Dangerous Christianity Part 4: He Whom the Son Sets Free

Christianity’s threat to evil, powerful, God defying, satanic agenda promoting entities can be summarized in two key pillars found in its life transforming teachings. Firstly, it sets human beings free. And Secondly, it attaches people to alternative sources of power. These two pillars are certainly central to Jesus’ claim that He came to set people free and that whoever He sets free is free indeed. Part 1 of this series dealt with the question of power and agenda setting. The issue of who is wielding power over us was discussed in Part 2 of this series. Part 3 explored the matter of nonconformity and the believer. We will treat with these two pillars as we explore the permutations and implications of the freedom that Christianity extends to the believer in this article.

Christianity is diametrically opposed to bondage. Bondage is where those who want to wield power for ungodly purposes over others thrive most. It represents their ultimate objective as they proscribe and prescribe actions and consequences for those who are oppressed. Those who wield power over the oppressed do so for many and varied reasons: economic power and wealth, political power and control over others; social status and the advantages it gives them. Their interest lies in the benefits they themselves gain from wielding power over others and not the best welfare of the people and institutions over whom they are exercising power. This is baldly evident in political arenas, for example, where despots, tyrants and kleptocratic leaders exploit their populations for their own gain. Other areas of life manifest evil purpose; and any slight attention to our TV and other news sources depict this same problem in stark relief as we are bombarded with all kinds of wicked deeds and events perpetrated by individual and entities who abuse their power over others. More well-intentioned power-holders may genuinely aim to liberate oppressed people through participation in the practices of the oppressor. This idea is expressed in notions such as changing systems from within. Idealistic individuals become part of the oppressive status quo with the intention to change it from the inside. They, unfortunately generally succeed in perpetuating the oppression.

Social Scientists have long sought to explain this seemingly inevitable, unequal and exploitative power relationship between the powerful and those over whom they exercise power. According to Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of the oppressed, those who are being oppressed don’t know that they are in this state. They are very willing to perpetuate their state of oppression because of what they see as loyalty to their oppressor. They have to be animated or awakened to their plight as oppressed peoples. This is done through the work of an Animator or agent who comes to “conscientize” or awaken people to the reality of their situations. This awakening or conscientization is done through reeducation to enable them to reject oppression in favor of freedom. This idea, translated into our everyday terms implies that we, the ordinary people, are left with the illusion that we are free. We preach and sometimes practice our ideologies without much reaction from the powerful if we are lucky. Those who are less fortunate and live in non-western regimes instinctively keep our ideologies to ourselves as we tiptoe around those in power in order to avoid their wrath or vengeful actions and retaliation for encroaching on their power.

This tendency towards oppressive use of power is not surprising because Christianity teaches that human beings are flawed, sinful creatures who require redemption through Jesus death and resurrection. Redemption affords us the divine nature and the opportunity to walk in our spiritual, rather than carnal nature. This nature enables us to put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ and to pursue right action, driven by pure selfless godly purpose. This keeps us on the straight and narrow, but also shields us from carrying out the directives of dark agendas as we gain and begin to exercise power over others. In an ideal situation, the Christian can exercise power in a godly, liberating way – as opposed to evil oppressive ones. Only then can individuals and entities can attempt to ensure that their exercise of power does not eventually lead to selfish, ungodly purposes and outcomes. Put simply, outside of God all other attempts to wield power over others are doomed to eventual failure. One famous dictum notes that “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” to explain the corrupting nature of power. Christianity teaches that only God and those who walk in His ways can successfully resist the strong impetus towards oppression and selfish, self-seeking ends. Consequently, God warns us not to put our trust in political leadership because they are bound to fail (Psalm 118:9, 146:3).

Christianity not only provides the foregoing diagnosis of the human proclivity towards misuse of power, but it Challenges this thrust towards oppression and domination by beings and entities with evil intent. It offers a protective shield against their wiles and sophisticated schemes with its active, alternative, paradigmatic framework, and its continuous provision of alternative sources of information that pierces through any attempt at programming and manipulation of people’s worldviews and ideologies. It also resists and defeats attempts to fix allegiances to their agenda as it constantly orientates and redirects the believer towards submission to and worship of the sovereign God.

Christianity’s answer to who sets the agenda (explored in Part 1 of this series) is simply “God”. God is the Sovereign who rules over all and reigns in the affairs of men (Dan. 4:17). This Soverign demands the Christian’s allegiance, so that obeisance and allegiance to all other authorities are secondary.

