Faith or Fear?

Tomorrow is election day. It’s the day when much of America will turn out to cast their vote for the next President of the United States, among other offices. (Maybe I’ll post one day about the Electoral College, but not today.)


The throng of voters will include the most extreme liberals and the most committed conservatives; Christians and practicing witches; professional murderers and clergy; upstanding pillars of the community and welfare scam artists.


Every ideology will be well represented, from Marxism to Christianity and everything in between.

The interesting thing, though, is that the vast majority of them will probably vote for a socialist.


They will cast their vote for a man who is either wholly ignorant of our Constitution and the ideas behind it, or is actually hostile to those very ideas;


A man who has violated his oath of office time and time again;


Who has introduced, cosponsored, and supported legislation designed to abridge, infringe upon, and trample our God-given rights into the ground;


Who has robbed us of our hard-earned money for unconstitutional and often immoral purposes;


Who plays the political game well, catering one minute to those who want to see a return to Constitutionality in one particular area and the next to those who would see it destroyed altogether;


Whose policies drive us closer to amalgamation with the rest of the world under one tyrannical government that will eventually be run by Antichrist himself;


In short, a man who, if elected, will further destroy the United States of America.


Why will the American people vote for such a man?


Fear.


Combined with ignorance, fear has enslaved the majority of the world population for most—if not all—of history.


Fear of what will happen if they don’t vote for the “Party’s Annointed”.


In Iraq not too long ago, it was fear that they would be poisoned, shot, or tortured.


Today in America, it’s fear that “something terrible” might happen, although most of the terrible things have already happened under the administrations of past “Annointed Ones”.


Yes, most of America will be too scared to vote for a candidate who is actually qualified;


A candidate who both understands the Constitution, and fears the God before whom he would, if elected, swear an oath to uphold that legal document.


They will instead vote for a socialist. Some will vote for the one named Barack Obama, others will vote for the one named John McCain. Both are guilty of the evils listed above and many more.


Mark my words, the two may do it a little differently, but both of them will carry on the work of destruction that has driven this once great nation to its knees before the heel of tyranny.


Is there yet any man with the courage and faith in God to take a stand? As John Quincy Adams said, “duty is ours; results are God’s”.


God has been ever faithful to answer the cries of the righteous; those who follow His precepts and stand against the workers of iniquity.


He likewise has nothing but harsh words for those who bow to the reasoning of men, cowering before the wicked and calling for ignoble flight like the ten spies who proclaimed that the course ordered by God was—to use the modern vernacular—“not viable.”


In case you’re still shaking your head, hands over your ears yelling “faithfaithfaithfaithfaith!” remember that faith isn’t following the broad path to destruction and praying that God will change its course, faith is taking the narrow path and trusting that God can handle the rest.


If you want to see what a qualified candidate looks like, look here: www.Baldwin08.com

A Disturbing Metaphor

It’s not an uncommon sight. A Church building of one denominational persuasion or another, parking lot adorned with a couple of busses used for ferrying Church groups around for ministry or entertainment.

These busses are often retired “school busses” and no wonder. I’m sure that the Church gets a great deal on them, and they certainly have plenty of seating capacity.

Sadly though, this picture of former government indoctrination facility transportation being painted over (sometimes only partially at that) and called a “Church bus” is a perfect metaphor for what’s going on inside most of our “Churches” today.

We import pagan doctrines, paint them with religious clichés—only some of which actually have truth to them—and call them “Christian”.

I guess we can’t be bothered to take our ideas straight from God’s Word anymore. Or maybe it’s just because God lived two thousand years ago and didn’t know what life would be like here in the twenty-first century.

(If you can’t detect the raging sarcasm in that statement, then I suggest that you completely and permanently abandon all metaphorical and/or figurative phraseology as a means of articulation. And don’t even think about diplomacy as a career option; you’ll start the next world war.)

