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<title>christ-c</title>
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<h1 id="title-index">Politics-Conspiracies-Project</h1>
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<h2>christ-c</h2>
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<p>
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<span class="NORP">CHRISTIANITY</span> AND FREEDOM</p>
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<p>By JACOB G. HORNBERGER</p>
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<p>Many Americans believe that by supporting the Welfare State,
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they are fulfilling God's great commandment to "love thy
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neighbor as thyself." Having been taught in public schools
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since childhood that the Welfare State helps needy people,
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Americans usually are filled with a deep sense of guilt and
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embarrassment whenever they object to any aspect of
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governmental assistance for others.</p>
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<p>Of course, government officials foster these feelings in order
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to minimize resistance to the Welfare State. For whenever a
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citizen objects to any part of the welfare system in America,
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he inevitably is assaulted by political officials with such
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accusations as: "You hate the poor!"; "You are a racist!"; and
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"You hate God!" These tactics usually are quite effective in
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breaking down resistance to welfare programs. And the usual
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result is that Americans call for reform, rather than
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elimination, of the Welfare State.</p>
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<p>But, in actuality, the Welfare State is founded on absolutely
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immoral principles. And not only does a person not further
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God's work by advocating or defending the Welfare State, he
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instead denigrates it.</p>
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<p>One can imagine the following scenario when a new arrival gets
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to the pearly gates:</p>
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<p> St. Peter: What did you do to fulfill God's commandment
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to love thy neighbor as thyself?</p>
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<p> Applicant: I have here my income tax returns, the
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Internal Revenue Code, and the Federal Register.</p>
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<p> St. Peter: What meaning do these items have?</p>
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<p> Applicant: St. Peter, you obviously are not familiar with
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the Welfare State of the United States of America. These
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items show how much of my tax money was used by the
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government to help others in need. So, please step aside
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and let me in.</p>
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<p> St. Peter: You were participating in a way of life which
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constituted a wilful violation of God's sacred
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commandment against stealing?</p>
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<p> Applicant: Stealing? What are you talking about? Through
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my tax payments, people were helped.</p>
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<p> St. Peter: Was not the political process used to take
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money from people against their will in order to
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redistribute to others? Were you not supporting and
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participating in this evil way of life?</p>
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<p> Applicant: Oh! No, that wasn't me. That was the
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politicians and bureaucrats. I just voted for them, just
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like other patriotic Americans. Don't blame me for the
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stealing. Just give me credit for all the good that was
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done with the loot.</p>
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<p>If I held a gun to a person's head, and demanded "Your money
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or your life!," most people would believe that I had committed
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an immoral (and illegal) act. Suppose I needed the money for
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my (or someone else's) education. Would this change the
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immoral (and illegal) nature of my act? Most people would
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respond in the negative. While punishment might be mitigated
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due to extenuating circumstances, it remains morally (and
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legally) wrong to steal, no matter how great the need for
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another person's money.</p>
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<p>But the interesting phenomenon about the Welfare State is that
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many people believe that by making the exact same act legal--
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that is, by enshrining it into their political system--it
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somehow is converted into a moral act. In other words, in the
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Welfare State, people vote for someone who is given the legal
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power to take a person's money in order to give it to someone
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else; then, it is believed that this political act, immoral if
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committed by a private individual, somehow becomes moral
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because it is now performed by a democratically elected public
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official.</p>
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<p>We must also consider the matter of free will--one of the
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greatest gifts which God bestowed on human beings. He
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obviously loved us so much that we have been given the freedom
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even to deny Him (and our neighbor). In other words, while we
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are told to love Him and others, we are not compelled by Him
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to do so.</p>
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<p>One of the best examples of this wide ambit of freedom is
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found in the story of "The Danger of Riches" in the New
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Testament. A rich man approached Jesus and asked, "Teacher,
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what good must I do to possess everlasting life?" After the
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man advised Jesus that he already kept all of the
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commandments, Jesus told him, "If you seek perfection, go,
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sell your possessions, and give to the poor. You will then
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have treasure in heaven. Afterward, come back and follow me."
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Unable to let go of his material wealth, however, the man went
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away sad.</p>
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<p>The story, of course, is valuable in advising people of the
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dangers of spiritual or psychological attachment to material
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things. But the lesson it teaches is important in another way:
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After the young man chose to reject the suggestion to give
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everything he had to the poor, Jesus did not ask the political
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authorities to seize the man's possessions and redistribute
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them to the poor. In other words, he did not force the man to
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comply with the suggestion. Since the man had been given the
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freedom to choose, the choice he made, although not the
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desired one, was honored.</p>
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<p>It is the vital importance of freedom of choice that advocates
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of the Welfare State so often forget. They favor "freedom" but
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only when the person chooses the "right" way. In other words,
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the person is told, "It is morally and ethically correct that
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you should share your possessions with others, and you are
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free to make this decision in your own way . . . but if you
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choose the wrong way, we shall simply take your money from
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you, against your will, and do with it what you should have
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done with it."</p>
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<p>It is the great principles of freedom of choice and individual
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responsibity on which the United States was founded. By and
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large, our American ancestors were free to engage in a
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tremendously wide range of choices as long as they did not
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inflict violence or fraud on others. And early Americans
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believed that the primary purpose of government was to protect
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the exercise of choice rather than interfere with it. Thus,
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for the first century of America's history, there was, for
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example, neither income taxation nor welfare.</p>
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<p>Does this mean that our ancestors were evil and mean for not
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providing a Welfare State as their descendants have? Of course
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not. It simply means that they believed that each individual
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should be free to do what he wants with his own money even
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when, and especially when, it is not in accordance with the
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wishes of the majority of his fellow citizens. And the irony
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was that 19th-century America was not only the most prosperous
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nation in history but also the most charitable nation in
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history.</p>
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<p>But unfortunately, the American people of the 20th century
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have rejected and abandoned that philosophy. The idea now is
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that people must be forced to be "good" through the political
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plunder of the Welfare State. Money is taken from people
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against their will so that it can be given to those who need
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it. And the taxpayers claim "credit" for all of the "good"
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which the political authorities do with their money.</p>
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<p>The result, of course, is that the government has become the
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means by which everyone is trying to live at the expense of
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everyone else. Everyone is trying to get his "fair" share of
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the loot while, at the same time, blocking out of his mind
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that it is being stolen from his friends, neighbors, and
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fellow citizens across the land. And everyone is trying to get
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his "fair" share of the "credit" while doing everything he can
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to protect his own pocketbook.</p>
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<p>At the end of the year, it is important to count our
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blessings. Fortunately, we live in a nation in which, by and
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large (and with many exceptions), the government is
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constitutionally prohibited from interfering with our
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religious, intellectual, and political activities. But it is
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also important, at the beginning of the new year, to make
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resolutions: Let us resolve to dedicate ourselves to ending
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the Welfare State by recapturing the vision of freedom,
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private property, and limited government which guided our
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American ancestors.</p>
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<p>Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of
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Freedom Foundation, P.O. Box 9752, Denver, CO 80209.</p>
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<p>------------------------------------------------------------
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From the December 1990 issue of FREEDOM DAILY,
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Copyright (c) 1990, The Future of Freedom Foundation,
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PO Box 9752, Denver, Colorado 80209, 303-777-3588.
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Permission granted to reprint; please give appropriate credit
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and send one copy of reprinted material to the Foundation.
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</p>
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