Patriotism on July 4, 2006: Should We Be Angry?

Congressman Ron Paul is one of the only clear voices left in government today. His latest speech really needs to be read and digested, particularly by evangelicalism and fundamentalism which usually bows to the Republican god no matter what they do.

In actual fact, for instance, the Republicans could have passed HR 25 years ago: The Fair Tax. They have not. The "pit-bull" of Congress, (The Infernal Revenue Service), performs too important a task for Congress to simply end its existence. HR 25 would do that. Where is the Church when there is a time for anger?

You may read his entire latest speech at: http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr062906.htm

Let's remember what true Patriotism is this weekend. The price paid to obtain our freedoms came at to high a cost not to really take the time to think about this issue. God forgive us for being so negligent and so easily satisfied with the rhetoric of George Bush and his like.

American coroporate godless imperialism around the globe must end! (Editor)

"...When the people object to a new adventure, the propaganda machine goes into action to make sure critics are seen as unpatriotic Americans or even traitors.

The military-industrial complex we were warned about has been transformed into a military-media-industrial-government complex that is capable of silencing the dissenters and cheerleading for war. It’s only after years of failure that people are able to overcome the propaganda for war and pressure their representatives in Congress to stop the needless killing. Many times the economic costs of war stir people to demand an end. This time around the war might be brought to a halt by our actual inability to pay the bills due to a dollar crisis. A dollar crisis will make borrowing 2.5 billion dollars per day from foreign powers like China and Japan virtually impossible, at least at affordable interest rates.

That’s when we will be forced to reassess the spending spree, both at home and abroad.

The solution to this mess is not complicated; but the changes needed are nearly impossible for political reasons. Sound free market economics, sound money, and a sensible foreign policy would all result from strict adherence to the Constitution. If the people desired it, and Congress was filled with responsible members, a smooth although challenging transition could be achieved. Since this is unlikely, we can only hope that the rule of law and the goal of liberty can be reestablished without chaos.

We must move quickly toward a more traditional American foreign policy of peace, friendship, and trade with all nations; entangling alliances with none. We must reject the notion that we can or should make the world safe for democracy. We must forget about being the world’s policeman. We should disengage from the unworkable and unforgiving task of nation building. We must reject the notion that our military should be used to protect natural resources, private investments, or serve the interest of any foreign government or the United Nations. Our military should be designed for one purpose: defending our national security. It’s time to come home now, before financial conditions or military weakness dictates it.

The major obstacle to a sensible foreign policy is the fiction about what patriotism means. Today patriotism has come to mean blind support for the government and its policies. In earlier times patriotism meant having the willingness and courage to challenge government policies regardless of popular perceptions.

Today we constantly hear innuendos and direct insults aimed at those who dare to challenge current foreign policy, no matter how flawed that policy may be. I would suggest it takes more courage to admit the truth, to admit mistakes, than to attack others as unpatriotic for disagreeing with the war in Iraq.

Remember, the original American patriots challenged the abuses of King George, and wrote and carried out the Declaration of Independence.

Yes Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of anger in this country. Much of it is justified; some of it is totally unnecessary and misdirected. The only thing that can lessen this anger is an informed public, a better understanding of economic principles, a rejection of foreign intervention, and a strict adherence to the constitutional rule of law. This will be difficult to achieve, but it’s not impossible and well worth the effort." (Congressman Ron Paul, Before the U.S. House of Representatives, June 29, 2006, Why Are Americans So Angry?)

