Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi everyone,
well, I have said before that I believe that the Kingdom of God is truly within our hearts.
And Leo Tolstoy was one of the first writers I got into when I was drawn to Christ.
I'm wondering if anyone else here considers themselves a Christian Anarchist?
Hi everyone,
well, I have said before that I believe that the Kingdom of God is truly within our hearts.
And Leo Tolstoy was one of the first writers I got into when I was drawn to Christ.
I'm wondering if anyone else here considers themselves a Christian Anarchist?
But I take this a step further. Some stuff I agree with, and others, I most certainly do not.
Quote:
Some Christian anarchists argue that this merger of Church and state marks the beginning of the "Constantinian shift", in which Christianity gradually came to be identified with the will of the ruling elite and, in some cases, a religious justification for the exercise of power
Agreed with this.
Quote:
Not only does the action of Governments not deter men from crimes; on the contrary, it increases crime by always disturbing and lowering the moral standard of society. Nor can this be otherwise, since always and everywhere a Government, by its very nature, must put in the place of the highest, eternal, religious law (not written in books but in the hearts of men, and binding on every one) its own unjust, man-made laws, the object of which is neither justice nor the common good of all but various considerations of home and foreign expediency.-Leo Tolstoy
Also agree with this.
But I do not agree with total anarchy, but agree with anarchy when applied to certain community beliefs,,,not based upon statism. To argue against the state, is to see it for what it is.
A Christian, by his very nature, if indeed this nature be found in him,,,should be a statism anarchist. The power resides ONLY in the King of kings, and Lord of lords. We have but 1 King, and the #1 commandment found in the 10 commandments, is "Thou shalt have NO OTHER gods, before ME".
gods in this text refers to judges and rulers. In Samuel we read where the Lord was HIGHLY displeased when He was reject from being King over Israel, to the point of not even hearing the cries of the people when the rulers they elected started to take everything they owned, including their own lives.
We choose our masters. ALL of us.
Christians have but 1 Master. Even unto the death.
But I take this a step further. Some stuff I agree with, and others, I most certainly do not.
Agreed with this.
Also agree with this.
But I do not agree with total anarchy, but agree with anarchy when applied to certain community beliefs,,,not based upon statism. To argue against the state, is to see it for what it is.
A Christian, by his very nature, if indeed this nature be found in him,,,should be a statism anarchist. The power resides ONLY in the King of kings, and Lord of lords. We have but 1 King, and the #1 commandment found in the 10 commandments, is "Thou shalt have NO OTHER gods, before ME".
gods in this text refers to judges and rulers. In Samuel we read where the Lord was HIGHLY displeased when He was reject from being King over Israel, to the point of not even hearing the cries of the people when the rulers they elected started to take everything they owned, including their own lives.
We choose our masters. ALL of us.
Christians have but 1 Master. Even unto the death.
Yes, 1 Samuel seems to actually support Christian Anarchy, because it was the people who wanted a king/state to govern them, and that was not what God intended for them at all, but that God Himself would rule over them.
It all seems to come back to the focus of Christ ruling in our flesh, the Anointing that will carry us and tread the serpent under His feet.
So Christian Anarchism is simply about every man being led by the Spirit within him, in love and righteousness towards his fellow man.
The State, which is already failing to do righteously, would therefore become obsolete.
Whenever I hear people say Jesus was a conservative or liberal, I always say he was an anarchist. Jesus never called on Caesar for help.
So true. But the 2 ruling kings over Judea and Israel did, to settle the matter of the rightful heir. Problem was, they never left after settling the matter of judicial laws.
I certainly wouldn't call myself an anarchist of any stripe, although I do admire many of those often called anarchists by others. Especially Dorothy Day. But I suspect Dorothy wouldn't be too keen on being called on anarchist.
Hi everyone,
well, I have said before that I believe that the Kingdom of God is truly within our hearts.
And Leo Tolstoy was one of the first writers I got into when I was drawn to Christ.
I'm wondering if anyone else here considers themselves a Christian Anarchist?
I'm not going to post this in its entirety because I don't want to derail your thread. I'll just post a link in case you might be interested to see What Leo Tolstoy Had to Say about Mormonism.
Off the topic... I just noticed you live in Italy. Wow! Where in Italy? I'm judging from your writing that English is your first language. Am I right? How did you end up in Italy?
I'm not going to post this in its entirety because I don't want to derail your thread. I'll just post a link in case you might be interested to see What Leo Tolstoy Had to Say about Mormonism.
Off the topic... I just noticed you live in Italy. Wow! Where in Italy? I'm judging from your writing that English is your first language. Am I right? How did you end up in Italy?
Hi Katzpur,
Thanks for the link. I think what Tolstoy was saying, because he mentions it elsewhere, is that Christianity was changed after the first couple of generations. By becoming the "state religion," it lost it's power. Politics have used religion to their advantage through the centuries, and it's still going on now.
(As per the Italy part.. I've been living in Milan since 1997, originally came here for school, but then got married..etc..etc! But I was born in MN.)
The term anarchy itself has a bad rap because in a human social structure the rule of law is essential IF there are those present in that social structure who refuse to live in "fair togetherness".
But rebelling against a state which tries to enforce any spiritual belief system upon it's people is a noble thing in my book.
In the context of your link I'd have to say - "yes" - sign me up.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
