Christian Anarchy and Classical Liberalism

From the Mecca of Mormonism
Salt Lake City, Utah
This is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology.
Where we are learning together . . .
And I’m your host Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion.

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PRAYER

The Armenian boys, the Nation and world, the lonely and depressed, the coming elections, the show, the viewers.

Show 6L Dismantled and Replaced
Taped November 8th 2020
Aired November 10th 2020

Hey, just to let you know, the Watchdog ministry, Checkmychurch.org is starting up a podcast service to the world and you might want to check that out as Sarah imparts her vast knowledge of religious abuses and blessings to her audience.

And hey remember – we have gone through the Bible verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty. and only have four books left to cover – 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon and the Gospel of Mark. All the rest are archived and available for you to access. Additionally, I am working hard on the TVAR (or a new transversion of the New Testament) for those of you who wonder or care. It will be a super good resource especially relative to eschatologyStudy of “last things”—TGNN teaches all biblical eschatology was fulfilled in 70 A.D. More.

TVAR and The Book of Revelation

I am almost halfway through the Book of RevelationA symbolic prophecy fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not a prediction of future global events.. What does that mean? In three months approximately we will have the following available on the Book of Revelation:

A New Transversion of each chapter with associated footnotes, twenty-two books (one for each chapter) and associated art depicting the contents of each of those chapters on the cover of those books!

Pray for us!

So, before we get to your comments from the past shows, let’s hit the topic of Christian AnarchySomeone who follows Christ as their only authority—rejecting institutional control over their spiritual life. one more time to tie up some loose ends.

Understanding Christian Anarchy

Over the past two weeks on the Heart of the Matter Long Show I have laid out why I am a Christian Anarchist, and I have used some of the principles established by John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Willem Von Humbolt and others, which are summarized for me by Chomsky, to explain the driving purposes behind it, which are found in three key points.

POINT NUMBER ONE

The faith ought to operate by the same principles found in the Classical Liberal environs. I see eleven principles as essential to Christianity Libertarianism today. They include but are not limited to:

ONE: that the faith is subjectively understood, believed and lived and as such I see the following ideals as vital not only to its survival but its ability to thrive now and in the future:

The ever-abiding presence of Liberty, which is defined as “the ability to understand, believe and live as a believer sees fit so long as they are not a threat to the liberties of others or threaten harm.”

That Individualism is of utmost importance, meaning no cultural, political, or institutional demand of expectation is imposed upon anyone for any reason ever. This is supported by the fact that God created us all uniquely and the traits he supplies each of us ought not be infringed upon.

In summary, and this is radical to some, but “the individual is more important than the collective” – and all individuals are worthy of kindness and respect and love.

That a healthy skepticism of power abides, with power being defined as “getting people to do what you want that they would otherwise not do on their own.” Many powers suggest that they force people to act because “it is in their best interest to do so.”

I maintain that the individual knows what’s best for them and they ought to have the constant capacity to choose to act or not for themselves.

Additionally, I suggest “That universal rules of Law are upheld, meaning there is no rule, law or imposition that ought to treat any individual differently than another. No rules or laws especially for whites, blacks, homosexuals, females, disabled souls, men – whatever. No infringement by laws that treat others specially. A human is a human. Leave it at that.

Spontaneous Order in Christian Anarchy

A nod to spontaneous order. Order means “the existence of regularity and predictability.” Many people assume that in order for order to exist there must be those who are in charge barking demands. I would suggest that based on the individuals involved order can and will arise spontaneously, therefore eliminating the need for the governance of Man.

In other words, when people voluntarily choose to participate with others in a thing, order is established. This is especially true when the people are spirit lead (meaning Christians) unless the Christians involved want bondage over liberty.

I have seen this play out time and time again here at CAMPUS as people come and…

Autonomy and Order in Faith

Go, establishing order among themselves without any intervention from anyone else. It’s a beautiful thing. So Christians don’t need people to plan our lives. If you do, then you are not really sold out to an autonomous life of liberty. You have that right to be in chains, but I am not of the opinion that the faith ought to be in the business of binding people up.

A freedom to gather. Meaning gathering for any reason, in anyway, about any topic or purpose, without infringement by any power that be. This goes hand in hand with the spontaneous order we just mentioned.

No church power or authority ought to insert itself on any matter relative to the individual – unless it deals directly with them causing harm. Free diet, free dress, free days of the week, free political engagement, free exchange of ideas, beliefs – no matter how challenging these things might be.

In an age where the Holy Spirit reigns, and God writes his laws on the hearts and minds of others, only free exchange remains – without fear.

