Terrorism! Radical Muslims! The gay agenda!
Barack Obama! Hillary Clinton! Justin Bieber!
Fear! Fear! Fear!
Panic! Panic! Panic!
Crisis! Crisis! Crisis!
If one thing is plain about the “conservative Christian” portion of America’s electorate, it is that fear is the primary motivator determining how its members spend their energy, resources, and votes. What Scripture refers to as “the fear of man” seems to have completely overtaken a biblically sound “fear of the Lord” as the basis upon which “conservative Christians” conduct business and politics in America.
How many times as Christians do we loudly “amen!” or smile or nod warmly in agreement when we hear or see cited any of the mountain of explicit biblical proclamations regarding the “fear of the Lord” as where all true hope and beauty begins? How many times do we similarly express agreement with the many explicit biblical warnings against the “fear of man”?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1:7)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:19; Psalm 111:10)
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
While we may be amen-ing, nodding, smiling and such at the sight or mention of these clear and beautiful biblical principles, the sad fact is that the vast majority of amen-ing, nodding, and smiling professing conservative Christians in America seem to openly repudiated the very same principles in political practice at nearly every turn. By surrendering to fear of terrorism, Barack Obama, the gay agenda, or the Evil Democrats as the basis upon which they conduct themselves politically, professing conservative Christians in America have not only modeled an anti-Christian approach to politics for the rest of the American culture to follow, they have also ended up sacrificing and obliterating every “conservative principle” they somehow imagine to be salvageable apart from explicit subjugation to Christ. (See: How’s that Pagan “conservatism” workin’ out for ya, Christian?)
This is why professing conservative Christians – not Democrats – are most responsible for the steady advance of rank Socialism and its attendant cultural rot in America. (See: Judgment begins with the Church…not the Democrats.)
This is how you end up with an American “conservatism” that is all about defending and often expanding clearly Socialist/Marxist constructs like Socialist Security, Medicare, and public schools (which is a concept lifted directly from The Communist Manifesto).
This is how you end up with American “conservative Christians” who dare not stand clearly in opposition to each and every one of these openly Socialist systems of ever-growing State-empowerment over an increasingly State-dependent population.
It’s all about fear.
Fear that biblical approaches to these things just “can’t be done”.
Fear that biblical truths regarding the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of the God-ordained institutions of Family, Church, and State just “can’t be applied” here and now in “the real world”.
Fear that we just can’t let another Democrat in the White House, so we have to support…Donald Trump? Mitt Romney? [insert openly Pagan GOP Statist here]?
Fear, fear, fear…
We’re all about fear in America.
And pride, of course.
[insert “U! S! A!” chant here]
The fear of man that we’ve been conditioned to embrace through State-run “education” and corporate-controlled pop-culture naturally leads us away from “the fear of the Lord” that would actually protect us from the very villains we cower before now and use to justify our rejection of the God who calls us to life- and culture-saving obedience.
article continues below:
Dr. Joel McDurmon of The American Vision touched on the fear-driven/controlled American culture in two recent articles. In Americans’ greatest fear (and greatest failure), McDurmon highlights a beautifully convicting quote from Reformed scholar and minister J. Gresham Machen on the subject of voting one’s biblically grounded Christian conscience in spite of the “fear of man” pitched so relentlessly by the world around us:
“A great many men feel that there is no use in voting against a thing unless you can defeat it. I do not feel that way. I think it is a very important thing to vote exactly in accordance with your conscience, quite irrespective of the immediate success of your vote in your dealing with that measure.”
McDurmon then goes on to connect some important dots:
. . . People know what the problem is, and they know in general what to oppose on principle. When asked in private, they can tell you they oppose it on principle. But when the great machine is running and it looks like standing on principle may be in the minority or unpopular, they fold. They vote for the corrupt government time and again, cajoled by arguments based on unprincipled fears, short-term fears, compromised fears, corrupt fears. They are cajoled by all the things they say they fear the most. They hate socialism with a passion, but they vote for the socialists in both parties and protect socialism in their schools, police forces, health care, retirement, jobs, roads, bridges, agriculture, military, etc.—virtually every place it really matters.
