Religous Extremism

Yesterday’s Orthodoxy…

Several months ago I published an essay entitled “The Constitution – Solution or Problem”. It pinpointed some troubling elements in our founding document.

The foundational deterioration of the Christian religion, ignored by worshipers and their leaders, is severe and of long standing. What is pleasing to the One True God is branded “extremism” by secular sources and that description is accepted by most Christians.

In Charismatic circles the “sacrifice of praise” is popular, Baptists and other evangelical denominations have centered on “introducing others to Christ” by urging them to “make a decision for Christ”. Reformed churches are proud of their “expository preaching”. A picture of the specific behavior that constitutes obedience to God is seldom presented. We do not properly teach Christians how to accomplish the Biblical theme that overwhelms every other; obedience to God’s Commandments?

Instead of urging obedience, Christians are busy creating fear of Sharia law. The Muslim religion is a heretical cult that poses a significant threat to Christianity primarily because Muslims are obedient to their false god while Christians are disobedient to the True God. The humanistic legal system of the “free world” is beginning to break down, Muslims have an alternative legal system; Christians don’t!

This strategic deterioration of Christianity allows naïve, poorly instructed Christians to support and defend a corrupt and evil government and make the erroneous claim that we are living in a Christian nation. It is this same deterioration that champions “freedom of religion” while ignoring the exclusivity demanded by a jealous God.

The battle for righteousness can not begin, let alone won, until the enemy is specifically identified and confronted with a proper counteroffensive. Since my primary literary intent is to bring God’s creation under His legal system, defining the roadblocks is of primary importance. Dr. R. J. Rushdoony wrote that law forms the religious base of society. This statement is not only profound but profoundly true.

No one has described the shortcomings of contemporary Christianity as well as R. J. Rushdoony; but the implications of his scholarly works seldom find a way into our society.

There is no doubt that Christopher Columbus was a Christian or that the Pilgrims and Puritans were Christians. There is no doubt that the majority of the various religions that were active in the original thirteen colonies would claim Christianity. There is no doubt that the vast majority of today’s United States citizens would claim to be Christian. However, all of that does not create a Christian nation nor does it spill over into our founding documents.

Recently, a Christian friend sent me a Webpage from the National Center for Constiitutional Studies that contained 28 principles of liberty taken from a book entitled “The 5000-year Leap” by W. Cleon Skousen”. Skowsen died in 2006. He was a leader in Mormanism and ardent supporter of Glenn Beck. Read the Principles here. I do not remember the authors name but someone wrote that apples are a healthy snack but if an apple contains one drop of cyanide it can kill you. The 28 Principles contain some sound wisdom but unfortunately for the Christian there is a drop of cyanide.

I have done some additional editing but I sent my friend an email with similar comments and questions:

First Principle: What is natural law? Is that term found in the Bible? How does it relate to the Law God gave to Moses?

Fifth Principle: The words “God” and “Creator” are general terms that are used to represent a variety of different heretical deities. The God of the Bible is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Jesus, The Holy Ghost, sits at the right hand of the Father and is King over the creation. None of the following terms used throughout the Declaration of Independence refer to the God of the Bible: “Natures God, Creator, Supreme Judge of the Universe, or Divine Providence”. These terms are used by deists. Unfortunately, the word “Yahweh”, the proper Biblical name of our Christian God, has been sullied by a variety of cults.

Sixth Principle: Without qualification, the Declaration declares that “all men are created equal”. As it stands the statement is false. All men are not created equal. God created a diverse world giving men and women diverse talents. Each individual is judged equally before God. The idea that all men are created equal contributes to the humanistic contention that sin is a product of environment.

Ninth Principle: When God’s Commandments are reduced to legal principles they become humanistic. If a nation wishes to be Christian, God’s Law must be encoded as it is written in His Word and used as a standard for the conduct of society. Principles can be used to fit individual situations but The Law must remain immutable and unedited.

Tenth Principle: Any proper reformation must establish God as the sole Sovereign. Citizens can elect a meager number of governmental officials but the officials and all citizens must bow to the sovereignty of Almighty God.

Twelfth Principle: I have come to the conclusion that supporting a secular Constitution is a deterrent to bringing God’s creation under His legal system.

Twenty second Principle: The only alternative to the “whims of men” is God’s Law. The Constitution is a derivative of the whims of men.

I did not receive a response.

There is another convincing explanation of why the Constitution did not mention the name of Jesus Christ in spite of the fact that His Name was included in State Constitutions and Christianity was overwhelmingly embraced by citizens. It also explains why banning Christian Oaths and enshrining religious pluralism became a part of our Constitution.

