Our Life and Times : Biblical Reasoning for a Modern Age
BLOGGER · THEOLOGIAN · APOLOGIST
Norman Harold Patterson Jr.
The Most Terrifying Words
A fascinating phenomenon is happening. We are living in a time when, if you question the government’s narrative, you are accused of either denying the seriousness of the virus (stupidity) or you are accused of not caring about other people (selfishness). It’s a script the herd has swallowed; hook, line, and sinker.
It all leads to the same end: faith in the government and suspicion of all those who question the narrative. It is brilliant! The government doesn’t even need to suppress dissent, our fellow citizens do it for them.
How ironic that Ronald Reagan, the most powerful government official of his time, said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
Welcome to The New Church of the USSA
Welcome to the New Church of Amerika. Christians, you brought this on yourselves. Who will rise up to stop this idolatry and insanity?
(All the items listed below are a combination of mandates that are listed on different church websites in Connecticut and throughout the United States of America or are legal truths of incorporated churches)
In the New Church:
Since we are an incorporated “church” we must comply with the Secretary of State who is our sovereign head.
You must obey your governmental leaders.
You must obey your church leaders who obey your governmental leaders
You have to register online before you attend.
You have to receive confirmation before you show up.
If too many are registered, you will be put on a waiting list.
We practice contact tracing on behalf of the State so please inform us if you are sick or have tested positive for COVID-19.
If you receive confirmation to attend, you must wear a mask.
Wear gloves if you have to touch anything or anybody.
Hand sanitizer is distributed all throughout the sanctuary.
You have to maintain at least 6 feet social distancing.
To not touch anyone!
Do not hug!
To not greet anyone with a” holy kiss”!
To not extend the “right hand of fellowship”!
No praising God through the singing of hymns, songs, or songs of the Spirit.
Offering will no longer be part of the service. Buckets are placed at the entrance for your safety.
Do not come to the altar for prayer!
If you are sick, stay home! We will not pray for you in person. There will be no laying on of hands.
There will be no communion.
There will be no baptisms.
Failure to comply with any or all of the listed mandates can and will result in excommunication and/or expulsion from our church.
And don’t forget to enjoy the liberty to worship we enjoy here in the United States of America.
Final note:
God has not called me to lead a church at this time, but if there are Christians who want to gather as a non-incorporated, non-statist, non-comforming church, please let me know. I would lead such a church as this. Or if there is such a church meeting here in Connecticut, please let me know. It would be refreshing to worship with dangerous Christians.
God have mercy on us!
The Civil Magistrate and the Closing of Church
Does the Government have the authority to forcibly close Churches in a time of crisis, and should Christians comply?
It’s a good question. It seems easy to answer, but there is more to the subject than meets the eye. During this time, taking time apart to stop the spread of a potentially deadly disease is a wise thing to do. Many pastors are adapting quickly to continue providing spiritual leadership online. Good for them!
But back to the question, however. Does the Government have the right and authority to close the Church forcibly, and should Christians comply? Furthermore, how much control does the Government have over the Church in the USA? The answer may surprise you.
Many do not realize that most churches in America agreed to be controlled by the Government. This agreement started when someone, usually the pastor, voluntarily signed their Church up to become a State corporation. When churches incorporate, they agree to make the State their sovereign head and, in many states, give the State a wide-ranging regulatory authority over them.
What is a corporation? It is a fictitious legal “Person” created by the State. Most churches incorporate for the advantages and protections of the corporate legal structure, believing this is the only way to receive tax-deductible contributions. However, the Church is “non-taxable,” and all donations are automatically tax-deductible. The only reason an incorporated church needs to apply for 501(c)3 exemption is that it gives over its legal status of being part of the Church and becomes a State corporation, it becomes taxable because it is now a State created fictitious “person.” Now that it is taxable, it must apply for 501(c)3 tax-exemption. Some incorporate because they want liability protection. Given the fact that the corporate veil can be pierced reveals this is not a good reason to incorporate.
The incorporation of churches nullifies the line that once existed between Church and State once a church incorporates.
Why is it that American pastors rush to the State to become incorporated while, at the same time, the underground church is growing by leaps and bounds in oppressed countries? Many Christians don’t realize there are plenty of churches in tyrannical nations such as China. But Chinese officials are careful to monitor them to be sure they continue to comply. They have to be State licensed churches to stay open.
We’ve seen the State oppress the Church all throughout history. Brave men and women such as Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand of Romania refused to submit to communist oppression by being imprisoned and even tortured for Christ instead of becoming stooges for the State church. Instead of selling out to the State, Richard and Sabina suffered unimaginable atrocities for the cause of Christ and the Underground Church.