The Road to Slavery

Christopher J. Ortiz May/June 2006 “The drive for power knows no limits; its rationale is to be as god, and hence it is itself law in its every wish. Total warfare, in and out of war, and total conspiracy have as their goal total control. This means the control of men through their minds, which is achieved by controlling news media, schools, and churches, and also the control of men economically, in particular through the control of money.”[1] This telling citation reveals the comprehensive strategy of tyranny, or total control by the state. Man’s will to be as god (Gen. 3:5) is fulfilled by statist rule over every sphere of life. In some ways, besides education, the control of money is the central means to statist dominion. This is why we’re devoting this issue to the topic of inflation. The average American yawns at inflation because he or she does not understand its meaning nor its insidious purpose to enslave a free republic. “John Q” Citizen thinks inflation is a phenomenon that “just happens,” and politicians do what they can to fight it. This could not be further from the truth, as Rushdoony notes: [A]lthough politicians may promise a balanced budget, they are more likely to gain the power they desire by increasing debt, for in a debt-free country, the citizenry is strong and the civil government is limited. In a debt-ridden country, taxes increase, liberties decrease, and the civil government, increasingly less responsive to the will of the citizenry, increases its own power over the people even as it vastly enlarges the power of the invisible government over all. All in all, it is clear that debt is the road to slavery, and the Christian, both as a person and in his organized society, must recognize the truth of Scripture when it orders, “Owe no man anything, but to love one another.”[2] There is a clear link between the bankruptcy of the world economy and the moral bankruptcy of the world’s population. Therefore, Rushdoony writes, “we cannot restore our economic order without first of all restoring moral order.”[3] The economic immorality in the United States is seen in our public shift from production to consumption; and this is encouraged by the debt-ridden state. Debt equals slavery, and a consumption society pursues borrowing to furnish its illusion of the good life. (In actuality, it’s like remodeling the slave’s plantation quarters.) Whereas God graces us out of His abundance, modern man graces himself by borrowing. Therefore, we are unable to extend God’s abundant supply (i.e., the tithe) to the needs of society because our labors are consumed in paying off interest-bearing personal debt. This is made worse by the exorbitant taxation of the state to pay its insurmountable debt. In Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, the main character, Winston Smith, discovers the real agenda behind the tyrannical control of Big Brother and the “inner party.” It is an economic agenda. Aristocratic elites seek to preserve their way of life by suppressing the middle and lower classes through the consumption of productivity. Since the state cannot outlaw productivity without inspiring revolution, it insidiously “consumes” production by perpetual war (you can’t eat a tank, and guns don’t build hospitals), inflating the economy, and abusive taxation. And as his Animal Farm found fulfillment in the now defunct Soviet Union, Orwell’s 1984 is presently carried out by an elitist drive to world socialism. However, our motive in this issue is not to simply “expose” an economic cartel — this has adequately been done for decades, but to awaken our readers to the statist tools of dominion. We want to remind the Christian that only a return to Biblical faith can undo the works of darkness and establish the reign of our King. No “Money Trust” can be destroyed merely by exposure or by knowledge of its existence. It can be rapidly destroyed as people take seriously their faith in its every aspect and submit themselves to the sovereignty of God and His word.… For even a limited segment of evangelical Christianity to adhere to these principles would have a shattering effect on any “Money Trust.”[4] [1] R. J. Rushdoony, The Nature of the American System (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 2001), 164-165. [2] Ibid., 168-169. [3] R. J. Rushdoony, Larceny in the Heart: The Economics of Satan and the Inflationary State (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 2002), 2. [4] Rushdoony, The Nature of the American System, 172. Christopher J. Ortiz is the Editor of Faith for All of Life and the Director of Communications for the Chalcedon Foundation.

The Real Purpose of Taxes?

[A]lthough politicians may promise a balanced budget, they are more likely to gain the power they desire by increasing debt, for in a debt-free country, the citizenry is strong and the civil government is limited. In a debt-ridden country, taxes increase, liberties decrease, and the civil government, increasingly less responsive to the will of the citizenry, increases its own power over the people even as it vastly enlarges the power of the invisible government over all. All in all, it is clear that debt is the road to slavery, and the Christian, both as a person and in his organized society, must recognize the truth of Scripture when it orders, “Owe no man anything, but to love one another.”(R. J. Rushdoony, The Nature of the American System (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 2001, pp. 168-169)

Similar Words? Similar Motives?

“An evil exists that threatens every man, women and child of this great nation. We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and protect our homeland.” (Adolf Hitler, proposing the creation of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. 1934)

“With the Homeland Security Act, we're doing everything we can to protect America. We're showing the resolve of this great nation to defend our freedom, our security and our way of life.” (George Bush at the signing of the Homeland Security Act, 2002)

Why A Biblical Worldview is Essential

"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?"

-- James Madison (Federalist No. 51, 8 February 1788)

The Real Purpose of the Constitution of the United States

"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

-- Thomas Jefferson (fair copy of the drafts of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, 1798)

The Real Lincoln II

In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln stated:

“I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawfulright to do so, and I have no inclination to do so” (Basler 1946, 580).

I guess he changed his opinion...or maybe since Lincoln's plan for black people was to deport them to Liberia or Haiti or Central America, and his belief that Blacks would never be equal to whites and were in fact "inferior" to whites, the War Between the States was not really about slavery after all.

