Prison of Silence Rest on Social Indoctrination;
Not Discussing Religion and Politics is a Trap
Several people were bragging about how they avoided interpersonal conflict to achieve a wide circle of friends. They simply refused to discuss religion or politics; even going so far as to brag about not even watching the news to avoid any discussions that might lead to conflict. As these people patted each other on the back for their wisdom, they reminded me of hens who pecked the ground bare and congratulated each other on their thoroughness of creating dependence on the farmer for free food. The outcome unfortunately will be the same for both. Only the hens have an excuse as they are the actual dumb animals.
I first heard this mantra during various movie and television shows growing up. This was usually spoken by the authority figure as eternal wisdom to avoid pointless conflict that could lead to fights and broken relationships. I have oft heard this since and always from a position of pseudo-wisdom. It has become so oft repeated as to be accepted as truth even though it is beyond being trite. People not only repeat it but live by it to such an extent that they do not even think about its implications. Sort of a blind leading the blind while congratulating themselves on their self-imposed wisdom. It has become synonymous with another wise view that is equally dangerous and self-destructive.
Science touts itself About Religion;
Yet, It has Become its Own Religion
The Enlightenment ushered in the Age of Reason which culminated in the bloody French Revolution. Ostensibly claiming to be against tyranny: religious and political, it imposed an even more destructive tyranny resulting in untold state sponsored murders. The French Revolution was modern man’s first attempt to impose a purely scientific regime even to the extent of returning to religious paganism by worshiping goddesses of Reason! While claiming to be wise these people, and those who followed in their illogical fallacies, demonstrated both their foolishness and the death that it imposes on those who disagree! Yet, both positions are authoritative in the minds of everyday citizens around the world.
In general, religion is the source of one’s moral understanding of good and evil; right and wrong! Hence, even atheism which claims to reject all religions as evil succumbs to religion when it uses terms denoting right and wrong! Why? Because good and evil concepts are not empirical and thus are beyond science. Science is a methodology to collect measurements that may or may not support the hypothesis under examination. By the admission of its most ardent practitioners, science does not and cannot determine absolute truth in any realm! Thus, the above quote on its face is both illogical and ignorant. Science may denote facts but for these facts to be coherent requires that they be placed into a context. Religion informs one’s context whether it is good or evil as determined by one’s worldview.
What is politics? At its most basic level politics defines how two or more people relate together to form relationships. The most basic relationship level is the immediate family. Several families in close proximity form a society. The size of the society determines whether it is a neighborhood, a loose confederation or a tightly-knit nation-state. Politics is not something one does, it is inherent to the human condition of living. Why cannot we all get along? Because each person and each close-knit group (family) has differing values of right and wrong and how to achieve its goals over the goals of others. In other words, religion and politics are the two major tools used to live together in some sort of harmony with a minimum of violence. Yet, people claim to live without them based on a common self-evident internal morality like Thomas Paine.
Thomas Paine Refuted his own Philosophy
In his Earlier Work, Common Sense
Thomas Paine had earlier authored, Common Sense, to inflame the Americans to rebel against Great Britain. He, like Thomas Jefferson, appealed to self-evident right and wrong common to all people; at least all decent people. What is his basis? How does he define Good? He certainly agrees that doing good, as opposed to evil, is a basis for religion. He also supported the French Revolution in his pamphlet, Rights of Man. Again, it appears to contradict his stance of his final work, The Age of Reason, in which he argues against religion; or at least against religious morals that seek to define what he wants to do as evil.
All these positions have the same error in common; ignorance of true good and evil; right and wrong. These are the meanderings of sinful minds seeking self-justification in order to avoid acknowledging God’s existence, themselves as sinners and Christ as the solution for their sins. It would be a pathetic exercise in self-destruction if they were not so pervasive in persuading others to believe in these same errors to their own destruction. Paul clearly and logically detailed the reason for their rejection of God, His Truth and their actual condition (Ro 1:18-32).
In this short opening to his treatise in Romans, Paul writes that sinful people reject God and what can be known of God. They reconstruct their own worldview from what they see in Creation even though it is incoherent. Hence, they develop theories that constantly need replacing by better theories. Yet, they ignore the evidence of the error inherent in their own behaviors that do not even follow the plain function of their own bodies. They willingly participate in these errors through the logical fallacy of confirmation bias. They associate only with those who believe as they believe and practice what they consider as right to practice. They live by rules, morality, they make up to justify themselves and condemn those in disagreement with them. All are condemned by their own works (Re 20:11-15).
Restricting Discussion of Religion & Politics;
Insures Eternal Judgment: Prison of Silence
By refusing to discuss religion, exploration of the truth of one’s understanding or right and wrong, and politics, how one’s moral view affects others reflecting one’s own inconsistencies; one is left discussing nothing of value except the rightness of one’s sinfulness as goodness. People do not want to repent; no one repents on their own. Christ comes for you as He came for Paul, myself and all who become Saved.
The mantra to not discuss religion and politics is simply a ploy to keep you enmeshed in your worldview to prevent entrance of the gospel message of salvation (Ro 3:23; 5:15-17: 6:23; 10:9-13). How will people hear if they refuse to discuss religion? How will they hear the Gospel if they actively reject any discussion of what constitutes right and wrong? They cannot! They claim that everyone knows and thus agrees with what right is apart from God and religion. This is baseless consensus of opinion which is nothing more than the tyranny of the majority or democracy. What happens when the majority decides YOU are the wrong? What happens when those in Control decide you are more worthless and less fit to live than others they deem more valuable to society? This is the fundamental philosophical tenet of socialism: determining who is fit to live. Since the French Revolution this was determined by Reason, Scientific reasoning so you will find no consolation in Science to prove your worth. How can you prove you are worthy of life when all around you determine you are not due to age, health or quality of life which they define according to their own benefit?
The refusal to discuss religion (God’s moral Right and Wrong) and politics (implementation of God’s Word among competing social groups) enforces a prison of silence when it is your turn to be discarded. To whom will you then turn? Christ will hear you if you should repent. But, will you hear Him calling you?