No, there’s nothing wrong with a Church getting a good deal on a bus. There is something wrong, however, with getting a “deal” on their doctrine. When a pastor stops after “render unto Caesar…” you’re hearing official State doctrine.

When a pastor relies on what he has been taught in “Bible college”, “divinity school”, or “seminary”, rather than trusting completely in the Word of God to the complete exclusion of all else—including so-called “experts” who deny the plain words from God’s mouth—there is something wrong.

When you have “Christians” who have to justify and explain away portions of Scripture in order to defend their beliefs—often referring to the above mentioned “experts” in the process—you have a problem.

When you have Churches pressuring parents to ignore Biblical mandates regarding family size, child training, and educational decisions, you have a problem.

What can we do about this problem?

First, challenge conventional “wisdom”. Go look at Scripture. Does it really say what you’ve always been told that it says?

What does it say that the Sunday school teacher skips over? Stop rejecting the obvious meaning of a text because of the implications.

Second, speak up. Don’t be afraid to cause trouble. Ask questions and don’t be satisfied with dismissive answers. Challenge beliefs and doctrines. Make waves.

One last note:

Fathers, you are responsible for the spiritual nurture and protection of your family. You cannot delegate that responsibility to someone else. If your “Church” is teaching error, you may need to pull your family out of it. You may have young impressionable children who aren’t ready to take on such a battle. You may have older children whose hearts you risk losing to a youth group. Do whatever you have to in order to fulfill your duty to your family, and disregard the heat that you will inevitably take for it.

Ultimately, like most things, the responsibility for this problem lies with we the people. We’re the ones who have allowed our leaders to get away with the various evils that we bemoan today. (As well as the ones we ought to bemoan but don’t recognize.)

We can pray for revival all we want, but until we stop ignoring God’s Word, we’re not going to see it.

Presidential Candidates

We are faced with a unique opportunity this year as the ridiculously early primary election season picks up speed. We actually have a choice in presidential candidates from a “major” party that won’t propel us further down the path to social slavery!

Along with the usual suspects, a qualified candidate has slipped through the cracks and managed to make it into primary season! This doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should, the question is “will we take advantage of it and stop (or at least slow) our downward slide?”

Let me start by explaining why most of the candidates are not fit for the office to which they aspire. I’ll not waste time and space discussing the Democrat candidates, because it’s pretty obvious that none of them are qualified. I’ll focus on the Republicans—the party that most Christians think is the “good team”.

Please note that I am not going to give an in-depth analysis of each candidate, (usually only just enough to prove that he is not fit for the office) nor am I going to give the “positives” of each candidate. It’s nice that they want to lower taxes, but that doesn’t make up for utter Constitutional ignorance and apathy.

I might also throw in an additional fact or two that, taken alone, may not technically be enough to disqualify the candidate. These are simply additional reasons not to even consider the candidate in question.

John McCain

“Campaign Finance Reform”. Need I say more? Senator McCain is responsible for one of the most egregious violations of the First Amendment we’ve seen in a long time. He’s disqualified by reason of Constitutional illiteracy/apathy.

Rudolph Giuliani

As Mayor of New York, he supported taxpayer funded abortions for any woman who couldn’t afford one. He also opposes the Second Amendment, preferring to put the government in charge of who can and can’t own what type of firearm, with the emphasis on “can’t”. In case you missed it, he’s also on his sixth wife, which says something about his ability to keep an oath or sacred vow. He’s unfit by reason of Constitutional illiteracy/apathy and moral bankruptcy.

Mitt Romney

Anyone with designs on godhood (as any “good” Mormon has) should concern you (and NEVER be elected to ANYTHING!). Romney also displays a frustrating ignorance of the Constitution by claiming to support both the Second Amendment and the so-called “Assault Weapons” and Brady gun bans. Obviously, he’s disqualified due to terminal Constitutional illiteracy at the very least!