Dean John Burgon on Westcott and Hort

"My one object has been to defeat the mischievous attempt which was made in 1881 to thrust upon this Church [the Anglican Church] and Realm [London and the whole British Commonwealth] a Revision of the Sacred Text, which--recommended though it be by eminent names--I am thoroughly convinced, and am able to prove, is untrustworthy from beginning to end." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. v].

"It is, however, the systematic depravation of the underlying Greek which does so grievously offend me: for this is nothing else but a poisoning of the River of Life at its sacred source. Our Revisers (with the best and purest intentions, no doubt,) stand convicted of having deliberately rejected the words of Inspiration in every page, and of having substituted for them fabricated Readings which the Church has long since refused to acknowledge, or else has rejected with abhorrence, and which only survive at this time in a little handful of documents of the most depraved type." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, pp. vi-vii].

"If, therefore, any do complain that I have sometimes hit my opponents rather hard, I take leave to point out that `to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun'; `a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing'; a time for speaking smoothly, and a time for speaking sharply. And that when the Words of Inspiration are seriously imperiled, as now they are, it is scarcely possible for one who is determined effectually to preserve the Deposit in its integrity, to hit either too straight or too hard." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, pp. vii-viii].

"In this department of sacred Science, men have been going on too long inventing their facts, and delivering themselves of oracular decrees, on the sole responsibility of their own inner consciousness. There is great convenience in such a method certainly,--a charming simplicity which is in a high degree attractive to flesh and blood. It dispenses with proof. It furnishes no evidence. [that is, Westcott and Hort's text and theory] It asserts when it ought to argue. It reiterates when it is called upon to explain. `I am sir Oracle.' . . . This,--which I venture to style the unscientific method,--reached its culminating point when Professors Westcott and Hort recently put forth their Recension of the Greek Text." "Their work is indeed quite a psychological curiosity. Incomprehensible to me is it how two able men of disciplined understandings can have seriously put forth the volume which they call `INTRODUCTION--APPENDIX.' It is the very Reductio ad absurdum of the uncritical method of the last fifty years. And it is especially in opposition to this new method of theirs that I so strenuously insist that the consentient voice of Catholic Antiquity is to be diligently inquired after and submissively listened to; for that this, in the end, will prove our only safe guide." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, pp. xxv-xxvi].

"But instead of all this, a Revision of the English Authorized Version having been sanctioned by the Convocation of the Southern Province in 1871, the opportunity was eagerly snatched at by two irresponsible scholars of the University of Cambridge [He is talking about Westcott and Hort] for obtaining the general sanction of the Revising body, and thus indirectly of Convocation, for a private venture of their own,--their own privately devised Revision of the Greek Text. On that Greek Text of theirs, (which I hold to be the most depraved which has ever appeared in print), with some slight modifications, our Authorized English Version has been silently revised: silently, I say, for in the margin of the English no record is preserved of the underlying Textual changes which have been introduced by the Revisionists." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, pp. xxx].

Between the first two (B and Aleph) there subsists an amount of sinister resemblance, which proves that they must have been derived at no very remote period from the same corrupt original. . . . It is in fact easier to find two consecutive verses in which these two MSS differ the one from the other, than two consecutive verses in which they entirely agree." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 12]

"Next to "D," the most untrustworthy codex is Aleph, which bears on its front a memorable note of the evil repute under which it has always laboured:--viz. it is found that at least ten revisers between the IVth and the XIIth centuries busied themselves with the task of correcting its many and extraordinary perversions of the truth of Scripture." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 13].

"We venture to assure him, without a particle of hesitation, that "Aleph," "B," "D" are three of the most scandalously corrupt copies extant:--exhibit the most shamefully mutilated texts which are anywhere to be met with:--have become, by whatever process (for their history is wholly unknown), the depositories of the largest amount of fabricated readings ancient blunders, and intentional perversions of Truth,--which are discoverable in any known copies of the Word of God." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 16].