The F.L.A.W.E.D. Approach

That leads me to a quick sidebar I want to present to you that we have posted here at CAMPUS. It’s an acronym we have posed on the wall here which is something we promote but by no means is impose or demand as law. I call it the FLAWED approach and the acronym F.L.A.W.E.D., represents:

FAITH (which comes by hearing the Word)
LOVE (which comes by dying to flesh)
ART (which is seen in hundreds of different ways)
WORK (which is essential to everything of value in this life)
EDUCATION (meaning learning and gathering knowledge of all things) and
DIMENSION (which is another way to focus on interpersonal growth)

If you are looking for an easy layout of what I think are important Christians attributes consider the elements in F.L.A.W.E.D.

Another essential to the faith is Toleration, which is the belief that someone should not interfere with something of which they disapprove (again, excepting physical harm of another).

Toleration in Faith

Toleration is not supporting something or someone because you agree, it’s the opposite – it means fellowship when you don’t agree.

So, where we think a view is wrong, we do not seek to interfere or inhibit another just because they differ with us.

A Classic example of this is free speech. We may find someone’s expressions reprehensible but TOLERATION says that we are for more dedicated to their right to express themselves than to hinder them from saying what we don’t appreciate or agree with.

I think toleration is really important in the faith today.

PEACE is then an essential, with peace being defined as going about these things without violence or war; to allow these things to exist without animus, alienation or division. Super important to the faith – and is best maintained by free movement of ideas, lives and ways.

And finally it goes without saying that within Christian Liberalism there would be a “very VERY limited Church GOVERNMENT in place, meaning none except at all those for those who open and close the building if there is one and those who choose to teach to the best of their abilities. So all of that was under the First Point which I said was:

“The faith would best operate by the same principles found in the Classical Liberal environs.”

Fundamental Principles of the Faith

POINT NUMBER TWO

“To note that the faith would thrive in this environment because it was established by God through the finished victorious Work of Christ. (which we have proven time and time again over the years).”

Meaning, this is not another denom but a way to live the faith as individuals moved by the Holy Spirit.

And then, POINT NUMBER THREE – which consists of two parts:

As a means to help get all of this operational, I seek to implement the two main facets of anarchism, pointed out last week, which are

• Challenging the religious powers and authorities to prove or justify the authority and power they claim to have, and
• Once they have failed to justify their powers, then to seek to dismantle them AND . . . replace them with something better.

Last week we challenged all current religious claims of authority in every expression relative to Christ to justify themselves and in every case they have failed – from the Catholics, to Orthodoxy, to Restorationists and most of all to all Protestants – not one of them are reasonably able to justify the control and authority they maintain over others.

Dismantling Ecclesiastical Authority

Every one of their false systems.

Tonight, I want to step back and explain in greater detail what I think should be specifically dismantled relative to the faith, and not just point to the institutions of unjust power themselves. In other words, with the institutions failing to reasonably justify their authority over anyone in God’s name, we can all simply say they should go away and then the better approach of Subjective ChristianityA direct, personal relationship with God—free from institutional authority, guided by personal relationship, faith and agape love. ought to step in. I realize that blowing up the brick and mortars will not effectively address nor replace many of the things those brick and mortars offered the world relative to the faith. So, what exactly ought to be dismantled (in all of these religious institutions) besides the institutions themselves.

Obviously, the first things to go should be all “ecclesiastical authority.” Why? Because we have seen that it does not exist. So, immediately we call for the complete eradication of all men or women who claim to speak for God to others, who claim any type of authority from God on anyone else’s life. No hierarchies nor archaes but Christ – we want Christ by the Spirit alone as our archae. We will be responsible to Him and Him alone for our every choice, belief, decision and behavior. Goodbye Priests, Bishops, Pastors, Prophets, Reverends, Popes, Apostles, Elder, Seventy, Deacons, Presidents, Counselors – all of you cannot justify your proclaimed authority – all of you are gone.

You will notice I did not include those who choose to serve others in the faith, nor did I include teachers or preachers of the Word, which are all positions of servants in the Kingdom, not positions of authority. But servants and teachers are all autonomous in their service, answering to no authority, and coming and going as lead.

Self-governance and the Role of the Holy Spirit

The follow-up from Men to there being preachers and teachers is who will govern the people who come to faith? They will freely govern themselves. Who will challenge false teachings, and bad preachings? The Holy Spirit. Who will monitor sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., marry people, conduct and arrange funerals? Quiet yourselves. All that stuff is easily worked out and have zero need for human hierarchies to get involved.

