CURRENT EVENTS – Thinking Accurately Education

“A Republic, if you care to keep it.”

The Bible, Christianity & American Government, Chapter 9

Make us a king to judge us like all the (other) nations.”
1 Samuel 8:5

There’s a famous quote making it’s way around the Internet, about Benjamin Franklin being asked what kind of government the United States was founded to be. It is said that he replied:

“A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Our founding fathers knew that the history of republics was not good, and that they often tended to end in tyranny.

For example, the once very successful Dutch Republic, formed in 1588, had declined and decayed until it had all but disintegrated by the time of the American founding. And in their own history, their ancestors had formed a republic named the English Commonwealth, in 1649, but it had only lasted for 11 years, until 1660.

But the primary example that the founding fathers looked to – which had been the model for all later republics – was the Roman Republic, which lasted 482 years, but it ended tragically in 60 years of civil wars and the rise of the dictator, Julius Caesar.

Why do republics fail?

In pondering this question, I was drawn back once again to a study of the world’s very first tyrant, Nimrod (first referenced in Genesis 10:8).

“Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.” (the Hebrew word used here is “gibôr“).
Genesis 10:8

Gibor = "strong, mighty, impetuous" (Genesius' Hebrew Lexicon)

Impetuous = "acting or done quickly and without thought or care," (Bing) marked by impulsive vehemence or passion (or) by force and violence.." (Merriam-Webster)

God had commanded mankind to spread out and take dominion over the earth, but instead the people congregated together in a city and started dominating each other, and Nimrod was the worst of them.

So, why do people follow tyrants?

An article in Psychology Today claims that people hunger for “strong parental figures,” and that they are afraid to take responsibility for their own lives, preferring instead to stay on the sidelines, and “let someone else run the show,” even though the people they follow are often “narcissistic,” “calculating,” and “cruel.”

Do you think that is true? That people are afraid to take responsibility for their own lives, and that they would rather follow the directions of someone else, even if they have demonstrated themselves to be narcissistic and cruel?

That’s exactly what the Bible says that the ancient people of Israel did, although they were warned against it.

“‘This is how a king will reign over you,’ Samuel said… ‘He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage… He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves…'”
1 Samuel 8:11-18

When told that George Washington had turned down an offer to become America’s first king, King George III of England said: “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”

But the people who rule our country today have little resemblance to George Washington.

The Psychology Today article goes on to say this about tyrants:

“They tend to have a blend of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder traits such as a lack of empathy, grandiosity, thirst for power and control, lying and deceit, indifference to conventional laws or rules or morality, and more.”
Psychology Today, February 2, 2017

It remind us of a warning by one of the Founding Fathers, James Wilson of Pennsylvania:

“Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power, and the love of money. Separately each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. Place before the eyes of such men, a post of honour that shall be at the same time a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it… And of what kind are the men that will strive for this profitable pre- eminence, through all the bustle of cabal, the heat of contention, the infinite mutual abuse of parties, tearing to pieces the best of characters? It will not be the wise and moderate; the lovers of peace and good order, the men fittest for the trust. It will be the bold and the violent, the men of strong passions and indefatigable activity in their selfish pursuits. These will thrust themselves into your Government and be your rulers.”
James Wilson, Constitutional Convention of 1787

In Chapter 3 of our book, we talked about God’s plan for self-government, and the wise advice for doing so from Thomas Jefferson, Alexis de Tocqueville, and William Penn.

Back in the 1970’s and 80’s there was an old album cover that was pretty popular.

The artwork on the cover of the album depicts the scene where Haman, the Prime Minister of the Persian Empire is passing by, and everyone is bowing down to him – everyone but one man named Mordecai, and Haman tried to have him killed.

Some years earlier, another man named Daniel, had to disobey the king of his day, and his political enemies tried to have him killed.

And when that same king went to throw them into a fiery furnace, Daniel’s three friends replied:

“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Daniel 3:17-18

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, once said:

“Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

And in our third chapter, we quoted from Thomas Jefferson’s 1787 Notes on the State of Virginia, where he wrote:

“Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.”

What is venality?

venality = "openness to bribery or corruption" (dictionary.com)

One thing that Mordecai, Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego definitely had in common is that they were not open to corruption. They were incorruptible, in the same way that George Washington was incorruptible. If we want to be able to stand against tyranny, and against manipulation – even when your government is telling you otherwise, we have to take responsibility for our own lives.

