Somebody posed this question to me recently: “When you read the New Testament, you walk away convinced that God wants Christians to force/coerce unbelievers to live better?”
I would prefer to ‘persuade’ rather than ‘coerce’ but if you’re forcing me to use aggressive language, my answer is still, “Yes.” I don’t know how anyone can read the New Testament and walk away thinking Christians aren’t supposed to have some impact on unbelievers. Lots of Christians are squeamish about ‘forcing’ their faith on pagans. These alleged disciples of Jesus don’t seem to grasp the theme of the gospel they claim to believe.
The problem with saying, “Everyone should be free to live according to their beliefs,” is that a lot of people are psychopaths. Libertarian ideas only work when everybody is sane. The existence of deranged lunatics requires me to surrender some personal liberties for the sake of my community.
Too many Libertarians forget that society isn’t made up of civilized men. They wistfully speak about the utopia of ‘self government’ as a replacement for tyranny. But pagans are ungovernable. They guarantee that removing the rule of law would bring chaos.
Christians who support Libertarian policies should note that God isn’t a Libertarian. God never had a policy of ‘do what you think is best.’ There were rules even in the Garden of Eden.
A little later on, God establishes some judges because it wasn’t working out to have everyone doing what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). By the time the New Testament rolls around, God straight up tells us that civil laws are His idea (Romans 13).
Now, some governments are run by people who hate God. These are oppressive, tyrannical systems that produce lots of despair, suffering, and death. Godless people are blind. They are unfit to lead anyone. The solution to tyranny is NOT eliminating government but replacing wicked rulers with Godly rulers.
To be clear, I support forcing Christian ideas on blind, rebellious, wicked people against their will. I do not support tyranny in any form. I know this makes me ‘dangerous’ to those who love darkness. A wise person will be suspicious of anyone who thinks politics and religion shouldn’t mix.
(Mark 16:15) He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
20 Responses
We will NEVER accept your tyranny, John.
Cool.
Whose tyranny are you accepting?
I am a free patriot. I bow before no one.
You think you’re God.
The first step toward becoming a tyrant.
You think you have the right to rule me. That will lead to bloodshed. Free patriots like me yield to no one.
You’re an Anarchist.
That’s not the same thing as a patriot.
I reject the notion that sanctimonious clowns like you have the right to decide how I should live my life.
You don’t pay a single bill of mine, so who are you to try to force me to live the way you want.
I reject the notion that you have the right to ignore the rules of society. Who are you to tell me that the laws don’t apply to you?
A patriot who refuses to comply with the masses. Freedom is more important than conformity.
Can you tell me what would happen if everybody in the country made up their own rules?
Imagine being as terrified of freedom as you, John. North Korea would be your perfect Heaven, wouldn’t it?
Refusing to answer the question tells me that you’re a dishonest person.
I don’t talk to dishonest people.
We’re done.
To answer your question: That world would be Heaven compared to whatever conformist dystopia you have planned.
God may have had ideas for Christians to convert Pagans in the bronze age but this is a different century with different people. Did you know John that all the big time comedians these days are atheists?
Did you know that I think for myself and don’t need agreement with any “big time” comedians?
excellent use of Judges to bolster your/our view of objective truth being the only way!
As a libertarian it’s very clear to me you know very little about our philosophy. I’d love to have a discussion about it some time.
Drawing lines and assigning labels can be a challenge. Clearly, God wants us to respect authority, even that of worldly leaders. Clearly, he wants those who have authority to use it responsibly, for the good of the people they serve and not for themselves. “Crime” and “sin” might be defined differently, but they are linked under the authority of God. For that reason, Christians trust government to make and enforce laws, to apprehend and punish criminals, while the same Christians work in the Church to proclaim forgiveness to sinners, even to criminal sinners. J.
Just laws, in fact, force people to live better lives. Forcing people to live better lives is the foundation of good justice system.
Do not kill, do not steal or else you go to prison, for example.
Every tyrant thinks they rule for the “common good”