Dear Friends,

I've always wanted to share with you some of the diverse feedback that I receive in response to my monthly e-teachings, and this month, I'm going to do it. Last month's e-teaching, entitled Government Theft, triggered a lot of feedback, from which I've quoted some excerpts below. You will be surprised, I expect, and hopefully blessed by some of the comments I received. Our readers have some very diverse opinions, and I've selected some of the most interesting feedback, rather than just what was purely affirmative. For the sake of space, I whittled thirty-two responses down to eight.

I've also added my reaction to some of the feedback below. I hope you enjoy what everyone has written as much as I have! And thanks to all who sent feedback.

--- David

Feedback to February's E-Teaching, Government Theft

Excellent, David... what do [you] think about..."re-booting" the economy with a "Jubilee" concept...I keep hearing that it is actually impossible to get out of debt now as a nation... --- Michael

My response: I think that the "Jubilee concept" outlined in the Old Testament is only fair if everyone knows in advance that there is going to be a remission of debts every fifty years, otherwise a mass debt forgiveness is very unfair to lenders. Keep in mind that under the Old Testament Jubilee system, everyone knew what would happen on the fiftieth year. The value of land was therefore always based on how many years remained until the Jubilee.

Part of the genius of the Jubilee concept was that it leveled the economic playing field every fifty years, eliminating the possibility of any family amassing wealth over generations and gaining a superior economic advantage that they could use to exploit others.

I don't know what our nation should do about the mountain of debt that many say can never be repaid, but I'm sure that the answer is not to increase the debt load even more by stealing our grandchildren's future earnings.

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David, I think your view is oversimplified. It would work if the majority of the USA had intact families and everyone had children. It would work if churches everywhere really cared for the poor.

But it doesn't work. Not everyone HAS loved ones to take care of them---a huge percentage, in fact, do not. Not every church cares for the poor---the majority, in fact, do not. You take away the government cushion, and people will be out on the streets and starving. We already do not do a good job caring for the poor and homeless that we have even WITH the government helping many stay out of that situation. If the government pulled out, it would be far, far, far worse.

My answer is---let the church first start demonstrating overwhelmingly that it will care for the children, the poor, the homeless, the broken---and when the church is taking care of everybody, then the government will see no need to continue any programs for the elderly, the poor, the needy, etc. We have no proven ourselves a viable option to the world's way of doing it, and so the world will continue to pick up the tab where we are not.

I think the government is doing the right thing, taxing those with hard hearts to give to those who have nothing. The government bears the sword of the Lord against injustice and evil---as long as we are a nation of uncaring people, the government sword will be weilded appropriately against the wickedness of uncaring people through taxation. --- Heather

My response: Thanks, Heather, for your interesting comments. I agree that the church falls far short of what it could and should do for the poor, as so many churches are spending their money on things that you won't find the church spending money on in the book of Acts. I'm still persuaded, however, that it is morally wrong for governments to forcibly take money from one person and give it to another person. That is theft, condemned by Scripture repeatedly. If the people who are benefitting from this theft were in the shoes of those whose money is being stolen, they would condemn it.

What we need is another "Great Awakening," a true revival, that will turn the hearts of those with financial means to care for the genuinely poor, and that will turn the hearts of those who are living off the theft of other people's money to take responsibility for their own lives. That is the only answer that I see.

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I agree David. Are you sure that you want to get into this? The more truth that you publish on this the more people will be required to take a stand.

The entire government is criminal. It has departed completely from the original Constitution. The federal Income Tax is being applied unlawfully and is in fact not a tax but a currency regulating mechanism for the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve is theft on a global scale...That is what banking is all about...

Sir Josiah Stamp, President of the Bank of England, in an informal talk to students at the University of Texas said, "Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin... Bankers own the world. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money... and with the flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again... Take this great power away from banks and all great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear because this would then be a better and happier world to live in...But if you want to continue to be the slaves of bankers, and pay the cost of our own slavery, let them continue to create money."

I would suggest that you could better benefit your readers by explaining to them how this present corrupt system of government and banking is about to collapse and be replaced by martial law... --- Steve

My response: My friend Steve, who is preparing for the worst, has been trying to educate me on these things for several years, which I appreciate. Some years ago, I even watched a three-hour historical documentary entitled The Money Masters, which recounts the origins and history of fractional reserve banking and the current Federal Reserve (see http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936#) . Another friend named Peter in New Zealand has helped me with a written version (much shorter) that recounts the same history (see http://tinyurl.com/dxgp3p ). It is all fascinating and troubling.

Few of us realize how vigorously a central banking system has been opposed at times in our nation's history. Andrew Jackson, for example, ran his re-election campaign on the single issue of shutting down the central bank of his day. He won by a landslide, and there was no central bank for seventy-five years. Thomas Jefferson wrote: “The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered. “

U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, a very smart Christian man, who wrote a best-selling book last year entitled, End the Fed, also introduced a bill called the "Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009," which requires an audit of the Fed's Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks before the end of 2010 (see www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/audit-the-federal-reserve-hr-1207).

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I greatly appreciate your e-teaching on Government Theft. I wish more ministers addressed the issues you have. The more ministers ignore the moral issues connected with government, the more irrelevant they make themselves to the common people who have to struggle under the load that our government is doing right now as we slide into socialism.

While ministers generally are supposed to preach the gospel, our government's swing away from Christianity and into persecution of it, the more that needs to be said as our country seems to be going the way of the Titanic. Political issues that have moral intents become connected with the gospel and cease to be just political. If our government is not reigned in, it will become the enemy of Christ.