Second Chronicles 7:14 says:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God is ready to heal our land. Are we ready to do our part?

Isn’t Time for Another Miracle?

The Bible, Christianity & American Government, Chapter 8

“The Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.”

Judges 2:16

The word translated here as “judge” should be understood in the sense of deliverer (see Judges 3:9 & 3:15)

deliverer = "a person who saves someone from a painful or bad experience" (Cambridge Dictionary)

Based on that definition, you can probably think of times when our country was in trouble, and then someone seemed to be raised up -sometimes out of nowhere – specifically to lead the country through that difficult time.

Between 1776 and 1797 – for example – George Washington led the nation through it’s War for Independence, and became the First President of the United States.

David McCullough, in his famous book – 1776 – wrote this about Washington:

“Without (his) leadership and unrelenting perseverance, the (American) revolution almost certainly would have failed.”
1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough, 2007, p. 230

And in our own century there have been numerous cases of this, most notably John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October, 1962, when the President of the United States single-handedly “stared down” the Soviet Union when they attempted to to place nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Another example was when, in December of 1980, President-elect Ronald Reagan advised Iran not to wait for his inauguration to release the 52 American hostages they had been holding since November 4, 1979, to the demoralization of our whole country. And that sadness was turned instantly into joy when, just moments after the former actor became the became the 40th President of the United States, Iran complied. To appreciate the magnitude of this event on the American psyche, one only needs to watch Disney’s wonderful production of the 2004 Kurt Russell movie, Miracle.

As we, in 2021, look around us, at the trouble our nation is in, we can be tempted to feel hopeless, even desperate. But we can take a lesson from the people of ancient Israel.

“When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer…”
Judges 3:9

“When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them…”
Judges 3:15

Benjamin Franklin once said:

“Have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we image we no longer need His assistance?”
Benjamin Franklin, address to the Constitutional Convention, 1787

And the Apostle Paul told us that we have been born in America at this particular moment in time for a reason, so that we would

“Seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him…”
Acts 17:27

Yes, times are difficult, and yes, most of the institutions of our society are failing and falling down around us. It’s time to “cry out” to the Lord for a deliverer, and believe that He will provide one.

Here is the word of the Lord for today:

“God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did…” (Romans 4:17)

History is the Life-Blood of a Free People

The Bible, Christianity & American Government, Chapter 7

The book of Exodus opens this way:

“The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.”
Exodus 1:7

400 years earlier, Joseph had saved Egypt from destruction during the seven years of famine.

But, during those 400 years:

“There arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.”
Exodus 1:8

It is never a good idea to forget your history.

England had experienced a religious reformation and had grown to be a world power under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.

But everything changed in 1603, when the King of Scotland also became – for the first time – the King of Great Britain (and thus the King of England). He didn’t know much about English history (such as King John and Magna Charta). He didn’t know much about the Rights of Englishmen, nor did he care.

When people (like the group we know as the “Pilgrims”) chose to separate from the Church of England, King James had some unkind words for them.

“I shall make them conform or I will harry them out of the land or else do worse”
King James I (1603-1625)

And that is exactly what he did.

“For some were clapped into prison, others had their houses beset and watched, night and day, and hardly escaped their hands. And most were feign to flee and leave their houses and habitations and their means of livelihood.”
William Bradford, Of Plimouth Plantation, 1630

You see, King James believed in something called “the Divine Right of Kings,” and that his power as the King over England was absolute (meaning that it could not be questioned).

One website says:

“James’s great failure as an English king stemmed from his inability at first to perceive wherein the English assembly differed from the Scottish Parliament, and from his unwillingness to accept the differences when at last he became aware of them.”

In fact though, the problems didn’t end with James I. They went on for many years, with struggles between various kings and Parliament, until the English Bill of Rights was signed into law in 1689. But that only came after the King at that time (James II) fled the country, which became known as The Bloodless Revolution!

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he wasn’t writing it from within the bubble of the current events of his time. He was writing it from within the context of the hundreds of years of history since King James and the Pilgrims. And not only that, he was writing it from within the context of the ancient rights of his ancestors going all the way back through history to Magna Charta.

That is the our heritage as American citizens, and we would do well to remember it.

Christianity, Christmas & Capitalism

The Bible, Christianity & American Government, Chapter 5:

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: ‘Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.'”
Genesis 41:17-24

“Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do…'” (Genesis 41:25)

“The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.“
Genesis 41:26-32

God knew that a famine was coming upon Egypt, and God warned Pharaoh ahead of time.

