The Price of Freedom

Warriors - One of our readers asked me to write a newsletter on how Christians should respond politically. From a practical standpoint the answer is close to home. For this world to change, we are going to have to adopt a Kingly lifestyle: become entrepreneurial and generate wealth. It’s a big challenge. It’s starting among believers already. It’s fun. And the Spirit of God is opening the door for all of us. See our article on Capitalism based on Harold’s book. To date, the Church has made disciples who are a prone to be passive servants willing to yield to what fate and government bring their way. The freedom we have in Christ and in our nation is a spiritual heritage handed down to us from warriors who fought on both the natural and the spiritual front. God is adding that Kingly ingredient back into our discipleship process in this hour… a people willing to pay the price to possess their land in every mountain. Does that sound onerous? It's really just pursuing your heart's desire and bearing fruit in the area of your own calling. It's actually fun!

From an informational standpoint, I can’t do better than reprinting this article. George Bakalov is an immigrant from Bulgaria and a member of ICA (International Coalition of Apostles). His views on America’s current march towards socialism are very enlightening. His website is http://georgebakalov.com.

George Bakalov - Seven years ago our family relocated to the United States. Most people come to America are seeking a better life. Our family moved here based on the conviction that our move was part of God’s plan for our ministry in his service. Hence, I don’t feel like an “immigrant” but rather at home here in the state of Minnesota and in the United States. I firmly believe this nation came to exist by God’s own providence and it has achieved its greatness due to its Constitution and its hard-working, freedom loving and entrepreneurial-minded people.

As someone who was born and raised under a communist regime, I am acutely aware of how the system of government in a given nation can affect its people and its course.

From my many exchanges with Christians on matters involving society, government and politics, I am alarmed at how many believers lack clarity in these areas. Obviously the Church has failed to educate God’s people in the most fundamental principles of liberty.

Amazingly enough, there are actually many Christians who have ignorantly chosen to side with left-wing ideology, believing that somehow it’s the government’s job to take care of people, run entitlement programs and fix every problem in society. Leftist propaganda on campuses has our young people believing that capitalism is evil and socialism is compassionate.

I know first hand what communism does to people, society, the economy and human progress in general. It short, any system that gives government the power to run industries, redistribute wealth, ignore the law of the land (the Constitution) and penalize people who refuse to participate in its programs, is in essence socialism. Such a system of government inevitably leads to corruption in government, lowers the quality of life and limits the freedom of the individual. People try to escape societies like that all the time. For years, people have tried to come to America so they can work, earn and make a better life for themselves by keeping most of their earnings to themselves and giving some to government. Now this may change, as America under Barack Obama is starting to become more like the nations where you give more to the State and keep some to yourself.

PRESENTING…THE NICER COUSIN
Socialism is the nicer cousin of the left wing family of Marxist ideological variants. The difference between socialism and communism is not so much in the worldview or the philosophy that drives these different systems of government — it's ratios! That’s right; they only differ in the income-tax ratio, i.e. how much they tax their citizens vs. their income. One more thing — Communists use blatant violence to enforce their regimes; Socialists use the rule of man (not the rule of law). Communism is a system in which lawlessness is the law, terms like ‘Constitution’ have no meaning, a small elite dictates the rules, and people generally give over 90% of their income to the government. Violence is integral to communism for, without it, no society in its right mind will have ever adopted such an evil system. Ultimately, communism is about ONE THING and one thing only — economic slavery! The reason communists use violence and repressions is so they have a system in which people are enslaved and basically work for a small elite at the top of the pyramid. Socialism is the softer, more civilized version of communism, for it manages to enslave the people without the use of violence. Socialism settles for a smaller cut of the people’s earnings and it doesn’t use labor camps to instill fear into the citizens.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT!
Socialist countries in Western Europe have managed for decades to enslave their citizens with taxation up to 55% (personal income tax plus social security contributions combined. Link:

http://bit.ly/cy1TzA and also http://is.gd/aSPm9 )! In some cases, if your income goes higher, you may be taxed even more! Rationing is a way of life. Europeans have been so dumbed down, they don’t even understand the concept of being free individuals in charge of their own lives. It’s sad to say it, but it’s a fact. As it stands, EU countries spend 55% of their GDP on government! That’s right; 55 cents of each Euro the people actually produce, goes to pay for Euro bureaucrat programs and government! The Heritage foundation estimates that the US spends now over 35% of its GDP on government. However, my figures may be old and it may be well over 40% by now. To sum it up, Western Europe is in fact socialism with elements of capitalism. America has traditionally held the position of being capitalist with some elements of socialism, evidenced by a growing number of government programs in the second half of the 20th century. With the new health care legislation just passed, America is now set on the path of shifting towards the European model of socialism with elements of capitalism. In essence, this means the end of America as we know her.

HEALTHY AT GUN POINT?
The Obama Health Care Bill is only a cover for expanding government. There is new student loan legislation bundled in it, new powers for the IRS, and much more. For instance, did you know that the IRS will have to add 16,000 new agents to enforce the new law? Every citizen will be forced to buy government health insurance, and if you miss even one monthly payment IRS will fine you $750.00 http://bit.ly/9F03wp. This is horrible news! Anyone who has had anything to do with the IRS knows what this agency is like. Trust me, it couldn’t be worse! Why do Obama and the Democratic Party as embodied by the likes of Pelosi and Reid, want to expand government? So they can redistribute wealth! The next law Obama will change will be immigration. He will want to make sure illegals stay in America. The 12 million illegal immigrants, once they become legal under the new law (or so Obama believes), will become eligible for health benefits.

