AMERICA'S CONSTITUTION HAS NO PLACE FOR ANARCHISTS

"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.