Fred Thompson

Supported McCain in 2000. (Also supports so-called “Campaign Finance Reform”.) Believes that life begins at conception, yet also that abortion ought to be legal in all 50 states all the way through the end of the first trimester. Lobbied for “Planned Parenthood”. Certainly disqualified based on Constitutional illiteracy/apathy!

Duncan Hunter

Voted to make the so-called “PATRIOT” Act permanent. (Gross violation of Constitution on many counts.) Certainly disqualified due to chronic Constitutional ignorance/apathy.

Okay, those are the easy ones (relatively speaking). Now we come to the VERY controversial and emotionally–charged candidate from Arkansas. I’m going to break with format and discuss this one a little differently.

Mike Huckabee, on the surface (in other words, in his campaign literature) appears to be a good candidate. He has the endorsement of HSLDA, he’s a professing Christian with an apparently sound marriage. He claims support for the Second Amendment, (and actually demonstrates at least an academic understanding of it’s intent) says all the catch-phrases that small-government conservatives and the evangelical masses long to hear from a candidate, etc., etc..

Unfortunately, once you start digging (if you’re honest about it) you’ll find yourself confronted by the less flattering reality.

Mike Huckabee is the only Republican to earn the endorsement of the national teacher’s union, the NEA (in NH at least). It’s not hard to see why either. He supports the unconstitutional so-called “No Child Left Behind” scheme and he raised taxes as Governor of Arkansas to increase spending on government schools.

He wants a nationwide smoking ban and supports federal farm subsidies. These are not the actions of a man who both respects and understands the Constitution!

His fiscal policy while he was Governor of Arkansas was quite similar to Bill Clinton’s, his past is full of ethical problems and questionable activity, and for advice of foreign policy he turns to none other than Richard Haass, president of the globalist “Council on Foreign Relations”.

Immigration? He claims to oppose amnesty and support a secure border, but as Governor of Arkansas, he supported measures to offer preferential tuition rates to illegal immigrants!

There’s much more I could say about Mike Huckabee, but I think I’ve spent enough time and space to adequately demonstrate that he is not fit for the office of President of the United States.

He appears to be the “designated dark horse” of the Republican leadership, pitched to the disgruntled Republicans and freedom-oriented voters who are sick of the RepubliCrat regime.

But enough of the negative, I said that we actually had a qualified candidate this year, and we certainly do.

Ten-term United States Congressman Ron Paul has demonstrated, not merely in stump speeches on the campaign trail, but throughout all ten terms in Congress, that he has a good working understanding of our Constitution, and equally important, a commitment to abiding by and defending it. He’s earned himself the nickname “Dr. No” on the Hill due to his opposition to so much unconstitutional legislation.

He wants to abolish the so-called Federal “Department of Education”, the IRS, DHS, National Endowment for the Arts, Department of Energy, FEMA, BATFE, and countless other unconstitutional federal agencies. (He’ll never see an endorsement from the NEA!)

He wants to abolish the Federal Reserve (not a government agency) and return us to a constitutional and sound monetary system. He plans to reinstate the traditional, pro-American foreign policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs, saving countless lives and at least a trillion dollars every year, not to mention the preservation of what little freedom we have left here at home.

If we run down a list of issues, Dr. Paul (he’s an OB/GYN who has, in his own words, “assisted women” in the delivery of over 4,000 babies) passes with flying colors, but he also possesses an understanding of how these issues properly fit into our legal system that even many activists often fail to grasp.

He’s pro-life

He’s pro-Second Amendment

He’s pro-small government

He’s pro-tax cuts (he’s planning on eliminating not only the “death tax”, but the income tax and several others as well)

He’s pro-American sovereignty

He’s anti-illegal immigration

Etc., etc., etc..

He also tends to live consistently with his Constitutional beliefs, for example:

He does not participate in the lucrative Congressional pension plan

He has never accepted “Medicare” or “Medicaid” in his private practice

He doesn’t accept taxpayer-funded “junkets” (trips)

He returns part of his Congressional office budget to the treasury every year

No, Congressman Paul is not perfect. No one is. But he’s something that we haven’t seen in a while, at least in presidential candidates. He’s qualified.