DO THE ELECTION MATH
This is a blatant buying of a whole voting block. The illegals and the 32% of Americans who pay 0% or near 0% federal income tax (http://is.gd/aSPz7) will now make up over 50 million voters who will most likely vote liberal. That’s 45% of the 130 million Americans who voted in the last US Presidential election (http://is.gd/aSQ3M)! This doesn’t even include voters who pay very little of the national tax burden, who vote liberal as well. These are people who want government to take from earners and redistribute the wealth to low income people. Liberals call this “social justice”. It is in fact socialism or statism. Statists enact laws that redistribute the wealth to low income people and this voting block in turn votes the statists into office. And this, my friends, is not what made America great as a nation! How far has this nation drifted from its roots! You also need to know that Health Care is only a cover for government take-over. Obama needs the take-over because as a leftist intellectual, he despises the people. He can’t trust voters too much. He’s an opportunist. The man is so narcissistic, he probably has a hard time imagining the world after he’s no longer a president.

Ideologically, Obama can best be described as a Neo-Marxist. Neo-Marxists are different from Marxists because they know too well that capitalism produces wealth and communism doesn’t. That’s why they want to assimilate it and integrate it into their Marxist agenda. While traditional Marxism proposed that wealthy people be eliminated and a new society built without the wealthy and the poor, the Neo-Marxist wouldn’t mind having rich people working for them. They miss only one point: nobody will strive to earn more only so they can give it away to the government, and the government, in turn, to their welfare dependents. Basically, Neo-Marxism is the new declaration of welfare state dependence.

Obama knows Europeans pay higher taxes and have to, some degree, managed to build their socialist utopia on earth. The question is now whether there are enough Americans who embody the founding principles and the spirit of freedom upon which this nation was built. The next elections will show. If the conservative movement fails to build enough momentum, both inside and outside of the Republican party, and as a result loses the mid-term elections this fall, this will be a blow to freedom even greater than the loss of 2008.

And should Barack Obama manage to get himself elected in 2012, this will be the end of America as we know her for sure. Not that the world will end. It’s been proven that people learn how to survive under oppressive regimes. I know firsthand. When the communists took over in Bulgaria in 1994, they confiscated all my great-grandparents’ lands at gunpoint. This “nationalization”, as they call it, was nothing else but robbery from the people. My parents lived their whole productive lives under communism. I watched how the system sucked the life out of them, forcing them to give their best to their jobs and let the state take care of their kids. This is the story of millions of people from the Communist Block. America doesn’t have to go this way.

OUR CHRISTIAN POSITION
I want you to know that if you are a Christian and you have been taught the apocalyptic end-time scenarios of dispensationalism, you probably have adopted the negative worldview that comes with this theological interpretation. You may be a very sincere person who otherwise has strong faith, morals and ethics. You are not your eschatology! So please don’t get offended by what I have to say next. I need to be honest.

End-timers love such apocalyptic scenarios. In a perverse way, they rub hands when the economy crashes, earthquakes kill thousands and wars erupt in the Middle East. They interpret such events as warning signs of a coming rapture, Anti-Christ and ultimately even Christ himself. They can believe whatever they want of course. In a free country you can believe in Santa Claus or not. You can even be deceived. It’s your right. But when it comes to righty dividing the Word of God, they are wrong! God’s plan for America and the world is not for us to watch our civilization sink into the darkness of economic meltdowns, communist takeovers and world Islamisation.

Let’s look at the broader picture together and from a Kingdom perspective: only 65 years have passed since World War II. Only 20 years ago Communist Russia capitulated, bankrupt and desperate for aid packages from the US and the developed world. China liberated her economy and gave world markets a lift. The world has just started experiencing some form of stabilization by forging free-trade agreements and cooperation. Christianity has been spreading like wild fire in the Southern Hemisphere. We have never been closer to seeing whole nations discipled. And some Christians are ready to check out already? Now, when we’re starting to see whole continents respond?

My theology tells me that Jesus Christ was made King of Kings and given power to reign until all his enemies become subject to his Kingdom. (1 Cor. 15:25) Jesus taught us to occupy until he comes (Luke 19:13). This means we as Christians are called to be on the offensive to take over over every area of life here on earth. This is not allegorical; it’s real. The question is not whether it will happen. The question is what role America will have to play in the unfolding plan of God. Will she become marginalized by her enemies within? Will she be brought to her knees economically by runaway government spending? Or will she shake off the neo-liberal parasites who seek her destruction and arise in new strength, renewed spirit and freedom? It will all be decided in November of this year and in 2012. God is not in the business of bringing down freedom! God is in the business of calling people to turn to Him and his principles of life so that He can bless us as individuals and societies. This goes for America and it also goes for every other nation and its people.

It’s time to pray, preach and work like never before. It’s time to awake! It’s time to stand up for freedom and stop playing church.

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer”
Benjamin Franklin – On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766