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"The free market and democracy by themselves, unmoored by a religious population or a moral population, are nothing. The free hand of the market will provide cheaper, better pornography and drugs, if that's what the population wants."
"To have a robust free market is compromised if we are mired in debt, and to have a robust free market of ideas is compromised if religious freedom is threatened---They're really both sides of the same thing, different kinds of liberty inextricably intertwined."
--Eric Metaxes, best selling author of "Wilberforce," "Dietrich Bonhoehffer," Veggie Tales and many other books.
Speaking at CPAC last week, he told the organizers he was surprised that there were no CPAC panels on abortion or religious liberty.
And he explained why that matters morally and how those and other social issues are linked to America's future prosperity and freedom.
There is an unrelated survey just out that speaks to this very issue. In fact, it affirms that conservative biblical economic principles create more prosperity than the "income equality" policy of President Obama and the secular progressives.
Let me summarize Metaxes comments, then let's look at the study.
The Debt
"First of all," he said, "if we do not have a president who understands that this nation is going down for the third time and drowning on the issue of debt, the Great American Experiment of 230 plus years is over."
He said, "American liberty can not last with a government owing so much." He pointed out the growing dependence on government saying "Good jobs are better than food stamps."
Religious Liberty
He said, "Once religious liberty is compromised, all liberties are compromised," both the HHS mandate [on abortion] and the legal redefinition of marriage in some states are direct threats to religious liberty.
America's Heritage of Religious Freedom
He affirmed that the mechanisms of America's success in the world flow from its moral and religious heritage.
He said, "The very reason people left Europe in small boats to come here and risk their lives was for religious freedom."
He urged people of faith and conservatives to retell that story to voters---"If we don't know these stories in our bones and teach these stories, we really have nothing to sell."
He asked, "Do you remember the Pilgrims as real human beings who suffered horribly?---Do we remember that the Revolution was a real thing--that real men bled and died for that thing we call liberty?"
He reminded the audience that America is great because it has and does bless others. He reminded them that the founders of the Abolition and Civil Rights were serious Christians---that Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson were serious Christians.
He said the Revolutionary War was one that America should not have won by all standards---except for the Divine favor of God.
He said, "Liberty should have been strangled in the cradle that day, but somehow, it seems, God intervened."
He said this country is wealthy and made wealthy so that we could be generous, and to defeat enemies of liberty such as NAZI Germany---quoting Abraham Lincoln, "We shouldn't pray that God is on our side, but that we are on God's side."
It is true that America has been and continues to be the most generous nation in the history of the world. Americans have, through various charities---primarily Christian, etc. helped more people more often that any nation in history.
Our Founders often affirmed the linkage between morality and sound policy---morality and the proper function of the Constitution which they said was written "only for a moral and religious people."
In recent years secular progressives in government and public education have moved America philosophically from these sound moorings, while appealing to the masses with unlimited entitlements and government subsidies.
And they are creating a nation of dependence, which historically always leads to tyranny?
So how are the policies of redistribution working out?
Not so well, it appears--at least if you want the best for the people.
A new study by MoneyRates.com shows that the top 5 states that voted for President Obama, thus endorsing his policies, also have the highest " income inequality" of any states in the country.
So states that embrace a more socialistic policies and greater government involvement have more economic inequity.
Richard Barrington, the researcher who published the report, says the findings point to 2 things.
First, Democrats are more sensitive to "income inequality" because it is more prevalent in states that elect them. Secondly, income inequality is not necessarily a bad thing.
It is unfortunate that in recent years those who love freedom and the free market are accused of "hating the poor" and standing against "social justice." Or simply being greedy. That is not necessarily so.
Socialism and Communism are the same thing, except Communism is the natural extension of socialism and it usually takes on a more defined view of God--it says He doesn't exist.
The State becomes god.
States or countries that embrace socialistic policies are consistently less prosperous and much less free. In fact, history shows in many cases these governments ultimately become the agents of death.
The socialist revolution around the world gave us 6 million people killed by artificial famines in Ukraine and, as documented by "The Black Book of Communism," 20 million victims in the U.S.S.R., 65 million in China, 1 million in Vietnam, 2 million in North Korea, another 2 million in Cambodia, a million more in the rest of Eastern Europe, 150,000 in Latin America, 1.7 million in Africa, 1.5 million in Afghanistan and through the international Socialist and Communist movement and related parties about 100,000 more victims in various nations--100,000,000 total.
Communism and socialism completely destroyed the economy, social fabric, and political culture of dozens of nations.
The compatibility of Christianity and its legitimate concern for the poor owes nothing to the violent and inhuman regimes created by the socialist revolution. No system in human history has produced more poverty and misery than socialism.
Socialism is not, nor has it ever been, an expression of social justice.
Where these regimes are in power, they stand in stark opposition to the Christian church and Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Religious leaders and adherents are routinely sent to labor camps or simply executed because of their Christian faith.
The principles of socialism are not only incompatible with free, just and democratic societies, but stand in the spirit of anti-christ against against the Christian church. And against freedom and liberty.
Class warfare and class envy has always been the tool of Satan. It is also the useful tool of socialism. When planted in hearts, it fosters hatred and envy. This is why the Ten Commandments say, "Thou shall not covet." And it is why biblical teaching instructs us to not compare ourselves with one another. It is destructive on many levels.
The present move toward socialism in the US exploits the common man with this emotional devise, while promising to offer a solution to his misery and envy---"income equality".
Ironically, the MoneyRates study shows that people who live and work in communities that do not aspire to "income equality" but focus on opportunity and creativity actually do better financially.
While there may be greater disparity between incomes, the median worker makes more in that community than in those controlled for the sake of "income equality". In a free market community there is greater opportunity for advancement because the government is not leading people to "bury their talents."
Jesus was very clear on responsibility in relation to what a person has been given.
The President has recently called "income inequality" the defining challenge of our time, while making it a pivotal issue for his remaining time in office.
His policies have already proven socialistic principles don't work. And history records an even darker record of this philosophy.
Socialism stands in stark contrast and opposition to Christianity and biblical principles.
It was Daniel Webster, perhaps the most talented Senator to ever serve in the US Senate who said, "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Pro-Active. Be Prayerful. Be Free.