…the bound dragon…

. . .the ruminations of a postmillennial dragon-slayer. . .

The Messianic State Part 6: God is Just

Posted by matt on January 25, 2010

Image by Veyis Polat via Flickr

This is part 5 in the Messianic State series.  Previously discussed attributes can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. In this post, we will consider that God is just. Future posts will consider that God is also good and true.

God is just. The State is the only source of justice in our society, or so it would have us to believe. Justice comes only through its courts, and in accordance with its decisions and its laws, no matter how corrupt or unconstitutional they may be. When the State determines that hate crimes should legitimately be punished more severely than a non-hate crime of equal violence, that becomes justice. When the State determines that because you’ve had more opportunities to become successful, have worked hard, and earned more money and therefore have to pay a higher rate of taxes so that the person with fewer opportunities, a lesser education, less of a work ethic, and thus less money, that becomes justice. Justice is something that God has defined, the problem is that the State sees itself as god and therefore the definer and arbiter of justice.

The State’s version of justice is anything but blind, but to point that out is to call the State’s justice into question and that is not acceptable.

Related articles…

• House Approves Hate Crimes Measure (cato-at-liberty.org)
• New at Reason: Jacob Sullum on the Federal Hate Crime Law (reason.com)

Topics: Culture, Politics | 1 Comment »

The Messianic State Part 5: God is Holy

Posted by matt on January 23, 2010

This is part 5 in the Messianic State series.  Previously discussed attributes can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. In this post, we will consider that God is holy. Future posts will consider that God is also just, good, and true.

God is holy. And so is the State. It is blasphemy to suggest that its motives or actions are impure. Every war it has fought has been for a just cause. Every action it has taken has been for the good of the people. Every power and authority it exercises is to the benefit of society. There is nothing the State does that is impure.

In one scenario, one patriot condemned me for teaching my children that Abraham Lincoln, well let it suffice to say, made some bad decisions as president. This person went so far as to tell me that I don’t know what God told Lincoln to do as president! Lincoln, as the figurehead of the State, cannot possibly be questioned–this is blasphemy!

Topics: Culture, Politics | No Comments »

Connecting Christianity and Libertarianism

Posted by matt on January 21, 2010

Common Ground Between the Philosophies of Christianity and Libertarianism

This article comes from the Acton Institute. I think Bound Dragon readers will enjoy it. Here is the introduction:

This essay is addressed primarily to members of two groups: non-Christian libertarians and non-libertarian Christians. While they often view each other with suspicion or even derision, in fact, the two worldviews are remarkably consistent. For libertarians, while there may be other good reasons for not embracing Christianity, I will illustrate that what the Bible says about government is not one of them. For Christians, I will illustrate that libertarianism is consistent with Christianity, and thus, that there is no good reason for them not to embrace libertarianism as their political philosophy.

Related articles…

• The Christian libertarian Blog Carnival is coming up (theholycause.blogspot.com)
• Christianity and Libertarianism: How Do I Do It? (swiftfoxmark2.blogspot.com)
• Discussion – What (or who) is a “Christian libertarian”? (theholycause.blogspot.com)
• The Humongous Page of Libertarian Resources (libertarianchristians.com)
• 10 Reasons I Am A Libertarian Christian (bounddragon.com)

Topics: Culture, Politics | No Comments »

The Messianic State Part 4: God is Omnipotent

Posted by matt on January 21, 2010

This is part 4 in the Messianic State series.  Previously discussed attributes can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. In this post, we will consider that God is omnipotent. Future posts will consider that God is also holy, just, good, and true.

God is omnipotent. The State exercises all manner of power and authority over mankind to accomplish its goals, stated or otherwise. With over 40,000 new laws created in 2009 alone, it is capable of putting you into prison for crimes you didn’t even know you committed. It can round up “enemies of the State” and suspend their writ of habeus corpus, imprisoning them indefinitely in foreign countries across the globe. It can fine you, tax you, imprison you, and even put you to death. It can take your children away from you for what it deems as bad parenting, force you to recycle, take away your access to electricity via brownouts, and control the substances you put into your body. It can limit your contracts to specific people through immigration control, to specific dollar amounts through minimum wage and price controls, and to specific products through trade regulations. The State can even devalue your savings and income through inflationary measures. The State is all-powerful.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Inflation and the Saviour State (lewrockwell.com)

Topics: Culture, Politics | No Comments »

The Messianic State Part 3: God is Omniscient

Posted by matt on January 20, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

This is part 3 in a series on the Messianic State.  Previously discussed attributes can be found here: Part 1 and Part 2. In this post, we will consider the attribute that God is omniscient. To come, we will consider that God is also omnipotent, holy, just, good, and true.

