"We have no government armed with power capable
of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . .
. Our Constitution was made only for a
moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate
to the government of any other." – John Adams
Those words of John Adams, one of America's most
prominent founding fathers, were spoken in 1798 just a few years after the
implementation of the nation's founding documents.
Although America opened its arms to all kinds of
people of different races and nationalities there was one kind of people that were not welcome in America--those "with human passions unbridled by
morality and religion." This sort of person is known today as an
anarchist, which is someone who rejects every law and form of government, whether
of God or man.
I think I first became aware of the word “anarchist” about
25 years ago when I went with a street ministry to downtown Manhattan and preached
to a sizeable crowd made up of the homeless, street people and a few regular
folks. The leader of this ministry mentioned that one of the problems they faced
with street ministry in downtown NYC was the presence of “anarchists” who would
often seek to disrupt their meetings.
From their description, it was obvious that the “anarchists”
were disruptive troublemakers who recognized no law but their own. Since that time,
I have become more aware of the word as “anarchists,” such as Antifa, have been
reported in the news as the cause of much societal chaos and the destruction of
public property.
The word “anarchist” comes from the Greek word archon meaning “ruler” and the prefix a meaning “without” so “without a ruler.” It first appeared in the 1600s when it was used to describe societal chaos because of the absence of any government. Today, it is used of those who reject any form of spiritual, moral or civil government.
The anarchists seem to live out of their emotions and feelings expressed in anger and rage. You have probably seen them yelling and screaming obscenities in the face of police officers, and even spitting on them, who are expected to stand still and take it all in stride. I have yet to hear one of them present a rational argument for their cause.
Concerning the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis and
other parts of the country, I don’t doubt that there are some people who want
to peacefully protest the deportation of illegals, and they have a Constitutional
right to do so. They do not, however, have the right to throw bricks, rocks and
other missiles at federal officers, set fires and seek to ram them with their
vehicles.
It is obvious that any peaceful protests have been
hijacked by the anarchists who want to kindle societal chaos and turmoil. Seizing
on the unfortunate death of one of the protestors, Renee Good, they are seeking
to use it as a rallying cry to stir up anger and rage that will lead to anarchy
in the streets.
Jesus Himself spoke of anarchists and warned of their
fate. Although he did not use the word “anarchist,” He did use a word, anomian,
which carries the very same meaning. The word comes from the Greek word nomon
meaning “law” and the prefix a meaning “without,” so “without law” or “lawlessness.”
In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus warned,
Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart
from Me you who practice lawlessness.”
There is a legitimate time and manner to protest
against moral injustice and unbiblical laws, first of all by formulating a rational and moral argument for your case. There is, however, no basis in either the Bible or the U.S. Constitution for anarchy.
To learn more on this topic and understand the difference in anarchy and opposition to moral injustice, check out Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, To Comply or Not Comply, which was written during the Covid shutdown when churches were being ordered to close while liquor stores were designated as "essential" and allowed to remain open. It is available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.
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