You’ll notice that I haven’t said anything about his “chances of winning”. That’s because that is an irrelevant topic when determining the candidate who will receive your vote. For the record, however, Congressman Paul has an excellent chance of winning. He’s beaten the so-called front runners in fundraising, with his funding coming in much smaller increments than the other candidates. (Incidentally, he’s received more money from active-duty military personnel than any other candidate.)

We have an opportunity this year, and it’s one that we may not see again for a long time (if ever). We as Christians had better not squander it, or we will deserve what we get, and more importantly, what we lose.

Don’t throw your vote away this year on a candidate who says one thing, but does another when he gets into office. Congressman Paul doesn’t just say the right things, (the same things he was saying 20 years ago by the way) he has proven himself over ten terms in Congress, often voting against the rest of the House! If he hasn’t “gone soft” and begun to “play ball” with the Establishment in ten terms, it’s probably safe to assume that he’s not going to in two terms in the White House!

I don’t often actually endorse a candidate on this blog, but I am officially endorsing Congressman Ron Paul for the office of President of the United States!

(For more information about Congressman Paul, you can visit his website below, or the link to many of his writings and speeches below that.)

www.RonPaul2008.com

www.lewrockwell.com/paul/

Welcome to 2008!

I thought that it would be appropriate to start out this new year with a brief evaluation of our collective situation here in the United States of America.

These are, to borrow the famous sentiment, the best of times, and also the worst of times. Bear with me as I start with the latter, as I’d prefer to leave you on a more positive note!

They are the worst of times because we are watching the tattered rags of what little freedom remains in this country slip away into the flames of elitist despotism.

We have seen removed from the minds of men the only sure foundation for their rights; the understanding that those rights come from Almighty God; that they cannot be given away, and that the acceptance of their violation is nothing short of gross dereliction of our duty before Him.

We as a nation have declared ourselves to be pagan. People who consider themselves to be part of the Church aid and abet the enemy, many without even realizing it. An alarming number of them, failing to even recognize that we are in constant warfare, have no ability whatsoever to identify the enemy or his tactics.

The blood of the innocent runs, if not in, then certainly under the streets, flowing into the sewers from the industrial disposals in abortion clinics across the nation as they crush and grind the corpses of tiny infants, slaughtered in the murderous tradition of Herod and Pharaoh of old.

Women and children are raped, murdered and dismembered.

Families are destroyed by the corrupt government agencies who claim to protect them.

Young men and women, already undergoing the de facto lobotomy that is the purpose of the government school system, now fall in a hail of bullets in the designated victim disarmament zones across the nation.

Men are swiftly being rendered helpless and unable to defend their families as they are disarmed in one way or another.

We submit quietly to our preparation for subjugation under absolute despotism.

I could go on, but in short, darkness covers the land.

Yet all is not yet lost, for these are also the best of times.

Innovations and technology give the few who still stand for freedom and justice the means to educate others, and to fight against the growing storm. The internet has proven a valuable tool in propagating information and organizing our efforts.

Production equipment has reached a point in quality and price where it is now within the grasp of those of us who would create true works of art, extolling justice and virtue, glorifying God in our films and TV shows.

More and more people seem to be waking up to the truth.

We actually have a qualified candidate running for the office of President of the United States, and seeking the nomination of a “major party”. (More on that in my next article.)

As the darkness grows, so also the points of light gain intensity and flare up defiantly to ignite those brushfires of liberty spoken of by Samuel Adams.

We will not be silenced!

As those of you who read my last article already know, we had some friends over this past week to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I couldn’t help but appreciate anew one of the pervasive themes throughout that classic epic: the dedication to duty in the face of what appears to be certain defeat.

So many today would have us turn away from the fight, give up and give in, accept “the way things are” and stop making such a nuisance of ourselves. Tolkien’s epic holds forth a set of heroes who did just the opposite. Heroes, it turns out, never set out to be heroes. They are simply people who do what needs to be done, even when all others around them are trying to dissuade them from taking the risk.

