Live Not By Lies

           I recently read a very insightful book that explains some of the dangers in the current chaos going on in our American culture. Historically, there are few people who take these sorts of warnings seriously, but I pray if you are reading this you may be one of the few.

            The book is called Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher. Over the last few years, the author has interviewed many older people living in the US who had fled from other countries for their lives and freedoms. Story after story reveals real-life testimonials of the similarities between circumstances in America today with the ways in which totalitarianism took root in their native country. If you care about your family, freedoms, and God-given liberties, there is no time to waste in becoming more aware and taking appropriate action to resist the tyranny being thrust upon us.

             I’ll simply quote the author and let him explain. Part of the Introduction reads,

 

“What is happening here? A progressive—and profoundly anti- Christian militancy—is steadily overtaking society; one described by Pope Benedict XVI as a “worldwide dictatorship of seemingly humanistic ideologies” that pushes dissenters to society’s margins. Benedict called this a manifestation of “the spiritual power of the Antichrist.”2 This spiritual power takes material form in government and private institutions, in corporations, in academia and media, and in the changing practices of everyday American life. It is empowered by unprecedented technological capabilities to sur- veil private life. There is virtually nowhere left to hide.

The old, hard totalitarianism had a vision for the world that required the eradication of Christianity. The new, soft totalitarianism does too, and we are not equipped to resist its sneakier attack.

As we know, communism was militantly atheistic and declared religion to be its mortal enemy. The Soviets and their European allies murdered clergy and cast an uncounted number of believers, both ordained and lay, into prisons and work camps, where many suffered torture.

Today? The Western world has become post-Christian, with large numbers of those born after 1980 rejecting religious faith. This means that they will not only oppose Christians when we stand up for our principles—in particular, in defense of the traditional family, of male and female gender roles, and of the sanctity of human life—but also they will not even understand why they should tolerate dissent based in religious belief.

We cannot hope to resist the coming soft totalitarianism if we do not have our spiritual lives in order. This is the message of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the great anti-communist dissident, Nobel laureate, and Orthodox Christian. He believed the core of the crisis that created and sustained communism was not political but spiritual.

After the publication of his Gulag Archipelago exposed the rottenness of Soviet totalitarianism and made Solzhenitsyn a global hero, Moscow finally expelled him to the West. On the eve of his forced exile, Solzhenitsyn published a final message to the Russian people, titled “Live Not by Lies!” In the essay, Solzhenitsyn challenged the claim that the totalitarian system was so powerful that the ordinary man and woman cannot change it.

Nonsense, he said. The foundation of totalitarianism is an ideology made of lies. The system depends for its existence on a people’s fear of challenging the lies. Said the writer, “Our way must be: Never knowingly support lies!”3 You may not have the strength to stand up in public and say what you really believe, but you can at least refuse to affirm what you do not believe. You may not be able to overthrow totalitarianism, but you can find within yourself and your community the means to live in the dignity of truth. If we must live under the dictatorship of lies, the writer said, then our response must be: “Let their rule hold not through me\”

What does it mean for us today to live not by lies? That is the question this book explores through interviews with and testaments left by Christians (and others) from throughout the Soviet Bloc who lived through totalitarianism, and who share the wisdom they gained through hard experience.

Part one of this book makes the case that despite its superficial permissiveness, liberal democracy is degenerating into something resembling the totalitarianism over which it triumphed in the Cold War. It explores the sources of totalitarianism, revealing the troubling parallels between contemporary society and the ones that gave birth to twentieth-century totalitarianism. It will also examine two particular factors that define the rising soft totalitarianism: the ideology of “social justice,” which dominates academia and other major institutions, and surveillance technology, which has become ubiquitous not from government decree but through the persuasiveness of consumer capitalism. This section ends with a look at the key role intellectuals played in the Bolshevik Revolution and why we cannot afford to laugh off the ideological excesses of our own politically correct intelligentsia.

Part two examines in greater detail forms, methods, and sources of resistance to soft totalitarianism’s lies. Why is religion and the hope it gives at the core of effective resistance? What does the willingness to suffer have to do with living in truth? Why is the family the most important cell of opposition? How does faithful fellowship provide resilience in the face of persecution? How can we learn to recognize totalitarianism’s false messaging and fight its deceit?

How did these oppressed believers get through it? How did they protect themselves and their families? How did they keep their faith, their integrity, even their sanity? Why are they so anxious about the West’s future? Are we capable of hearing them, or will we continue to rest easy in the delusion that it can’t happen here?”