Why do you think He did that?

In the New Testament–in 2 Peter 3:9–God tells us that He is “not willing that any should perish…”

In fact, in another place, it tells us:

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Matthew 6:26

And the apostle Paul, quoting from a classic Greek poem, Phaenomena, by the Greek poet Aratus, alluded to the “Father-heart” of God:

“For we are also His offspring.”
Acts 17:28

The Bible characterizes the relationship between our Father in heaven and Economic Theory here on earth in this way:

“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1

And as we have illustrated in previous chapters, this was the Economic worldview of William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson–in fact it was part of the Judeo-Christian tradition that our country was built on (see our book, Let’s Think Together [available on Amazon], p. 14).

Moses on the U.S. Supreme Court building

Yet, today, some people are trying to move our country away from this tradition. Today, some people want to move, instead, toward creating a Secular State. And they want to build this Secular State upon the Doctrine of Socialism, which may be considered–like the movements that led to it (Unitarianism and Transcendentalism)–to be a Christian heresy.

heresy = "belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious  doctrine (especially Christian)." (Bing)

Some people today claim that, “The ideas of early American socialism evolved out of Christian thought.” But that is very much a misunderstanding of Biblical Teaching.

There is no question that Jesus cared about the poor. He began His earthly ministry by quoting from the book of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…”
Luke 4:18

And later, He taught:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3

And:

‘“When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Luke 14:12-14

Jesus obviously taught that we should take care of the least among us (Matthew 25:40).

But nowhere did He indicate that we are under some kind of compulsion–religious or governmental–to give to others. In fact, He taught the opposite:

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?”
Matthew 20:15

And the apostle Paul confirmed this:

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Second Corinthians 9:7

A wonderful illustration of this is found in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

At first, Ebenezer Scrooge is described as:

“A tight-fisted hand at the grindstone… A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, 1843, 165th Anniversary Edition, p. 3

And when two philanthropic business men stop by his office to ask for a charitable donation for the poor and destitute, Scrooge responds:

“Are there no prisons? …And the Union workhouses? …Are they still in operation?

And when they they reluctantly agree that they are, Scrooge goes on to say:

…Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course… I am very glad to hear it.”
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, 1843, 165th Anniversary Edition, p. 3

There is no question that Scrooge started out as a hard man. Yet at the end of the story, the much-changed Scrooge is described this way:

“To Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world… And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge…”
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, 1843, 165th Anniversary Edition, p. 11

Did a government program change Scrooge? Did the Home Office or the Metropolitan Police have to force him to change his ways?

Take a look at another, similar example from the Bible:

“Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.”
Luke 19:1-2

And when he met Jesus, he changed–very much like Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Bible says:

“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.'”
Luke 19:8

No one had to coerce Zacchaeus. An experience with Jesus changed his heart. And he didn’t need a government to “redistribute” his wealth. He did it himself, and he did it willingly.

About three hundred years ago, a minister named Jonathan Edwards, commonly referred to as “America’s greatest theologian,” preached his way through the “Great Awakening” in colonial America. His preaching is known to have resulted in “faintings, uncontrollable weeping, and screaming,” and a number of people reacted against it by separating themselves from what they called “revivalist emotionalism.” Alternatively, they established what became “the liberal wing of Christianity,” which morphed, first, into Unitarianism, and then, Transcendentalism. This is where the modern understanding of “Political Liberalism” (in the sense of social reform) began.

Early socialist experiments were Brook Farm (1841), New Harmony (1825), The Rappite Community (1815), and the Oneida Community (1841). All failed. But the Utopian Socialist dream is still alive, and Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are representatives of it.

American citizens are free to support their ideas if they so choose. But, let us not try to justify it with any half-baked nonsense about attributing such notions to the Bible or to Christ Himself. That they are not free to do.

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See our book on Worldviews.

The Bible, Christianity & American Government

Chapter 4: God’s Plan for Self-Government, Then and Now

“I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel…” (Benjamin Franklin)

In the last chapter, we talked about Noah, and Nimrod, and how the people got together to disobey God and build a centralized empire around their Tower of Babel.

Soon afterwards, God thwarted their ambitions and scattered the tribes, with the children of Japheth heading off toward the North, the children of Ham heading toward the South, and the children of Shem spreading out through the Middle East. Some people have even gone so far as to say that Noah himself–even before the Tower of Babel incident–headed East and founded ancient China.

