Just as shocking as the rise in Statism is the fact that so many sheeple are readily embracing it:
There is only one thing that worries me more than the reckless and inexcusable abuse of power as Big Brother statism is on the rise with this corona crisis. And that is all those clueless sheeple who fully stand by and acquiesce to everything these power-hungry states are up to.
That is what has frightened me the most. Some of these people have become so subservient to the state and whatever it does and says, that they will actually lash out at anyone who says we need to be able to question our leaders, hold them to account, and not buy everything they are up to.
A very good example of this just took place. I posted something that I was certain I could get 100 percent agreement on. It did not occur to me that anyone would beg to differ. I thought this was an obvious open misere case, and no one would demur.
Yes, hundreds ended up fully agreeing with me, but a few folks actually took real umbrage. I refer to the story I ran with yesterday about a teenager and mother fined $1600 for doing a driving lesson in the People’s Republik of Victoria: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/04/06/police-states-and-the-corona-clampdown/
Even more frightening was the fact that some of these folks claimed to be Christians. Yet they seem to be in full-blown statism mode, assuming that the government is always right, that we should ask no questions, and that we just go along like sheep with whatever they say.
That is always a recipe for disaster. The Bible nowhere tells us to put the state on a pedestal and fully live in subservience to it. Yes, the state is God’s idea, but it is always to be under God’s authority, and never to be a law unto itself. As I had to say to one such person:
Romans 13 is not about blind submission. The state is delegated authority and we obey it as it aligns itself with God and his laws. There is always a place for civil disobedience and conscientious objection. The idea that we never question the state is nowhere found in Scripture. Indeed, your unquestioning support of our leaders and naïve belief that they can do no wrong is a real worry. It was the many German “Christians” with their unbiblical slavish obedience to the state and their ‘my country right or wrong’ approach that of course paved the way for the easy rise of the Nazis. No biblical Christian can be an anarchist. But neither can one blindly be subservient to the state and refuse to call it out when it is needed. If we are not allowed to ask honest questions and hold our leaders to account, then the game is already over.
Indeed, the real worry about some of these folks is that they seem to have no clue. This is just how tyranny begins, with naïve folks having no clue about history and no concern about freedom. They think that all governments and rulers have only the best of intentions and only want our very best. Tell ‘em they are dreaming.
They are the ones recklessly welcoming in the police state with open arms. We have seen it all before. We had plenty of folks do just the same in Germany in the 1930s. They were so happy to go along with whatever their rulers told them. They questioned nothing and accepted everything.
Some years ago I wrote a piece on how so many Germans could have allowed the Nazi rise to power. I said this in part:
One thing worth mentioning is how gullible and easily deceived we are. We are so prone to believe lies, and our leaders are so prone to tell us lies. One little book has recently appeared making this case, tying it directly in to the Nazi horror. I refer to Andy Andrews’ How Do You Kill 11 Million People? (Thomas Nelson, 2011).
In it he notes how easily the Germans fell for all the lies. Hitler had said, “How fortunate for leaders that men do not think. Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” And he points out that less than 10 per cent of the population actually worked or actively were involved with Hitler. The other 90 per cent basically just sat back and allowed it all to happen. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/11/12/the-church-and-nazi-germany-revisited/
More recently Chuck Baldwin penned an article on this. He begins:
As a small boy, I heard those discussions from my parents and their friends, who were part of “The Greatest Generation.” I heard it from my friends in college. And I heard it all of my adult life in churches, coffee shops and conference rooms all over America: “How could Germany let it happen?” And, “Thank God, it could never happen in America.”
Well, it IS happening in America—and all over the world at the same time. Due to their complete collapse into a state of fear and panic, most Americans seem oblivious to the fact that we are right now—RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE—living in what could easily be the last days of freedom.
It happened in less than 30 days—and it is happening due to mass hyperbole and media manipulation. No, I’m not saying that the coronavirus is not real. Neither am I saying that people have not died from the virus. But I am saying that the fearmongering over the claim that corona has the potential to be a global pandemic akin to the Black Death is pure, unadulterated poppycock. https://www.stridentconservative.com/now-we-know-how-germany-let-it-happen/
Now am I saying that all these clueless wonders who think we should just do everything the state tells us to do are closet Nazi-supporters? No. But they certainly are clueless nonetheless. They seem to know nothing about history and they seem to care little for how precious freedom is.
The norm for most of human history is tyranny, oppression and enslavement. Democracy and freedom are the exceptions to the rule. But we now seem so ready to throw it all away. Yes we must be cautious and the state has a role to play. But real vigilance is needed here.
Another critic told me to stop being “bitchy” about these clampdowns, that all countries are doing it, and that I should just trust that God is in control. I replied:
Having legitimate and proper concerns about runaway statism is not being bitchy. It is being wise and prudent. And no, not all states around the world are doing the same. Many are far, far less restrictive yet still coping well. And of course God is in control, but that does not absolve us of being fully responsible – responsible in our own sensible health protection measures, and responsible in not allowing democracy to fade and tyranny arise.
Let me conclude with a few words from Matt Walsh:
Apologists for our newly established police state will tell me that states and localities have the authority to impose restrictions in an emergency. That is true, but the question of how far their authority actually goes is complicated, and in this case made even more complicated by the fact that these stay-at-home orders, in many cases, are based not on a current medical emergency in the respective state, but on models that forecast the possibility of an emergency in the future. For example, Minnesota is under a stay-at-home order despite having only 29 coronavirus deaths among a population of over 5 million. Perhaps the situation will get worse. Perhaps not. The point is that there is no current emergency in Minnesota or many of the other states currently under lockdown. There is, rather, a model that projects an emergency. And if projected emergencies can justify the effective nullification of the Bill of Rights, where is the limit? Haven’t we now granted the government the power to seize near-total control on the basis of any real or phantom threat?
And there are other problems. We don’t know that these lockdowns will actually have the effect of saving lives. It’s possible, as Dr. Fauci has admitted himself, that the virus could come roaring back to life whenever we emerge from our homes. It’s also possible that the illness came to America in November, December, or January, aboard any of the hundreds of thousands of travelers from China who poured into our country during that span. If that’s the case, then the viral horse has long since left the barn, and the lockdowns are obliterating our national economy and driving millions into ruin for minimal preventative gain. So we have, then, a series of indefinite stay-at-home orders based on dubious models, and dubious projections, with a dubious chance of success, and which often outlaw behavior that could not even plausibly put anyone at risk from the disease that may or may not, or maybe already has, become epidemic in the states where these laws have been enacted. Is that good enough to justify treating Americans like subjects in a communist dictatorship? …
I’m not suggesting that state governments should do nothing in response to the coronavirus. I am suggesting that they shouldn’t have the power to do whatever the hell they want, for whatever reason they want, to whatever extent they want, for however long they want, with whatever penalty they want. Which is what is happening now all across the country. Governments can and should act justly and prudently to respond to threats that endanger their citizens’ lives. But there is little in the way of justice and prudence in these measures. https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-we-have-become-a-police-state-and-none-of-us-should-be-okay-with-that
I must agree. People who care little or nothing about freedom probably don’t deserve it. That sure seems to be one clear lesson we are learning from the corona crisis.
very scary times. I’m pretty sure within the next few months we will see a demand for blanket vaccinations (with a handy little chip to assist in contact tracing) become mandatory to all if you want to go back to work.
one frightening thing I read years ago was about romans 13 where a christian, possibly a pastor which would make this so much worse, said that according to it if the police came in and started raping his wife on the kitchen table he would have to let them. (I also thought would you also let them if the came in and started molesting your son on the kitchen table?) He actually seem to think God wants authorities to go around raping (and possibly molesting) and his children should accept this (perhaps even rejoice in it). No matter what way I read that passage I can’t find “thou shat submit thy household to Caesar’s sexual lusts” in there.
