Political Power Is The Ring That Should Be Destroyed

Source: U.S. Geological Survey via AP

As the US plunges into another festival of foolishness, also known as the campaign to choose the next president, we should pause to consider what we’re doing. We have created a political position in which the person in the seat exercises enormous power over the lives of millions beneath them, power very much like that of the ring in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien wrote in a letter, “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.” And he offered the world brilliant political wisdom in his masterpiece. Sauron the Dark Lord created the ring to achieve dominion over Middle-earth. Several of the characters believe that they can use the power of the ring for great good. Tolkien proves them wrong. The only solution to the problem of the Ring, and the salvation of Middle-earth, is to destroy its power in the fires of Mordor.

But Americans think we know better. We just need to put the right person in the seat of power and they will wield it for the benefit of all. Maybe. George Washington did it well, but the list of rulers in history with Washington’s character is short. A much greater number have been evil.

Don't let socialists ruin Thanksgiving

The socialist who claims to be an evangelical, Jim Wallis, posted an article in his Sojourners magazine recently encouraging families to debate politics while trying to digest turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Here is a portion:

A sad reality in the past year or more has been our ongoing struggle to engage in difficult conversations — with our longtime friends, with coworkers, or even with family members across the Thanksgiving table. We’ve always had differences around social and political issues — racial justice, immigration, religious identity, health care, guns, etc. — but those divisions are starker than ever. Our traditional and social media have become so fragmented and polarized that we find ourselves practically inhabiting a different reality than those we disagree with; we only really hear or engage with the perspectives of those with whom we already largely agree. This is not a tenable situation for our country — or for our families. If we are to maintain meaningful relationships, we need to actively engage in difficult conversations with people we disagree with and find some common ground for the common good.

I believe that there are moral issues, values choices, and faith matters that lie just beneath the political headlines. Conversations around those — leading to action — can get us further than our political debates. I also believe there are two great hungers in our world today: the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for justice, and the connection between the two is absolutely vital now.

Socialists like Wallis want to politicize every aspect of life. Socialists should put on the left pant leg first, and condemn as racist everyone who does the right first. Socialists should brush their teeth from left to right and those who go the opposite direction are guilty of hating the poor and wanting them dead. The left hates all police so the right has to defend them even if they’re guilty. The right supports the military so the left feels compelled to trash it.

Politics according to the Bible – Keynesian conservatism

Outside the Department of Commerce building in DC are two statues of giant draft horses with muscular men restraining them bearing the title "Man Controlling Trade." It's a great metaphor but the wrong object. The drafts horses should represent the state, not trade, because the best government is that which governs least.

Unfortunately, theologian Wayne Grudem shows that he does not appreciate the value of limited government in his Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture. Grudem holds a PhD from Cambridge and is author of Systematic Theology. Grudem intended his to guide readers to what the Bible has to say about politics. As everyone “knows” the Bible is difficult to interpret:

But who can understand the Bible rightly? And who is to decide what is a right interpretation? My response is that it is not impossible to understand the Bible rightly.... Among responsible evangelical interpreters of the Bible there are vastly more areas of widespread agreement than disagreement....

Obama inflames envy

"I believe this is the defining challenge of our time," Obama said in a speech at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, a pro-Obama think tank. "It drives everything I do in this office,” 

“The growing gap between rich and poor can be closed by actions ranging from an increase in the minimum wage to better education to following through on his health care plan, Obama said.”

The quote above was from an article in USA Today. If people care about the poor, they will give their own wealth and encourage others to voluntarily do the same. Focusing on inequality is more than just a legitimate concern for the poor: it’s an attempt to inflame envy, as the sociologist Helmut Schoeck explained in his book “Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior.” Schoeck demonstrated that almost all intellectuals, poets, historians and philosophers through the ages condemned envy and feared it as a persistent threat to society. Organizing society to assuage envy kept humanity poor and on the edge of starvation until Christianity tamed it in the 17^th century, which led to the industrial revolution.