We need heroes today.

We stand on a precipice. If we as a nation, a people, a culture, even as a Church, continue to close our eyes to the uncomfortable truth, we will plunge to the murky depths.

We must face our “sacred cows” and be willing to see the evil that is before our eyes, then take a stand against it, whether we appear to have a “viable chance” of victory or not.

As we enter the Year of Our Lord 2008, let us hold no illusions regarding our present condition, but let us rather recognize the evil that besets us and raise the standard of truth and justice!

The True Epic

We’ve all said it, and we all will probably continue to say it. We even fight for it, making a point of saying it and refusing the more politically correct “happy holidays”. But somehow, when I reflect on what we’re celebrating, “Merry Christmas” somehow falls flat, pales, and seems incredibly trite.

I know I said something very similar last year in my article “Trite Religiosity”, but it’s been really coming home to me lately as I reflect on this amazing event that we celebrate this time of year.

Allow me a feeble attempt at summarizing the situation on that celebrated night over 2,000 years ago:

In the earliest age of men, still shivering in the cold shadow of the Great Fall, a promise burned brightly in the hearts of the first man to walk the earth and the mother of all living. The Almighty Creator Himself had given it; the promise of a Deliverer. The Great One Who would recover the dominion that they had so recently surrendered to the devious fiend who had taken the body of a serpent in order to usher in his own diabolical oppression.

Even as the memory of the recent horrible banishment drew tears from the eyes of Eve, this hope burned brightly as she wondered if the infant now moving in her womb could be the Promised One!

Generations passed and that promise of deliverance remained a future hope. Entire peoples were wiped out in a terrifying display of God’s wrath, and the corrupted flesh that resulted from the intermarriage with the Elder Race was thoroughly destroyed, leaving only one man, his wife, his three sons, and their wives, to replenish the earth and await the Great Deliverer.

Men gathered together and determined to attain the glory and power of the heavens, mirroring the desires of the Great Fiend who still moved among them with his hordes of The Fallen, seeking to thwart this new race of men and bring them to the same fate as those of the Elder Race who had followed him into rebellion in the previous age.

God again intervened, dividing the race of men and scattering them across the earth.

And still the Promise remained a future hope.

The Almighty visited Abraham and called him out from among his people, leading him into a new land, and striking a covenant that would manifest itself and define the course of history for thousands of years to come! New prophesies joined the old one, telling of the lineage that was to produce the Promised King!

Nations arose and fell. The Fiend reared his ugly head again and again, spreading his own hideous evil across the land that God had once called “very good”.

Still the prophecies remained, disregarded at times by the Chosen People as they rebelled and turned to the Prince of Darkness, repenting and seeing glorious deliverance after judgment, only to turn time and time again to darkness.

The Prophesied One had not yet appeared.

Generations passed, hundreds of thousands, even millions of men and women died still cherishing the hope that one day, the Deliverer would come! The Great Atonement would restore man to his proper fellowship with the Almighty Creator, and light would again spread over the land so scarred for so many years by the disfiguring terror of darkness.

The Almighty sent yet more prophecies to add to the now ancient one He uttered in the earliest days of mankind. These new prophecies were wonderful, baffling at times, and steeped in the mystery of a glimpse into the unknown age ahead.

The Chosen People finally began to fall away into oblivion, the few remaining finding themselves subjected to the tyranny of a ruthless empire after sadistic despot.

Yet the hope of the Prophecies’ fulfillment still burned in the hearts of the faithful, flickering weakly like a candle in a drafty room filled otherwise with the darkness of night.

God had not spoken with man in four hundred years. The force of oppression has ground the Remnant into the dust. Although the hope still flickered in the hearts of many, it now seemed more distant than ever.