With Freedom comes responsibility I don’t think everyone wants that responsibility many want someone else to have that responsibility. Decisions can be frightening what if I make the wrong one what if I screw up what if I fail. Many would rather have someone else in charge of the decision making and just live their lives. As Children we didn’t decide much our parents decided for us. too many today aren’t prepared for adulthood and want that decision maker make to make life easier again. In short a lot of people want NANNY to take care of them from cradle to grave or at least from leaving the house to grave. Of course the upside is we always have someone else to blame for things going bad. we didn’t decide on that course of action so it was so and so’s fault.
We’ve spent over 100 years in education dumbing people down and breeding respect for the government and believe the government knows best and now we have a bunch of infantile adults demanding the government do everything for them. The church bares part of the blame there as during that same time we were disengaging from culture BIG TIME. “just save their souls that’s all we have to do” We left the battlefield is it any wonder than that satan won the battle?? We essentially said “satan the world is yours culture, arts, music, laws, government, education, etc we just want the souls of people” is it surprising then that he now controls those institutions and has for decades??? Nature abhors a vacuum if christians move OUT of an area satan will move IN.
There is a quote in Babylon 5 I think is apt here and now “we are surrounded by signs and portents and I feel a darkness pressing at our backs”
Great news: After a massive public outcry the police have withdrawn the ludicrous $1600 fine that the teen driver got smacked with. Except for a few clueless sheeple, everyone knew this was absolutely outrageous, and even the police have had to acknowledge this:
It is easy to willingly acquiesce when the oppression seems to be for our good.
We must be wary though of the motives of the oppressor, for there is plenty of deception out there. We readily see the danger of grooming when it comes to our children and teens, but there can be (is) a clear and present danger for ourselves at this time.
There is great power in saying “no”, and the government officials have used that tactic against us for years, and mostly we have wanted to comply.
There comes a time when we must say “no” to government officials.
We do this every election, to some we say “yes”, to others we say “no”.
After the election we might regret that we did not say “no” to the one we voted for.
Now for the good order of society we need everyone saying “yes” as much as possible and asking many and hard questions to achieve that consensus for good order.
So, we still have the ability to say “no”, or even the responsibility to say “no”.
There are evils in our society that we refuse; we refuse abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, homosexuality etc. These we refuse at arms length for no one yet requires us to participate in them. We can easily say “no”. However we now note that we are required more and more to approve of those who do such things. There are speech rules that are creeping in whereby we must address a person by the pronouns they want. Women are expected not to complain about same-sex facilities or events. Our civil disobedience begins right here and our ability to avoid a confrontation is getting becoming more remote.
More historically we have not been allowed to do things we want to do or should do.
So many things now require permits, insurance, risk assessments etc.
So many things are now taboo, such as corporal punishment, showing natural affection, saying certain words or phrases. Now in the last month we are not able to go to church, bible studies, prayer meetings. And we comply for…. now?
As I see it there needs to be a balance between benevolent responsibility and civil disobedience.
Civil disobedience can be just a load of anger and boiling frustration, expressing itself unwisely and destructively.
If that wanton negativity can be avoided, and instead, the anger and frustration, channeled into doing good, (though civilly disobedient), we have the means that might be called “righteous” (by some anyway).
The Bible instructs us to overcome evil with good.
I fear that civil disobedience will be required of us sometime soon.
We need to pre-think our strategies and attitudes so that when the time comes we can do so with a number of factors settled in our hearts with a clear conscience.
Those strategies will need to be about how to act righteously, Biblically, humbly, and in redeeming love.
What if we are bailed up by the police for violating some obscure rule.
Have we thought about being invited to a gay marriage as Tony Abbott was?
Have we thought about one of our clients or students presenting us with a weird pronoun?
Have we thought about future in-laws refusing to bless a wedding, demanding the couple live together?
What if we deliberately want to break a social distancing rule for a Godly purpose?
How many other scenarios can we think of?
We need to be prepared for as many as we can.