God is omniscient, all-knowing. The State is the all-knowing being in our lives now, and much more immediate in them. The State, through licensing and certification, knows when you are born, when you are licensed to drive, when you are married, when you divorce, when you retire, and when you die. It knows where you live, how many children you have, it may even claim to the number of the hairs on your head. Because of national security concerns, the State knows whom you correspond with via telephone, text messages, and e-mails. It knows your driving record, the state of your health and your marriage. And if it doesn’t know these things, it is certainly capable of finding them out.

Topics: Culture, Politics, Worldview, Worship | 1 Comment »

The Messianic State Part 2: God is Eternal

Posted by matt on January 19, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

This is part 2 in a series on the Messianic State.  Part 1 can be found here. In this post, we will consider the attribute that God is eternal. To come, we will consider that God is also omniscient, omnipotent, holy, just, good, and true.

God is eternal. The State considers itself to be something that has always been and always will be. From birth to death, the State is a part of the reader’s everyday life. In a special session address on July 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln had this to say about the supremacy of the federal government, the Union, over the individual states, “The Union is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created them as States.” In his estimation, the federal government is the creator of the individual states, not the creation of the individual states. Apart from that, however, the reader is asked to consider life without the State. When asked to conceive of an economy without chattel slavery in America, many Americans couldn’t comprehend such an economy existing. Similar responses arise out of the question of life without the State. Who would provide roads, security, law enforcement, fire protection, national defense, or justice. This is exactly what the State wants us to answer. Life cannot exist independent of the State, and for that reason, the State must always have existed and must always continue to exist.

Topics: Culture, Politics, Worldview | 1 Comment »

The Messianic State Part 1: God is Infinite

Posted by matt on January 18, 2010

The State has become messianic in nature, and I believe this is the natural evolution of any State, regardless of whether it is a monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, or republic. Some just get there faster than others. This series of blog posts will examine a particular attribute of God and look at how the State has taken steps to make that attribute one of its own. The first attribute is God is infinite. That God is also eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, holy, just, good, and true will be examined in subsequent posts.

God is infinite or omnipresent. The State is truly everywhere. At my birth, the State was there to legitimize my birth with the issuance of a birth certificate. Throughout my infancy and my time as a toddler, the State was there to ensure I remained “healthy” through necessary vaccinations. During my formative elementary years, the State was there to enforce my compulsory education. As I grew into a teen, the State was there to license me to drive. Upon my graduation, the State was there to assure me that my post-secondary education was accredited and met its rigid standards. When I fell in love, the State was there, permitting me to marry my bride with a marriage license. When my children were born, the State, ever-vigilant, was there to legitimize their births. And when I grow old and feeble, the State will be there providing me with security, social security, as I attempt to provide for my comforts.

Throughout my life, when I went to the doctor, the State was there certifying his worthiness. When I went to the bank, the State was there insuring my deposits. When I boarded a plane, the State was there approving its air-worthiness. When I mailed out my Mother’s Day card, the State was there to hand deliver it to her in 3-5 business days for 44 cents–or, guaranteed next day by noon for $16. The State is there with red light cameras to make sure I stop at intersections, it is there listening to my telephone calls and monitoring my Internet activity, it is there providing me with books at the local public library and likely monitoring my reading habits, and it is there at the airport conducting perverse full body scans to make sure I don’t have a snow globe in my underwear. I don’t know what more the State could do to make itself omnipresent in our lives. As David says, “ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Maybe that is what’s missing, the State in hell.

