The Origins of Politics The real originator of politics is that old serpent Satan the Devil. He used to be loyal to God, and was called Lucifer. However, he and the one third of the Holy Angels under his command rebelled against God. He stormed heaven and wanted to be the ruler over all the other angelic beings. He lost the war and was thrown down to the earth. You can read all about Lucifer and his rebellion against God by going to Satan and the Fallen Angels. However, we humans are not spirits. We are fleshly, earthy creatures. Yet mankind is basically a political animal. Why ? When God created the first humans (Adam and Eve) he gave them a choice. They could leave it up to God to set the standards of what is right and wrong - what is good and evil, or they could rebel against God and set their own standards of what they believe is right or wrong - good or evil. The consequences of rebellion that God spelt out was death. God gave mankind free moral agency. Mankind has the freedom to reject God's rule over their individual and collective lives. However, there were and still are serious consequences of that rebellion. Genesis 2:7-9 " And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:15-17 " And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God COMMANDED the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. " Genesis 2:18-25 " And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. " Genesis 3:1-24 " Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. "
This is a rather long account, but it is included for those who don't have the time to get their Bibles and read it there. Whether the " tree of the knowledge of good and evil " was a literal tree is debatable. The writer's view is that it was symbolic of mankind being given free moral agency. They could leave it up to God to set the standards, or they could rebel and decide for themselves what they think should be the standards of right and wrong. God explained clearly that the consequences of rebellion was death. Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Almost all of mankind since have followed them in their rebellious footsteps. Most of Mankind Rejects God's Rule Over Their Individual and Collective Lives Almost all of mankind is in rebellion against God. They don't want God telling them what to do, and how to think. They have rejected God's rule. They are following Satan instead of God. Mankind has the God given right of free moral agency. Since most have rejected God's government, then who will rule over them ? So there arises power struggles. Mankind is a social creature. We live in groups, with the most basic human group being the family. So mankind for the most part have ruled over themselves through their own various forms of governments. There are power struggles as to see who will control these governments. Politics is a power struggle, and war through other means. If politics cannot solve the problem as to who will control the government, then war often breaks out between competing factions. The ones who win the war, are the ones who get to control the government. To illustrate, the French and English were competing with each other as to see which would control the land currently known as Central and Eastern Canada. The power struggle, could find no ways to resolve itself politically, so war broke out. The issue was settled on the Plains of Abraham between a British Army under General Wolfe, and a French Army under General Montcalm. The British defeated the French, and so this is why we here in Canada today are a Constitutional Monarchy, with the Queen of England as our official head of state. Our history is that of being a British colony, and we have very strong traditional bonds and ties with Britain. That's because a British force won the war, and so therefore the British won the power to control the political situation in this land. Mankind has created all kinds of different forms of government, in their efforts to rule over themselves. Some illustrations of the different forms of government are; monarchy, military dictatorship, democracy, communism, fascism, socialism, and so on. Winston Churchill once described democracy as " the worse form of government, except for all the rest. " Humans are very adaptable, and can live under all kinds of various forms of government. However, brutal dictatorships are not very pleasant to live under. Millions have died as a result of these brutal regimes. Most of mankind Has Rejected God's Rule Over Their Personal Lives Where do we as individuals get our standards from ? How do we decide what is right or wrong ? Those persons who are not in rebellion against God, get their standards from God's word the Bible. The Bible tells them what is right and wrong. This doesn't mean they follow it perfectly, but generally speaking the Bible provides for them the ideal in human conduct they work towards. For those who do not get their standards from God through the Bible - they simply get them from somewhere else. Perhaps their own manmade religion. Most people simply follow other people, and get their standards from the society they live in, or grew up within. They follow other people, rather than following God. There are also various philosophies and ideologies people follow, like feminist ideology for example. Evolutionary ideology also has a following, as does political correctness, and free market ideology. They are a Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Buddhist