"It has been the ruin of the present undertaking--as far as the Sacred Text is concerned--that the majority of the Revisionist body have been misled throughout by the oracular decrees and impetuous advocacy of Drs. Westcott and Hort, who, with the purest intentions and most laudable industry, have constructed a Text demonstrably more remote from the Evangelic verity than any which has ever yet seen the light." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 110]

"What are found in the margin are therefore `alternative readings'--in the opinion of these self-constituted representatives of the Church and of the Sects. It becomes evident that by this ill-advised proceeding, our Revisionists would convert every Englishman's copy of the New Testament into a one-sided Introduction to the Critical difficulties of the Greek Text; a labyrinth, out of which they have not been at the pains to supply him with a single hint as to how he may find his way. . . . What else must be the result of all this but general uncertainty, confusion, distress? A hazy mistrust of all Scripture has been insinuated into the hearts and minds of countless millions, who in this way have been forced to become doubters,--yea, doubters in the Truth of Revelation itself." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, pp. 236-237]

"We deem this laborious method the only true method, in our present state of imperfect knowledge: the method, namely, of adopting that Reading which has the fullest, the widest, and the most varied attestation. Antiquity and Respectability of Witnesses, are thus secured. How men can persuade themselves that 19 Copies out of every 20 may be safely disregarded, if they be but written in minuscule characters,--we fail to understand. To ourselves it seems simply an irrational proceeding. . . . As for building up a Text, (as Drs. Westcott and Hort have done) with special superstitious deference to a single codex,--we deem it about as reasonable as would be the attempt to build up a pyramid from its apex; in the expectation that it would stand firm on its extremity, and remain horizontal for ever." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 342]

"Phantoms of the imagination [That's where they begin.] henceforth usurp the place of substantial forms. Interminable doubt,--wretched misbelief,--childish credulity,--judicial blindness,--are the inevitable sequel and penalty. The mind that has long allowed itself in a systematic trifling with Evidence, is observed to fall the easiest prey to Imposture. It has doubted what is demonstrably true: has rejected what is indubitably Divine. Henceforth, it is observed to mistake its own fantastic creations for historical facts; to believe things which rest on insufficient evidence, or on no evidence at all." [Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. 350]

Eramus on the Greek Text

"These holy pages will summon up the living image of His mind. They will give you Christ Himself, talking, healing, dying, rising, the whole Christ in a word; they will give Him to you in an intimacy so close that He would be less visible to you if He stood before your eyes." (An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament; Robertson; p. 54)

F.H.A Scrivener on Hort: Textual Criticism

"Dr. Hort's System is entirely destitute of historical foundation….We are compelled to repeat as emphatically as ever our strong conviction that the hypothesis to whose proof he has devoted so many laborious years, is destitute not only of historical foundation, but of all probability…" (Dr. F. H. A. Scrivener's Plain Introduction, 1883, pp. 537, 542).

"There is little hope for the stability of their [that is, Westcott & Hort's] imposing structure, if its foundations have been laid on the sandy ground of ingenious conjecture. And, since barely the smallest vestige of historical evidence has ever been alleged in support of the views of these accomplished editors, their teaching must either be received as intuitively true, or dismissed from our consideration as precarious and even visionary." [Dr. F. H. A. Scrivener's Plain Introduction, 1883, p. 531, quoted by Dean John W. Burgon, Revision Revised, p. iv].

The Real Abraham Lincoln

In the September 18, 1858, debate with Senator Stephen Douglas, he stated:

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races—thatI am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. (Basler 1953,145–46)

This quote is from an article available at:

http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_03_2_dilorenzo.pdf

The New Facism: Economics in Action

For a really good assessment of the condition of the American system, go to this link. Tom DeLorenzo is worth the read.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo85.html

Why Is Money Important? RE: Debt and the American Monetary System

"Debt and inflation are almost synonymous. All inflation is a form of dishonest debt. Basically, inflation is an expansion of the money supply by the state. This expansion is essentially through the following means: First, the coinage is debased, and/or the paper money is increased and is without backing by gold or silver, or has fractional backing. Second, deficit financing uses funds exceeding the income of the state to increase the spending power of the state. Third, bond issues, or debts, likewise increase the money supply.

However, before a state or civil government can embark on an inflationary policy, i.e., on a way of life to which debt is basic, a population addicted to debt is necessary. If there is no excessive nor long-term debt, there is no inflation.

The Bible forbids long-term debt and limits debts to six years, and for serious reasons only. The seventh year must be a Sabbath unto the Lord, from debt, among other things (Dt. 15:1-6). As a general rule, we are to “Owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Rom. 13:8). God declares that debt is a form of slavery, and “the borrower is servant (literally, slave) to the lender” (Pr. 22:7).

