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Unbridled by Morality and Religion

Consider the words of John Adams…

…We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

He wasn’t wrong.

The logic of those who have set up a “Cop Free Zone” in Seattle as well as those who have stolen flat screen TVs, physically assaulted white, female business owners and murdered police officers is this:

1) Among those who served in the First Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention were a large number of slave owners. That being the case, anything they produced is therefore racist and needs to be dismissed.

2) Within the ranks of those who profess to be followers of Christ are individuals who are bigots in the context of both race and gender. This therefore defines Christianity as a cruel and racist doctrine that needs to be eliminated from the public square.

3) Law Enforcement is littered with authority figures who abuse the power associated with their badge to murder and demean minorities. Subsequently the legal system as it exists right now needs to be abolished.

4) The opportunities of Capitalism exist only for those who have the means to get an education and secure a marketable skill. Prosperity is therefore exclusive to privileged Caucasians and in that regard, it needs to be replaced with something more fair and attainable.

In short, the philosophical and spiritual foundations upon which this country is built are lies and only a show of force will bring about the change that is needed.

First of all, you can be accurate without being right and if your cause is to have any validity, it has to be based on a comprehensive evaluation of all the facts as opposed to a misleading manipulation of some of the facts.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not gauged according to the character flaws of the individuals who created them. Rather they are evaluated according to the substance of the documents themselves.

Bear in mind also that the paradigms you would discredit are the very frameworks that give you the rights you are exercising in this very moment.

Unless the abuses committed by those who call themselves Christians can be validated by the whole of Scripture, you are looking at a distortion of Christianity and not an expression of it.

Isolated instances of police brutality are not representative of all those who are sworn to serve and protect any more than isolated instances of crimes committed by minorities are representative of all people of color.

Capitalism is a staircase, not an escalator. Prosperity requires effort and wise decision making. If those two dynamics are not in place, then you’re trying to build a fire with things that don’t burn and your problem isn’t with a system as much as it’s your strategy.

Our nation is built on a Judeo-Christian framework which is defined according to the cross and the empty tomb. The institutions that proceed from that framework are therefore characterized by freedom, equality and love. While there may be individuals within those institutions that fall short of those ideals, it is those individuals that need to corrected and not the institutions themselves.

Those that are encouraging violence and being violent themselves are not responding to a crisis as much as they are creating a crisis they wish to blame on the offices and the officials they seek to displace. It is a destructive tactic built on a flawed rationale that is fundamentally evil.

If the Truth is to be effectively championed, one must be able to identify the lie embedded in a fact the same way Christ identified the sins embedded in the verses as they were distorted by Satan.

The criminal element that has invaded Seattle’s capital is not driven by a concern for Civil Rights. They are merely exploiting a tragic event in order to establish themselves as their own authority. They are the ones referred to by Adams as those that are, “…unbridled by morality and Religion” and they will lose not just because their barricades will be overwhelmed, but because the substance of their cause will be be revealed for what it truly is.

Gun Control – Locks Don’t Stop Thieves

I remember in Boot Camp my Drill Instructor once said that locks don’t stop thieves, they just keep honest people honest.

I had to think about that for a minute, but once I got my mental arms around what he was saying, I realized he had a point.

Locks are like laws. They don’t prevent a crime. They don’t even do much to make it more difficult, at least from the standpoint of the criminal who’s resolved to take something that doesn’t belong to him, whether it’s a life, a piece of property or even the truth. The lock is simply an inconvenience, not a barrier.

Most of what is immoral can be boiled down to the practice of taking something. When you lie, you’re “taking” the truth. When you steal, you’re “taking” a thing and when you kill, you’re “taking” a life. And regardless of how many “locks” you put in place – irrespective of how threatening or difficult you attempt to make a particular behavior appear – the only people that are impacted by your efforts are those that are predisposed to obey the law and value the practice of being moral.

That’s what my Drill Instructor was saying. And what’s significant about that is the way it resonates with the Ultimate Truth communicated in Scripture in Romans 8:3. The law is “powerless” to prevent bad behavior. It outlines punishment but it doesn’t provide the necessary moral disposition required to qualify as a law abiding citizen.

From a cultural and political viewpoint, it can get really frustrating when you hear people insist that if we only had more laws on the books, there would be less crime. This doesn’t bear up under the scrutiny of history, human nature or even some of the recent attempts made by other nations, as far as gun control laws are concerned.