Rev. 19:19 says: "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army". Kings of the earth have a choice whether to come against God at Armageddon, and it is terrible that nations will choose to do that. When that happens, those who believe in Jesus Christ will have to resist obedience to their leader and its military.

Even how with ObamaCare threatening to come down the pike, many doctors, nurses, hospitals are having to consider the moral choices they may have to make concerning abortion, euthansia, restricting medication, care, etc. for the elderly and those who are "not of value to society". It may cost them their job, their future, their career to resist.

When I was 20 (around 1970), I lived in Germany for a short time, and the first thing many Germans said to me was, "I'm sorry". Not knowing much German, I could not talk with them to find out what this was all about. It was years later that I understood that they were apologizing for being in obedience to Hitler and the devastation he brought to their country pre-WW2. Many of them were like lemmings and blindly followed him until it finally became apparent even to the most blind that he was an evil despotic demigod bent on murdering all he could. A few Lutheran (the state religion of Germany) ministers refused to come under his control. Several of them were hung by piano wire naked as a public spectacle. Needless to say, they became martyrs for Christ as they resisted evil.

I never thought I would witness the death of MY America. How far we have come. How low we have gone. It is the job of ministers of the gospel to exhort Christians, more than ever now, to cling dearly to Christ and his will, lest when darkness gets too extreme in our country, many turn from him as the the Word warns about: (1Ti 4:1) "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils".

There is much I would like to say, but time prohibits. This much is sufficient to say I believe what you have written is "right on" and what American Christians need to hear. You quoted Fraser Tytler and Margaret Thatcher, but in ending here, I would like to give you another quote to add...

"What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." - quote from Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931–2005) --- FJK

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Who cares? Really..what does this have to do with a believer who has his mind set on things above where Christ is seated?... Also, if we read Revelations doesn't everything get worse before the end? --- Sean

My response: As believers who have their minds set on things above where Christ is seated, we live to please Him in preparation for the day when we will stand before Him to give an account. Since all government authorities are established by God according to Romans 13:1-7, our republican government is established by God (I am speaking of our form of government, not the Republican Party). And since a republican government is elected by its citizens, we all bear a moral responsibility to be involved, at least by acting as informed voters.

Our current governmental leaders are only a reflection of the moral convictions or non-convictions of the citizenry. If we vote for politicians whom we know are immoral people, we cast a vote for immorality---in opposition to Christ---and we will have to give an account before Him for it. If we vote for greedy politicians who are in favor of borrowing money for our benefit that will have to be repaid by our children and grandchildren, then we share their culpability in sinning against our own offspring. If we don't exercise our right to vote, we reveal that we don't care about great moral issues that very much concern God.

As those who are commanded to be "salt" and "light" and who pray every day for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we cannot be silent when politicians steal from our grandchildren and excuse ourselves because we know that things are going to get worse before Jesus returns. That is why we preach the gospel and call sinners to repentance!

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Thank you for putting to words, and doing it so well, what many of us have been feeling and thinking. I would only add that not only will the debt being so irresponsibly created now be repaid later with dollars worth less (worthless?), but they are again stealing from us because the dollars we have left over will all be worth less (worthless!) by the same mechanism....the printing of more (worthless!!) dollars. And our worthless dollars are worth less not only in this country, but are, even now, losing value all over the world in relation to other currencies. Can you say "inflation" and "pauper state"?

As you have so graciously continued to point out, lovingly reminding us, there is only one safe place to store any treasure - God's very own personal heavenly vault. --- Eve

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Well said, but what can we do except pray? And pray and PRAY?! --- Angela

My response: We can also not vote for immoral, greedy thieves, but rather, vote for candidates who hold to moral convictions. We can run for political offices. And we can speak up! "When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan" (Prov. 29:2).

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I've long been concerned about the "religious right." When I was in Bible College, I began to detect that some of my fellow believers were being swept into the political arena by their sincere desire for righteousness. When a believer is confronted with all of the sin in the world, and the opportunity exists to make a difference in an open and free political system such as we enjoy in the USA, there is a strong temptation to become politically active. I believe it is a mistake and a trap to do so. The world of politics is a world of compromise, and a Christian in politics has to compromise to gain enough political power to accomplish anything. Shall we do evil that good may come?...

Several times in recent years, I've had to gently rebuke fellow believers for being too political. Although we are blessed to live in a democracy, we need to be constantly reminded that "our citizenship is in heaven."....I fear that my politically-minded brethren are seeking to preserve the comfortable, free lifestyle that we have enjoyed as Americans as much as they are seeking to promote righteousness. If preserving the American way of life becomes primary, these may find themselves actually working---against---the gospel!....

The gospel is about making men ready for Heaven, not about creating Heaven on earth!....

I don't mean to insinuate that you were getting too political in your e-teaching. In fact, I think you did an excellent job of laying the scriptural foundation for what was a good moral lesson. And you didn't accuse any particular politician or party. It is important that Christians understand contemporary issues and apply biblical principles to their understanding. I also believe that Christians should speak out against evil, and support candidates for office whose track record is a moral one. My concern is that Christians be Christians first, and patriots second. --- Hugh

My response: I would only add that being Christian means being righteous, and righteous people do righteous deeds and promote what is righteous in every way they can. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Prov. 14:34).

Read David's follow up article, Feedback to February's E-Teaching,"Government Theft".