or Lutheran, because they just grew up in that religion. Most people do not consciously through personal choice decide what religion to follow, but rather they just accept the norms of the society and religion they grew up in. They just conform to the societal norms around them for the most part. If they were to deviate from the accepted societal norms then they would be subject to political pressure to not do that. They perhaps may be ostracized socially, or may face political pressure within the community to conform to the religious norms. Being a social outcast is not pleasant for such a social creature. It may certainly mean the loss of social status, which most human beings value so highly. The point is this. From where do we get our standards, and our sense of importance and status ? Do we look to God, or men ? For those of us who follow God we get our identity and feeling of worth from God not mankind. Who are we, and where are we going ? If we have a real relationship with the Creator then these perplexing questions are answered for us. We are made in the image of God, and have the potential to be made in the spiritual image of God, and live forever in God's Kingdom, and this applies to all of mankind. God shows me His plan for us (and all people) in the Bible. Politics is a power struggle, and war through other means. Since most of mankind is in rebellion against God, and God's Kingdom does not yet rule here on earth - people struggle for power. To illustrate take God's form of government in the family. If we will follow God's standards and rule then we will follow the Biblical form of government within the family as spelt out in the New testament. These Biblical family principles, and laws are the following;
Ephesians 5:25 " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; " Ephesians 5:22-23 " Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. " Ephesians 6:1-4 " Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. " (1 Peter 3:1-8) (1Corinthians 11:3) These are spiritual laws. God Himself will not force people to obey these laws, but there are spiritual consequences to not obeying them. Mankind has free moral agency. If people rebel against God's laws governing the family, or are unaware of them, or simply don't follow them for whatever reason then there arises politics within the family. Who will be in control, if they reject God's rule in their home and family? If the husband doesn't put God first, if the wife doesn't respect her husband's God given authority, if the children are not taught to honour and respect their parents, if there are not these clear rules for governing the family and keeping order - then politics emerge. Most of humanity has rejected God's rule including His laws governing the family. So most families are full of politics. There are power struggles. This is where most people learn to follow and practice politics - from their families. The origins of politics are from the fact that most of humanity simply is hostile to, and in rebellion against God's rule over their individual and collective lives. They don't want God telling them what to do and how to live. They don't want to follow God's written word the Bible. Most of them will not have God rule their lives. So they turn to politics as the way and means to decide who will set the rules and be in control. Politics is a power struggle. War is an extension of politics. Politics is warfare without the bloodshed. War is a naked power struggle. God will not have anybody in His Kingdom , if they don't recognize and respect His power and authority and rule over their lives. There are no power struggles in God's family. Everyone is firmly united behind God the Father, who is the head of the family. There are no politics in God's Kingdom, and family. God is the one who sets the rules, and those of us who are part of God's family simply accept humbly God's standards and we try to follow them. Christ Himself obeyed God when He lived here on earth as a human being. I am not involved in politics, because I have accepted God's rule over my life. I just trust in God - not in mankind. God is quite capable, and able. He will enable me to follow His ways, without having to rely on politics. So I don't need or want politics, because I try hard to follow God's ways, and I trust in God. I will not bow down to lifeless idols. I will not follow sinful policies. I will not simply go along with lies and corruption just to please others. I will not follow a multitude into evil, just because it is the politically convenient thing to do. Whether God chooses to help me and support me in my stand for what is right, fair and just - well that is up to God. I trust in God irregardless.
Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. " Readers are encouraged to point out biblical errors in all of my material and writings on spiritual matters. If you can find scriptural errors in my teachings - teachings that cannot be backed up by hard, concrete biblical doctrine - then I will gladly accept the constructive criticism and make the changes needed. So please go ahead and point out my mistakes, but your criticism must not be based on mere opinion, but must be able to be proved from the Bible.
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" Man is by nature a political animal. " Aristotle 384 BC - 322 BC " Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. " Mao Tse-Tung |