1 2 TOLERATING TYRANNY 3 TOLERATING TYRANNY Security Sought, Freedom Lost Mike Smith MSM Publishing 2014 4 Copyright © 2014 by Mike Smith All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright owner. This book was printed in the united States of America. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Version of the Bible. ISBN 978-0-578-14630-0 Additional copies can be purchased at: www.toleratingtyranny.com Artwork on the cover by Karen Pennison. 5 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, Psalm 33:12 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34 The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Ecclesiastes 9:17 6 7 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 PREFACE 10 CHAPTERS 1: FACING REALITY 12 Who is the True Patriot? 13 Political Correctness 18 Learn From the Bible 19 Learn From Our Predecessors 21 2: HISTORY TEACHES US TO GUARD AGAINST TYRANNY 23 BACK THEN VS TODAY Dr. David Ramsey’s Oration, 1794 24 Regulations 41 3: WHY BIGGER GOVERNMENT? 44 1) Security 47 2) Money 49 3) Ignorance 50 4) Manipulation 52 5) Laziness 54 6) Dependence 55 7) Fear 57 8) Indifference 59 THE MAIN QUESTION: 65 What are Christians to do about government that ignores the Constitution, tramples on their rights, and invades their privacy? THREE VIEWPOINTS 4: VIEWPOINT 1: Unlimited Authority 66 Is Unlimited Authority Even Reasonable? 67 Does God Require Submission To Tyrants? 72 Should We Trust Our Government? 75 Should We Trust Our Judicial System? 80 Constitutional Amendments That Crippled America 82 Guilty Until Proven Innocent 89 8 5: VIEWPOINT 2: Limited Authority in Matters of Faith 91 Going Against Conscience The Religion-Government Link 93 Is Government or Conscience Superior? 98 Duty to Submit Ends Where Tyranny Begins 107 The Natural Law of God 109 6: VIEWPOINT 3: Limited Authority in Matters of Faith and Freedom 113 Declaration of Independence Citations 115 Our Rights Come From God 116 Government is to Protect and Secure Our Rights 117 The Right to Alter or Abolish Government 119 7: ROMANS 13 121 Misunderstood & Misapplied 122 Romans 13:1 Submission to God’s Delegated Authorities 125 Romans 13:2 Punishment for Resisting Legitimate Authority 135 Romans 13:3 Good Rulers Respect Good Behavior 138 What is Good Behavior? 140 What is Bad Behavior? 143 Romans 13:4 Ministers of God for Good 144 Romans 13:5 Submit for Conscience Sake 154 Obeying Conscience 155 The Nuremburg Trials 157 An Evil King Not Resisted 160 Romans 13:6 Paying Taxes 161 Support for Devoted Servants of God 165 Romans 13:7 Render Unto Caesar... Who is Caesar? 165 8: OBJECTIONS TO RESISTING TYRANNY 170 1) Christians Should Avoid Worldly Entanglements 2) We Should Follow First Century Christians’ Example 173 3) Pastors Should Stay Out of Politics 174 Pastors, Politics, and the Black-Robed Regiment 175 4) Government Should Be Involved in Child-Rearing 180 5) Loyalty to Country Requires Submission to Government 182 9 9: OPTIONS FOR KEEPING FREEDOM 185 Meekness If Possible Refuse to Turn the Other Cheek 186 Voting the Scoundrels Out of Office 189 Constitutional Grand Juries &Trial Juries 193 Interposition Is Preferable 197 Nullification or Secession 200 10. RESISTANCE IF NECESSARY 202 Did Jesus Resist? Examples of Biblical Civil Disobedience 207 Resisting Tyranny Is Not Revolution 211 nd The 2 Amendment 215 Genocide Statistics Over the Past Century 218 Gun Control 219 A Brave, Constitutional Sheriff in Florida 221 Jesus’ Unjust Arrest 224 Men of Renown Resisted Tyranny 229 11: CONCLUSION 236 EPILOGUE 242 BIBLIOGRAPHY 244 10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the knowledge, motivation and opportunity to write this book. I thank my two great mentors, my father, Charles K. Smith Jr., and Robert B. Theime Jr. who was the pastor of Berachah Church in Houston, Texas for over fifty years. I would also like to thank those who took time out of their busy schedules to edit this book. I certainly appreciate the editing, patience and dedication of my lovely and devoted wife, Kari, and wish to extend my gratitude to other editing done by Kim Lewellen, Candice Schulz, and Margaret Kathman. My deep appreciation is extended to Dr. Jim Brettell and Pastor John Eikmann for their wise suggestions and encouragement. And I would also like to thank all those at Country Bible Church for their support, their eagerness to learn the Word of God, and their love. 11 PREFACE Everyone I know is very disturbed about what is happening to our country. They see their freedoms, privacy, and property slipping away and they don’t know what to do about it. They’re looking for answers because they have lost faith in our government. They