He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.
- Leviticus 16:21
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
- 1 Peter 2:13-15
“Voltaire, though himself not a revolutionary, came to be seen by almost everyone as the godfather of revolutionary freethinking in 18th-century France, the kind of thinking that did so much to bring about the French Revolution of 1789.
“From then until almost the end of the 20th century the cause of radical reform in Continental Europe showed more of a tendency towards militancy, a greater willingness to use violence in order to promote the values of the Enlightenment, than its counterpart in the English-speaking world. In Anglo-Saxon countries this revolutionary tradition never took firm root – and therefore nor did the counterrevolutionary tradition represented by Fascism. In the 20th century the revolutionary left and the counterrevolutionary right were between them to ravage first Continental Europe and then large parts of the rest of the world.”
- Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy
“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”
- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Voltaire (1694-1778) was a French philosopher and writer. He was a deist, but he rejected traditional orthodoxy. He believed that their had to be a god simply from reason, thus rejecting the concept of faith.
The author here makes some good points. He even warns that the spark of revolution is again upon us, but just as Voltaire argued for rebellion through reasoning, the modern world has rejected the concept of god through their lack of reasoning. Their insane rebellion extends to trying failed ideas again and again and expecting a different result, something Einstein said was the mark of insanity, but then people argue whether he said it. We have had only two genders for thousands of years and now there are many more – in their demented minds – and of the original two genders, no one in authority can define what a woman is. And “man” is thought to be root of all evil. I guess that leaves Elizabeth Bathory, Amelia Dyer, and Lizzie Borden off the hook entirely, but then since we cannot define a woman, maybe not. Bathory was a Hungarian noblewoman who tortured and killed hundreds. Amelia Dyer killed between 300-400 unwanted babies for a fee before the days of abortion killing millions legally. And Lizzie might never make the list except for the poem.
But was it necessary to become brutal?
The American Revolution was violent, but it did not descend into barbarism like the French Revolution. Then again, those recording the French Revolution focused on the beheadings. The Americans simply escorted the British Army off the premises.
Yet, in telling the British of their injustice and cruelty did no good. Dumping tea into Boston Harbor made a statement, but the British Army simply cracked down on the rebellion. Violence became necessary.
But the Bible speaks of rebellion being akin to sin. And since we are to subject ourselves to civil authority, would that not make rebellion a sin? Yet, when the civil authority tries to force us from worshipping God as we should, is there a choice other than rebellion?
My loyalty to God comes first, and when my freedom and liberty to worship God in the way that I should gets infringed, I am willing to fight.
There is a rebellion coming. Throughout the world there is a great divide in our worldviews, and no one is willing to do as Voltaire pleaded that we should do – argue rationally with sound reasoning.
If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
Leave a comment