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Re: the Jesus Manifesto » Maintenance Mode

jurisnaturalist — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:42:59 -0000

While Jesus calls for the rejection of the use of force, and thus appears anarchist, he does not abolish the law. A Minarchist solution, supporting courts which employ a common law process, such as existed in Israel during times they were not worshiping idols both before the kings, and after the exile, might be more appropriate.
We must remember to make the distinction between law and government. It is the use of force that makes government dangerous, and a pagan institution, but the legal process of courts has always been an alternative to force. Instead of gunning one another down over disputes, we agree to take it to court to be heard by an impartial third party accountable to a set of precepts derived from the true nature of man in a scientific process. Perpetrators obviously have the greatest incentive to appeal to the court system over vigilante justice.,

The genius of the pentateuch is that God wrote the law and then allowed for case law to discover its application in various situations. Pagan law is written by a concentrated interest and always serves that interest better than the majority and much better than the least of these - which common law does a good job of protecting.

I had read Hauerwas , Yoder, and Bonhoeffer, but this was the first I had heard of Ellul, thank you.

Have you looked into the Austrian Economists? There are many excellent arguments for why anarchism is most consistent with human nature in their writings.

Finally, acceptance of the Christian ethic and anarchism involves a recognition of the responsibility Christians accept for the least of these. Pagans will continue to vote themselves bread and circuses, but Christians must be sure to meet the mandates of the gospel in social terms before any shift occurs in public opinion.

Nathanael Snow

ndsnow@gmail.com

Re: Anarchism, Christianity, and the Prophetic Imagination 14

jurisnaturalist — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:42:59 -0000

While Jesus calls for the rejection of the use of force, and thus appears anarchist, he does not abolish the law. A Minarchist solution, supporting courts which employ a common law process, such as existed in Israel during times they were not worshiping idols both before the kings, and after the exile, might be more appropriate.
We must remember to make the distinction between law and government. It is the use of force that makes government dangerous, and a pagan institution, but the legal process of courts has always been an alternative to force. Instead of gunning one another down over disputes, we agree to take it to court to be heard by an impartial third party accountable to a set of precepts derived from the true nature of man in a scientific process. Perpetrators obviously have the greatest incentive to appeal to the court system over vigilante justice.,
The genius of the pentateuch is that God wrote the law and then allowed for case law to discover its application in various situations. Pagan law is written by a concentrated interest and always serves that interest better than the majority and much better than the least of these - which common law does a good job of protecting.
I had read Hauerwas , Yoder, and Bonhoeffer, but this was the first I had heard of Ellul, thank you.
Have you looked into the Austrian Economists? There are many excellent arguments for why anarchism is most consistent with human nature in their writings.
Finally, acceptance of the Christian ethic and anarchism involves a recognition of the responsibility Christians accept for the least of these. Pagans will continue to vote themselves bread and circuses, but Christians must be sure to meet the mandates of the gospel in social terms before any shift occurs in public opinion.

Nathanael Snow
ndsnow@gmail.com

Re: the Jesus Manifesto » Maintenance Mode

jurisnaturalist — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:24:34 -0000

Is there a condensed version of Politics of Jesus? Anyone interested in collaborating on one? ndsnow@gmail.com

1. Poverty / abortion: The church must assume full and exclusive responsibility. If we fail to help the poor, then the state has opportunity to create a program to help them. (Remember, the state does not raise taxes to pay for programs, it creates programs as an excuse to raise taxes.) Unless the church is willing to assist pregnant women and adopt their children it has no voice in the abortion debate.

2. Power cannot care about the things Jesus cares about. Power exists for three reasons: 1. To keep the power it has. 2. To use its power on someone else. 3. To get more power. We should work to limit the influence of power by eliminating as many privileges as possible.

3. Christians should vote, if there is someone running for office who wants to limit the scope of the state. This limits our choices to Libertarians for the most part. Christians should run for office, for the purposes of hampering corruption or working to limit the scope of the state from the inside.

We have to recognize that the state harms people, whether or not they are Christians. It is merciful to work to reduce the scope of the state.

Nathanael Snow

ndsnow@gmail.com

Re: Political Action and the Kingdom of God

jurisnaturalist — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:24:34 -0000

Is there a condensed version of Politics of Jesus? Anyone interested in collaborating on one? ndsnow@gmail.com

1. Poverty / abortion: The church must assume full and exclusive responsibility. If we fail to help the poor, then the state has opportunity to create a program to help them. (Remember, the state does not raise taxes to pay for programs, it creates programs as an excuse to raise taxes.) Unless the church is willing to assist pregnant women and adopt their children it has no voice in the abortion debate.

2. Power cannot care about the things Jesus cares about. Power exists for three reasons: 1. To keep the power it has. 2. To use its power on someone else. 3. To get more power. We should work to limit the influence of power by eliminating as many privileges as possible.

3. Christians should vote, if there is someone running for office who wants to limit the scope of the state. This limits our choices to Libertarians for the most part. Christians should run for office, for the purposes of hampering corruption or working to limit the scope of the state from the inside.

We have to recognize that the state harms people, whether or not they are Christians. It is merciful to work to reduce the scope of the state.

Nathanael Snow
ndsnow@gmail.com

Re: the Jesus Manifesto » Maintenance Mode

jurisnaturalist — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:12:17 -0000

The problem with voting among Christians is that it tends to be a battle over control of the political mechanism. If it is possible to vote in a way that increases limitations on the power of the political mechanism it is advisable to do so. In so doing we limit the power which the state exercise over innocents and participate in an act of mercy. This is in my view legitimately prophetic.
If the motivation for voting is to gain hold of a larger portion of the franchise for the purpose of exercising its power in our own behalf, in order to capture privilege, then it is altogether evil and no better than the actual use of violence on others.

Nathanael Snow

ndsnow@gmail.com

Re: the Jesus Manifesto » Maintenance Mode

jurisnaturalist — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:12:17 -0000

Re: 10 Reasons to Vote: A Sympathetic Challenge to Mark’s 10 Reasons NOT to Vote

jurisnaturalist — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:12:17 -0000

Re: the Jesus Manifesto » Maintenance Mode

jurisnaturalist — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:33:57 -0000