In 1775 Patrick John Henry gave his famous Liberty or Death speech [1]. Just a few days ago Dr Scott Lively sent a message to Donald Trump urging him to reopen the economy and gave a timely reminder of that speech [2]
As far as I understand democracy and the rule of godly laws were never won by appealing to democracy . They first had to be established by force of arms. Throughout history wicked laws and constitutions had to be countered by eternal vigilance and force of arms. When a government, like that of the UK under the thrall of Sodomites sends a message to the nation that LGBTs will enforce pink law and dominate the world through the use of its military and police [3], we know that only a military solution, a revolution will restore the rule of God’s laws. This might sound over dramatic but when have we ever lived in such dramatic and extraordinary times as today.
“The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” Adolf Hitler
What frightens me with these “States of Emergency” is that they will not be revoked or removed when the pandemic is considered to be over
The question needs to be discussed to what extent we should be free to imperil others.
Thanks John. I have penned 26 articles now on corona, and in most of them I have said that there of course needs to be a balance between sensible health measures and not allowing Big Brother to get carried away and overreact. Given that a main example of this article was the story of the ludicrous $1700 fine given to a teen learner driver, I would have thought that no one would consider that to in any way imperil others, but just a case of idiotic government overreaction.
while hitler maybe not have said it it is none the less true. there is a Madison quote with a similar vibe to it.
I would not rely on politifact for too much – they aren’t exactly neutral aka unbiased.
Dear Bruce K.
I totally agree with your notion of pre-thinking our strategies and attitudes.
Here are a few more to think about:
• What if we (Christians) were able to make a difference in the political realm? Would we dare do it?
• What if we were able to be involved with other Godly people in pre-selecting good candidates in our own electorate before an election? Would we dare do it?
• Do we have MP’s that push LGBTXYZ agendas, the death of innocents and the elderly because good people didn’t turn up? Would we dare turn up?
I am reminded of an oldie and a goody that goes like this:
Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose and Dare to make it known.
Do you Dare?
Last word comes from Bruce K: (thanks Bruce) “We need to be prepared for as many as we can.”
Thanks Bill.
Here’s and example of pushing the truth just a little bit so that it sounds “good”, but enough to make it a lie.
Residents are not allowed to gather in groups more than two outdoors or indoors unless they are members of the same household.
On being asked about the fines at a press conference on Wednesday, (Victorian) Premier Daniel Andrews said instances like this are what spreads the deadly virus.
“If it’s not your immediate household or more than two people then you are spreading the virus,” he said.
Emphasis mine.
No, if you HAVE the virus then this MAY spread it, but with even 1,000,000 people in a group, if none have the virus, then they can’t spread it as there’s nothing to spread.
My suggestion that we need to discuss to what extent we should be free to imperil others is not a suggestion that the ridiculous fine you mentioned, or other over-reactions, could be justified. There is a possibility of going too far in the other direction, not necessarily by you personally. I don’t know how, or whether, all this will end, God knows. I do not dispute that there is a need for vigilance if not galloping paranoia as the price of freedom. Meanwhile, I expect there are people in authority more panicked than they would admit, and not thinking straight. The “few folk” you complain of may be in a similar condition.
BTW, “Notify me of follow-up comments by email” does not seem to be working.
Increasingly the left are demanding and advocating for more state solutions and more state control. The universities are full of like minded people embracing statism. They wish to enforce the heavy hand of the state-top down solutions to get us to their utopian destination. The state they see as the vehicle to get us there whilst eroding liberty and freedom. The UN Agenda 2030 is also a part of that. It is totalitarianism.
very scary times. I’m pretty sure within the next few months we will see a demand for blanket vaccinations (with a handy little chip to assist in contact tracing) become mandatory to all if you want to go back to work.
one frightening thing I read years ago was about romans 13 where a christian, possibly a pastor which would make this so much worse, said that according to it if the police came in and started raping his wife on the kitchen table he would have to let them. (I also thought would you also let them if the came in and started molesting your son on the kitchen table?) He actually seem to think God wants authorities to go around raping (and possibly molesting) and his children should accept this (perhaps even rejoice in it). No matter what way I read that passage I can’t find “thou shat submit thy household to Caesar’s sexual lusts” in there.
