SOCIALISM UNMASKED

Socialism Unmasked

“She’ll be right mate!” is Australian vernacular for the postmodernist “whatever!”, which was a popular saying when I lived in Canada. When it comes to politics, both reek of complacent laidback-ness.

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Even among Christians there is debate as to whether identifiably Christian political parties are preferred to the usual atheist/socialist ones or even those conservative parties that espouse policies a lot of with which many Christians can agree. Surely Christians ought to form political parties based on the teaching of the Bible regarding life and politics. For, Scripture says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Therefore, in light of this “qué será, será” laissez-faire approach to life and its issues, how can one expect civil disobedience from Christians? How should Christians respond when governments clearly overstep their God-given authority and start to lord it over the people? “She’ll be right mate” or active obedience to God? The general principle all Christians are to follow is summed up in this verse, “Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29).

One only has to consider the so-called COVID-19 government authoritarianism and downright totalitarianism that took place in many western countries during the “Pandemic” in 2020-22 and beyond. In Australia the socialistic state and federal governments locked people in their homes, wouldn’t let Australian residents return from overseas, nor allow interstate travel. Face masks were insisted upon even by those slightly less authoritarian states. Churches were not permitted to congregate, and when things lightened up a little, first, they were not allowed to sing praises to God even while wearing masks. Only family members could sit together, if not too many! And ‘social distancing’ became a thing. No golf! No kids playing in the park! No handshakes permitted and lots of hand cleaner available. Elderly people died alone, with loved ones not permitted to visit. Funerals could only be attended by a handful of people. All for what?

Then came Covid-shot police. People were ostracized for not getting the jab. Whistle blowers were silenced. Doctors and nurses lost their jobs for not conforming to the globalist/socialist narrative imposed by totalitarian/authoritarian governments. The authorities were informed by members of the public “dobbing in” their neighbours on hotlines designed just for that! Unfortunate for those whose name already is Karen, but a “Karen” became a derogative appellation affixed to any covid busybody. (See 2 Thess. 3:11; 1 Pet. 4:15.)  Police in some states were seen smashing members of the public’s faces to the ground for not wearing/improperly wearing their government-approved masks!

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Governments controlled the media narrative. The public was not even allowed to discuss the issue of COVID-19. “False information” notices appeared on social media whenever anyone attempted to address the issue and related issues. Posts were blocked. Free speech was reduced to whispers while looking over one’s shoulder.

Then came the negative body reactions against whatever was being injected into the masses. Reports of shingles, from paralyses to death and everything in between. Again, governments would not allow any public discussion of this important issue.

We didn’t know whether it was germ-warfare from a manufactured virus in Wuhan in China through “gain of function” (a phrase that entered the public’s vocabulary), or something to do with infected bats and/or pangolins from a Chinese “wet market”. Confusion reigned as Australians began wondering if their old adage “she’ll be right mate!” was actually going to cover their present demise. People panicked! Some got may more “booster shots” to combat the virus, while others refused to get, even if they already had one, any more jabs. Distrust of government set in. “Big-Pharma” was viewed with great suspicion. Had they even tested their products, the stuff that they were being paid to manufacture and the authoritarian governments were insisting that the public have at least two jabs followed by many boosters? The short answer is that the public were being used as ‘Guinea pigs’. In the 1960s the hippies voluntarily took ‘experimental drugs’ in a foolish attempt to expand their minds. In the 2020s governments forced members of the public to take experimental drugs on pain of loss of job and/or loss of face in society to the point of being treated as anarchists.

Governments made daily announcements on television reporting how many covid cases there were, leaving the public confused as to whether people were dying with covid or actually dying from covid. Every hospital death, it seemed, was a covid death, whether the person presently had the flu or some terminal illness.

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        Yes, the mask of Socialism slipped and exposed a face pock-marked with totalitarianism and authoritarianism, its slightly milder form. Neither of which are the Bible’s view of civil government. (See e.g., Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-14.) Clearly, many federal and state governments in western nations overstepped their boundaries. They refused to stay in their lanes and interfered in the equally sovereign but connected spheres of family and church. Some even pushed their nation’s constitution aside and handed authority over to health departments, many of whom, like “helicopter parents”, wrapped joe-public in cotton wool and bubble wrap and locked them in their room. “Safety first!” is the mantra of a nanny state, aka Socialiam.     

In 1644 Scottish Presbyterian minister, Samuel Rutherford, published a book called Lex Rex (Latin for The Law is King) advocating the rule of law, limited government, and the right to resist tyrannical rulers. Theologian, philosopher, apologist, and Presbyterian minister Francis Schaeffer wrote,

 

Civil disobedience is, of course, a very serious matter and it must be stressed that Rutherford was the very opposite of an anarchist. In Lex Rex he does not propose armed revolution as an automatic solution. Instead, he sets forth the appropriate response to interference by the state in the liberties of the citizenry. Specifically, he stated that if the state deliberately is committed to destroying its ethical commitment to God then resistance is appropriate.[1]

Clearly, civil disobedience was called for during the totalitarian state’s ‘war games’ practice run, aka, the "Pandemic".. Though pockets of resistance were to be found here and there, Christianity failed miserably! “She’ll be right mate” is unbiblical. It is antibiblical!

            If ever there was a time to form outwardly Christian governments, surely it is now? However, to counter socialist totalitarianism we need Christian governments built on more than one or two issues such as abortion and/or feeding the poor and clothing the needy. We need a contemporary Abraham Kuyper who was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. His political party was called the Anti-Revolutionist Party. He implemented a system of “sphere sovereignty” among the different departments of government. This system has since through time and debate been perfected. There a three main spheres in a nation, viz, Family, Church, and State. Like each Person in the Godhead, each has its own sphere of authority under God but they are interconnected and must therefore look out for the other spheres without encroaching on their authority. Like Olympic swimmers, each sphere must stay in its own lane and operate therein without interfering with its neighbour. 

                   COVID-19 was an exercise in government interference. It was when Socialism was totally unmasked.

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[1] The Complete Works of Francis A Schaeffer; A Christian Worldview, Volume 5, A Christian Worldview of the West, (Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1982), 475.