The Book of Job–considered by many to be the oldest book of the Old Testament–seems to recall what had happened to Nimrod’s ancient empire:

“He (God) leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. He deprives the trusted ones of speech, and takes away the discernment of the elders… He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”
Job 12:19-20, 24-25

The point here is that man–us, we–no matter how smart we get, no matter how advanced we become–can never be smarter, or more powerful than God, and thankfully, He is good, and kind, and wants the best for us.

A case in point may be observed in the Book of Jonah.

The people of Nineveh (in the Neo-Assyrian Empire) had become cruel and ruthless, and were threatening the nation of Israel. So, God was not happy with them. So what did He do? Did He send down fire from heaven to consume them? No, instead, He sent a prophet–Jonah–to warn them. And this is what God said to Jonah about the city of Nineveh–which (coincidentally) had been part of Nimrod’s ancient empire:

“…Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
Jonah 4:11

Benjamin Franklin once said:

“I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel…”
Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention, 1787

But some people today are no longer impressed with the ideas of Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson, or Plato and Aristotle:

“In a certain sense, then, today’s preschoolers are smarter than the greatest thinkers of the ancient world.”
Steve Stewart-Williams Ph.D., evolutionary psychologist and cultural evolutionist

This is the kind of thinking that leads people to say things like this:

“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
Barack Obama, campaign visit to Columbia, MO

Back in ancient times, God chose Noah to build the ark and save the human race, but only a couple of generations later, it is Noah’s grandson Nimrod–not Noah–who built the first empire and set himself up to lead it. Benjamin Franklin would have called that laboring in vain–in vanity–in the idea that Nimrod was smarter-better– than the people around him.

Elitism is defined as “the attitude or behavior of a person or group who regard themselves as belonging to an elite.” (Bing)

Why is elitism so prevalent? One source says:

“Abraham Lincoln’s dream of governance ‘by, of, and for the people’ has mutated into a deathless trope, emanating from megaphones in the hands of charlatans, philistines and fools.”
DAVID MASCIOTRA, SALON, OCTOBER 25, 2015

So how do these “elite” come to power?

We put them there.

My favorite president was James A. Garfield. And he once said:

“Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”
James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States, 1877

If the people who are running any particular area of our culture–whether it’s government, or media, or higher education, or whatever— have values that are different than ours, we have a responsibility–a duty–to do something to rectify the situation. If we don’t, we are accepting it. We are, in fact, saying “This is the type of culture I deserve.”

Is it?

We are very fortunate to live in the greatest republic–the freest democracy–that has ever existed throughout the history of the world. And we do not have to see it fall into ruin.

Let me leave you with this quote from Richard Maybury (the writer of the wonderful “Uncle Eric” series of books):

“Perhaps more than anything else, (we) should assume humans have the ability to overcome their problems and move forward… One of the most noteworthy characteristics of America’s founders is that they were aware of their own world, and indeed (that) their own characters and personalities, were not the best that humans could do. They worried about slavery, poverty, and war, and wanted something better. More importantly, they knew enough law and economics to believe something better was possible and they were working toward this goal.
“They were not utopians. They realized a perfect society is not possible. But they knew we could do much better and they were trying to create the legal environment that would enable this to happen…
“The belief that a better tomorrow is possible is absolutely essential not only for the rescue of our country but for the mental well-being of the individual. Young people need it desperately. However, we need to visualize this better future…”
Richard J. Maybury, from “What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This?” 1994

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The Bible, Christianity & American Government

A Biblical and Historical Study

Chapter 2 (Genesis 1:27-28)

“We will lead the exploration of space because discovery is one of the tests of the vitality of a nation.”
Richard M. Nixon (then Vice President of the United States) 10/25/1960

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade… not because (it is) easy, but because (it is) hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…”
President John F. Kennedy 9/12/1962

Jacqueline Kennedy, JFK’s widow, once said, “At night before we’d go to sleep, Jack (JFK) liked to play some records; and the song he loved the most came at the end of this record. The lines he loved to hear were, ‘Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.'”

Camelot

This was the America that I grew up in–filled with promise. I have often wondered, “What went wrong? “Why hasn’t America fulfilled it’s potential?”

