Mustang, What would your guess be as the the meaning of the words " dictates of our respective religions"? Did I say the dictates of someone else's religion? Noooo.... On Mar 3, 3:55 pm, Mustang <[email protected]> wrote: > "we should obey the dictates of our respective religions and place them in > authority" > > I agree with you. But.... do you mean ... everyone should be obligated to > obey someone else's personal beliefs? Not our own? Being made to practice > any religion has no place in America. > > ________________________________ > From: Hollywood <[email protected]> > To: PoliticalForum <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, March 3, 2010 7:09:20 AM > Subject: Re: Christian politics > > Bruce, > > let's get to the point lad. What you are saying basically is that the > Moslem fanactics and Christian Fundies and other assorted religious > fanatics are right, that we should obey the dictates of our respective > religions and place them in authority over secular governments. Or is > it ONLY Christian fanatics that you support? > > On Mar 2, 9:43 pm, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Jesus Is an Anarchist > > (A free-market/libertarian anarchist, that is--otherwise what is called an > > anarcho-capitalist.) > > > by James Redford <[email protected]> > > The above title may seem like strong words, for surely that can't be > > correct? Jesus an anarchist? One must be joking, right? > > > But you read correctly, and I will demonstrate exactly that. At this point > > you may be incredulous, but I assure you that I am quite serious. If you are > > a Christian and find the above title at all hard to believe then you of all > > people owe it to yourself to find out what the basis of this charge is, for > > if the above comes as news to you then you still have much to learn about > > Jesus and about the most vitally important struggle which has plagued > > mankind since the dawn of history: mankind's continuing struggle between > > freedom and slavery, between value producers and the violent parasitical > > elite, between peace and war, between truth and deception. This is the > > central struggle which defines mankind's history and, sadly, continues to do > > so. As Christians and as people in general, what we choose to believe and > > accept as the truth is equally as vitally important, for ultimately it is > > people's beliefs about the world that will shape and determine what outcomes > > transpire in the world. If the mass of people believe in political > > falsehoods and deceptions then mankind will continue to repeat the same > > gruesome mistakes, as it does presently, and the aforementioned struggle > > will continue to be no closer to a desirable resolution. Genuine change must > > first come by changing one's mind, and if what one had believed before was > > in error then one cannot expect good results to proceed forth from it. And > > all change starts with the individual. You can help change the world by > > simply changing your mind. All I ask of you is to believe in the truth--know > > the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:32). > > > It is the purpose of this document to demonstrate the above claim, and if > > you are a Christian then I submit that it should be your task to honestly > > consider what is presented here, for if the above claim comes as a surprise > > then I will show that what you thought you knew about Jesus was not the > > whole story: Jesus is far more radical than many would have you believe, and > > for good reason--it threatens the status quo. For the consequence of this > > truth becoming understood and accepted by even one-tenth of the population > > would be quite dramatic indeed: governments would topple like so many > > dominoes. For as the 16th century Frenchman Étienne de la Boétie observed > > in *The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary > > Servitude*(http://www.blancmange.net/ > > tmh/articles/laboetie.html<http://www.blancmange.net/tmh/articles/laboetie.html>), > > all governments ultimately rest on the consent of the governed, even > > totalitarian dictatorships. Now this "consent" does not have to be in the > > form of active promotion and support of the State, it could simply be in the > > form of hopeless resignation, such as accepting the canard "nothing's as > > sure as death and taxes." All governments can only exist because the > > majority--in one form or another--accept them as at least being inevitable. > > They believe in the deception that even though government may be evil that > > it is nevertheless a necessary evil, and therefore cannot conceive of a > > better alternative. But if such were true then Jesus Christ's whole message > > is a fallacy. But such is not the truth, there is an alternative: liberty. > > And I will show that Jesus has called us to liberty, and that liberty and > > Christ's message are incompatible with government. > > > You may wonder where I got the one-tenth figure from in the above if all > > governments require the acceptance of their rule by the majority of their > > population. Again, the reason is because this acceptance doesn't have to be > > active support but merely resigned, as it usually is. If just one-tenth of > > the population strongly believed that government was itself the greatest > > moral evil and that there was a better alternative it would be enough to > > turn the tide. Since most people are followers and uncritically accept the > > reigning political opinions, those who do not accept the status quo and who > > are able to form and articulate a critical alternative will come to be the > > intellectual leaders by default when the popular regime suffers a crisis and > > people begin to look for alternatives. If the history of governments teach > > us anything it is that such crisis is a regular occurrence, for governments > > by their nature tend toward instability. If it be asked Why then do we still > > have government?, it is here answered that it is because no viable > > alternative to government has been articulated by a critical mass at such a > > crisis, in that most people throughout history have accepted the deception > > that government is a necessary evil and could not conceive a better > > alternative. > > > Now I will articulate that better alternative, the one that Christ commanded > > us. I will show that Jesus and His message are necessarily anarchistic. And > > what better place to start than in the beginning?: > > Jesus's Very Life Began in an Act of Defiance to Government (And Would Later > > End in Defiance to Government) > > > If it were not for Joseph and Mary's intentional act of defying that which > > they knew to be king Herod the Great's will and escaping with baby Jesus > > from out of Herod's mid as fugitives to the land of Egypt then Jesus would > > have been mercilessly killed and needless to say His ministry and the > > fulfillment of Scripture would have never come about. Thus in the most > > fundamental of regards, there is a great antagonism from the very start > > between Jesus and government (to say the least): Jesus was born into the > > world as a criminal and would latter be killed as a criminal--a criminal as > > so regarded by the government, that is. And what was baby Jesus's crime? > > From Matthew 2:1-6 we find the answer: > > > Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the > > king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He > > who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East > > and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was > > troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief > > priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the > > Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus > > it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are > > not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler > > Who will shepherd My people Israel.' " (NKJV, as elsewhere unless noted > > otherwise.) > > > So here we learn that Herod became troubled at the thought that there might > > be someone else that people would come to regard as their king other than > > Herod. Herod regarded Jesus as a threat to his power: was his fear > > unjustified? It is my judgement and this document's central thesis that > > Herod was correct in his assessment of Jesus as being a threat to his > > power--although not just to Herod as an individual but to all that Herod > > represents, in a word: government; along with the unholy usurpation, > > deception and subjugation of people that it necessarily entails. For as I > > will show, Jesus's Kingdom is to be the functional opposite of any > > Earth-bound kingdom which has ever existed. And for government, this is the > > ultimate crime of which Jesus was guilty, and which required His > > extermination. > > > Here we read of this pivotal act of holy defiance to government, without > > which there would be no Christ as we know of: > > > Matthew 2:13-15: Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord > > appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His > > mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will > > seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child > > and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the > > death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord > > through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son." > > > As well, so enraged was Herod upon learning that the wise men had disobeyed > > his order to report back to him on the location of baby Jesus that he > > ordered the extermination of all the male children in Bethlehem and the > > surrounding areas from age two and younger, all in the hopes that baby Jesus > > would be among the slaughtered (Matt. 2:12,16-18). It was only after king > > Herod the Great had perished that Joseph brought his family out of the land > > of Egypt, and then only to Nazareth as Herod's son Archelaus was then > > reigning over Judea (Matt. 2:19-23). > > > How very considerate indeed Jesus was being when He advised His disciples in > > Mark 8:15: > > > Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the > > Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." > > > At the time Jesus offered > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -
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