Tie Babylonia

I don't much care for the government. Some have jumped to the conclusion that therefore I must be an anarchist. Not so. I believe in government. It is a tie that binds. Or perhaps I should say it is a red tape that binds. And it binds tightly, so much so that I'm not quite sure that those who we revere as our founding fathers might not have been out of line in rebelling against England. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we're stuck with them. There are two ways to escape Leviathan's net, one simple, the other a little more challenging.

My friend Tim once told me that he had a dream to open his own business. We talked about what kind of business, and I suggested he ought to chose one in which he would be most free from government interference, one in which freedom would reign. We rejected the best option we came up with, dealing drugs. But there is a principle there that helps. One way to loosen the grip of Leviathan is simply to stay out of its way. The work we do here is basically free of government interference, for now. The Highlands Study Center is a ministry of the local church for ecclesiastical reasons, but a side benefit is that it allows the great wall of the first amendment to serve as a barrier (yes, I know the wall is not mentioned in the amendment). We don't receive any subsidies from the state, nor do we seek any. And though we are rather non-institutional for pedagogic reasons, it too has side benefits. Because we operate out of our homes we don't have a bunch of inspectors snooping around. And thirdly, though this may one day change, we don't sell anything, in part to be free from the state.

The same principles can apply to whatever you do. Or rather, it might be wise to consider how to apply these principles to what you do. As long as you are not dependent upon the money of the state, or the special protection of the state, or the goods and services of the state, they'll probably leave you alone, for now. Paul, of course, makes much the same point when he enjoins us not to run to the state to settle our squabbles.

The church, according to Paul, is to operate as a state within the state, declaring the law of the Word, and enforcing it not with the wimpy weapon of the sword, but the great authority of the keys. Even now we are to fear not him who kills the body, but He who kills both body and soul.

The second way to be free of the federal leviathan is to seek once again to affirm our Constitutional and God given right of secession. I haven't the time or the space here to make that case, but I can direct you to Robert Dabney's great work A Defense of Virginia and the South, published by Sprinkle. There is no legal power, nor moral rules which bind the sovereign states to their agent-run-amuck, the federal government. The dream is not yet dead. And not only are the states filled with people eager to be free of the feds (and their monster debt), but there are even organizations, legal and above board, and utterly lacking in fatigues, that seek this remedy.

The, best is The League of the South. Their purpose statement is: "We seek to advance the cultural, social, economic, and political well-being and the independence of the Southern people by all honorable means." Professor Michael Hill, with whom I've had the honor of sharing the podium at a conference, is the organization's president. I encourage you to contact these good folks, either by calling 1- 800-888-3163, or writing PO Box 40910 TuscaJoosa Alabama 32404-0910 or by visiting their website at http://www.dixienet.org/.

As we consider godly ways to break the tie of Leviathan, we would do well not to despair, to remember that our calling is not victory, but faithfulness. It is true that the odds are against us, that we are few in number, and weak in power. But we must remember those brave men who gave up their lives for liberty, who knew that all men must die, but not all men really live. We must remember that we are not tied to the world's methods for victory. We must remember the wisdom of Robert Dabney who said, "It is only the atheist who adopts success as the criterion of right." We would do well to trust in the wisdom of David's great friend Jonathan who said, "God is not constrained to save by many or by few."