 

            I know many Christians who would explain this away by saying something like, “God is in charge. If he wants America to survive, he will see to it. Meanwhile, I’m called to ‘mind my own business’ and do the best I can with whatever comes my way.” In my opinion, this is a “cop out” and a lie!

            The worst thing about a lie is that there is always some truth in every lie. Of course, God is in charge! Of course, he can make anything happen! Of course, we are not to meddle in others’ affairs, and God delights in our best performance. But as in most lies, it is the omission of truth that makes it a lie. The truth is, throughout history (all through the Bible) God has used people to accomplish his purposes. His plans include his peoples’ cooperation. God’s work is done through his people. We are his people. His work is our work. His business is our business. And God calls us not to tolerate indifferent (see Philippians 2:2). He calls us to resist whatever comes our way that is from the enemy (and doesn’t honor the God we serve (see James 1:7-9). Jesus calls us to be “salt” and “light” (see Matthew 5:13-16). Salt is an active preserving agent. Light dispels darkness.

              

         Yes, there are some times when silence is appropriate, but those times are rare. As the martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated in Nazi Germany, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

         We must know the truth, believe the truth, cherish the truth, live the truth, and expose lies that do not line up with the Truth.  And Live Not By Lies!

            God is our Refuge and strength.  Psalm 46 blessings!

 by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

In the Grip of Fear

As long as there is breath in our bodies, each of us has a vulnerability to fear that doesn’t ever completely disappear.  We must face it to defeat it.  To conquer fear, we must understand the many different ways it disguises itself in its efforts to steer us away from overcoming faith.  Faith overcomes fear through courage, and courage is strengthened through exposure of fear’s masks.  I commend the reader’s courage to read on.    

Fear lurks in concerns, uncertainty, doubt, precariousness, instability, insecurity, imbalance, unpredictability, undependability, unreliability, unfairness, disorder, disarray, distress, and confusion to name some of the hiding places.  At this writing, almost 3 months into a global Wuhan China virus pandemic, the meaning of “uncertain future” has been taken to a new level for most of us.   

There is a good kind of fear that can serve as a warning for danger.  An example may be hearing a rattle while walking in the woods.  The warning of rattles on a rattle snake can help steer a person  clear of being harmed by the poison of a snake’s bite.  But fear can turn into its own kind of poison if concern is unwarranted, too much change comes our direction in a short period of time, or a crisis threatens our safety and security.  Fear is sometimes a natural response in wrestling with life’s realities.  However, if much time passes without a return to some sort of “normal,” a toxic form of stress weighs a person into anxiety or other unpleasant emotional conditions.  

When I post articles in sequence, I usually post the most recent building on the previous article.  In this case it is backwards.  The previous article called A PILL for the Virus targets how to overcome fear.  But I think I mistakenly assumed people recognize fear and want to get rid of it.  Sometimes it’s hard to see fear’s affects in our lives, and sometimes we don’t think it’s bad enough to hold us in it’s grip.  We must first train ourselves to identity fear before we can deal with it effectively.  Fear is a nasty virus.  The first step for a person to loosen its grip is to recognize what it looks like in daily life.  Asking ourselves some hard questions may be the best way to identify some roots of fear.

Are we thriving?  God created human beings to thrive, not just survive.  Have we merely adapted to a “new normal,” by creating new bad habits?  Or, are we holding firmly to values of faith, family, and friendship no matter what circumstances present us?  Whatever we do that is not done with intentional faith, is subject to a fear motivation.   

Are we believing lies?  God is the source of absolute truth.  Truth dispels fear, but fear is always attached to a lie.  In the case of this current pandemic, has the truth come out about the true origins, nature of spreading, accuracy of testing, methods of transmission, types of treatment, legitimacy of reporting, etc.?  Are we believing inaccurate science, untrustworthy government officials, propagandist so-called news reporting, opportunist financial analysts, ignorant celebrities, or simply anyone who thinks the way we think already?  

Are we over-reacting?  Everything that happens is within the sight,and timing, of God.  There is also nothing “bad” that happens, that he can’t turn into good (Romans 8:28).  If we are a follower of Christ, the very worst thing that could happen to us is that we die and go to heaven.  My readers may have a different opinion, but I don’t consider that a bad deal!  Although fear of death is real for some, the numbers of deaths in the current virus pandemic are smaller in magnitude to other similar pandemics in past times.  For persons with a healthy immune system, the chances of death are almost nothing.  In addition, because of the negative attention given to health care facilities, people with non-virus related conditions are not seeking proper medical help (or being refused in some cases), and dying from conditions they would have otherwise been successfully treated for (eg. heart attacks, strokes, mental health concerns).  Overreacting with fear of exposure to a “potential” virus is causing deaths.   Not to mention the economy and how businesses have needlessly been destroyed because of overreactions to the threat of spreading a virus.  