In the modern world, however, debt is a way of life, for not only unbelievers but churchmen, and for churches and Christian organizations. Debt as a way of life has deep roots in sin, in pride, envy, “and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5; c.f. Eph 5:5; 1 Tim. 6:17). It is not only absurd but immoral for a debt-ridden people to complain about inflation and the federal debt. It is like hearing one devil complain about another devil’s love of sin.

Because debt is so deeply rooted in sin and idolatry, debt and its consequence, inflation, are especially morally and religiously destructive. An inflationary society is an immoral and degenerate society, and it will see, as its natural concomitant, every other kind of depravity flourish. No more than we can restrict a raging forest fire to bad trees, or to certain areas, can we restrict the scope of inflation and limit its influence to economics. Inflation affects more than economics, because debt has its roots in far more than economics.

Inflation and debt also affect the nature of power in a society. First, in an inflationary economy, it is not the thrifty, hardworking man who flourishes, but the debtor (at least, for the time). The moral foundations of society have been shifted to favor the worst element. In every area, as inflation is stepped up, the scum tends to rise to the top. The sympathies of society favor this degenerate element. Second, production gives way to consumption as the primary concern of the people. Third, there is thus a power shift in society, from godly men to ungodly men, from the thrifty to the thriftless. Spending becomes a personal and a political virtue. Fourth, the power to make or break the social order passes into the hands of debtors. General Lewis W. Walt (USMC, Ret.) has called attention to this most tellingly. When theU. S. Establishment (banks, civil government, etc.) has extended massive loans to states, firms, and organizations at home and abroad whose ability to repay is limited, then in time these borrowers control the Establishment and the United States. They can threaten to default on their loans and create economic disaster for the U.S. The response, then, is to give them even more! Thus, in the 1940s, Aramco sold oil to the Japanese at a lower rate than to the U.S. Navy, and American bankers supported the Panama Canal giveaway, hoping that its revenues might help Panama to repay them.

The conclusion of all this is the destruction of the social order. Even those who see the immorality of long-term debt finally join the crowd, to exploit the opportunity, and destruction becomes their common lot.

It becomes apparent why Scripture takes so strong a position on debt: it is a moral and a religious issue. First, we have seen, debt is basic to inflation, and it is responsible, in all the moral compromise debt involves, for the immorality which marks an inflationary era. Second, we are forbidden as Christians to become slaves, and debt is slavery. “Ye are bought with a price: be not ye the servants (or, slaves) of men” (1 Cor. 7:23). Third, not only are we God’s possession and property, and hence cannot become slaves of men, but our time belongs to Him: we cannot mortgage our future to men by means of debt.

To live debt-free, except for emergency conditions, or a short-term (six-year) debt to pay for our house, farm, or business, means to live providently. It means weighing the moral considerations in every expenditure. It means also to live content with what we have; living in contentment is impossible if the goal of our living is consumption, things we want to possess, rather than in terms of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

Those of us who can recall the era prior to World War II can remember that debt was then very limited among most people, although business debts had begun much earlier to expand. Pietism had limited morality to the personal spheres and hence moral men were readily immoral in the political and economic spheres. In the 1920s and 1930s young married couples did not go into debt readily, and their homes were largely unfurnished as a matter of course. The idea of having everything at once was clearly not in favor.

[T]he roots of our present crisis were present then (early 20th century). The churches had no concern with preaching or teaching the laws of Scripture relative to politics, economics, education, and much else. As a result, the churches helped rear a generation which is now actively destroying all the foundations of Christian civilization.” (R.J. Rushdoony, Larceny in the Heart: The Economics of Satan and the Inflationary State (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2002, pp. 75-78.)

The issue of professing Christ and then failing to arrange our personal lives (which arranges society) according to the express mind of God, and worse yet, in contradiction to the express mind of God has long bothered me.

It seems even in fundamentalist circles these days, the Old Testament revealing of the mind and will of God is treated with a kind of editorialized distancing: it's not applicable to us because we are not "under the law" anymore.

The real upshot of this opinion, of course, is that we are free to do as we please, as long as we hand out tracts, tithe and go to church. Such a gross charicature of the plan of redemption is truly reprehensible.

Yes, I believe that the Scriptures give us "all things that pertain to life and godliness." This means that God has definite opinions about the way we conduct our affairs and arrange our personal lives which in actuality is what results in "social order." ("Society" is after all, all of us.)

