This case breaks with the all too common FBI provocateur
urging on and entrapping some misguided fool. These men look to be the real
thing.
There's actually a lot of this type of Right-wing terror going
on but the media (generally speaking) is not making a great deal of noise about
it.
It's quite obvious these men (for many reasons) are not
Christians despite their identification with 'Crusade'.
And yet there are growing numbers of people like this who
profess to be Christians in some broad sense and yet have no understanding of
what it actually means.
Christian to them means white and libertarian.
The 'Sovereign Citizens' movement is also growing and its
heretical ideas are infiltrating Christian circles. These so-called citizens
believe they are the 'true' Americans
and the government is illegitimate. If they interact with Scripture they read
it through a Lockean/Enlightenment lens. They're so confused about 'rights', 'property'
and 'The Constitution' that they cannot even grasp what the New Testament
teaches. They perform what can only be called feats of hermeneutical gymnastics
when it comes to passages like Romans 13.
Good is evil and evil is good.
Their ethics are completely inverted. The powers that be are not ordained by God. Don't obey them and don't ever pay taxes. That's what Paul really meant to say.
Many of them are in addition to being Christian heretics,
little more than criminals. Consumed by selfishness and self-absorption they
have bought into the lie that any type of 'society' is effectively collectivism
and thus by their convoluted deduction... communist. They have not grasped or
even seriously contemplated even the basic premise of what is a society and
what that means.
It means compromise. It means having to learn how to get
along and live with other people. If people can't learn to think of others,
then it results in rules and restrictions. Ironically if you happen to live
near a 'Sovereign Citizen' you'll find yourself craving for more rules and
regulations. You'll find yourself wishing the state would exercise a little
sovereignty. They are a gluttonous people in every way and that's true whether
or not they are physically overweight. They are selfish and inconsiderate of
everyone else around them.
Does the state apparatus and its bureaucracy become
corrupted? Of course. If you accept what the Bible says about sin then you will
expect that. Our task is to live in the world and bear witness. Our task is to
follow the example of Christ and suffer to the glory of God. State corruption
is the norm and hardly anything to get too worked up about.
It's funny if you don't really care about your 'rights', your
firearms and your stashed gold... if you actually live as a pilgrim and
stranger then some of these things just don't matter too much.
These Sovereign Citizens knowing neither the Gospel nor the
God who offers it believe salvation is self-empowerment. In the spirit of
Nimrod they would proclaim themselves lords over all.
They are actually evil criminals and those that profess to be
Christians are (spiritually speaking) worse than the average lost pagan.
Because they have given their sin a theological veneer they are actually more
dangerous to the Church than your average drug dealer or thief.
Their ideas are infiltrating conservative Christian circles.
This is where it leads. It leads to rage and violence.
Have nothing to do with these people. If they're in your
church, it's a sign the elders have either capitulated or they're failing at
their task. I would want to keep my distance from them and those that associate
with them. I say this not just for practical concerns regarding a law
enforcement drag net. But I also say it in terms of testimony. They are evil...
I mean that quite literally... and I don't want to associate myself with these
people in any capacity, with them or what they're about. If we are to avoid the
appearance of evil, then we must stay away from them. If we are to conform to
the Apostle's words in 1 Corinthians 5, we should not associate with such.
They need to get themselves a lesser magistrate, and then what they are doing will be just! /sarcasm
ReplyDeleteNo kidding.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to this story was one of befuddled disbelief. This honestly sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie. Domestic terrorists? FBI infiltrators?
ReplyDeleteAnd yet...I'm guessing this sort of thing is more common than we might want to know. While I'm glad these guys were caught before they could carry out their plan, just how many more infiltrators and "agents provocateurs" are out there? Not just in fringe militia groups but more established organizations, like political parties, think tanks, educational institutions...
...churches...?