The Michigan Plot

At this point in time a lot of the details are still unknown. Was the plot to storm the capitol building and kidnap the governor the plan of one militia group or multiple groups?

Was it a viable plot or one floated by provocateurs meant to entrap overly zealous fools – in which case the threat was never real?  

We don't know but it's interesting to hear the responses. Others (with reason) see this as connected to Trump's messaging over the past five years.

The militia men view themselves as patriots but those in government decry them as traitors. Who is right?

A Michigan official condemned their plot and insisted that political differences must be solved with words and not with violence? Is that so?

Few seem able to think through the implications of the American founding. If the 1776 Rebellion had failed its leaders would have been denounced as 'rebel scum' and they would have gone down in history as seditious plotters and violent men. The Sons of Liberty would be remembered as terrorists – and rightly so I might add. They fomented a war in which tens of thousands died.

But they won and so instead 1776 is transformed into a heroic Revolution and its leaders become patriots and men of renown.

And yet due to that narrative the nation is founded on the premise of violent resistance to government. That is its founding or foundational narrative and as such it's hard to argue that subsequent groups exhibiting a tendency toward violent political resistance are somehow automatically traitors to the heritage.

If the Michigan militia had started a nationwide revolution and won the day – one hundred years from now, would they be viewed as traitors or patriots?

Aside from the particularities of the specific case in Michigan we can only condemn them (in principle) by also condemning the actions of those who rose up in 1776 – and as New Testament Christians we must do so. Their actions were sinful, wicked and murderous as are the intentions of the men in Michigan.

And yet we submit to Providence. Their wicked actions resulted in one Babel being cast down and another built. These are men who live by the sword and will surely die by it. It matters little to us as we are called to live as foreigners in all lands – strangers and pilgrims. We neither support their wars nor actively oppose them. We'll submit to who is in charge but we don't endorse them or their deeds. And if they hate us and kill us for it – so be it.

For us the salient issue with regard to Michigan is this – are Christians caught up in this evil? Those that are stand condemned and must be disciplined – cast out of the Church if they refuse to repent.

The men in Michigan are wicked fools. Whether they are patriots or traitors matters little. All such men whether they, Whitmer, Washington, and the rest are all enemies and traitors to the Kingdom of Christ. Those who take up the sword will die by it either in this age or the age to come.