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Tyranny With a Friendly Face by Joe Eldred On
February 22nd, I came across on this forum an item from The
Lebanon (Kentucky) Enterprise, which read: Kentucky
State Police Trooper Nick Stevens and Fellowship of
Christian Athletes club member Heather Howell passed out candy to
students and teachers at a roadblock on Knights Way at Marion County
High School Thursday morning. Drivers wearing seatbelts were given
Smarties and drivers that weren't were given Dum-Dums. The project was
part of Buckle Up Kentucky Day. State police also checked drivers at a
roadblock at the US 68 and Barbers Mill Road junction later in the day. The
photograph accompanying the article featured Miss Howell and Trooper
Stevens in smiling conversation with a driver they had stopped.
As a Christian, my first reaction was: “Why is a young
Christian worried about other people wearing seatbelts?”
That question prompted me to submit a letter to the Enterprise
in which I indicated that, while I did not doubt Ms. Howell and the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes meant well, the road to Hell is paved
with good intentions. The
Enterprise published my
letter, which in turn prompted a
letter to me from Rev. Edwin M. Amundson II taking exception to my
criticism. I want to
respond to that criticism, not, I pray, in a spirit of one-upmanship,
but in the hope that we each, as well as the reader, will increase in
understanding and in Truth. In his letter Rev. Amundson states: Christian
Athletes and Heather are working together with local law enforcement to
save lives visa vise having them obey the State Laws of the Commonwealth
of Kentucky and buckle up. Statistics from the Highway Transportation
Cabinet show that overwhelmingly, seatbelts save lives, point blank. A
saved life is a life that still has a chance to accept Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior. The
point of my letter was not that seatbelts don’t save lives. In fact, I always wear one myself. Rather, my point was that the decision whether or not to wear
one should be left to the individual.
If we were to take Rev. Amundson’s advice to heart, our best
course of action would be to lock up all non-believers for their own
safety, so that we might increase their life span and thereby the
opportunities to minister to them. Rev. Amundson then goes on to state unequivocally that I am not basing my opposition on Constitutional law, without providing any basis for that assertion. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. While he states that he believes very soundly in the Bill of Rights, he ignores the Fourth Amendment, which states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Miss
Howell was assisting Trooper Stevens at a roadblock.
In a free country, police do stop motorists without probable
cause to make sure they are wearing a device designed for their own
safety. A vigorous and healthy church should be teaching her young
people to oppose such tyranny, not aid and abet it. Rev. Amundson goes on to suggest: . . . could it be that you are in fact arrayed with another agenda that really has nothing to do with Christianity, the Bible, or Buckling seatbelts? Could it be Joseph (and I ask you with all humility) that you are a person consumed with libertarian ideologies in Government and are trying to justify these beliefs under the guise of Christianity. I have been called a libertarian but I am not. I am a Christocrat. I am one of thousands, perhaps millions, of Patriot Saints in America and around the world, with ‘patriot’ signifying an exemplar and advocate of societal freedom and ‘saint’ an exemplar and advocate of the gospel. Unlike Rev. Amundson, who wrote, “My friend, the Politics of Jesus Christ have little to do with your 'liberty,'” I do not believe that Christianity is incompatible with freedom. As the Apostle Paul proclaims in II Cor. 3:17 “. . . Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Rev.
Amundson cites Hebrews 3:17: “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority . . . .”
I adhere to that admonition without reservation.
However, in our republic, We the People are the leaders.
As Andrew Sandlin has pointed out, Christianity shattered the
unity of the ancient, pagan world. The source of that unity was the
state, usually identified with society itself, at the head of which was
a great political ruler, a king or emperor, thought to be a god or
god-like. The unity of the ancient, pagan world consisted of the
divinization of the temporal order in the form of the state.
Christianity recognized “another king” (Ac.
17:7). The founding of the United States was the greatest experiment
in political liberty to that time, and it operates self-consciously on
certain distinctly Christian premises. Finally, even though he has gone out of his way to judge me, Rev. Amundson cites Luke 6:37 to take me to task for judging Miss Howell. Because we live in an age of tolerance where almost anything goes, openly questioning or criticizing other people’s belief systems can quickly get you labeled as judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful, and even ignorant. This assertion, however, is simply false, as the Bible clearly speaks out not against passing judgment in general, but against rendering inaccurate and unfair judgments (Prov. 24:23; 31:9; John 7:24). Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:15 that Christians are called to make “judgments about all things.” Our judgment, though, should not be based on what God has not revealed, rather on what he has revealed and not on human wisdom alone (v. 13). Let’s realize that when we call teachings into question, it’s only because we’re concerned about the eternal destinies of people—they are not personal attacks. Let’s also keep in mind that Scripture doesn’t command us to go out and rail against false teachings; rather, it encourages us to offer biblical reasons with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15). And remember that tolerance when it comes to personal relationships is a virtue, but tolerance when it comes to truth is a travesty.
Joe Eldred is Founder and Moderator of God Bless America, which promotes responsible citizenship by acting as a resource to religious and community organizations, individuals and families. He is also a Facilitator of Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress. discuss this column in the forum |