Until that one day. She was young, but no longer a child. She now anticipated marriage to a carpenter. She would bear him children, strive to be his helpmeet as he strove to provide for her and protect her from the harshest evidences of the ever-present oppression of the occupying empire. She saw her life playing out before her as the lives of countless other women before her, with few variations. The politics and intrigue would rage around her, giving rise to wars perhaps, and new oppressions.

That life, the normal, quiet life that she had always envisioned, had come to a spectacular end that day. One of the Elder Race had come to visit her. The words he spoke, the message he bore from God, they spun her world upside down. The four-hundred-year-old silence from the Almighty had been broken some few months before, with a promise reminiscent of the one made to an aged Abraham and his barren wife!

Now this messenger was telling the young bride-to-be that she—a virgin—was to give birth to the long-awaited Deliverer! The Great King! The ancient Prophecy was to be fulfilled, and she was to be the vessel that would bring Him into the world! The very Son of God!

The culmination of roughly four thousand years of hope in the promises of God! It was to come to fruition now! Mary would not merely live to see this great Messiah, she would be the vessel by which He would appear on earth!

In spite of the tremendous shock at this news, she had given the reply of the faithful. “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

Shame followed as those she held dearest accused her of breaking her vow of purity; fear and grief bore down upon her as the man to whom she was promised prepared to put her away. Then tears of joy when he told her that he too had received the wonderful tidings!

The decree had come as yet another disruption, a journey to be undertaken at the worst of times. The small town of Bethlehem was ill equipped for the large numbers of travelers, and they were forced to seek refuge in the abode of beasts.

Now she lays in the filthy straw, dripping with perspiration and gasping for breath after the travail of childbirth, her husband by her side.

In her young arms she cradles the precious infant. This is He. The One Whose coming has been prophesied for four thousand years! The King of Kings! Emmanuel! The Messiah! The Christ! He was finally here!

The intrigue that would follow, the wars that would be fought, the mighty tide of human history had just changed forever. The world would never be the same. The Fiend cringes as the Son of Man lays in the feeding trough of beasts. This was the One who would raise the banner of light and push back the darkness!



And we say “Merry Christmas”?

See what I mean? It just doesn’t seem to cover it.

More than two thousand years later, we measure time itself by the arrival on this earth of Jesus Christ. He is still the single most disruptive, controversial, and inspiring figure to have ever walked this earth.

Later this week we’re having some friends over to watch the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. It has gained a place in our culture today because of its wonderful tale of good triumphing over evil according to ancient prophecies. How many of us grew up loving this type of tale, wishing that we lived in such a wonderful world, taking our part in a battle of such epic scale?

We do. Only our world, our struggle, our epic history and future, far surpasses anything that Tolkien or any other man could come up with!

This is the time of year when we celebrate the fulfillment of hundreds of ancient prophecies in a thoroughly miraculous manner. We have the amazing history of what happened afterward as well as the wonderful remaining prophecy; that the precious infant who laid in that feeding trough and later offered his own blood as atonement for our willful treachery is coming back in full armament and glory to lead His forces on to victory and put the finishing touches on the stunning defeat of that ancient Fiend who still frantically terrorizes the earth today, clutching with all he has at every chance he can to wreak havoc and do as much damage as he can in his retreat!

So for right now, you’ll forgive me if I don’t close this article with the “traditional seasons’ greeting”, and instead make an imperfect attempt to find something that comes a little closer to communicating the wonder, the majesty, the mystery and glory of Christ’s arrival on earth.


Hail the Almighty King of Kings!

I'm back!

I sort of fell off the face of the earth for a while there, but I am officially back! Look to see regular updates here on a weekly-to-biweekly basis!

God bless!

When “Good Ideas” Become Lethal Policies

“The way the judge’s decision is worded, anyone who’s ever fired a gun on their property could open a commercial shooting range, and I don’t want that!”

That is very nearly a verbatim quote from a member of my local Township Board “defending” the decision to continue court action against the owner of a private shooting range for the heinous crime of allowing someone other than his family to shoot on his property occasionally, and for allowing the sound of that shooting to be heard from the neighbors’ property.

