How did we get here? It's amazing...in a relatively short time the Church, without which the outcome of the American Revolution could have been significantly different, has become the 'useful idiots' in the war on American Freedom and individual liberty. The name Black Robed (or Robe) Regiment was given by the British as an epithet to describe the group of clergy who actively preached about the righteous cause of the Revolution. We don't realize this now, of course - there aren't many good movies or historically accurate You Tube videos on the Revolution and only those who devote more than casual study to it ever learn how dangerously close we were to completely losing the will of the people. The British were terrorizing the colonies using every possible tool at their disposal from imposing economic hardships on the colonists to murdering any who openly opposed the King. It was as bad as you can imagine and there was no mass communication, no video clips of laser guided bombs taking out enemy encampments with surgical precision to buoy the spirits of the people, only the occassional messenger who would deliver news of the war from the front. I'm convinced the outcome would have been in jeopardy had it not been for this group of brave patriots known as the "Black Robed Regiment". As historian Christopher Hamner of George Mason notes, "By encouraging the Patriot cause, those ministers helped muster critical support among members of their congregation —support the British begrudgingly acknowledged as vital to maintaining the colonists' frustrating resistance to British attempts to restore Parliamentary rule." (click here to read more from Professor Hamner). In other words, rallying public opinion in favor of fighting a just war against the oppressive British government was crucial in securing the "blessings of liberty". How have we now arrived at the point in the "evolution" of the church where a radical leftist concept like "social justice" is now preached as if it is a biblical concept? Where something like "the pursuit of happiness" from the greatest founding document in human history is taken out of context to somehow imply our founders were just concerned with a hedonistic existence devoted to feeling good?
The answer to me is simple, but not easy. As has been attributed to Alexis de Toqueville:
"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her comodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies; and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast commerce, and it was not there. Not until I visited the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."So I ask you, are our pulpits still "aflame with righteousness"? Some, of course, still are. In general, however, visiting many churches in America today can look more like a rock concert, peace rally or social justice lecture - President Obama's pastor, black liberation theologian Jeremiah Wright, is an expert on this and hating America. Don't misunderstand, it is not my assertion that the Church or its pastors should be cheerleaders for a particular party or government official. I do assert however, that if the Church is not using its moral authority to emphatically defend and even champion the principles of individual liberty as laid out in our founding documents, they are failing miserably and will become nothing more than the "opiate of the people", simply keeping us busy with social causes and feel good activities while the greatest free society in the history of the planet simply withers away. Moreover the Church will be completely ignoring the divine connection between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Doing so will lead to the Church becoming less and less relevant in our daily lives, especially to those who pay attention to and study history.
If you're now thinking I've gone off the rails believing the Church should promote individualism, consider life outside the United States, past or present, in countries where their constitutions grant some form of liberty that springs forth from man, not God. That is, a society whose citizens are governed not by natural law or the laws of God, but solely on the whim of the ruling class at any point in time. This is a critical distinction and one I believe some in the Church today don't fully appreciate or even understand. When Constitutional Conservatives promote individual liberty and stress its importance in our lives, it is not in the context of the church community. It is an ideal solely concerning the relationship of the citizen to the government. For example, I've heard the term "rugged individualism" used in a negative light several times as a jumping off point in messages or sermons that support Christians being part of a church community. I can only assume the belief is that rugged individualism is somehow in conflict with the church's concept of joining together in a community. This is the same kind of false logic used when President Obama characterizes capitalism as "you are on your own" economics. Nothing could be further from the truth. I completely agree that God does not want us to be alone in the struggle to carry out the Great Commission or even in the day-to-day work the Church does around the world to feed the poor, shelter the homeless or take care of those who have fallen on hard times. It is evident in teachings of Jesus Christ and the manner in which he chose to carry out his ministry - showing us the way to join with each other! This is not arguable. However, when misguided pastors extend this kind of "community" talk to include our relationship as citizens to our government - either implicitly or explicitly, they are perpetuating a dangerous myth and displaying a complete lack of knowledge of the miracle of our founding.
What I see more often than not, is a watered down version of core Christian principles to make them more palatable to those in the congregation. Even the Church, after all, is not immune to modern political correctness. Pastors rarely mention politics and when they do it is usually accompanied by some disclaimer that will equally insult (or placate) both conservatives and liberals - as if there is suddenly a reporter at the podium worried about "balanced" coverage. This is what allows politicians to invoke the name of Jesus Christ and bastardize his teaching to their end of expanded central government. Here is one recent disingenuous quote from President Obama:
“When I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone,” Mr. Obama said. “If I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.” He added, “But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’ It mirrors the Islamic belief that those who’ve been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others.”If you remember when he made those comments in February (2012) there was no national outcry from our church leaders. There was a smattering of comments from some clergy but no outrage as there should have been. The fact that we have allowed this to happen with regularity over the past few years is disgusting. There is simply no biblical support (not even Mathew 22:21 - read the historical context) for this concept. We have allowed the left to control the narrative in the mass media for so long and with so little resistance that the above statement by our President (and many others) goes unchallenged by our church leaders. Instead, more and more, paying taxes is equated with charity. As if the concept of sacrificial giving, a common and recurring theme throughout the Bible, can be replaced by a temporary politician's view of what is "your fair share" (for the truth about who really pays most of the taxes in the U.S. click here). The damage this has done to our society can't be overstated. Not only does it grow the size of government to proportions not seen in history, it also takes money out of the private economy that could be used in a much more targeted and efficient way by our churches to help those in need in our communities and around the world. It has nothing to do with greed or selfishness or the latest term used by the left - "Social Darwinism". It is very simply a belief that in a republic such as the United States, the easiest way for the government to control the people is through taxation. This is why taxes must be as low as possible to fund the legitimate functions of government. Can we debate what those legitimate functions should be? Of course, which is why we have elections and is also why the church has a role in shaping the opinions of believers.
I began this article by asking how we got here. This is it ladies and gentlemen. Apathy and inaction have been the rule for too long. As the great Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." We will all decide either by choice or by chance what our role is in what happens next. As for me, I will delve into this topic in part 3 of this series.