With Freedom comes responsibility I don’t think everyone wants that responsibility many want someone else to have that responsibility. Decisions can be frightening what if I make the wrong one what if I screw up what if I fail. Many would rather have someone else in charge of the decision making and just live their lives. As Children we didn’t decide much our parents decided for us. too many today aren’t prepared for adulthood and want that decision maker make to make life easier again. In short a lot of people want NANNY to take care of them from cradle to grave or at least from leaving the house to grave. Of course the upside is we always have someone else to blame for things going bad. we didn’t decide on that course of action so it was so and so’s fault.
We’ve spent over 100 years in education dumbing people down and breeding respect for the government and believe the government knows best and now we have a bunch of infantile adults demanding the government do everything for them. The church bares part of the blame there as during that same time we were disengaging from culture BIG TIME. “just save their souls that’s all we have to do” We left the battlefield is it any wonder than that satan won the battle?? We essentially said “satan the world is yours culture, arts, music, laws, government, education, etc we just want the souls of people” is it surprising then that he now controls those institutions and has for decades??? Nature abhors a vacuum if christians move OUT of an area satan will move IN.
There is a quote in Babylon 5 I think is apt here and now “we are surrounded by signs and portents and I feel a darkness pressing at our backs”
Great news: After a massive public outcry the police have withdrawn the ludicrous $1600 fine that the teen driver got smacked with. Except for a few clueless sheeple, everyone knew this was absolutely outrageous, and even the police have had to acknowledge this:
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/on-the-road/coronavirus-lplater-fined-1600-for-nonessential-travel-in-melbourne/news-story/b8452c26f8852c706dc8fa4218de3812
It is easy to willingly acquiesce when the oppression seems to be for our good.
We must be wary though of the motives of the oppressor, for there is plenty of deception out there. We readily see the danger of grooming when it comes to our children and teens, but there can be (is) a clear and present danger for ourselves at this time.
There is great power in saying “no”, and the government officials have used that tactic against us for years, and mostly we have wanted to comply.
There comes a time when we must say “no” to government officials.
We do this every election, to some we say “yes”, to others we say “no”.
After the election we might regret that we did not say “no” to the one we voted for.
Now for the good order of society we need everyone saying “yes” as much as possible and asking many and hard questions to achieve that consensus for good order.
So, we still have the ability to say “no”, or even the responsibility to say “no”.
There are evils in our society that we refuse; we refuse abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, homosexuality etc. These we refuse at arms length for no one yet requires us to participate in them. We can easily say “no”. However we now note that we are required more and more to approve of those who do such things. There are speech rules that are creeping in whereby we must address a person by the pronouns they want. Women are expected not to complain about same-sex facilities or events. Our civil disobedience begins right here and our ability to avoid a confrontation is getting becoming more remote.
More historically we have not been allowed to do things we want to do or should do.
So many things now require permits, insurance, risk assessments etc.
So many things are now taboo, such as corporal punishment, showing natural affection, saying certain words or phrases. Now in the last month we are not able to go to church, bible studies, prayer meetings. And we comply for…. now?
As I see it there needs to be a balance between benevolent responsibility and civil disobedience.
Civil disobedience can be just a load of anger and boiling frustration, expressing itself unwisely and destructively.
If that wanton negativity can be avoided, and instead, the anger and frustration, channeled into doing good, (though civilly disobedient), we have the means that might be called “righteous” (by some anyway).
The Bible instructs us to overcome evil with good.
I fear that civil disobedience will be required of us sometime soon.
We need to pre-think our strategies and attitudes so that when the time comes we can do so with a number of factors settled in our hearts with a clear conscience.
Those strategies will need to be about how to act righteously, Biblically, humbly, and in redeeming love.
What if we are bailed up by the police for violating some obscure rule.
Have we thought about being invited to a gay marriage as Tony Abbott was?
Have we thought about one of our clients or students presenting us with a weird pronoun?