At this point let me say that I am not advocating removal of legitimate precautions especially for at risk groups like healthcare workers and first responders.    But in my opinion fear reactions by the general public have made conditions far worse than they need to be.  The term “self government” is not familiar to as many people these days, but it holds the key to America’s survival as a nation.  People cannot be forced to act responsibly and in good character.  Virtuous living cannot be legislated into existence.  One of our founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, in 1787 when asked what kind of government was created, answered, “A Republic ….  if you can keep it.”  The virtue practiced (or not practiced)  by individuals, makes or breaks the United States of America.  This is explained well in a book by Eric MeTaxas called “If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty.”   Fear is one of the greatest enemies of the principles and practice of the liberties we enjoy as Americans.  

Are we motivated by fear of loss?  God, our creator, created us to be creative.  Each person has a God-given purpose and meaning in life.  Our greatest satisfaction is felt when we are most in alignment with expressions of this purpose.  We are naturally motivated to try to make the most of any opportunity to advance this purpose.  The loss of missed opportunities are something we want to avoid, so we sometimes settle for the good instead of the best.  We go for the counterfeit and forfeit the real thing.  We grab the temporary, and lose sight of the lasting satisfaction.  Anything we are addicted to (feel like we can’t live without) fits in this category (eg. drugs, porn, busyness, nonmarital intimate relationship, phone, other technology).  Fear is the motivator behind the thinking that, “If I don’t have this _______ (fill in blank with person, activity, or thing), then I’ll be missing out on life.”    

TV advertisers have exploited our fear of loss for years with “Buy this product or service so you don’t miss out.”  Authoritarian style leaders promise, “Give us your acceptance of this inconvenience or restriction, and we’ll provide you with safety.”  Fear of loss of security is what motivates people to give up their God-given rights and freedoms.   

In recent months the assault of fear has shown itself in many other ways too numerous to mention here.  Fear has made everyone suffer (needlessly) for the misdeeds of a few.  Fear has people dwelling on the negative (pessimism), and not seeing the positive (optimism).  Fear has people drawing away from each other (physical presence) at a time (in crisis) when human connection is needed most (for endurance to persevere to make it through).  Especially those being stricken with the Covid-19 virus,  isolating them completely from their families is extremely short-sighted.  Fear creates and aggravates deeper mental health problems.  

Fear is creating havoc in our community, but its roots grow in each individual’s heart.  I pose some additional questions here for each person to ask.  

How/ where is fear operating in my life?

How/ where has fear become a negative influence in my thinking and actions in a crisis?

In what ways am I thinking differently (than pre-crisis)?  

From whom or where did I get information that made me think this way?  

How have my beliefs changed?  

What am I saying differently?  

From whom or where did I/ we acquire the new phrases I/ we am/ are hearing and repeating?

(eg. “flattening the curve,” “social distancing,” “new normal,” “public safety,” “essential services,” “non-essential workers”)

What things am I doing differently?

From whom or where did I pick up these actions and behaviors?  

What important values or aspirations have I given up on (as a result of all this)?

Have I/ we been suckered into accepting a dumbed-down existence for no real reason?

   How did I/ we let it happen?  

What could have I/ we done differently, and how do I/ we now make adjustments/ amends?

Am I/ Are we willing to refrain from complaining, justifying, and blaming

(and take responsibility for our contribution)?  

What have I/ we lost? What has been stolen/ destroyed?    

   How does that make me feel?   

   How have these thoughts and feelings turned into decisions, opinions, and condemning judgments?   

   Am I holding bitterness, resentment, or blame that I need to relinquish?

Am I/ Are we still is so much denial that these questions don’t make sense enough to stir thinking?     

If it seems like I may have more questions than answers, I guess that’s true.  Hopefully these question can spur some rational thinking.  Fear traffickers do not want people thinking for themselves.  Irrational fear has destructive results.  Fear-focused people are doomed to destructive outcomes.  Rational thinking focuses on solutions, not the problem.  Perhaps now the reader is better prepared to read my previous article for a P-I-L-L (solution) for this virus of fear.  (See article at: http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-pill-for-virus.html ,  OR see video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Px1tt5rjdM )

My hope for each reader is to escape the grip of fear as much as possible. This is our only hope for keeping the liberties we value as Americans.  

by Ed Hersh, BnB Healing Ministry