Related articles…

• Body scanners raise privacy fears (news.bbc.co.uk)

Topics: Culture, Education, Politics, Worldview, Worship | 7 Comments »

Thoughts on Avatar

Posted by matt on January 16, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

Avatar, the Internet is abuzz with reviews of Avatar. Let me start out first by saying that it is a great movie, theatrically. The 3-D was great, the effects were great, the movie was great. Let me follow that by saying that the dialogue could’ve been better and that some of the characters were a bit too caricature-ish  for me. Yes, I made that word up. Now let me review two different aspects of it: the political and the religious. Let me also add that I am a Christian.

The Political

Reviews abound from both sides, some saying it was anti-capitalist and some that it was very free market. My take? Free Market. Here is why. We have to first make the distinction between capitalist and corporate. My definition, throughout this review, will be that capitalist means free market and corporate means big business in bed with government. Avatar was pro-capitalist and anti-corporate.

When the mining company was on Pandora as a capitalist venture, they got along with the Na’vi. This is evident by the fact that Sigourney Weaver’s avatar was able to live peaceably among the Na’vi. She taught them english, medicine, etc. She was a friend to them. However, when we join the mining company in the movie, they have begun moving into lands that the Na’vi possess, and are trying to displace them. As the Na’vi begin fighting to protect their property, the mining company joins forces with the Marines, becoming corporate. This is when they become evil:  when they are in bed with the government, when they are stealing lands possessed by the Na’vi, and when they are using force to get what they want.

This process is obviously paralleled to what James Cameron thinks happened with the Native Americans. And to an extent, he is right. When the settlers of the “New World” began living in North America among the native population, they were doing no wrong and no harm came to them. When they did this by possessing unoccupied territories or by purchasing occupied territories (e.g. Manhattan island), it was peaceable and justified. When they did this by displacing the natives through force, they violated their property rights and the natives responded by warring with them. The response of the natives was justified in this case. Likewise with the Na’vi, when the mining company was mining unoccupied parts of Pandora, they interacted well with avatars like Sigourney Weaver’s. When the mining company began forcefully displacing them, their rights were violated and they responded with force.

As a result, I think the movie did a good job of distinguishing between capitalism and corporatism, and is therefore very libertarian.

The Religious

This is obviously a bit stickier, let me preface my remarks by asking the reader to give me a chance to say what I’m saying. Many have identified Cameron’s agenda as being mother earth, pro-green, environmentalist propaganda. He is taking the religion of those in that movement and religion-izing it even more (yes, I made that word up, too).

First, let me say that I disagree because I don’t think he made his point clearly enough. I think Avatar makes a distinctly Christian truth clear throughout it.

One, the goddess of Pandora is more than just a pantheistic, god-in-everything goddess. She is much more personal than that, more like the God of the Bible. She listens, she communicates, she even calls forth her creation to fight for the good guys.

Two, the hero of the story, the good marine Jake Sully, is a messianic figure who comes from the sky people, is anointed by the spirit–the seeds of Eywa which are called “very pure spirits” (Matt 3:16-17), experiences a second birth (John 3:3), and validates himself as messiah by riding Toruk (which Jesus does by dying and resurrecting), then leads the people of the goddess in victory against her enemies.

Three, the idea that the Na’vi are connected to all of nature, while it may be pantheistic, is not anti-Christian. In Christianity, the creation “fell” with humanity (Gen 3:17-18), the creation groans for redemption and glorification with humanity (Rom 8:21-22), and the creation even vomits the enemies of God out of the land (Lev 18:25).

Now, let me say, that this doesn’t mean that James Cameron didn’t want it to be pantheistic, just that he failed to make it so. There are lines here and there that push it that way, but it isn’t anti-Christian or heretical.

Also, let me add that a movie does not have to be about God or Jesus explicitly to be a Christian movie. There are many books and movies out there (C.S. Lewis’ for a few ideas) that teach truth about the God of the Bible will being very allegorical (e.g. Chronicles of Narnia) or even explicitly about mythical gods and goddesses (e.g. Till We Have Faces). What makes a book or movie Christian is that it celebrates the truth about God or his creation. Avatar, while imperfect at doing so, does that.

Topics: Culture | 3 Comments »

Christian Leaders Urge Sanctions for Iran

Posted by matt on December 31, 2009

Christian leaders, organizing as a group known as Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran, are urging immediate sanctions on Iran.

