I've been giving some thought to government and religion today and have come up with an axiom. You may not agree and its OK if you don't, but I would love to hear your position on the subject at hand.
I am writing as a Christian who was born and raised in America and have always considered myself patriotic. I am also a pastor who has given considerable time to the study of Comparative Religion. My intent here is not to bash other persuasions, but rather... to establish dialog.
Axiom: Rouge governments are like pagan gods in that they prey upon the fears of their people.
In the study and discipline of Comparative Religion you will discover that every religion on the globe with the exception of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are pagan in nature.
What that means is that with the exception of the three all other religions have several things common. For instance: 1. Pagan gods are often manipulative and can be manipulated. A brief study of Greek Mythology will support the first premise and any serious consideration of world religion will affirm the latter. 2. A pagan understanding of time is nonlinear, therefore you have the believe of re-incarnation. Time moves in circular fashion rather than to a point in time as is suggested in Christian thought. 3. The pagan god must be appeased and to that end, ancient civilizations at times would sacrificially offer their children to the deities as an act of worship.
The motivating factor and driving force behind such behaviour was fear. People were afraid of the gods and that fear was often reinforced by witch doctors, priest and soothsayers.
The Role of Government should be to protect and serve the people it represents. Unfortunately that has not always been the case. The world is no stranger to tyranny and the twentieth century unveiled and exposed a darkness of the human condition. The Holocaust of Germany, the Gulags of The Soviet Union and The Killing Fields of Cambodia showed the world how ugly an oligarchy can be.
Both the Gestapo and KGB exercised fear tactics by controlling information, leveraging propaganda and brainwashing a society while those on top lived in luxury at the expense of the population.
Because of the fallen state of human nature governments will always be tempted to abuse the power with which they are entrusted. Whenever a particular party or person solicits fear tactics with hopes of manipulating the population a line has been crossed. An ethic has been compromised and danger is sure to follow. The dark act must be brought to light as steps are taken to correct the trespass.
I write as a Christian and as a student of Church History I've learned that we are not immune to corruption. While we are not pagan history reveals many of the bad decisions that have been made out of fear and ignorance.
When the church is on task this world has never seen anything more beautiful. But, when the church moves off center and gets away from Her mission this world has never seen anything more ugly, or dangerous.
As stated earlier, I am a patriotic American who is glade to call this country home. The Founders went to great lengths in laying out principals on which government could be exercised for the people and by the people. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution both serve as reminders of a better way.
If we as a people turn a blind eye to the founding of this great nation and the principals upon which it stands then we too shall reap the consequences others have endured.
And with that...we come full circle with an axiom. Rouge governments are like pagan gods in that they prey upon the fears of their people.
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