See, once Man is removed from the things of God, He works things out for people of faith, by his spirit, and not the arms of the flesh. Believers can trust this, and come together in a deconstructed manner, which allows for freedom, liberty and then for the Spirit to work – or not. So that is number one – all positions of authority over others in God’s name are done in the age of fulfillment.

Mechanics of the Faith

This brings us then to stuff that really worries people – and causes them to elect spiritual intermediaries to decide what should be done and how. What I am talking about are religious practices – like water baptisms, confirmations, communions and sacraments, blessings, marriages, church memberships, and formal services, to name a few. See, the very presence of these things have created hierarchies of power as a means to insure that such things are done right (or at least in accordance with how the powers say they should be done) (according to their man-made traditions, and governing policies, and such). By removing the authorities first, then we automatically are liberated in our approach to the mechanics of the faith thereafter.

I know people get really hinky over this stuff, and it is what moves them to put men in authority over them, but the fact of the matter is all mechanical things of the Christian faith have been eliminated by and through the coming of Christ to take his bride with this Age entering in completely and forevermore. So what do the Mechanics of the faith look like? For some, they may not exist at all; for others they might continue to play an important role. But these roles around the mechanics of religion are defined and received by the individuals involved, not some person standing over them as a means to validate an action.

Water Baptism

Do it or not. In whatever mode you believe is best. In whatever name or names you want. By whomever you want. Whenever you want. “I want to be baptized by sprinking in a rushing river by my little sister in Jesus name.” Go in faith! Have at it. Your baptism is an outward expression of your inward faith, symbolizing to the world that you are being identified for life with Christ. If you desire it, have it –

The Concept of Authority in Religious Practices

Its all between you and God anyway. All I can say is you do not need some phony religious power standing over you and deciding how your baptism is to go down. You are free.

Marriage? Since marriage in God’s eyes are when two become one sexually there is no need for a third party (unless you got some strange tweaks going on in your head – joke). But seriously, marriage, from the get go, has always been consummation – that is how God sees it, when two become one. If you’re talking about weddings – well, if baptisms are up to the individual involved then weddings are too. Have at it. No fake leadership needs to be involved. If you want to use an ornate religious edifice (called a church wedding) then you are going to have to play the authority game to get permission, but if you want to be emancipated from such phony powers, and don’t want to have to interview with men or take classes before the vows, Christian Anarchy says, whatever you do, do before the Living God.

Understanding Church and Real Practice

Going to church? First of all, Church is really a misnomer in the face of the age of fulfillment because it automatically makes most of us think of a building. So, let’s rewrite that in our head starting tonight. Let’s call brick and mortar religious institutions (and everything associated with it) the Lockups, and let’s refer to people freely getting together and freely studying and praying together without any demands as the Body. Again, if what happens inside a building includes pretended religious authority, demands for doctrine, tithe and collections and petitions for money, or any other legalismRule-based religion is over. Faith and love—not law—define life with God now. that infringes on the rights of all believers to worship and see God as they are led, it’s a lock-up, a jail, a prison (in some cases) and NOT the Body or a Church.

So, in terms of attending a real church? There is no compulsion – attend or not. There are no demands. No musts. There are teachings, presentations, instructions, singing and prayers. The teachings might be off or on, the music might be short or long, the prayers open or silent, but none of it is every mandatory or enforced on anyone ever. And all are welcome. The Body can be in a dedicated location, or in a home, or at sea or the mountains – so long as it remains completely unauthoritative, free and unlimited.

That seems pretty simple – but so far everything I have recommended lends to individual freedoms and resists the ubiquitous efforts of Men to control, take authority or capture. Having taken this approach at CAMPUS here in Salt Lake City I can attest to you that it requires “a steady effort” to try and keep people free as there are constantly things popping up that push to have rules and powers instituted – often for what appear to be really good reasons.

Leadership and Authority

And this requires leadership. Understand, there is a very different thing going on with “good leadership and claims of authority.” Leadership can exist without any basis in justified authority. Good leadership in an anarchistic sense will always strive to resist unjustified authority while seeking to constantly minimize or eliminate infiltrators to the faith and the common good. I am fully supportive of sound selfless service oriented leadership and true democracy in the faith (in terms of operations) but fully reject any and all claims at any religious authority.

This leads us to the final frontier of a “dismantled and replaced Christian Liberalism with something better approach to the Christian faith – and that is doctrine or beliefs. We can begin to see (at this point) that there exists a tight connection between assumed authority, religious practices and demanded doctrines, can’t we?