Compare that to the American Church, who, far too often, has adopted a business model of operation. Is it any wonder it seeks legitimacy through incorporation. Too many have become program-personality-entertainment-centered churches doing whatever it takes to survive. How different is that mentality from the New Testament Church that thrived in the hostile Roman Empire competing against countless religions, including the worship of the emperor as a symbol of the State?
So, if and when you hear Christians lamenting and bemoaning the supposed oppression of their church, remind them their church signed up for it when they signed their incorporation papers.
Jesus Christ said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) It’s time for the American Church to get out of bed with the Government through incorporation and become the Glorious Body of Christ once again. There may come a time when we will be required to defy the Government and gather for worship. (Acts 5:29) That time may even come during times of an epidemic where sick people need love, care, and hands-on prayer. (James 5:14+15)
Does the Government have the right and authority to close the Church forcibly, and should Christians comply? My answer is “Yes” and “No.”
Yes, the Government has the right and authority to close the 501(c)3 State Corporation church. Yes, members of incorporated churches should comply.
And
No, the Government does not have the authority to forcibly close the true Church. No, members of the true Church should not comply. For goodness sake, stay home for safety safe, but don't do it because the Government closed the Church through force or threat of force.
The American State “Church”
How interesting that in China it is a crime to NOT put your church under the authority of the government but here in the US one of the first things a "church" does is voluntarily become a State corporation and then file for 501(c)3 tax exemption as a State corporation.
"One recent case of persecution is Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Church in Chengdu. Wang Yi committed no crime, but he was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined the equivalent of $7,500 (USD) for refusing to put his church under the authority of the Chinese government. After a year in prison, he was tried in a secret one-day trial that even his wife wasn’t allowed to attend." From a recent email sent by Voice of the Martyrs
We find the Dominion Mandate for Bible-believing Christians in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
For Christians, this means that God has given us the responsibility to take dominion over the entire world. We have God's approval and authority to "fill the earth and subdue it." Add to this Christ's call in Matthew 28:19+20 to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
While God called Christians to be separate from the world in holiness, He doesn't give us the option to isolate ourselves from the world physically. As Jesus said:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. John 17:14-15
Because of false piety and a lack of understanding of these and other Dominion affirming Biblical texts, Christians far too often vacate the world, leaving an "influence vacuum." As the old saying goes, "nature abhors a vacuum." Because of this, instead of taking Dominion over the arts, sciences, court systems, political offices, universities, and so on, Christians withdraw into isolated communities only to leave the world unoccupied.
As a result, anti-Christ people and philosophies have readily taken over virtually every facet of life. The greatest antithesis to Biblical Christianity has understood and intentionally implemented the Dominion Mandate for their own sinister ends.
The most dangerous of all are those espousing Cultural Marxism. Briefly, Cultural Marxism is an expansion of Classical Marxism, which focuses primarily on the economic philosophy of Karl Marx. Cultural Marxism is much more all-encompassing than Classical Marxism.
Ultimately, Cultural Marxism is about liberating humanity from the moral constraints of Biblical Christianity. The Bible prohibits same-sex intimacy, adultery in all forms, polygamy, bigamy, bestiality, pedophilia, and so on. God created man and woman in His image and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply; the Dominion Mandate!
The method Cultural Marxism employs to propagate its insidious agenda is through applying the Biblical Mandate. The plan has been and continues to be for those who oppose Biblical Christianity to infiltrate and dominate every known sphere of influence. As Voddie Bachem pointed out, their strategy is to take over the "robes" of society; professors, pastors, and judges, for example.
R.J. Rushdoony and the Christian Reconstructionists proposed the same tactic, taking over the "robes" of society. However, instead of a great "Amen" from the rest of the Church, Christian Reconstructionism has been vilified as patriarchal, extreme, and misguided.
In the meantime, Cultural Marxism is dominating the universities, media, churches, courts, arts, etc. They are putting Christians and Christianity to shame by their ardent intentionality to dominate the world for Self.
As the degeneration of our culture continues, so will the hostility toward Biblical Christianity. And just as Marxism tried to destroy Biblical Christianity through the reign of terror in anti-Christ regimes like the Soviet Union and Communist China, modern Marxists will not rest until Biblical Christianity is destroyed.
The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus Christ. He said that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The image Christ was giving was not a Church that was cowering in the corner, battening down the hatches until the storm of hell subsided. Just the opposite. Hell is under attack, and its filthy gates are no match for the power and glory of the Risen Christ and His Bride.
Christians can no longer cower in corners. It is time for us to take up the battle cry and assault Cultural Marxism and any other "high place" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that dares to raise itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons are not of the flesh (Ephesians 6), but they are weapons nonetheless and are worthless if left unused.
It is time for Christians to take back our country, our world for Christ. We must do it according to the means and methods of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, which means we must take Dominion and occupy all walks of life for the glory of the crown rights of Jesus Christ.
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