They have sent a letter to Congress calling for tough sanctions to force Iran to comply with demands that it cease and desist in its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. The letter was signed by the following Christian leaders:

Dr. Pat Robertson, President of Christian Broadcasting Network
Chuck Colson
Richard Land, President of Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention
Tom Minnery, Senior Vice President of Government and Public Policy at Focus on the Family
Dr. John Hagee, Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, Texas
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America
Colin A. Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring
Michael Little, President of Christian Broadcasting Network
Anthony Verdugo, Founder and Executive Director of Christian Family Coalition
C. Preston Noell, III, President of Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Micah Clark, Executive Director of American Family Association of Indiana
Michael Novak, Author, Scholar and awarded 1994 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
Matthew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel
Dr. Benny Tate, Senior Pastor, Rock Springs Church, Milner, GA
Jack Rohrer, President of Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition
Robert E. Reccord, President of Total Life Impact Ministries
Ron Shuping, Executive VP of Programming, The Inspiration Networks
William A. Donohue, President of The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Ronald J. Rychlak, MDLA Professor of Law, University of Mississippi, School of Law
Diana L. Banister, Vice President and Partner of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs
Deal Hudson, Executive Director of Catholic Advocate
Mark A. Smith, President of Ohio Christian University
Dr. Richard Lee, President of There’s Hope America
Jack Whelan, Chairman of Culture of Life Foundation
Peter Huessy, President of GeoStrategic Analysis of Potomac, Maryland
Bobby Eberle, President of GOPUSA
Bud Hansen, Papal Foundation
Jeffrey Karls, President of Magdalen College
David R. Carlin, Professor of Sociology and Philosophy at the Community College of Rhode Island
Al Kresta President and CEO, Ave Maria Radio Host, “Kresta in the Afternoon”
Cortes E. DeRussy, Bronxville, NY, Former Board Chair, Crisis Magazine
Dr. James Merritt, Senior Pastor, Cross Pointe Church, Duluth, GA
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, Chairman of Traditional Values Coalition
Jordan Sekulow, Director of International Operations at American Center for Law and Justice
Gary L. Bauer, President of American Values
Jim Martin, 60-Plus
Judge Paul Pressler, Southern Baptist Convention, Houston, Texas

Some of the signers are of no surprise: John Hagee and Pat Robertson for sure. These two have been Christian warmongers for some time. Then there is the Southern Baptist Convention, which history shows had been consistently opposed to war, right up until about the time of one George W. Bush (with few exceptions). Then they ponied up and joined the pro-war propaganda machine. I was surprised to see the ACLJ on there, although I must admit I don’t know much about them.

Sanctions with Iran, huh? Odd that none of them are calling for sanctions against Israel, who also has nuclear weapons–a point that went uncontested when Congressman Ron Paul brought it up in the Republican Presidential Primary debates. Of course, nevermind the fact that we have nuclear weapons (that’s okay, we need them for defense, right? And Iran? No defense allowed for them!) And, in Iraq, sanctions did little more than lead to the starvation and death of thousands of Iraqi moms, dads, and children. Of course, they same will be true of Iran, but it must be just collateral damage in the minds of these Christian leaders–and that’s okay when the moms, dads, and children are Muslims.

How disappointing for us Christians who believe the Prince of Peace intended for us to live in peace–a peace, by the way, that He gave us (John 14:27), not one we have to go out and create.

Topics: Politics | 3 Comments »

Why Libertarian?

Posted by matt on December 22, 2009

A consideration of the parallels between Christianity and Libertarianism.

Why Libertarian? By my friend, Jason Rink:

I have found there to be much confusion about the concept of Libertarianism, especially within Christian circles. So let me begin by using an illustration most Christians should understand.

A Philosophy, not A Denomination
When someone identifies themselves as a Christian, this is an identification with their realtionship to  Jesus Christ, and their desire to be adherents to the teachings of Christ. It is an identification with a way of life and a spiritual philosophy. However, it says nothing of the denominational preference of the individual. They could be a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or even consider themselves non-denominational.

Read the rest here.

Oh, and I am NOT a non-denominational libertarian. Although I might be an inter-denominational libertarian!

Topics: Politics | 1 Comment »