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison, leaders in promoting the Constitution, were all Masons who did not regularly attend a church and did not pronounce the Name of Jesus as their Savior. They were elite deists who believed in a god that created the earth but did not meddle in human affairs. God’s Law was never considered; they were intent on encoding humanistic law.

Almost 50 percent of the Generals in Washington’s Continental Army were Masons.

http://bessel.org/gwgenmas.htm

There is considerable information on the internet about a Masonic Conspiracy. There may be truth in that contention but I am not concerned with conspiracy in this essay. What is important here is the theology of the Masonic Order. Masons are nonspecific Deists; they pray to a different god, not the God of the Bible. A Masonic website describes their philosophy:

“The reason for this is that it is the custom of Masonry to require all to participate in and assent to Lodge prayer. How can it be proper for a Christian to require non-Christians to assent to a prayer peculiar to his own religious belief? No Christian would assent to a prayer offered by a Jew or Muslim which essentially denied the doctrine of the Trinity. Because a Lodge acts in unison, prayers offered in Lodge must be of a nature that will be agreed to by all present.”

“To be sure, some Christians believe that only prayers given in a particularly Christian form are truly prayers. These people cannot become Freemasons because they do not subscribe to the principles of religious toleration required of Masons. But most Christians do not hold these exclusive beliefs and have no objections to the form of prayer offered in the Masonic Lodge.”

http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Questions/difficult.html

Masons are not allowed to pray to the One True God so Christians must forsake their religion in order to maintain their membership in a lodge. Masonry is a humanistic religion where tolerance supersedes God’s exclusivity. The principle of Masonic tolerance is rampant in our society. We are regaled with racial tolerance, moral tolerance, philosophical tolerance, political tolerance and religious tolerance. Famous universities like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were founded by Christians as exclusively Christian institutions. A major reasons for their transition into humanism was a desire to embrace a larger group of applicants. Tolerance is intrinsic in ecumenical movements causing them to fall into humanistic heresy.

The encoding of freedom of religion in our Constitution and the banning of a religious oath are both in agreement with the tenets of Masonry.

Masons deny that they are a religious organization but their practices often belie their claim. President Washington seldom attended church but often attended Masonic functions. Read about Washington’s Masonic Memorial here. http://www.gwmemorial.org/

Freemasons advertise excellent intentions and are active in good works. They believe in “kindness in the home; honesty in business; courtesy toward others; dependability in one’s work; compassion for the unfortunate; resistance to evil; help for the weak; concern for good government; support for public education; and above all, a life-practicing reverence for God and love of fellow man”.

Many Christians believe they can be active in a Masonic lodge, maintain membership in a Christian church and be a God pleasing Christian simultaneously. They are wrong. Masons worship another god, a New Age god that embraces all religions, a god without a legal system, a god that supports good works with no criterion for defining good and evil. They claim they are not a religious organization but oaths are religious and oaths, including blood oaths, are frequently required of members. “Freemasonry is a religion. Masons meet in buildings called Scottish Rite Temples. They have an altar and there is a “holy book” on it. They have prayers, deacons, and religious titles for their leaders, such as High Priest and Worshipful Master. They say that they bring men from spiritual darkness to spiritual light.. In some Masonic degrees, they even serve communion. Although Freemasonry is a religion, most Masons deny it. They use double talk and say ‘We are an order of religious men, but not a religion.’ Most of them are quite sincere about this.” (Tom C. McKenney, “please Tell Me”, pages 81-82) http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/freemasons.htm

Freemasonry was significant in the founding of the United States in the same way the Council on Foreign Relations has been significant in its fall. Freemasons were numerous in the government and in the crafting of our Constitution. The deistic theology of Masonry seeped into our founding documents just a liberally as the CFR’s new world order is seeping into the sovereignty of the nations of the free world and the government of the United States.

Was Patrick Henry was right – did he smell a rat? http://www.ismellarat.com/

The religion passed to Christians from antiquity fell victim to the Deistic Enlightenment of the Eighteenth Century. It has now become a truncated New Testament religion that is incapable of fighting the evil giant that confronts us. In society and the pews of our churches, the devotion to God and obedience to His Law supported by heroes of the Bible, is considered religious extremism and is shunned by the theological wizards that control our churches.

When King Josiah recognized the disobedience of his nation he did not call the worshipers of Baal to a constitutional convention. Instead, he read God’s Law as it was given to Moses and sought the willingness of the people to obey.

Christians need a dose of religious extremism!