It's Freedom, But Not as We Once Knew It

 Loving the New Good Shepherd

Freedom is that peculiar social construct which "allows" people to go to hell in the way of their own choosing.  Our Lord once said--and still says, for both He and His Word abide forever--that the way which leads to destruction is wide and there are many upon it.  The way to life is via a narrow gate.  (Matthew 7:13)

God holds all people accountable for being on that "wide" path.  But they are perfectly free to choose their particular course and gait on that wide, wide easy road.
  Christian civil society is a mirror or reflection of this aspect of the Kingdom of God.  It is forbidden to set out compelling belief and Christian behaviour by force, compulsion, law, or the sword.  Those who live by the sword die by it.  Christ's kingdom is not forged and extended by violence, or force.  Christ's kingdom--which in the end is the only kingdom--is extended by the Spirit of God regenerating sinners, granting them the gifts of repentance and faith.  The ordinary means by which He works are the Word of God and the holy sacraments.

Consequently, Christian civil society--when it is consistently Christian--maximises freedom and personal responsibility.  Christian civil society does not legislate to bring good into existence.  Not every sin is a crime: in fact, few are.  Righteousness already permeates society through the sovereign redemptive work of the Spirit.  The criminal and civil codes exist to punish the wicked who attempt to destroy the life, limb, and property of others.  It does not exist nor legislate to make people righteous. 

Modern pagan civil society is the opposite.  The State is the saviour, protector, redeemer, and provider of all.  What the Spirit of God does through divine sovereign work, the modern State attempts to create by its rules, laws, regulations, and directions.  Naturally, it fails horribly--with great damage and destruction on every side.  The modern State attempts to prevent and remove all evil (however it conceives evil) from the landscape.  The vast majority of the populace, being themselves pagan, applaud this endeavour.

Here is a classic example of how civil society and "freedom" operate in the pagan world.  Consider this speech:

Every day we go without a consumer watchdog in place is another day when a student, or a senior citizen, or member of our Armed Forces could be tricked into a loan they can’t afford – something that happens all the time.
(President Barack Obama, on the stump at Osawatomie, Kansas.)

Now, of course Obama was declaiming, at the time, the way millions of foolish people were enticed into mortgages they could not service, in the name of social justice.  The prosaic nature of the topic only serves to make his statement above more transparent.  People need the government to protect them from doing foolish things and suffering bad consequences.  People deserve this kind of service from their "saviour". 

Every day millions upon millions of people make stupid choices with bad consequences when it comes to bearing and raising children.  Using Obama's logic, these people need a government family watchdog to look out for their interest and prevent them from acting like idiots.  This is the modern pagan construct of freedom.  It is the new form of slavery.  But the overwhelming majority of people prefer such chains to what they see as the bitter, hard, cold, harmful construct of genuine civil freedom. 

As long as "Massa" is in the White House, doin' his thing on the great Plantation, all will be well. 

Here is the modern confession of  faith:  Oh, Wellington, how we love and adore thee.  Your yoke is easy, and your burden is light.  Your great love for us has brought us true freedom. You have made us free from the consequences of our actions and lives.  We are indeed sheep, and you, Oh Wellington, are the Great Shepherd.  How we love thee.