have become exasperated with the same old pseudo- solutions and platitudes offered by politicians and the media. Many seek the opinions of family, friends, and political pundits but wind up confused, still not being sure what they should do. Some aren’t even open to discussing the issue. And while most have very strong feelings about what they believe, they have never stopped to ask themselves why they believe it. The key to finding the right answers is to first ask the right questions, like this one for example: “Are we required to submit unconditionally to every government demand, even if it is unconstitutional or immoral?” Many Christians believe the Bible would have us answer “yes” to this question, but are they right? Does the Bible require unconditional submission to government? Tolerating Tyranny addresses this issue head-on and explains the proper relationship between people and their government from both a biblical and historical perspective. This book asks questions that we all should be asking and offers hope from a viewpoint that many haven’t considered. It conveys an important message that Americans desperately need to hear. It is relevant, thought-provoking, challenging, and a sure-fire confidence- 12 builder. It provides answers for freedom-loving people who are seeking truth. It is important that we remain objective and open- minded as we delve into the Bible and history to determine how to get our country back. God is pleased when we set aside all bias and presuppositions so that we can simply, calmly and rationally discuss these crucial matters. “Come now, and let us reason together”, says the Lord… Isaiah 1:18 13 CHAPTER 1 ______________________ FACING REALITY There is no honor in tolerating tyranny; it is neither virtuous nor patriotic. Abuse of authority is dreadful wherever it is found, but it is especially distressing when it occurs in our own government. People are afraid to talk about politics, government, or religion because they consider it to be impolite to even bring up such issues as it might offend someone. It’s true that few topics are more controversial than these, but ask yourself: Is it really wise to avoid discussing matters as important as the Bible and our government at this particular time in our history? As long as we limit our conversations to superficial trivialities, adopt a politically correct vocabulary, and ignore the imminent danger of being enslaved by our government, true freedom will remain beyond our grasp. The more oppressive our government becomes, the more we, who love freedom, feel compelled to act. But what can we do? What should we do? Everyone wants to do what is right, and Christians want to do what is biblically correct, but before we turn to our Bibles and history books to find out what that is, let’s start by asking ourselves some disturbing questions we are inclined to avoid, such as: What should we do now that our government is ignoring the Constitution, invading our privacy, perverting justice 14 in the courts, demanding exorbitant taxes, promoting immorality and constructing a police state? Must we obey every corrupt and abusive government dictate without question? Does the Bible require this of Christians? WHO IS THE TRUE PATRIOT? Some people are very uncomfortable with these kinds of questions and would rather pretend things aren’t really all that bad. They feel it is their patriotic duty to staunchly defend their government under any and all circumstances no matter how corrupt or despotic it has become. They comfort themselves with patriotic slogans like, “America, the land of the free and the home of the brave”, while deep down, they know it’s no longer true. We are becoming “the land of the fee and the home of the slave. Victims who suffer at the hands of an abusive authority are usually frightened and often have a deep sense of shame about their situation. Many wives find it hard to admit that they are married to a criminally-abusive husband; children often hide the abuse they suffer from others; and citizens continue to be loyal and submis- sive to a government that oppresses and enslaves them. Surely the normal rules of submission that God set in place do not apply in such situations. One of the strongest detriments to liberty is the subjective attitude of denial. Some people will never acknowledge just how far the government has intruded into their lives or how many calculated steps it has taken to maintain its control over them. However, to even suggest that America is losing her greatness would send some people into a rage. These 15 people are in denial and probably don’t realize it, but if they did, chances are they would never admit it.