The Bible says:

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:27-28

In these verses, God gave Adam & Eve four commands:

“Be fruitful and multiply” (meaning: “Reproduce, become numerous”
“Fill the earth” (meaning: “Spread out across the earth”)
“Subdue it” (meaning: “Conquer it“)
“Have dominion over it” (meaning: “Rule it”)

Man was created to be a conqueror–to gain mastery–but not over other men. He was to explore the earth, to study it, and to figure out how to live upon it–all of it.

Did you know that almost 1/2 of the earth is still uninhabited?

If man’s energies were invested in harnessing–exploring, studying, utilizing–the resources of God’s creation as God intended, the rest of the earth’s land surface–not to mention the ocean, the moon, and other planets–could support a much greater population than we have today.

Yet today, rather than facing these challenges, we talk about “population control.“

population control = "a policy of attempting to limit the growth in numbers of a population, especially in poor or densely populated parts of the world, by programs of contraception or sterilization." (The Free Dictionary)

The 1972 Report of the President’s Commission on Population Growth and the American Future concluded that:

“No substantial benefits would result from continued growth of the nation’s population.”
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, 3/27/1972

And in 1974, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Henry A. Kissinger, issued National Security Study Memorandum #200, that concluded that continued global population growth posed a grave security risk to the United States. Kissinger argued that:

“We cannot wait for overall modernization and development to produce lower fertility rates naturally”
Henry Kissinger, NSSM #200, 12/ 10/1974

He called for an “all-out-effort to lower growth rates.”

Specific strategies included undermining the traditional role of motherhood and “concentrating on the education and indoctrination of the rising generation of children regarding the desirability of smaller family size.”

And in 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in a 7-2 decision, that:

“The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental right to privacy that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion.”
Oyez, re: Roe v. Wade, (Jan 22, 1973)

The Bible says:

“Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…”
Romans 1:21-22

Maybe that’s what happened to America.

Look at the Space Program today. Instead of planning colonies on the moon, or Mars, today we spend billions trying to find rocks with bacteria on them, hoping to find the origins of life.

Our nation has truly lost it’s way.

It seems that when the elimination of individual human lives for the perceived good of society-at-large became an option, society was no longer driven by the need for more living space. Yet it was that very need that would have driven mankind to conquer the earth–as God desired–or reach out into space–as John F. Kennedy dreamed–and fulfill his God-given potential.

That’s part of what people are talking about when they call for “a culture of Life rather than a culture of Death.“

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

The speech he was planning to give later in the day–the speech that he did not live to deliver included these words:

“We in this country, in this generation, are–by destiny rather than choice–the watchmen on the wall of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint… That must always be our goal… For as it was written long ago, ‘Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.'”
John F. Kennedy, REMARKS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY AT THE TRADE MART IN DALLAS, TX, NOVEMBER 22, 1963 [UNDELIVERED]

It raises some interesting points.

In 1962, for example, President Kennedy appointed Byron White as justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. White turned out to be one of the two jurists who voted against Roe vs. Wade, and he wrote the dissenting opinion, saying:

“The Court apparently values the convenience of the pregnant mother more than the continued existence and development of the life or potential life that she carries… I find no constitutional warrant for imposing such an order of priorities on the people and legislatures of the States…”
Judge Byron “Whizzer” White, writing for the minority, January 22, 1973

It leaves us with a lot to think about doesn’t it?

The Bible, Christianity, and American Government

A Historical Study

This book was originally published 2006. We will soon be publishing the 2nd edition. Also, we recently read the first chapter (below) on our podcast and on our first YouTube video.

Chapter 1 – Introduction

In 1651, an English philosopher and political theorist named Thomas Hobbes wrote a book called, Leviathan. In it he claimed that people are predatory in nature and that they need a larger predator–the State (which he called Leviathan) –to control their behavior.

Do you agree with Hobbes?

Hobbes borrowed the word Leviathan from the Bible, where it is used to describe a fierce sea monster or dragon. (See Psalm 104:26 and Isaiah 27:1). However, Hobbes, should not, in any sense be considered a Christian believer. In fact, it is probably more fair to classify Hobbes as a secularist.

secularist = "The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education." (TheFreeDictionary.com)

In the Bible, in the book of Revelation (Rev. 20:2) Satan (the devil)–the arch-enemy of mankind–is also called “the dragon.”

The Bible also refers to Satan as:

“The ruler of this world” (John 12:31)
“The god of this world” (2nd Corinthians 4:4)
“the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2)

How did Satan get this power?