This obvious allegiance is a challenge to any despot or totalitarian regime. This for example is why the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic under Stalin reputedly deliberately set out to destroy Christianity and attempted to exalt the state as “god” in its place. In Western democracies, where there is freedom of religion, less obvious, possible more effective methods are used to try to replace or reorder the believer’s allegiance. For instance, the welfare system is used as the channel or excuse to become involved in individual’s personal lives. With the provision of welfare, common defense services such as police and military, education and other social services, comes the almost inevitable attempts to dictate to individuals and families how they should be structured, whom they should marry, or the way they should train or grow their children for example. Other subtler forms of intrusion against the allegiance order of Christians are found in popular culture that promotes ideas, worldviews and values that directly contradict the teachings or operations of the Kingdom of God.

Consider for instance the phenomenon of “political correctness”. Christianity presents a danger to those who want to advance political correctness because it offers counter commands. For instance,

“speaking truth in love” is one such injunction which runs counter to political correctness.

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Eph 4:15 AV)

God places a premium on truth speaking and believers are constantly encouraged to abide by and practice this and other principles that He has outlined. The challenge to the establishment is evident. People who conform to divine injunctions in this regard, will not be controlled by attempts at enacting laws and policies promoting political correctness, nor any other god defying, Satan promoting agendas. Believers who pledge and keep their allegiance to Christ will obey the directives of the Kingdom, rather than the dictates of this world’s leadership.

The word teaches that Christ came so that we may be free. Jesus goes so far as to claim that whosoever He sets free is “free indeed” (John 8:36). We are taught that true freedom is provided in all areas of our lives: Physically as we are freed from negative behaviors from sin and carnality, addictions and ties that bind us to bad, destructive habits;

. We are given hope, comfort, and joy instead. Spiritually, we are freed from sins dreadful hold over us and its deadly consequences. Mentally, by providing us with an alternative paradigm and way of thinking so that we can resist the world’s ideological programming and embrace the new powerful reality available to us. Politically, we are freed from allegiance to evil powers who despitefully use us as our allegiance is transferred to a kind and loving King. Finally, Jesus also changes our identities so that we have access to God’s divine power and we can do all things through Him (Phil 4:13). God’s promise of all things stands as Jesus assures us that although things may be impossible for us, they are certainly possible for God (Matt 19:26, Mark 9:23,10:27).

This freedom eventually comes to permeate our lives as we begin to manifest God’s divine will and plans in our earthly existence.

The bible constantly reminds us of God’s plans to set us free indeed. Our minds are freed from the influences of political machinations, agendas transmitted through media, popular culture, and the education system. Our systems of value can be redeemed and changed to reflect those which God wants to impart to us. Our personalities are freed as we begin to transform in to what God plans for us.

God’s divine power empowers the believer by enabling him or her to do all things through Christ, assigning him or her the tools for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), effectuating his or her transformation by mental renewal. This empowerment does not stop there and can be translated into the social and political sphere. It equips the believer to begin to exercise authority over his or her reality through transformed mental attitudes, word and action. He/she can apply God’s teaching to his or her ordinary daily reality and adopt the mind of Christ that transforms his or her outlook and manifests in empowering, liberating decisions and choices. Faith is seen as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1) and the source of empowerment for radical, transformative human action in the spiritual, social, economic and political spheres in the Scriptures. This is detailed for example, in the Hebrews chapter 11 hall of faith’s list of successful achievers. This is supported by secular history that shows that believers from the early, fledgling days of the Christian religion have successfully overcome great odds, such as persecution, changed political, social and economic systems like the Abolition movement in England with William Wilberforce; Created enduring effective social intervention driven institutions such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, and the list could go on.

The Christian faith puts believers on the cutting edge of proper, purposeful godly exercise of power over themselves and others. As an influence on decision-making it has kept us flawed human beings on the right side of the exercise of power as we seek and trust God’s divine purpose and intervention into our everyday lives. It enables us to promote Godly agendas to transform lives and impact the world for good as history shows. When pursued according to God’s design, Christianity helps us to avoid corruption and the promotion of the satanic agenda. As a paradigm, it empowers us to raise a standard against attempts at programming and bending us toward godlessness and iniquity. It gives us the capacity to resist the devil and force him to flee (James 4:7), overcome self, and exercise a faith that is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).

Learn More about Early Christianity’s evolution and development from Dr. Johnathan Phillips’ “Ancient Roads: From Christ to Constantine” at:

https://www.tpt.org/ancient-roads-from-christ-to-constantine/

 Learn more about the formation of the Salvation Army and the Red cross.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/salvationarmy_1.shtml

And:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement

Learn more about William Wilberforce and the movement for abolition of slavery in Britain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce

Learn more about Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Freire, Paulo. 1972. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

Learn more about Building on the word of God and Faith from March to Maturity.

Sproul, Wendy. 2017. March to Maturity: Grounded and Built. North Charleston, South Carolina. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform