What do you think of the word "anarchy"? Does it have a negative or even evil connotation in your mind? Are you a Christian? Have you ever said "No King but King Jesus?" If so, and if you really mean it, then you are probably more of an anarchist than you realize.
Anarchy simply means "without a king". The context of anarchy is generally in a human sense, not a spiritual one, and the philosophy supporting it simply claims that no person has the right to claim ownership to another person. Kings claim ownership, often by divine right, always by force and coercion to not only your property but also to you. It is through this claim that they justify their right to levy taxes, make rules and enforce them with guns, conscript soldiers and slaves, and confiscate property.
In a Kingdom there are serfs, lords, and then there is the Royal family. The serfs are the population whose lives and property are the property of the king, they are not part of the Royal family and are not politically well connected enough to be a Lord. Serfs pay homage to the king via taxation, and are subject to the king's laws and decrees at the threat of violence. The Lords are the friends of the King who he has given land or privilege to, lords can also collect taxes on their lands and subject the serfdom on their lands to their laws. And then there is the Royal family, which should need no additional explanation, this is the king and his family.
That's all real interesting, but we live in America, we don't have a king, right? Well here's a test. Are you free to use your property as you see fit? How about your car, who needs those pesky tags right? Or your life? Are you free to not pay the taxes levied on the fruit of your own labor via the income tax if you don't agree with the policies of the government? Of course not. You are a serf. The Federal Government is the King, and the power brokers behind the scenes are the Royal family. Quite often the power brokers are literally families that have been in power for decades if not centuries who control the political and economic forces that are used to control us. In this kingdom the Lords are the corporations, who are given special privileges and access to the royal treasury and to the royal guard in order to protect and expand their property. We are the serfs, subject not only to the laws and decrees of the king with regards to taxation, conscription into military service, and obedience to untold number of regulations (decrees), but we are also subject to the will of the Lord's (corporations) as they use their special privileges to force us to accept their will in regards to the products and services we are given the choice to live by. This entire kingdom is predicated on the assumption that you are the property of the Federal Government. A powerful elite has set themselves up on the throne of God almighty and assumed ownership of you.
That's all real interesting, but we live in America, we don't have a king, right? Well here's a test. Are you free to use your property as you see fit? How about your car, who needs those pesky tags right? Or your life? Are you free to not pay the taxes levied on the fruit of your own labor via the income tax if you don't agree with the policies of the government? Of course not. You are a serf. The Federal Government is the King, and the power brokers behind the scenes are the Royal family. Quite often the power brokers are literally families that have been in power for decades if not centuries who control the political and economic forces that are used to control us. In this kingdom the Lords are the corporations, who are given special privileges and access to the royal treasury and to the royal guard in order to protect and expand their property. We are the serfs, subject not only to the laws and decrees of the king with regards to taxation, conscription into military service, and obedience to untold number of regulations (decrees), but we are also subject to the will of the Lord's (corporations) as they use their special privileges to force us to accept their will in regards to the products and services we are given the choice to live by. This entire kingdom is predicated on the assumption that you are the property of the Federal Government. A powerful elite has set themselves up on the throne of God almighty and assumed ownership of you.
The word "anarchy" has been derided and redefined through our public (royal) education system, and through the mass media (royal propaganda), because it is a dangerous idea to the underpinnings of fraudulent kingdom you are being forced to participate in. If you were to consider the possibility that you belong to yourself, and that no other person has the right to claim ownership of you or your property, then you may experience what is called "cognitive dissonance" when your mind attempts to reconsile the idea of self ownership with the demands of your king to pay taxes, buy car tags, renew licences (what are we pets?), or participate in any other "mandatory" activity. Anarchist see the individual as not only owners of themselves, but also sovereign, and this sovereignty is in direct conflict with the sovereignty the government claims over you. In fact this is evidenced by the fact that they must use violence, or the threat of it in order to coerce you to obey their decrees. Violence and fraud are particularly repulsive to an anarchist because these kinds of acts are violations against the victims property and sovereignty. It is better for the "kings" if you remain ignorant, or even repulsed by the words and ideas of self ownership, because of where these ideas may lead your thinking.
Many Christians may shy away from the anarchist ideology because of the concept of self ownership. We are taught that we were purchased by Christ, and that we belong to God. But a closer examination of this idea will lead you to some interesting conclusions. We need to build a bit of a foundation to get there so lets take a look at these verses:
- Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;"
It is clear that God establishes himself as the only God. We should place no other God (or King) before him. Nor shall we bow down to any idol, or symbol that is either representative of him, a human king, an animal, or any other thing. On this premise alone the claim of ownership upon you by a human King must be rejected.
- Revelation 21:3 :And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
The intent of God is to dwell with us, not to exist distantly separated from us. That he will live with us and be our God, and that his tabernacle will be with us.
- John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
God is a spirit, and must be interacted with as such. Our interaction with him must be according to his nature (spirit) and it also must be accurate (truth). Idolatry is wrong because it is an interaction with God via the physical, not the spiritual, it is neither spirit nor truth. Legalism is wrong because it is an intellectual interaction with him, it is truth, but not spirit. Mysticism is wrong because it is only a spiritual interaction, spirit but not truth.
- Luke 17:20 "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” "
The kingdom that God rules over cannot be seen because it is spirit, like Him. If you can see the kingdom you are subject to, that is a pretty good indication that it is not God's kingdom and you are practicing idolatry.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 it says: "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
Here is the establishment of God's ownership of us. An anarchist would cringe at this prospect. But as a believer we understand that God doubly owns us. He created us, and then he also purchased us at the Cross. This is how he established the Kingdom that we are able to live in with him. Our bodies are His tabernacle, and his dwelling place is not only among us, but within each individual. He is "among" another because he is "within" me when I am near them, and them me.
- Galations 4:4 "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."
As a Christian if I identify with the word "anarchist" I don't see how I can be violating any Christian principles, in fact, in order to be able to prepare my body to become the dwelling place of God, one of the first things I must do is deny any recognition of ownership by any other human being or object or idol. In fact if God not only owns me, has made me his son, and also dwells within me, to live as if my body were the property of any other power seems quite ridiculous.
Living life in this paradigm should radically change how we behave and interact with others. When we view others as tabernacles of God we can instantly see why the principles of anarchy become very important in our control of our physical bodies. Every individual is the physical manifestation of the spiritual presence of God. If a person commits an act of violence or fraud, or makes a false claim of ownership to another person or their property, they are in reality putting themselves in the place of God himself.
"No King but King Jesus?", yes, and embracing and understanding anarchy is where it begins.
Living life in this paradigm should radically change how we behave and interact with others. When we view others as tabernacles of God we can instantly see why the principles of anarchy become very important in our control of our physical bodies. Every individual is the physical manifestation of the spiritual presence of God. If a person commits an act of violence or fraud, or makes a false claim of ownership to another person or their property, they are in reality putting themselves in the place of God himself.
"No King but King Jesus?", yes, and embracing and understanding anarchy is where it begins.
0 comments:
Post a Comment