Have we thought about future in-laws refusing to bless a wedding, demanding the couple live together?
What if we deliberately want to break a social distancing rule for a Godly purpose?
How many other scenarios can we think of?
We need to be prepared for as many as we can.
In 1775 Patrick John Henry gave his famous Liberty or Death speech [1]. Just a few days ago Dr Scott Lively sent a message to Donald Trump urging him to reopen the economy and gave a timely reminder of that speech [2]
As far as I understand democracy and the rule of godly laws were never won by appealing to democracy . They first had to be established by force of arms. Throughout history wicked laws and constitutions had to be countered by eternal vigilance and force of arms. When a government, like that of the UK under the thrall of Sodomites sends a message to the nation that LGBTs will enforce pink law and dominate the world through the use of its military and police [3], we know that only a military solution, a revolution will restore the rule of God’s laws. This might sound over dramatic but when have we ever lived in such dramatic and extraordinary times as today.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbghWFMLyiA
[2] https://youtu.be/OOrOwjoMQKA?t=112
[3] https://youtu.be/RbtlkF_ycrM?t=96
David Skinner UK
“The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” Adolf Hitler
What frightens me with these “States of Emergency” is that they will not be revoked or removed when the pandemic is considered to be over
The question needs to be discussed to what extent we should be free to imperil others.
Thanks John. I have penned 26 articles now on corona, and in most of them I have said that there of course needs to be a balance between sensible health measures and not allowing Big Brother to get carried away and overreact. Given that a main example of this article was the story of the ludicrous $1700 fine given to a teen learner driver, I would have thought that no one would consider that to in any way imperil others, but just a case of idiotic government overreaction.
Lyn, with respect, the quote you are referring to is fake:
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/apr/01/facebook-posts/did-hitler-say-best-way-control-people-take-little/
while hitler maybe not have said it it is none the less true. there is a Madison quote with a similar vibe to it.
I would not rely on politifact for too much – they aren’t exactly neutral aka unbiased.
Dear Bruce K.
I totally agree with your notion of pre-thinking our strategies and attitudes.
Here are a few more to think about:
• What if we (Christians) were able to make a difference in the political realm? Would we dare do it?
• What if we were able to be involved with other Godly people in pre-selecting good candidates in our own electorate before an election? Would we dare do it?
• Do we have MP’s that push LGBTXYZ agendas, the death of innocents and the elderly because good people didn’t turn up? Would we dare turn up?
I am reminded of an oldie and a goody that goes like this:
Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose and Dare to make it known.
Do you Dare?
Last word comes from Bruce K: (thanks Bruce) “We need to be prepared for as many as we can.”
Thanks Bill.
Here’s and example of pushing the truth just a little bit so that it sounds “good”, but enough to make it a lie.
Emphasis mine.
No, if you HAVE the virus then this MAY spread it, but with even 1,000,000 people in a group, if none have the virus, then they can’t spread it as there’s nothing to spread.
https://7news.com.au/news/victoria-police/victoria-police-reveal-they-fined-video-gamers-and-dinner-parties-over-covid-19-rules-c-963346
My suggestion that we need to discuss to what extent we should be free to imperil others is not a suggestion that the ridiculous fine you mentioned, or other over-reactions, could be justified. There is a possibility of going too far in the other direction, not necessarily by you personally. I don’t know how, or whether, all this will end, God knows. I do not dispute that there is a need for vigilance if not galloping paranoia as the price of freedom. Meanwhile, I expect there are people in authority more panicked than they would admit, and not thinking straight. The “few folk” you complain of may be in a similar condition.
BTW, “Notify me of follow-up comments by email” does not seem to be working.
Increasingly the left are demanding and advocating for more state solutions and more state control. The universities are full of like minded people embracing statism. They wish to enforce the heavy hand of the state-top down solutions to get us to their utopian destination. The state they see as the vehicle to get us there whilst eroding liberty and freedom. The UN Agenda 2030 is also a part of that. It is totalitarianism.