Australia is often touted as a sterling example of how gun control laws reduced the number of killings. According to Vox, between 1996 and 1997, the Australian government confiscated 650,000 guns and murders and suicides plummeted. But that’s not the whole truth. Gun related suicides dropped, but Lifeline Australia reports today that suicides in general are at a ten year high. In addition, manslaughter (murder), sexual assault, kidnapping, armed robbery and unarmed robbery all saw peaks in the years following the ban.

Can you smell what’s on the stove?

Locks don’t stop thieves, they just keep honest people honest.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams)

Gun Control laws are powerless to stop criminals from killing other people, they simply find another way to get it done. And you don’t want to institute any legislation that prevents those who would otherwise be victims from being able to repel a thug with nothing more than a good sounding argument.

That’s something to ponder.

Most violent crimes are committed with a handgun. Right now the focus is on assault rifles, but the real source of trouble is represented by hand held guns. Should the second amendment be compromised in any way, it’s just a matter of time before all guns are considered against the law and the only ones who are now armed, apart from the military and law enforcement, are those that have no regard for the law to begin with.

So, what’s the answer?

Stop evaluating a system according to the way it’s abused or ignored
Stop looking to the government for that which needs to be done in the home and in the community and…
Start holding individuals accountable for their behavior

In other words, stop asking, “Is it legal?” and ask, “Is it right?” And start asking those questions before the individual in question has resolved to commit a crime. In other words, focus on the person pulling the trigger rather than the trigger itself. Only then do you arrive at any course of action that is effective let alone wise.

As a sidebar, there are elements within our political infrastructure that would use this issue to undermine the Oval Office, the Republican party and anyone who doesn’t agree with reducing the scope of the Second Amendment. The press is attempting to blame President Trump for the shootings in Florida because of a bill that he signed back in February of last year that supposedly made it easier for people with a mental illness to acquire a gun. What the press will not tell you is that the Obama era rule was instituted in the context of the government deciding if you were mentally ill, which is a violation of both your second and fourth amendment right. Click here to read more. In addition, there are other sinister dynamics at work in that the media is, apparently, hiring people to pose as victims in order to proliferate the notion that those who oppose Gun Control are heinous. Click here to read more.

The God Delusion vs The God Conclusion | Part One – FIT

There are three kinds of “data.”

“Facts”

“Facts” are accurate statements. Think of them as headlines. For example:

Headline #1: Jesus Rises From the Grave
Headline #2: Pharisees Accuse Christ Followers of Stealing Corpse of Christ

Both of these statements are accurate. While we know Christ did, in fact, rise, the Pharisees also paid the guards that were guarding the tomb a large sum of money to back up the story that the disciples had stolen the body (Matt 28:11-15). What’s significant is that for someone who’s just glossing over the headlines, the verbiage, albeit very brief, can still shape conclusions for those who don’t take the time to consider the full account. That leads us to the second category:

Information

“Information” is the “facts” in the context of a limited perspective.

A journalist could build a compelling yet misleading article by strategically citing the chief priests, the guards who had been bribed and any one of a number of like minded people.

Can you see the article in your mind’s eye (click here to read “Experts Doubt the Resurrection of Christ” to see an example)?

By steering clear of any testimony that differs from the accounts of the judiciously selected individuals compiled by the hypothetical journalist, you’ve got an article that’s legitimately accurate (facts) and informative (limited perspective). But because the perspective of the article is limited, while there’s nothing directly stated, there is nevertheless an implication that says Christ is dead and unless the reader is inspired to seek out a more comprehensive perspective, assuming he’s even aware that one is available, he’s waking around sporting a very cynical outlook on the first Easter morning.

Information. Limited perspective.

Finally, the last category of “data” is…

Truth

Truth is an accurate statement that’s been elaborated on in the context of a full perspective. This is the well you want to be drawing your conclusions from. Here is where the right questions are being asked and full disclosure is the norm. In the absence of “truth,” you risk formulating convictions that are fundamentally flawed. This is why you want to ensure that you’re aggressively and intentionally seeking out the “truth,” and not just the “facts.” You don’t even want to be content with “additional information.”

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The Treaty of Tripoli

If you’re familiar with the words of the “Marines Hymn,” then you’re familiar with the phrase, “…the shores of Tripoli.” That phrase refers to the “War with the Barbary Pirates” where Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon lead an exceptionally daring assault as part of the Battle of Dema. Prior to that war President John Adams issued a statement in an effort to assure the radical Muslims that comprised the Barbary Pirates that our country should not be perceived by them as a religious target in that we were not a Christian theocracy. He said:

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries (Treaty of Tripoli).

Most of those who try to take Adams words to mean that he was declaring that the United States was not based on Christian principles are required to leave out some context that is both obvious and crucial. But that is nevertheless the methodology that is often used by the person who has something to hide more so than they have something to say.