I believe, for instance, that all of man's laws must be measured against Biblical statement or principle. This is the only way of which I am aware of judging whether a law is a good law or a bad law---i.e. is it lawful?

One good example of this schizophrenia rampant among believers these days is a conversation I had with a church deacon one morning. (His gainful employent is the insurance industry.)

We were discussing the appalling condition of the judicial system and more specifically the condition of the people who are in power these days. The deacon's response was:

"Well, Dave, this is the devil's world---there isn't a thing you can do about it."

I was somewhat shocked by his words and wondered if that verse---the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof---had been edited from my Bible without my knowledge.

It occurred to me that if his assertion were true, then he made his living, (and quite a good one at that), selling insurance to people to insure the "devil's world." I wanted to ask, but didn't, "Pray tell---who do you REALLY work for?"

The insurance industry, particularly the automobile insurance industry, is a fraud in my opinion. Not to speak of the fact that the insurance industry has co-opted law enforcement to become their insurance adjustors by issuing "tickets" which result in an increase in insurance premiums.

Later, in speaking with a church member (youth group leader) and a police officer (who at one time regularly trolled the beaches in our city wearing spandex shorts so as to lure homosexual advances from others on the beach and arrest them for solicitation---oh, boy!) regarding this same issue stated, "You must obey the law!" with regard to speed limits. (Funny, our present law we must obey but God's law somehow is not applicable...)

I inquired where in the Scripture did it say that it was wrong to drive 65 mph rather than 55 mph. He had no answer, of course. I suggested that the answer to this issue might be resolved in appropriating the Biblical approach----operation of a vehicle is yours to do and no penalty will be assessed unless you damage someone while you operate that vehicle---to the tune of 4 times the damages. In the case of causing someone's death while operating an automobile---well...

If we did this, can you imagine the reduction in the number of accidents? If that kind of penalty were in place can you imagine the care people would take while they drive? (out of pure self interest if nothing else.) Let alone the reduction of the cost of government and the elimination of an industry that proportedly insures people against accidents but actually wants accidents to occur so that premiums rise----job and industry security. (You are aware that the speed limit imposed in all the states is actually a federal law imposed by the state so that the state may obtain funds for highway maintenance? Quid pro Quo)

The monetary issue is just such an issue as well. Proverbs 11: 1 seems to be relegated to antiquity. I am suggesting that the monetary system we have allowed to be created in the last 60 years is an affront to God, a clear violation of his express will, and a core issue which must be addressed because of its rammifications. (The quote from Thomas Jefferson below is hereby inserted as if quoted in full.) This system is a clear violation of the will and mind of God as well as our American Constitution.

The fiat monetary system is the means of maintaining slavery and keeping the money masters in power. The "hampster wheel" doctrine is in full force. "Keep 'em busy paying their bills and taxes, fellas...then we can do as we please with no accountability and no interference. As for the rest---we'll just buy 'em." (And they have!)

I had once suggested to a group of church members who desired to do something about the spiritual condition of our country that one of the most spiritual things they could do would be to committ to spending the next two years using their resources to put an end to the income tax through the passing of HR 25, a bill currently before Congress. (Thought not the ideal and complete answer to the monetary problem, passage of this bill would free up people's time to then become educated on the bigger issue and do something about it.)

Result: Blank stares. How could taxes affect the spiritual condition of people? (Where do I begin?)

Rushdoony was right: We have fostered and raised several generations whose very lives are lived and conducted to the destruction of Christian/Western civilization. Issue after issue is unaddressed by the Church----sorry---they are addressed; by the way we conduct our affairs. It is indoctrination by example.

Why Is Money Important?: A Voice From the Past

"We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessities and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements...our people...must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give our earnings of fifteen of these to the government...have no time to think, no means of calling our mis-managers to account; but be glad to obtain maintenance by hiring ourselves out to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers...And this is the tendency of all human governments...til the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery...and the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression." (Thomas Jefferson to Sam Kercheval, Basic Writings, New York: Willey Book Co., 1944, pp. 749-50.)

Why Is Money Important?

"The drive for power knows no limits; its rationale is to be as god, and hence it is itself law in its every wish. Total warfare, in and out of war, and total conspiracy have as their goal total control. This means the control of men through their minds, which is achieved by controlling news media, schools, and churches, and also the control of men economically, in particular through the control of money." R. J. Rushdoony, The Nature of the American System (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 2001), 164-165.