“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The other day, I found myself debating Dave, a conservative-athiest friend of mine. Dave was going on about all the suffering caused by religion (yes, that tired old argument). But after citing a few examples (i.e. Church of England, Middle Eastern theocracies, and the Holy Roman Empire) and finishing me off with a zinger courtesy of the late, great liberal apostate Christopher Hitchens, Dave made his most lucid point:
“It’s the absence of religion that makes our founding documents so compelling and has kept us, largely, distant from tyranny.”
This point was not lost on me as I believe there is much truth to it…
But it was time for me to go on the offensive. If I was going to affirm my worldview as the correct one, I couldn’t hold anything back.
Here’s a summary:
The argument against religion is really an argument against man. MY argument is not one in support of a religion; rather, I make my case for the One True God!
Freedom without God is anarchy. As we lose God, we lose the country. Look at all the evils and miseries the godless actions of both parties have heaped upon us. We need more God, not less. I call for a great awakening – God is the only source of true, radical change.
I have no faith in humanity. Look at the mess we’ve made – just over the last half century. The actions of men, especially those in power, attest to the depravity of the natural man as does Scripture:
Mark 7:21-23: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
John 3:19: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.”
Romans 3:10-11: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Titus 3:3: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.”
Corruption, pride, control, deceit, dishonesty, etc. has permeated throughout Washington and Wall Street/Corporate America for many decades. Government in particular has steadily become a monster of man’s design, and it’s turning on us.
Government cannot be trusted. The media cannot be trusted. Many corporations cannot be trusted. They all have their own tainted agenda and do not have the best interests of the common man at heart.
Religious hypocrisy will seem a small offense compared to the godless ‘liberty’ that naturally evolves via radical regulatory efforts to control the population (i.e. communism). If these control efforts continue unresisted, we will eventually be completely robbed of our freedom. Ironically, the many who believe they are on the right side of a fight for freedom (and equality) are the ones who are leading us on a fast track to bondage (as a result of their demands for increased government intervention).
We’re all going to be ‘equal’ alright – equally screwed!
Essentially, we (mankind) corrupt everything we touch. Anything positive we achieve – we eventually muck it up. This harsh reality immediately brings to mind something I recently came across online called the ‘Stages of Democracy’ -
{ Bondage to spiritual faith >
Spiritual faith to great courage >
Courage to liberty >
Liberty to abundance >
Abundance to complacency >
Complacency to apathy >
Apathy to dependence >
Dependence back into bondage }
Right now, I reckon we are somewhere between apathy and dependence, with bondage quickly coming around the corner.
Basically, our government is too big and doing more harm than good as it is incestuously linked to Wall Street and banks “too big to fail”. They’re breeding corruption, economic destruction, and ultimately social devastation. We could use more truly God-fearing men in power in our day.
Regardless, Dave and I were in agreement that things are heading in the wrong direction. Where we ultimately disagree is whether God should remain part of the national and political platform.
I admitted that if ‘Christians’ actually walked the walk, maybe society wouldn’t be so government-dependent. There’s an abundance of desperate, broken, and needy people out there. But it’s only fair to acknowledge that our culture (and the current administration) are actually fostering the miseries of ‘we the people.’ Modern social and political trends are not creating solutions; in fact, they are a major part of the problem.
The Constitution was brilliantly constructed by our forefathers, but it cannot work in a slavish society sold on activism and lobby efforts to achieve special interests and/or expansions via a complicit big federal government. It’s Big Government that’s taking us over the cliff. A reckless and powerful governing minority guilty of playing games militarily, economically, and politically are selling their souls and ruining the country for the sake of votes. In the process, their calculated moves continue to fundamentally transform the nation. Ever consider what we’re going to look like three years from now? I shutter the thought!
Today’s young, faithless generation remains blind to these realities, as government is their god. Rather, they will remain forever loyal to their reigning presidential messiah. They also reserve themselves the right to worship their own godless, enlightened superiority – so they may glory in themselves and their own wisdom.
Photo credit: reuvenim (Creative Commons)
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If There Is No God – Part II
(Editor’s note: Read Part 1 here.)
Ultimately, if religion is merely a creation of man, and religion itself is evil, what does that say about man? And why has God all of a sudden become expendable? He has always had a prominent place in our hearts and in our society. God wasn’t a problem for two centuries; but now the Democratic Party has gone agnostic, and the Republican party is split.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that the GOP excommunicates God (and the Republican secularists lose their ‘Scapegoat’) – what’s the platform? What makes the GOP a winning ticket?
Whether man wants to hide behind religion, big government, progressivism, or secularism – we’re imploding! As far as ideology goes, no matter what our espoused affiliation, we’ve all contributed to the mess. None of us are innocent – there’s plenty of blame to go around!
In the end, we must blame the depraved, morally bankrupt, self-destructive tendencies of MAN for our demise. Atheists who claim that man is responsible for creating religion are forced to come to the same conclusion.
The Constitution may have proven to be an essential tool in keeping religious tyranny from reigning. But we’re swiftly headed in the other direction towards Communism, which is a religion in and of itself, in which the government is our god (and applies complete control over us).
Religion should not be used as a means of control; it should serve a greater purpose. I never considered Emperor Constantine (or any other political-religious leader for that matter) having pure intentions – but at least he stopped the persecution of Christians.
Absolute power and authority in the hands of men is bad, no matter the ideology/affiliation. The Christians I know don’t want theocracy, despite the obnoxious claims perpetuated by the New Atheists.
In fact, I pointedly asked Dave:
“Why the bias, the law suits, and the hard cultural atheism? This is a new phenomenon!”
To Dave’s credit, he took a sincere stab at addressing the question:
In response, I affirmed that demise of religion will not fix the problem! This is not a religion problem but a human nature problem. Take away religion, and you still have the man.
If you look at the atrocities perpetuated in heathen lands and godless, secular societies led by cruel dictators (i.e. Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, etc.) throughout history, the root of the evil is apparent!
Darwinism, in particular, has had a significant influence in minimizing the sanctity of life; and this is why death panels will soon become a reality in this country (as it is just an extension of abortion) for those lives considered unworthy of the cost required to sustain their existence (i.e. elderly, infirm, disabled, terminally ill). It’s the secularists who endorse a death culture, while orthodox Christians are consistently pro-life. Where’s the morality from the secular side? Do they not often endorse the barbaric slaughter of those who are most in need of care, advocacy, and protection? From where does their moral compass stem?
Social stability is a fragile thing. We are witnessing how fast our moral foundations can be undone.
We may want to consider Islam and Communist North Korea before targeting ‘radical Christianity’ (whatever the heck that means!!!)
By the end of our discussion, Dave and I pretty much reached a stalemate. But I believe the take-home message remains:
From where does our faith come? From where does our hope come?
How can all this madness be thwarted and wholly overcome?
Does the answer lie in man or God?
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve…me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”