My regular readers will be able to easily pick out at least two major problems with that opening statement, but for those of you who are new to the concepts that I deal with on a regular basis, I’ll point them out for you:

1. “The way the judge’s decision is worded…” Judges don’t make law. The wording of the opinion cannot legalize or ban anything.

2. “…I don’t want that!” Excuse me? Since when does an official’s personal wishes justify a violation of basic property rights?

But what if someone is running dirt bikes on their property “constantly”? The very same meeting that aired the shameful quote that opened this article also heard a handful of people, irate over the fact that they’ve been complaining about a neighbor who does just that (or so they claim) for six months and the board “hasn’t done anything!”

Or what about “dangerous” dogs—such as pit bulls—one of which has mauled a local woman? Should they be allowed in a residential neighborhood? That question is currently before the Board of nearby Oxford Township.

Actually, the question that the Oxford Township Board is asking is not “should they be allowed?” but rather, “how can we ban them?”

Isn’t it a good idea to keep vicious dogs from attacking people? Isn’t it annoying to have what practically amounts to a motocross next door?

Of course!

For most people, that settles it. The government should do something!

No one stops to consider the question “does the government have the authority to do this?” “Is this within the jurisdiction of the Township Board?”

That’s because for most people, the idea of the government not having the authority to do something is a completely foreign idea!

Of course, where the concept of jurisdictional limits is foreign, so too is the concept of freedom.

Since most people’s idea of jurisdiction is limited to the concept that the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department can’t operate in Wayne County, I’ll go ahead and lay out the basics:

There are four basic levels of human jurisdiction, with varying sublevels within. I’m going to list them in order from the greatest amount of jurisdiction over the individual to the least.

1. The Individual. The individual is ultimately responsible for his or her actions and will answer to God for them. An individual has absolute control (from a human standpoint) over his or her actions.

2. The Family. The purpose of the family (in an oversimplified nutshell) is to prepare the individual to exercise proper self-rule. The Family (specifically parents) has a dangerous amount of authority nearing absolute power when the individual is young. This power is necessary for the early stages of a child’s life—before he or she is mature enough to exercise proper self-rule—but is devastating if unbalanced by the forces of kinship and parental love, which is why parental authority must remain in the hands of the Family.

3. The Church. Although the role of the Church has changed drastically since the days of priests functioning as intermediates between God and man, the Church still has a very important and distinct jurisdiction that is outside of the Family and Individual, while having limited power over them. The authority of the Church extends to those who have voluntarily placed themselves under it, but the Church’s ministerial jurisdiction extends over the entire earth insofar as it is working under biblical mandates and for the glory of God. This includes charitable efforts in general, educational efforts where the need exists, the exhortation of individuals to fulfill their duties, and the maintenance of public morality. The Church played a very active role, by the way, in the American Revolution, as well as the actual Founding that followed.

4. The State. The State has the worst reputation for trampling the others. It has the smallest jurisdiction, and its purpose is wonderfully stated in the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen united Colonies:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” (Emphasis mine.)

A very specific jurisdiction for the Federal Government was spelled out later in the Constitution, but remember that the ultimate jurisdictional bounds are above the Constitution, (which can, after all, be amended) and that the Founders were careful to make known in the very same declaration as quoted above:

“…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

Obviously, God is sovereign over all. He instituted these jurisdictions in the first place.

I could write a lot more on this topic, but I’ll leave that for a book.

When the State (read: government at any level) crosses over into the jurisdiction of any of the other three, the result is (by definition) tyranny.

Back to the dirt bike issue: the township in this case considered an amendment to their existing (and already egregious) noise ordinance that would prohibit:

“The use or operation of any kind of racetrack, proving grounds, testing area or obstacle/racing course for motorcycles, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, motor vehicles, boats, racers, automobiles or motor vehicles of any kind…”

Sounds kind of good, doesn’t it? I mean, who wants a motocross next door?

