God's Bastard Son

by B.R. Merrick

Exclusive to STR

June 2, 2008

No, not Jesus.  I’m not about to lambaste God Incarnate.  Even people who don’t believe in His divinity have a hard time going against anything He said when He was here.  The Monty Python troupe, when plotting their next film after “The Holy Grail,” considered a spoof on Jesus’s life.  After researching the Four Gospels, they came up empty-handed, not because they were converted, but because they couldn’t say anything against Him.  

And neither can I, nor do I suppose to put Him completely in my corner.  I am, perhaps, thoroughly unjustified, and not the least because I fail to live up to the single most important edict He ever uttered: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  

There’s a reason this is called the Golden Rule.  It is pure gold.  It is the only way to live one’s life.  It is the one rule politically-motivated Christians and right-winged religious organizations magically forget, when in the same breath they condemn government spending, yet demand that the government pass laws in their favor.  They will ultimately need to choose one road or the other.  (No man can serve two masters, as someone once said.  I forget who.) 

Therefore, if God were to have an illegitimate son, what form would he take?  What would he say?  How would he act?  Most importantly, what would be the bastard son’s track record?  

I believe that individuals can change for the better, and that organizations made up of voluntary association can collectively improve.  For an example of an individual who made remarkable amends with the world and himself, read this article about a man who determined to do the right thing after watching “Schindler’s List.”  For an example of an organization that refined itself through voluntary acts of true benevolence, read this article about Wal-Mart.  Although individuals and voluntary organizations can also qualify as bastard children of the divine if they so choose, the all-time record-holder for illegitimacy is government, as there is not a single historical example of an earthly government that improves.  

I can think of numerous examples of governments that started off rather benign, perhaps, but not a single one that flourishes, prospers, or blossoms from its seemingly innocuous beginnings.  There are many historical examples of governments, monarchs, and tyrants being overthrown, supplanted, or replaced by better ideas and better organizations, only to see the victors devolve into the thing they overcame.  I have alluded to it before, and I’ll refer to it again and again: “The Lord of the Rings” is the perfect fictional example of what I mean.  If you go for that Ring, it will ultimately be the only thing you do.  Like Gollum, it will consume you.  Not only is there no historical example of governmental betterment, but the pursuit of this power, which is nothing more than the power to direct that which is naturally self-directing, ultimately destroys the soul that tries to use The Ring for good.  It is the perverse aping of God’s power.  

This is why I can’t agree any longer with minarchists like Ron Paul.  As good a man as he is, Paul is the political equivalent of fighting lung cancer with chemotherapy: the life of the patient is prolonged in agony for a short while, but death is the ultimate diagnosis.  Speaking of cancer, the only hope I have ever read about for such a serious disease comes from this book, and chemotherapy is not recommended.  According to the author, the best solution, if there is one, is to “strike at the root” of the cancer by empowering the body to use its own defenses unhindered by the toxins that plague it.  At least the author understands biologically what I now understand politically: Paul’s political fight does not strike at the root: the mindset creating the existence of government.  I would rather that our society’s body were rid of the toxins that cause the cancer of government.  There will only ever be a handful of Ron Pauls in government anyway, but this is not an argument based on practicalities.  If the government could be filled with minarchist libertarians, it would only be a superficial contradiction of the nature of government versus the nature of humanity; therefore such a government’s ability to last is a complete impossibility.  In the meantime, how much damage would be done by that brief misrepresentation of government?  The power to use force against the innocent seldom attracts good people, nor does it often bring out the good in any of us, though it can certainly put on a good show.  

The problem with people like Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and the constant Ron Paul love-fest going on any day of the week over at Lew Rockwell’s blog, is that these people are giving legitimacy to the bastard son of God.  I have learned a lot from Lew Rockwell.  I still do.  His site led me to this one.  And I truly admire Ron Paul.  But let the words of God’s legitimate Son, and God’s bastard son, speak for themselves.  And let the good in men like Paul, Napolitano, and Rockwell hear The Word and respond in kind.  

The words of Jesus:  

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. (Matthew 7:12)  

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)  

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)  

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)  

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)  

And now, the words of God’s bastard child:  

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union [sic], establish Justice [sic], insure domestic Tranquility [sic], provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare [sic], and secure the Blessings of Liberty [sic] to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (Preamble to The Constitution)  

Criminal Investigation (CI) serves the American public by investigating potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence [sic] in the tax system and compliance with the law. (from the IRS ’s website)  

The question is simply this: can a negro [sic] whose ancestors were imported into this country and sold as slaves become a member of the political community formed and brought into existence by the Constitution of the United States, and as such become entitled to all the rights, and privileges, and immunities, guarantied [sic] by that instrument to the citizen, one of which rights is the privilege of suing in a court of the United States in the cases specified in the Constitution? (The Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision)  

It is also my experience that persons who acquire firearms, firearms parts, and explosive materials maintain records of receipt and ownership of such items and instruction manuals or other documents explaining the methods of construction of such unlawful weaponry. (The Waco Affidavit used by the BATF)  

The Secretary of Defense may not conduct any test or experiment involving the use of any chemical or biological agent on civilian populations unless local civilian officials in the area in which the test or experiment is to be conducted are notified in advance. (United States Code, Title 50, Section 1520)  

There was a young man who would come in and say to the Vice President, “The plane is 50 miles out. The plane is 30 miles out.” And when it got down to, “The plane is 10 miles out,” the young man also said to the Vice President, “Do the orders still stand?” And the Vice President turned and whipped his neck around and said, “Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?” (Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta’s testimony to the 9/11 Commission, conspicuously left out of their final report.)  

If it is torture as defined by the Constitution, or defined by constitutional standards, it can't be authorized. (Attorney General Michael Mukasey, when asked whether drowning a man is constitutional.)  

Which of God’s sons says things that make sense?  Whose words are more comforting?  Which set of quotes fills you with more resolve to improve?  Who now gives you greater confidence?  Is the choice with which you are presented not between legitimacy and bastardization?  How many Dr. Ron Pauls does it take to revive this tumor-ridden patient?  

I think the Paulians may throw that golden Ring back in the fire yet, and embrace a real effort to live the Golden Rule instead.  It happened to me, after all.  It can happen to you, if you are not yet convinced by what I’ve written.  But don’t wait for me to force you to live it, because I wouldn’t want you to do that to me.