Posted on 10/03/2002 4:32:43 PM PDT by RMrattlesnake
Problems with the Patriot movement.
By Darren Morrison]
I was out in the field doing desert training with the Marines, at Twenty Nine Palms when the Branch Dravidian’s met there end. I had no idea what happened until I got to camp Pendleton. This of course was at the same time my marriage had failed. I got home to find out that The Branch Davidians were burned alive but also that my wife and kids had left me. So at that time What happened at Waco was only a back drop, to my own personal troubles. Clinton was our new president one that I regretfully have to say I supported in his first election. About 3 months later my enlistment was up. I went home crushed with my tail between my legs, I could not bear being out there in California. While home I felt lonely and begin to listen to listen to talk radio. In fact I still love talk radio.
After becoming a Christian when I reached repentance and believed, I turned to the right at the same time. I started learning more about what happened at Waco and I was enraged and horrified that this was done in a country where I always felt safe. You could say the truth about Waco was a very rude awaking for me. Women and children were burned alive by our own federal law enforcement. So I began to learn more and meet up with Patriots and was in the Patriot movement. There are a lot of good people in the Patriot movement. But there are problems there too. There is an atheist anti-government element in with the mix. But there are those who are anti-government that are or claim to be Christian as well and this is the problem I am speaking of in this article. I am talking about tax protesters, and those who are rebellious toward the government and call it being a Christian. I remember a man last year at the annual Constitution town meeting in Loveland. A man calling himself a preacher got up and said if you pay taxes you are a communist and that you are not a Christian. I was not happy with this because he was false. I pay taxes and I am not a communist and I am a Christian.
Tax protesters are all over the Patriot movement, like a virus. Here are others who are promoting disobediences toward authority and calling it Constitutional when it is not and calling it Biblical when it is not. Well I am under the authority of God and GOD tells me to submit to the government. What does it mean to be submissive? It is one equal putting himself or herself under authority of another equal so that GOD may be glorified. GOD the father is co-equal to the son., yet the son submitted to the father. 1 Peter 2:13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14. Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. So submitting to the Government is doing GOD’s will. We ought to obey the government because it is what the Lord would have us do. In fact because I am under GOD’s authority I obey mans laws. 1 Timothy 2: 2. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;. For all that are in authority. You may say but Paul did not know the presidents we have today, Well Nero was Caesar and he was the most ruthless leader of the Roman empire.
Authorities and submission are two sides of the same coin. We are to submit to authority. That is what the bible teaches. Authority is there for us to submit to. You cannot have authority unless people submit to it. Yes that means we are to even submit to a Godless government as well. But there are those who refuse to submit and will say they are under GOD’s authority, but they do not obey GOD if they rebel against the government. 1 Samuel 15: 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. So it is as a sin of witchcraft. That is from GOD’s very own word. Does that mean we are not to resist evil? Certainly not. The Kingdom’s authorities is not for rebels.
Where else are we to submit, that is submission is one equal placing himself under another equal. Well one place is on the job. The servant is no greater then his master. We are to be as a submissive employee. The best witness to an unsaved boss is to do as he or she says. To be the best employee to our employer is what is written even if we have a mean boss. 1 Peter 2:18. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. Now that verse is taking about slaves we are free. Well if a slave who is a slave is to obey his master is it not true that we should also obey our employer.
We are to submit in the home. 1 Peter 3:1. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;. Wives are to submit to their husband. They are not to bicker or lecture their husbands. Wives be submissive to you husband, even to an ungodly one. God is co-equal to the son. Equal. But submissive (one equal putting himself or herself under authority of another equal so that GOD my be glorified.) That is not as the world teaches. 1 Corinthians 11:3. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. As I mentioned before my wife had left me. But after I have become a Christian and then she also we now obey GOD and through our marriage Christ is glorified.
Submission is not always the same as obedience. Submission is an attitude more than anything. We need to submit to authority when ever possible but when it is in conflict to what GOD teaches we need to obey GOD rather than man. The Bible tells us to preach . Matthew 28:18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. There are places where it is against the law to preach the gospel but do it anyway. We are to obey GOD first. We as believers in Christ ought not to identify with a political party. But we ought to ask both of the main parties to repent. Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong. If you think an election is going to bring back morality you are wrong Government can not make us good only GOD can.
On the Job if our boss ask us to cook the books or to cheat, steal or lie then we ought to obey GOD first. If we are in the medical field and we are ask to assist in an abortion we need not to obey that. Wives if your husband is physical abusive then you should leave that relationship for safetys sake. No woman ought to have to endure that.
Now what about taxes. Matthew 22:21. They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. Taxes are the governments. Yes they are unjust and yes they are way too high Yes I hate to have to pay for evil things like Planned Parenthood. But Jesus was pretty clear he we ought to pay our taxes. Romans 13:1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. That is what the bible says. Render to them all their dues, well that means taxes and other fees. I hate to say but the bible says that tax protesters are not serving GOD. This is not my conclusion it is what the bible teaches.
Jesus payed his taxes. So if he payed then why should we not pay them Matthew 17: 24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25. He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26. Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Romans 12:18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. When ever possible it says. When we refuse to pay our dues we are not living in peace. Christians ought to obey authority. As I quoted above Rebellion is as a sin of witchcraft. Communism grew out of rebellion The Bolshevik revolution was a rebellion toward a government that was not godly I assure you but there rebellion made things much worse. You see thay did not like how the Tsars were running things they were selfish and not seeing to the needs of the people, basically a bad system of government. So their uprising was a rebellion. What the people got was much worse in fact they ushered in the rise to Stalinism. Joseph Stalin an atheist and the greatest killer of all time. Do you think our government is bad? Do you want to rebel against it? What about Cuba, That county was over run by mobsters. The corruption was so bad some people thought it was a good idea to overthrow the government. Lead by a foreigner Castro, they overthrew the Government to get much worse of a deal. Castro turned the whole Island into a prison where people are classed by how light there skin is. Cuba is racism to the extreme. Well the people of Cuba got worse than they had before because they rebelled.
Our forefathers did it the right way the declared a declaration of independence. They petitioned King George and followed all the right channels and protocols. They did not cause a uprising against England they only defended their homeland. This was their land and they wanted to rule there own home not some tyrant 500 miles away. It would have been different if they were in England and they tried to take that away from King George. That is why they did not get a worse government, like Cuba and Russia. They fought and died for a cause that was noble.
Submission can bring a corrupt government down. If Christians submit to the government GOD can use the government to restrain evil. God is able to control governments if we let him.
The church is not a part of the government. Separation of Church and state is a good thing. We ought to keep the church out of the Government and likewise keep the government out of the church. The churches that have taken up with government have become as corrupt or in some cases even more corrupt. We must come to Jesus as and act of our own free will. Not by force as the government churches have done. Look at the catholic system thay brought about the inquisition. Baptist-like churches were heavily persecuted in history because they did that which was counter to the state church. The reason why Baptists have flourished in American is because we keep the church out of the government. That is why America has sent out more missionaries hands down than any other nation. The local new testament church ought to be separate from the world; that means from government too. I am not saying that good born again fundamental Christians ought not to be in the government. No, we should if we are called to, but we ought to do it if it is GOD’s will for our life. We can hold all sorts of offices mayor, police chief, cabinet post, supreme court justice and even presidents.
So in conclusion rebellion toward the government is ungodly and rebellion is GOD’s name is evil. Most Patriots in the Patriot movement are good people and a lot of them are good Christian folk. It was within that movement that I found my church and for that my involvement with that movement was worth it.
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