The problem, as I pointed out to the board, is that using government power to deal with—at the very worst—an inconsiderate neighbor, is like using a howitzer to deal with a mosquito. Even if the mosquito carries malaria, a howitzer is the wrong tool to use. You’re going to have a lot of collateral damage.

In this case, the public hearing brought out the fact that there are eight or nine tracks (not professional) around the township, along with a number of hobbyists and professional mechanics who use their property as “proving grounds” for their machines, all without a problem. Those people would be shut down by the proposed ordinance amendment.

It’s called the law of unintended consequences.

Fortunately, the board did not pass the amendment. Unfortunately, they merely tabled it, rather than dumping it completely.

Any time an act of tyranny is perpetrated, (that is, when a branch, body, or official takes an action outside their proper jurisdictional limits) there will be negative, if not disastrous consequences.

Of course, you could say that it’s all a matter of perspective, and you’d be right. Allow me to clarify my previous statement:

The results of said act of tyranny would be damaging and possibly disastrous to a person or people who value freedom and liberty. To someone who is perfectly content to be a slave (and worshipper) of the government, tyranny is hardly something to worry about, as long as the government is working to “keep them safe”.

I assume that my readers are of the former group. If anyone finds themselves in the latter, I would advise that you stop wasting your time here and go back to studying your government school or public university material.

Examples of “good ideas” codified into “law” (most of them are not actually law due to their violation of the Constitution and the Laws of God) abound in America today.

Helping people who, because of injury, age, or some other circumstance are unable to provide for their families is not only a good idea, but is the duty of a Christian people. Trouble quickly ensues, however, when the government tries to step in and do the job. Here are just a few of the problems that we live with today because of government welfare programs, for example:

> Large portions of the money forcefully stolen for the welfare system are burned up in the bureaucratic atmosphere before it ever gets to the people for whom it is intended.

> Many, if not most, of the people who wind up receiving welfare are not people who are unable to provide for their families, but rather people who are too lazy or addicted to drugs to do so.

> As a result of the former two problems, the people who actually need the help are left without nearly enough, if they get any at all.

> On top of this, those who simply need a temporary helping hand have no incentive to get back on their own feet—it’s too easy to live off of the hard work of others.

Don’t tell me that the welfare system is “compassionate”! It’s illegal, and it’s a cruel hoax! Charity should be voluntary, not mandatory.

By the way, for those of you who still think that proponents of “welfare programs” are modern-day Robin Hoods, intent on “stealing from the evil rich to give to the downtrodden poor,” I’ll remind you that Robin Hood stole from corrupt government officials who got their money by robbing hard-working private citizens through taxation, and gave it back to those citizens. (I’m not recommending his methods!)

Welfare proponents are far closer to the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham than Robin Hood.

Another good example of a “good idea” (by now I’m sure you’ve caught on that “good idea” in quotation marks means that the idea may or may not actually be good) is so-called “safe storage” laws.

Do a web search for “merced pitchfork murders” or “Mary Carpenter” and you’ll see why gun locks, separate storage of guns and ammunition, and lack of access for qualified minors—while possibly a good idea if implemented at individual discretion, (depending on the gun and its intended usage)—is typically deadly when required across the board by governmental forces.

I could go on for a long time, listing “good ideas” that have been warped into government controls, but I think you get the point.

When the government oversteps its bounds—no matter how “good” the idea might sound—the people lose freedom and power-hungry politicians move ever closer to their ideal dream of complete control over all of our lives.

By the way, Kelo (the infamous Supreme Court opinion claiming that local governments could take your land and give it to a developer) did not start with a federal action. It didn’t start with a state action. It started with an action at a local level. The closest equivalent in my area is the township board. Maybe you have a village council or a city government. That’s where most of our freedom is lost.

We, as freedom loving citizens, have a duty to be aware of what our local government is doing and hold them accountable. If we don’t, there will soon be no freedom left to defend.