Thomas Essel, despite being among those who seemingly do not see God as central to our nation’s founding, wrote a great piece in 2016 entitled, “Secularists, Please Stop Quoting the Treaty of Tripoli” that elaborates on how citing that statement is irresponsible both academically and practically.

Consider this quote from John Adams:

“This would be the best of all worlds if there were no religion in it!”

On the surface, you have, what appears to be, a very valid piece of evidence that says our nation’s second President and a founding father was an atheist. Or, at least, a very cynical individual when it came to religion.

John Adams did say it. It’s part of a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson. When you consider the statement in its proper context, you arrive at a much different conclusion:

“Twenty times in the course of my late readings, I have been on the point of breaking out, ‘This would be the best of all worlds if there were no religion in it!’ But in this exclamation I should have been as fanatical as [Adams’ former pastor Lemuel] Bryant or [his former teacher Joseph] Cleverly. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company — I mean hell.”

In other words, Adams is exasperated when he ponders the way in which organized religion has resulted in so much tension. He says, tongue in cheek, that the world would be better without any “religion” in it. But then he’s very quick to say that the world would be, literally, hell on earth.

Hardly the musings of a man who views religion with a contemptuous sneer. Yet, this is the way in which atheists and progressives sometimes frame their “facts” and “information” when it comes to the religious disposition of America’s founding fathers (see also “The Treaty of Tripoli” on sidebar).

Richard Dawkins categorizes John Adams as a cynical deist, to the point of him being used by Dawkins as evidence of a collective disdain for religion shared by virtually all the founding fathers. He quotes Adams as saying:

As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?”¹

But he fails to reference another statement made by Adams:

The Christian religion is, above all the Religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern Times, the Religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity, and humanity, let the Blackguard [Thomas] Paine say what he will; it is Resignation to God, it is Goodness itself to Man.²

Facts. Information. Truth.

You want to know the truth, you want to be aware of the facts, but more than anything else, you want to understand the truth.

A Toddler and a 285 lb Bench Press

As a quick aside, don’t allow yourself to think that being obedient to God’s commands is a laborious drudgery. It’s not.

When you’ve got the Holy Spirit living in and through you, you’re not flying solo when you’re confronted with a temptation to make compromises (1 Cor 10:13). When the lights aren’t on (aka, the Holy Spirit is not living in you), you’re approaching temptation the same way a toddler approaches a 285 pound bench press. It’s not going to end well.

But when it’s God’s Strength and His Truth that is allowed to animate your actions and your outlook, you now have more than you need to successfully negotiate the challenge that lies before you. Bear in mind, it’s a choice. You can run the red light and plow head on into traffic if you want and God grants you the freedom to make those decisions (Josh 24:2, 15; Rom 8:12-13). As someone who doesn’t have a relationship with Christ, you don’t have the Spirit of God living in you (Rom 8:9), you’re on your own and you’re that overwhelmed toddler. But when it’s God’s Spirit being deployed in the context of those situations, it’s one victory after another.

The Book of Proverbs

Scripture admonishes us to do as much. Proverbs 4:7 says:

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (Prove 4:7)

And wisdom begins with a reverence for God. That’s the top button.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10)

Understand that wisdom, from a biblical standpoint, is more than just knowledge. It’s the “ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.”³ While this “ability” is based in part on one’s discipline in the context of academic pursuits, it derives it’s true accuracy and application from an intentional pursuit of God’s Power and Perspective. In short, it’s a Divine Perspective properly applied (1 Cor 2:16; Col 1:29; Jas 1:5-8.

Here, then, is where you see the real distinction between having access to the directions and actually following the directions – the difference between Facts, Information and Truth. Anytime you buy something that requires some assembly, you can gloss over the instructions, believing that your intuition can more than make up for a careful study of the manufacturer’s counsel. More often than not, however, those instructions prove invaluable in being able to put your new resource together correctly. And however prudent it may be to follow the instructions in the assembly of your nephew’s new swing set, it’s absolutely crucial that you follow God’s Instructions when it comes to the whole of life (Jn 14:21; Rom 8:11).

And when you’re listening to people like Richard Dawkins, or people who think like him, use the same technique. Recognize the difference between Facts, Information and Truth. Don’t let a carefully crafted platform based on an intentionally watered down perspective replace the full perspective and the truly accurate convictions that flow from that approach.

1. “The God Delusion”, Richard Dawkins, Bantam Press, Great Britain, 2006, p65
2. John Adams, The Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L.H. Butterfield (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1962), 3:233-34
3. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986, Nashville, TN