In the book of Daniel, chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered all people (including the Jewish exiles) in his land to bow down to a 90 foot tall golden statue of himself. Three men refused to bow the knee, provoking the king's anger and wrath. They defended themselves in this way:
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
While the Church is never called into the realm of politics, she often finds herself opposed to the State when the State assumes the prerogatives of a spiritual entity and becomes idolatrous. Whenever the State demands that the Christian bend the knee in a way contrary to God's Word, the Christian replies that he/she will not fear death to the point of forsaking the will and worship of God.
Communism, like fascism, has provided a stark example of this principle at work in the past century. Unlike socialism, which requires a more penetrating analysis in order to appreciate its evil as a system, communism demands a simple choice: worship the State as God or perish. Soviet communism knew as much as it coerced churches into becoming state-run institutions or face extinction. China currently employs the same strategy. Either a church registers with the government and becomes beholden to State prerogatives, or it faces persecution and annihilation. Communism cannot tolerate a competitor for individual devotion and allegiance.
In the recent crackdown in Tibet, this principle is again aptly demonstrated. Tibetan Buddhists may not be Christians, but their religion demands a devotion apart from that offered to the State. Like the Falun Gong cult in previous years, their punishment for such double-mindedness is found in persecution and repression.
Communism is a self-idolatrous political cult that by definition (evil and need defined in materialist terms; salvation by government aid) is aligned as a competitor to Christianity. As citizens (though not as Christians) peoples of the free world must vigorously oppose this tyrannical system and the atrocities it afflicts on those who do not bow the knee.
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3 comments:
What do you think about the recent California, home-school thing?
Because it ticks me off!
I hear you, dude--it pisses me off too. I think we're largely at fault though. Both mainstream protestantism and evangelicalism has ceded the spiritual sword to the State (hence, my vigorous opposition to school prayer). The State now feels the prerogative to employ the sword of governance to private spiritual institutions because it feels as though it has a say in the matter.
I really hope that home-school unions and private day-school protestants and catholics all team up against this one...
It just seems ludicrous! I'm waiting for some Californian talking head to say that children are the property of the state!
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