This is a new series, I suggest you read the introduction here. I would also recommend giving the source material a read: CIVIL GOVERNMENT Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny, and the Christian’s Relation To It by David Lipscomb.
Foundations
The first few posts of this series will be of a foundational nature. This whole series will be structured as an argument. I am arguing that if you believe in the existence of god then you should reject “civil governments” on the basis they go against the divine government. Furthermore, I’m arguing that divine government helps anarchist achieve full anarchy because it peacefully rejects civil governments, which try to replace the divine government albeit unsuccessfully. I realize that some readers will automatically agree with this. However, the majority will object on the basis of divine government. Don’t let that term scare you away. “Divine government” merely means the belief in God. Before I start marshaling evidence to support my argument, I want to start by defining and giving the background of civil governments. There is a quote by Sun Tzu from the Art of War that perfectly sums up what this part will do:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
In this sense, we will get on with knowing our enemy.
Civil Government Worship
In many Anarchist circles, there is a common analogy used to describe the fanatical nature of statism. It usually compares statism to religion. It might not seem super believable, but I think that after this section, it will take on new meaning. We will start off with a quote from Lipscomb’s book. In a similar fashion to the Nihilism series, I will do the same process where I quote something and then analyze it. (Also trying to keep this series in shorter parts) Anyway, this post will be focusing “civil governments” and how they operate. We know how the operate in the worldly view. But its how operate within the context of God. This first quote will not surprise the veteran anarchist:
Every human government uses the substance, the time, the service of the subjects to enrich, gratify the appetites and lusts, and to promote the grandeur and glory of the rulers. And it is not true that in democratic or any other kind of governments the people themselves are rulers. They choose the rulers, at the instigation of a few interested leaders, then these rulers rule for their own selfish good and glory as other rulers do.
First and foremost, Lipscomb tells us what we already know to be true. Civil governments run by humans, are greedy and self interested. These two traits are universal in humanity. I think it comes as no surprise that rulers of human governments only seek to serve themselves despite the democratic nature. Lipscomb’s furthers this point in the next paragraph or so:
The rulers of the human oppress the subjects for their own benefit. The ministers of the Divine government deny themselves for the good of the subjects.
In this quote, Lipscombs does one of his first contrasts between the “civil government” and the “divine government”. We already knew that civil governments oppress their subjects. But its interesting that members of the divine government deny themselves. We will discover what exactly divine government ministers deny later on in the series. But its clear that each type of government has different intentions. I will say that its important to know that God intentionally allows civil governments to exist, despite their rebellion against him. Lipscomb expands the role of civil governments in God’s will:
So long as men refuse the rule of God, God ordains they shall be ruled by their own
governments and eat the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices. Showing clearly that when men turn from the government of God to their own inventions and governments, then God ordains these governments as means of punishing them for their rebellion, and while this punishing them, they are God’s ordinances for this work and none should resist them. In doing so they are resisting the ordinance of God.
In this quote, we learn that civil governments are a rebellion against God. Not only that but when men turn from God by participating in civil government, that same civil government punishes them for it. This makes perfect sense, you get what you deserve. I think the average libertarian/anarchist can identify with this. Just look at how the American Government treats it citizens, especially in times of crisis. I don’t think anyone can counter-argue this without irrational or illogical statements. It seems to me that the participation in civil government does result in punishment for those who do it. This also could be reason that when you “vote” for something it rarely ever works as planned. Civil government has a lot of unintended consequences. This ordinance of God to punish those who rebel by participating in civil government could be the reason for these unintended consequences.
Outcomes of Civil Government
There is a distinct pattern that occurs when looking at how civil governments operate. Lipscomb uses the bible to examine the nature of civil governments. Before I share a long passage about the distinct pattern, we need to examine one more quote about how civil governments operate within the context of their rulers:
But it is not in man to form government in which the selfish element will not prevail, and which will not be used to tax and oppress the ruled for the glory and aggrandizement of the Rulers.
In a similar fashion to the contrast between civil and divine governments by Lipscomb, we see the same language used, words like “tax” and “oppress”. These words are commonly used by the liberty community to describe how the civil government inflicts its damage. At the end of this quote, we see the religious aspect of statism appear. Civil governments are ruled for the glory and aggrandizement of the rulers. Sounds pretty familiar to those of us in American politics. I’m sure you have seen people and even President Trump himself declare that he was sent from God. I’ve even seen people declare that President Trump is even more powerful than God. Its scary stuff. In the same way that nihilism works to replace belief in God with the belief in nothing, rulers of civil government also try to become god.
For the last quote, we have a biblical based story about the pattern of civil government. This pattern could be taken from biblical times throughout history. Every civil government can trace their heritage back to these biblical rulers. This story is an analogy about passing of power between iterations of civil government. I think its worth quoting in full:
Nebuchadnezzar, the great king, saw the vision that proclaimed his downfall and the downfall of all human governments. Daniel, the slave, interpreted the vision for the king, and it was also for the strengthening of the faith of God’s people. The image was that of a man, indicating the human origin of the governments typified by the image, in contrast with the Divine origin of the kingdom typified by the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands. Daniel interprets: the head of gold represents the kingdom of Babylon of which Nebuchadnezzar was head; the silver, the Medo- Persian; the brass, the Grecian; the iron, the Roman. The little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, represents the kingdom of God. It is not originated, shaped, or put into motion, or maintained by human power. It is God’s government. The lesson taught is, that the human governments must, one and all, be destroyed; and in their destruction, one after another, each became the prey of, or “was left” with all its strength, its riches, and its glories to the destroyer. It became the heritage of those who overthrew it.
What I like about this analogy is that you can see it repeated through history. As each old government falls, a new government will form in its place. It seems like today, we find ourselves near the end of the road. Civil governments are starting to falter in many ways. I think the important message to take from this quote and from this part is that the key to destroying civil governments is it’s relationship (absence of relationship) of the average christian. Or for our sake, the average believer in the existence of God. Lipscomb is arguing from the point of view of a christian. But I believe that you don’t have to be religious to understand and undertake the mission that is presented through Lipscomb’s writing by God.
Thanks for reading! This will be continued in the next part!
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