Socialism and The Divine Right of Kings
The apostle Paul indicates that government is ordained by God (Romans 13:1). He teaches that anyone who “rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted” Romans 13:2).
King David refused to kill Israel’s corrupted and failing king, Saul, saying it was wrong to act against one anointed to the throne by God (1 Samuel 24:3–15). Based on these biblical principles, the divine right of kings claims that kings have been placed in their positions by God, making them accountable to God and God alone. Rulers have a divine right to the throne and to the authority they possess. Only God, according to the divine right of kings, has the right to remove a king or emperor or to judge him for his actions. This means kings cannot be deposed or rebelled against by their people. To rebel against the king, according to the divine
right of kings, is to rebel against God.
Bernie Sanders has been briefed by US officials that Russia is attempting to help his campaign. U.S. intelligence officials are briefing Capitol Hill that the Kremlin may be attempting to help Sanders. Then in a statement, Sanders disavowed any alleged assistance from Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
The warning about the Russian effort to help Sanders was first reported by The Washington Post and was also information given to Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In 2016, Russia used internet propaganda to sow division in our country, and my understanding is that they are doing it again in 2020. Some of the ugly stuff on the
internet attributed to our campaign may well not be coming from real supporters.
World Headlines
Shock new poll finds Bernie Sanders — avowed “socialist” proclaiming “revolution” — ahead of all Democratic presidential contenders.
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Party leaders panicking, say Sanders leading a “cult” that could lead to “the end of days.”
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FEBRUARY 14, 2020
(Jerusalem, Israel) — Can an avowed socialist win the Democratic presidential nomination? The latest polls say yes.
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“SANDERS CEMENTS FRONT-RUNNER STATUS AFTER NEW HAMPSHIRE WIN”
"After winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has “opened up a double-digit lead over former Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders is now “the first choice for 29% of Democratic primary voters, up 4 % points since polling conducted Feb. 4-9. Biden’s support fell 3 points during that time to 19%.”
A growing number of top Democratic strategists say they are terrified, especially since a recent CNN analysis indicated Sanders’ economic proposals could cost $60 trillion, “an expansion of government’s cost and size unprecedented since World War II.”
James Carville, a former chief political strategist for President Bill Clinton said, “There’s a certain part of the Democratic party that wants us to be a cult. I’m not interested in being a cult." Some people in this country want a revolution. They want disruption. They scream at people and bully people. According to Carville, "I don’t know how you win an election — but you gotta give people an alternative….If we [Democrats] go the way of the British Labour Party - it’s going to be the end of days." When Sanders responded by calling Carville “a political hack,” Carville replied, “At least I’m not a communist.”
The issue of this campaign — is that word — socialism. Chris Matthews, MSNBC host of “Hardball” who used to work for a Democratic Speaker of the House, says "Some people like it — younger people like it — seeing countries like Cuba and being there, I’ve seen what socialism is like, I don’t like it. OK — it’s not only not free, it doesn’t freekin’ work.”
Most Democrats running don’t subscribe to Bernie Sanders’ socialism and his economic policies. Sanders is not even a member of the Democratic Party. He’s actually a registered
Independent. And he is not shrinking back from the “socialist” label — he’s proud of it, even as he openly calls for “political revolution” in America. As democratic candidates drop out they will throw their support to Joe Biden.
Sanders said in June 2019 “To bring about real change, we need a political revolution where millions of people stand up, fight, and demand a government which works for all of us — not
just the 1%. And that is what my campaign is all about.”
So, can Sanders really win the Democratic nomination?
It’s way too early to say. But he’s creating a political earthquake in the United States that certainly bears watching.
What is socialism?
The most prominent philosopher to argue in favor of socialism was Karl Marx. He taught that the driving factor behind all of human history is economics. Marx was born to German Jewish parents in 1818 and received his doctorate at age 23. He then embarked on a mission to prove that human identity is bound up in a person’s work and that economic systems totally control a person.
Arguing that mankind survives by labor, Marx saw the Industrial Revolution as changing the basic lifestyle of humanity, because, in Marx’s mind, those who had freely worked for themselves were now forced by economics to work in factories instead. Marx felt this stripped away their dignity and identity and now they were reduced to mere slaves controlled by a powerful taskmaster. This made capitalism the natural enemy of Marx’s brand of socialism.
Was he right?
Not according to Scripture.
Ecclesiastes 5:18–19
"It is God who gives a person skill at labor and the wealth that comes from it, not the government: “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God”
Marx was wrong in his socialist belief that the value of a product is based on the amount of labor that is put into it. The quality of a good or service simply cannot be determined by the amount of effort a laborer expends. For example, a master carpenter can more quickly and beautifully make a piece of furniture than an unskilled craftsmen can, and therefore his
work will be valued more.
Socialism is wrong in teaching that a person’s identity is bound up in the work that he does. Scripture says that all have equal worth because all are created in the image of God. Human value lies in God’s creation of us.
Kings, and government in general, are divinely appointed only in the sense that human government is one of God’s means of restraining human sin (Romans 13:3). Christians are obligated to respect human government (Romans 13:5–7) and to obey the laws of the land whenever there is no conflict with God’s laws (see Acts 5:29).