And there we have it.
America is a culture led by its own professing Christians in fear of man and contempt for the Lord.
May God grace His people in America with broken, humble repentance and restoration, so that they might stand, proclaim, and apply His Word as the only life- and culture-saving standard by which we can be saved…while there is yet time…
The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
~ Proverbs 29:25
If you know of anyone who might appreciate this post, please share it. If you’d like to see articles like this continue, please click here to help.
Please also “like” us on Facebook, “+” us on Google+, follow us on Twitter and feel free to sign up for new articles by email using the buttons in the upper right corner of the FBC home page.
Check out The Fire Breathing Christian Podcast too, and see the latest books at R3VOLUTION PRESS, the latest designs at Fire Breathing Tees and the latest memes at the Fire Breathing Memes page.
Finally, here are a few good intro/reminder links for those of you who are new to Fire Breathing Christian and curious about exactly what’s goin’ on ’round here:
What are you, some kind of [insert label here] or something?!
What’s with that shark-fishie graphic thing?
Intro to Fire: The Power and Purpose of the Common Believer
When the Bible gets hairy. (Or: Is it right for men to have long hair?)
And especially this one: Never forget that apart from God’s grace you and I are complete morons.
Thank you for your support!
The problem with "Conservatism"is that it has replaced the doctrine of Christ with the doctrines of the "Merchants" in which revelations 18:23 talks about "for it was the merchants who were the great men of the earth and by THEIR sorcery, mislead all nations" Conservatives like to cherry pick things they wish to incorporate from the bible, while ignoring other just as important commands. Example, Do you ever hear the Conservatives condemn usury (the taking of interest) which is considered an abomination. Or why don't the Conservatives focus on Loving your enemy? Instead they seem fearful of every perceived threat, which can "kill the body" Neither do I hear them talk about the root of oppression, which is clearly stated "isn't it the rich who oppress?" I am an independent christian, far from a liberal, but def not a conservative either, which has become like a cult, blending itself with the wold/riches/prosperity, becoming an idol in the heart of believers.
I would be interested to know what kind of churches these Christians you refer to are attending. I am 57 and surrendered my life to Christ when I was 19. I am NOT fearful nor do I personally know any Christian who is fearful. I live in the South. We are mad on the one hand, but also fascinated as we watch the world become just what the Bible teaches it would become. However, we are still fighting the good fight praying, voting our consciences & writing, often, to our elected representatives and helping each other stay informed about the radical & exponential transformation of almost every area of the globe. Iron sharpens iron so if you are aware of a great number of Christians who are fearful I suggest getting a number of mature believers to come alongside them to help them learn how to take up the sword & shield (spiritually speaking). Christians in America have experienced an extended hiatus from persecution but it was inevitable that it would end at some point because the hiatus was the historical exception, not the rule. Our Lord told us we would share in His suffering for His Name's sake, but by His grace we will ultimately be rewarded by being in His presence for all of eternity after our work on earth is complete.
Press on, Val
What do you mean by “socialism”, exactly?
Socialism generally means “putting the means of production into worker control”. It has nothing to do with states or governments. Real, honest socialism has only been implemented a few times and those times the friggin USSR and the Nazis both attacked them.
Wait a minute, isn’t the USSR SUPPOSED to be socialist? Why would they attack a place where socialism was implemented successfully?
I would like you to take a look at Catalonia during the Spanish Revolution and the Free Territories in the Ukraine in 1919 for examples of actual, real socialism in practice.
You’ll see something much different from places like China, Cuba, the USSR, and even places like Scandinavia, Canada, and other places normally called “socialist”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQPJhIXEfjA
Isn’t this a world you’d also want to live in?