just be honest with your donors, responsible with the money, ethical in all your dealings, and humble in your service.

I salute Tyler Wigg-Stevenson for offering a spirited case for Christian activism, and for positing a biblical foundation for improving their serve (as Chuck Swindoll once wrote). It's a good start for him and his fellow activists.

God Is A Republican (Said No Republican Ever)

It is a classic expression of the Straw Man Argument to assert that "God is not a Republican," since no Republican has ever had the temerity to assert such a thing. Indeed, our marching orders come from our founder, America's first-ever Republican President, one Abraham Lincoln, who, when asked if God was on his side, corrected the premise by answering:

"My concern is not whether God is on our side; 

my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." 

Whatsoever is right, indeed.

ABORTION. "Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret." For many Republicans the issue of abortion is our litmus test for being on God's side. Both the Old and New Testaments strongly warn against harming little ones, and explicitly describe personhood within the womb. When elected Democrats go so far as to endorse abortion-after-birth, as the Governor of Virginia has recently done, it becomes pretty easy to identify which party is not on God's side.

ISRAEL. "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." God promised Abraham that through his offspring, the entire world would be blessed. Our current Republican President strongly seeks to bless Israel, in sharp contrast to the previous Democrat in the Oval Office.

BORDERS. God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Borders are a big deal in scripture; Republicans respect and secure them. Today's Democrats are seeking to dissolve borders.

TAXES. "The former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people." Taxes, like death, are inevitable. But they must not be oppressive, and disproportionality is decried as unjust in scripture. In Jesus' time, there was nobody esteemed lower than a tax-collector—because they were self-serving extortionists. Republicans favor lower taxes, and smaller, less-intrusive government. Democrats will force you to buy whatever they decide you ought to buy (ie: health insurance), and tax you if you don't buy it. Democrats are widely known to be the party of high taxes and big, intrusive government.

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And many other infractions truly did Democrats in the presence of all Americans, which are not written in this blog: infringing upon religious liberty (ie: Christian bakers, florists, videographers); attacking the institution of marriage (ie: Obergfel); oppressing children with gender confusion; and many other malign efforts which, if not explicitly anti-Christian, are certainly contrary to Americans' love of ordered liberty.

Some Democrats complain that Republicans are "against the poor," by which they mean we reject higher taxes so gov't can parse it out to maintain victimhood. And they also use tax-payer money to buy the votes on non-tax-payers. I've written about SJ Warriors' misappropriation of Jesus' Olivet Discourse HERE.

But these four main issues are written that ye might believe elected Republicans generally strive to be on God's side, while elected Democrats generally do not.

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Scripture references used above (KJV):

Psalm 139:13-15
Genesis 12:3
Acts 17:26
Nehemiah 5:15