It was surrendered to him in the Garden of Eden, when Adam & Eve chose to submit to him, rather than submitting to God.

The book of Romans says:

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey…”
Romans 6:16

And in another place, the Bible also says:

“…The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (referring once again to Satan).”
First John 5:19

And when we look around the world-even over just the past 100 years–we see 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi Germany, 40 million killed in the former Soviet Union, and at least 50 million killed in Communist China. And even here in America (just considering the past two years) what do we see? Rioting, looting, burning, and all kinds of corruption and violence.

People used to quote from the Bible to describe America:

“Righteousness exalts a nation…”
Proverbs 14:34

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…”
Psalm 133:12

But people don’t quote those about America anymore.

The Bible does say (in 1st Timothy 1:9) that the law is necessary to control the behavior of unrighteous people. And it says (in Proverbs 28:2) that the less people govern their own behavior, the more government (Leviathan) they need.

In the 1830’s, a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to see why our War for Independence had been such a huge success in comparison to the bloodbath of his own country’s French Revolution. He wrote:

“Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the fist thing that struck my attention; the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In France, I had always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions… Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power…”
Democracy in America (Alexis de Tocqueville)

In other words, our rulers can be considered a reflection of the health of the spiritual life of our nation. Consequently, then, we can say that any effort to reform our government merely through political action alone must fail.

Take a look back at the old black and white film, The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) with Walter Huston. Satan’s authority over this world is not limited to sitting on people’s shoulders.

The Bible records something that Satan once said to Jesus:

“All these things (all the kingdoms of the world) I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me.
Matthew 4:8-9

Make no mistake about it–Satan’s influence in our nation’s seats of power is real–and strong.

Does this mean that all rulers are evil and are being manipulated by Satan? No, the Bible, in fact, gives multiple examples of wholesome rulers: Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Daniel, and Nehemiah.

But it is very difficult to be in a position of power and privilege, and not be corrupted by it. By handing out favors–power position, privilege, and wealth, Satan has firmly established his dominion over our world–and, we no longer have the power (in ourselves) to throw off his tyranny.

Take a look at the Bible again–at the book of Job:

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook? …Will you play with him as a with a bird…Lay your hand on him; remember the battle–never do it again! Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false… No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up…
“On earth there is nothing like him… He is king over all the children of pride.”
Job 41: 1-10, 34-35

The book of Ephesians says:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12

So what are we to do?

About 500 years ago, a man stood–alone–against all the powers of Medieval Europe.

And he wrote a song, the words of which say:

“Our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and–armed with cruel hate–on earth is not his equal…”

And he continued:

“…Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right man on our side–the man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He… and He must win the battle.”

The first step in defeating Satan, and overcoming the tyranny of Leviathan is to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone has the power to defeat Satan.

The Bible says:

“…Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”
2nd Corinthians 3:17

That was true in the Middle Ages, it was true for our Pilgrim Fathers and in the founding of America, and it is true today.

Our next chapter will be about God’s plan for self-government.

Cro-Magnon 2

A Biblical Analysis

This blogsite is about helping people to look at information in a whole new way– an alternative way–to at least question whether the information we are being given is adequate anymore for living a successful life.

For example, a few months ago, we had a shortage of chicken in the grocery stores. It was a real problem for most people. Later, the governor of our home state of Virginia explained that several major processing plants had been closed due to COVID19. Fortunately, my wife and I buy our chickens from a local farm, so we never had a problem. We never bought meat from a farm before. But now, we find that’s it’s far better (for many reasons), and we’ve been starting to do the same with milk, eggs, and vegetables as well. And, we’ve been finding that we can make 4-5 quarts of home-made, high-grade soup from our left-over pasture-raised chicken and organic vegetables that is better than the bone-broth that we used to buy at Whole Foods for about $5/qt.

As another example, we got a strange notice from our water company last year, which indicated that the quality of our city’s drinking water was not as good as we had previously thought. At first, we thought of buying bottled water, but then we realized that we could double-filter the water from our refrigerator and get much better quality water for about 1/3 the price of buying it.

What’s that got to do with Cro-Magnon Man you may ask?

My question is, Why do you believe what they tell you anymore? Have you researched it for yourself?

Let me give you a couple of things to consider:

Cro-Magnon Man was discovered in 1868, right?
Radiocarbon dating was not developed until 1946.