Generally speaking there is a doctrine or belief that someone (or someones) want established and set in place, and authorities step in to insure purity, and their authority inadvertently flows over to everything else that happens among believers including actions and events like baptisms and marriages and the like. Working in the opposite direction, if we open doctrine up, making it entirely subjective and in the hands of the individual by the Spirit, the need for religious authority wains and the practices becomes liberated and free.

Because most Lock-Ups have varied practices, and varied ways that they decide who has authority and who does not, these things are not typically that important in a religious setting. They are just agreed upon, allowed and responded to. But the “doctrinal part” of faith is a deal breaker.

The Reality of Subjective Belief

It is the very reason men have appealed to unauthorized human authorities and allowed them to reign over them – they want to stand on certainty, and tradition, and therefore demand “doctrinal certitude.” They claim that there “must be a right way” (and therefore a whole bunch of wrong ways) when it comes to practice, and I say “give me an example,” and they choose “communion” or “water baptism” and will fight (for a time) only to ultimately see that both communion and water baptism are approached very differently among believers and ultimately if they are reasonable they will surrender the need for a set standard. But when it comes to doctrine, most religious people will fight to the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God.. That is where they draw the line in the sand – and then build denominations on that plot of ground.

I propose a better way to different and differing doctrines among believers, a way which will underline the fact that all religious authority is unnecessary and all religious practices are up to the individual. This approach is to see the faith the way that it actually is and NOT the way people want it to be (relative to doctrine). And what is the faith actually relative to doctrine? Its Subjective. It’s individual. No matter how hard institutions try, through their false authority and demanded practices, all people simply “believe what they want to believe.”

Personal Experiences with Subjectivity

I became aware of this fact after 14 years of flying twice a week between Salt Lake City and Long Beach, California. This flight was called the Disney flight because it was filled with Utah families going to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. I sat next to innumerable LDS people over those fourteen years and have had innumerable conversations with them. And while most of the people I spoke with admitted to the idea that there were “authorities over them in the church,” and most of them partook in the practices the authorities sanctioned, all of them – every single one of them – when gently challenged on doctrine, maintained a set of their own. I heard the phrase, “Well, I don’t believe that,” more on those flights then “fasten your seatbelts.” I used to think this was a symptom of Mormonism, and naively assumed that professed Christians were not of the same mindset. Stupid me.

And this is the point – we are all “already” subjective in our beliefs toward God, Christ, the faith, soteriology, afterlife, hell, and everything else. Completely. We will agree with some things, we will disagree with others, all the while sitting under the same roof being taught by the same teachers, and reading the same Bibles! That is the reality. The absurdity is to suggest that just because a denom teaches “one doctrinal way” that everyone in the denom swallows it.

Embracing Individual Beliefs

So, let’s receive the reality about doctrine and freaking allow it. Embrace it. Cultivate it – in love. Let’s teachers and preachers teach what they study and believe. Let hearers decide what they will receive and embrace, and along the way let everyone have whatever doctrinal views they wish to entertain – no matter what! I know what I think about the Trinity, hell and Satan, soteriology, the eschatology – and out of my heart for God will teach how I see things to the best of my abilities. But far more important than my supposed knowledge and views of such things is my love for all others along the way who DIFFER with me.

Doctrines divide – they really do. And it is in division that false authorities sprout up and take charge. But we all believe what we want anyway, authorities and practices in place or not. So why don’t we adopt the attitude that says: I will study and I will pray and I will believe how I think I am lead of the Spirit. Along the way I will allow all people the same right (since we all take that right anyway) and I will test their beliefs against my own, and keep what I find true and discard the rest in love.

A New Perspective on Doctrine

This is the better way, folks, to replace the prison system in place because nobody on this earth has any religious authority over another, all practices are up to the individual, and all doctrines are subjectively assumed and believed or they’re not! This approach is doing all we can as believers to maintain and encourage freedom and liberty through agape loveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty. – no matter what.

The response to this will be, from the

Doctrinal Purity

Fearful, from the lazy, from those demanding certainty, NO – doctrine is vital! Practices must be done correctly, and God has established doctrinal purity on this earth! Here’s the key – in love we allow them their views, accepting their right to have them, but refusing to play along. REFUSING.

The former way has not and does not work. So, rise up, followers of Christ! You have nothing to lose but your chains.

Listener Reactions

Let’s go to your comments from last week's shows.

Show Review

REVIEW COMMENTS (especially from last week's Monday night short show we called, You get what you want. Boy did that show get some of you riled up. They struck such a nerve that I actually went back and relistened to the show. And I’ve gotta tell you, I stand by what I said.

(COMMENTS)