How did they know how old Cro-Magnon Man was in the mean-time? What made them think he was older than 8,000 years (the time-frame that the Bible gives for the history of the human race)?

The 2020 Presidential Election

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Abraham Lincoln

It seems like something has been released upon America, and it reminds me of an old Star Trek episode.

The Bible (and an old song by Barry McGuire) says that there is a time for everything, including a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, as well as a time to hate, and a time of peace.

Regardless of one’s political views, it’s fair to say that it’s getting pretty ugly out there. And I think that one of the reasons this is happening is because people are confused.

For example, a lot of terms are thrown around by politicians and the media which we would do well to look at briefly:

Democrats = political party, started by Martin Van Buren, to support the candidacy of Andrew Jackson in 1828. In the 1850's, the part split over the issue of slavery, allowing Republican Abraham Lincoln to win the 1860 election. (History.com)

Republicans = political party, founded in 1854 to oppose the westward expansion of slavery in America. It's first presidential candidate was Abraham Lincoln. (History.com)

In his book, Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confused?, Richard J. Maybury claims:

“Both (parties) tend to hover close to the center, which is where they perceive the bulk of the voters to be.”
Richard J. Maybury (“Uncle Eric”)

That was the way it was in the 1970’s (think Gerald Ford), but if you think back, American Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy could also be considered centrists or moderates.

Moderates (Centrists) = "One who is in the middle of the left-right spectrum...not to the extremes..." (Richard Maybury)

And even in the 1980’s, we had Conservatives and Liberals, like Ronald Reagan, “Teddy” Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. But it was still an era of compromise.

Modern Liberalism = "based, in general, on faith in progress and in the ability and goodness of man, and on the firm belief in the importance of the rights and welfare of the individual...Liberalism advocates steady change"  (Columbia Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed.)

Conservative = "the desire to maintain, or conserve, the existing order...Conservatives value highly the wisdom of the past and are generally opposed to widespread reform." (Columbia Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed.)

But nobody’s moderate now, and compromise has not happened in Washington D.C. since Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton produced The Contract for America (“one of the most significant developments in the political history of the United States“) in 1994.

Today, everyone–to quote Richard Maybury–is “to the extremes.”

But what would our Founding Fathers think of the nation that we’ve become? (For an excellent understanding of their point of view, I recommend, What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This? by Richard J. Maybury.)

The popular musical Hamilton does a pretty good job of trying to tell us about them (See our blog ). They were Classical Liberals.

Classic Liberalism = "One who believes that the country should have a small, weak government, and free markets, and that the individual is endowed by his Creator with inalienable rights to his life, liberty, and property. Also, one who believes in Natural Law and common law, or Higher Law (think Thomas Jefferson)." (Richard Maybury)

But they were not radicals. Radicalism results in “widespread hysteria,” burning, and looting.

And it leads–in the end–to despotism, and the all-powerful State.

Statism = "The opposite of the original American philosophy (Classical Liberalism). Says political power is a good thing. Government is our friend, our protector, the solution to our problems, and there is no higher law than government's law." (Richard J Maybury)

There are many, many examples of this in history–in France, in Germany, in Russia, in China.

The Bible says:

“This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now.”
1 John 4:3

One of my pastors once said something very wise about this. He said that every generation has an antichrist waiting in the wings. I think that is true. Yet, it’s really up to us. The Bible says:

” You know what currently restrains him…”
2 Thessalonians 2:6

The American people have restrained him before, and we can do it again.

The 2020 Presidential Election (part II)

(From a Biblical, Philosophical and Historical point of view)

Democracy = "a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives." (Bing)

Democracy was not invented by the Americans (after the Revolutionary War), nor by the French (after the French Revolution). According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it was developed by the ancient Greeks about 2500 years ago.

National Geographic adds that democracy gives people a methodology for replacing their government “through peaceful transfers of power rather than violent uprising or revolution.”

So why is it associated with the Americans and the French? They both replaced monarchies (rule by a king or queen) with democracies.

So then, what is the purpose of “violent uprising or revolution” in a democratic governmental system?

The Huffington Post weighs in with this:

“Popular uprisings against state authorities that are largely democratic in nature…can be viewed and, rightly so, as a disproportionate, if not misguided, response to the ills of the democratic system or democratically elected leaders.”
HuffPost, “Popular Uprising against Democratically Elected Leaders. What Makes it Legitimate?” 3/31/2016